Ryou's Raikiri struck with a crackling sound.
At the critical moment, Jiraiya formed hand seals.
"Senjutsu: Needle Jizō!"
Jiraiya's hair rapidly lengthened, hardening like steel to envelop his entire body.
Jiraiya's normal Needle Jizō could withstand Orochimaru's rabid dog-like biting; now, enhanced with Senjutsu, Ryou's Raikiri—which could cleave through thunder—truly couldn't pierce it.
Ryou's strike missed, and Jiraiya suddenly opened the Needle Jizō around his head.
Oh no! Jiraiya is about to blast!
Ryou quickly retreated.
The combined Ninjutsu of Jiraiya and the two Toad Sages arrived in an instant.
"Senjutsu: Fire Release: Toad Oil Flame Bullet!"
Fukasaku and Shima spat out Mount Myōboku's signature toad oil, while Jiraiya breathed out Senjutsu flames.
Instantly, the battlefield turned into a sea of fire.
Ryou erupted with massive Chakra: "Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!"
Immediately, a massive river of Water Release appeared where Ryou stood.
The Great Waterfall Technique is an A-rank Ninjutsu, and its offensive power comes from the swirling impact of the Water Release.
In the original work, Kakashi used this move to defeat Zabuza.
If there is no water nearby, one gathers Chakra in the throat and spits out a massive water ball from the mouth to strike the enemy.
But in places with water, it summons surrounding water sources to form a swirling pillar of water.
For those with massive amounts of Chakra, this technique summons a whole river.
For example, Kisame's Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave!
The Great Waterfall Technique performed with Ryou's massive Chakra was indeed a river.
He even summoned the water from Magatsu Lake, forming an incredibly massive water dragon to block the Toad Oil Flame Bullet cast by Jiraiya and the two sages!
As water and fire collided, the battlefield was instantly shrouded in a dense mist.
In the vast expanse of white, no one could see what was happening inside.
Who would emerge victorious?
Tsunade was somewhat anxious: "Are Jiraiya and Ryou alright?"
Tsunade didn't know which side to support.
She had already been intimate with Ryou, so it was impossible for her to have no feelings for him at all.
But Jiraiya had come to save her in the name of a comrade.
Tsunade felt she wasn't a very qualified Ninja.
If someone like her Second Granduncle were here, he would have committed suicide by now; a Ninja is a tool, and a tool shouldn't cause worry for others.
Nagato released a sensory Ninjutsu to perceive the situation and said, "Teacher Jiraiya's Chakra is still there, though it has decreased somewhat."
"And Ryou... hasn't suffered the slightest loss!"
Hearing this, Tsunade and Konan remained silent.
Inside the thick mist, one couldn't even see their own hand in front of their face.
Ryou relied on the Sharingan's excellent insight and the abnormal sensory abilities of the Hashirama cells to pinpoint Jiraiya's location.
"Fire Release: Great Flame Rasengan!"
A Rasengan condensed in his hand, and by infusing it with Fire Release Chakra, it transformed into a Great Flame Rasengan emitting intense heat.
Ryou threw the Great Flame Rasengan directly toward Jiraiya; he was already capable of throwing it.
Although Ryou's main body often slacked off, his spore clones were training every moment.
For instance, right now, in the training room of the Hidden Rain Village's central building, nearly twenty of Ryou's spore clones were training.
The clones endured the hardship and exhaustion, while the main body reaped the fame and fortune.
If Ryou had a split personality, perhaps one day the clones would be driven to rebel.
Jiraiya indeed couldn't see anything in the mist, but Sage Mode provided sensory perception that could see through it.
In the original work, Naruto fought the Animal Path Pain inside Gamabunta's mouth, where the Animal Path's Rinnegan couldn't see in the darkness.
However, Naruto's Sage Mode allowed him to sense the Animal Path's location, and two Rasengans took care of the Loli Path.
At this moment, Jiraiya relied on his Sage Mode perception to find Ryou's position.
Shima warned, "Oh no, Little Jiraiya! It's the Fire Release Forbidden Jutsu Little Minato mentioned—the Great Flame Rasengan!"
"I know, Shima!"
Jiraiya reached out and condensed a Rasengan, which expanded violently into a Big Ball Rasengan, then grew even larger.
Finally, it became an Ultra-Big Ball Rasengan the size of a house!
"Senjutsu: Ultra-Big Ball Rasengan!"
The Great Flame Rasengan and the Ultra-Big Ball Rasengan collided, but it wasn't the clash of two equal forces as one might imagine.
Rumble—
The Great Flame Rasengan was an explosive Forbidden Jutsu; the moment it touched the Ultra-Big Ball Rasengan, it expanded like a fire tornado.
First, it flared up intensely, and then—Boom!—it exploded.
Jiraiya used the Ultra-Big Ball Rasengan as a shield, while Fukasaku and Shima cast Earth Style Wall to block the explosion of the Great Flame Rasengan.
The powerful shockwave from the explosion blew away the mist formed by the earlier clash of water and fire, allowing those nearby to see the battlefield again.
By now, the battlefield between Ryou and Jiraiya was shattered and torn apart, bearing no resemblance to its former state.
Jiraiya stood on the left, panting heavily. His clothes were tattered, having been caught in the Great Flame Rasengan's explosion.
On the opposite side, Ryou's Ninja Armor was still intact, and he wasn't even out of breath.
Even now, Jiraiya hadn't been able to force Ryou to use his Wood Release.
Fukasaku said solemnly, "Hard as it is to believe, Little Jiraiya, Little Ryou has already become far stronger than you."
Jiraiya nodded. "I know!"
Jiraiya bit his finger and activated the Summoning Jutsu. Suddenly, three massive clouds of smoke erupted on the battlefield.
Three giant toads appeared with imposing presence.
It was the Three Toad Brothers.
Gamabunta, wielding a Ninja blade like a cleaver and holding a pipe in his mouth, looked every bit like a yakuza boss.
Gamahiro, a teal-blue toad with two swords on his back.
Gamaken, a toad carrying a shield and a fork-like weapon; unlike Gamabunta's brash personality, he was very humble.
The Three Toad Brothers were all in combat-ready status, having been prepared on Mount Myōboku to be summoned by Jiraiya at any moment.
As soon as Bunta appeared, he blew a mouthful of smoke at Ryou: "Ryou, what are you doing? To live in this world, one must have honor. Stealing Jiraiya's woman—that's a major violation of the underworld code."
Ryou spat, "What do you mean, Jiraiya's woman? Jiraiya confessed so many times and never got a taste. He's useless even when given the chance!"
Bunta nodded, "Jiraiya really is quite pathetic, unable to handle even one woman. You, Ryou, taking her by force has much more of that underworld spirit than Jiraiya."
Feeling humiliated by his own Summoned Beast, Jiraiya's face soured as he yelled at Bunta, "Bunta, stop talking nonsense and get moving!"
Bunta looked at Ryou and drew his large cleaver. "Ryou, we all know about the Eye of the Moon Plan. There's no future in following Uchiha Madara. No matter how many people you cut down for him, it will all come to nothing in the end."
"You'd be better off hanging with me; I'll take you along to cut people down!"
Ryou shook his head in refusal, though he actually agreed with Bunta's point.
No matter how much merit he earned for Madara, it would be useless, because the world Madara intended to build was a world of Genjutsu.
Ryou could already get everything he wanted in reality; he had no enthusiasm for the world of Infinite Tsukuyomi.
He defected from Konoha precisely because he wanted to make a change.
He researched Forbidden Jutsu just because he wanted to be healthy and have access to things like ultrasounds.
At his core, he was just an ordinary, worldly man.
Life is a bundle of desires; when they are satisfied, there is emptiness; when they are not, there is pain.
Like a pendulum, it swings back and forth between emptiness and pain.