Naruto: Starting with Infinite Chakra

"What the hell is Jiraiya thinking? Why would he run straight into the forest like that? Is he deliberately making himself a target?"

Tsunade clenched her fists again as she watched Jiraiya's actions.

To her, entering the forest was a death wish. In such an environment, it would be nearly impossible to evade attacks, especially against the Aburame Clan's insects. Their small size and the forest's abundant cover made them exceptionally hard to detect and counter. Every leaf could be hiding an insect ready to strike.

"This is the right move for Jiraiya," Hiruzen Sarutobi said, his sharp eyes immediately understanding Jiraiya's intent. "He doesn't have any sensory techniques. His best chance is to close the distance and observe Ryoma as he casts a jutsu. That way, he might sense him and counterattack, forcing Ryoma into the open. It's the only way he has even a sliver of a chance to win."

"I thought Jiraiya would just give up," Orochimaru remarked, a rare note of surprise in his voice. "I didn't expect him to actually fight back."

"Maybe he'll surprise us," Hiruzen added, a hint of anticipation in his tone.

"What kind of surprise could he possibly give us?" Tsunade snorted dismissively.

Whizz! Whizz!

No sooner had Jiraiya entered the forest than two kunai gleaming with cold light flew straight toward him.

Reacting quickly, Jiraiya drew the shuriken hanging at his waist and slashed at the incoming weapons.

Clang!

A sharp metallic sound echoed as the kunai were deflected, falling harmlessly to the ground.

Standing on a sturdy tree branch, Jiraiya scanned his surroundings but found no trace of Ryoma. The dense foliage obscured his vision, making it almost impossible to see far.

I didn't expect him to have the guts to follow me in here, Ryoma muttered, crouching beneath a layer of fallen leaves.

Covered by a swarm of gray insects masking his presence, Ryoma lay hidden, watching Jiraiya's every move. From his sleeve, a group of black insects with translucent wings emerged and silently burrowed into the forest floor, crawling toward Jiraiya's position without making a sound.

"Not having any sensory jutsu is a real pain," Jiraiya thought, leaping from tree to tree, his eyes constantly searching for any sign of Ryoma. If he had Wind Release: Wind Web, this wouldn't be such a blind pursuit.

The insects moved quickly, keeping pace with Jiraiya despite his rapid movements.

Just as Jiraiya leapt from one tree to another, Ryoma formed hand seals at lightning speed.

"Ninja Art: Insect Rope."

The insects lurking beneath the leaves suddenly took flight, their wings buzzing as they surged upward. Chakra threads connected them, weaving into a thin, flexible rope that shot toward Jiraiya mid-air, wrapping tightly around him.

Caught in mid-leap, Jiraiya couldn't dodge. The timing of Ryoma's attack was flawless, leaving Jiraiya no room to maneuver.

The insect rope coiled around Jiraiya, binding his arms and body. Unable to form hand seals, he plummeted to the ground. The insects crawled all over him, tightening the rope until he was completely immobilized.

"Once a ninja loses the ability to form seals, they're no different from a regular person," Ryoma said quietly, a smirk of victory on his face.

But in the next instant, his expression froze in shock. The Jiraiya he had trapped vanished in a puff of smoke—it was just a shadow clone.

"What?! When did this happen?" Ryoma's eyes widened in disbelief. His insects had been monitoring Jiraiya the entire time. How could he have missed the substitution?

"Sensei, when did Jiraiya use a shadow clone?" Tsunade asked, equally baffled.

Hiruzen smiled faintly. "He used it the moment he entered the forest. What you've been watching all this time was never his real body—it was the clone."

When Jiraiya first entered the forest, he'd quickly assessed the situation. Surrounded by trees, he had used a shadow clone and hidden his real body behind a trunk. Unlike the Hyūga Clan, the Aburame didn't have the Byakugan's near-omniscient sight, which allowed Jiraiya to remain undetected.

"Sensei, Jiraiya had less than a second in that blind spot to execute the shadow clone jutsu. Are you saying he performed it that quickly?" Orochimaru asked, his face unusually serious.

"That's correct," Hiruzen confirmed. "Jiraiya used the shadow clone jutsu in that fleeting moment. It was a remarkable display of speed and precision, even for me."

Tsunade frowned, still skeptical.

"Are you sure? When we trained together, Jiraiya couldn't even get the hand seals right! And now you're telling me he can execute the technique in less than a second?"

"This is harder to believe than Jiraiya going a week without peeping at the women's bathhouse," she muttered.

"It's hard to believe, but he did it," Danzo said, stepping forward, his tone equally astonished.

Meanwhile, the real Jiraiya had already closed the distance to Ryoma. Sensing the chakra disturbance from the insect rope, he had used the Body Flicker Technique to get closer. As he moved, his hands blurred through a series of seals.

"Fire Style: Flame Bullet!"

A searing fireball shot from Jiraiya's mouth, blazing toward Ryoma with intense heat.

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