Naruto: Manipulation-Chapter 127: Jiraiya vs. Shigen!

Black Zetsu was losing it.

He had completely entered an anti-Ashura paranoia mode.

Shigen never expected this. Perhaps his past performances had been too convincing—his relentless efforts to push Naruto Uzumaki toward growth had somehow led Black Zetsu to believe he had once again fallen into an Ashura rhetoric trap.

What's so great about Ashura anyway?

Besides being good with words, what else could they do?

As Black Zetsu gritted his teeth in frustration, Shigen and Jiraiya were already standing in Konoha's training field.

"Go, Shigen!"

"Go, Jiraiya-sensei!"

Naruto cheered loudly from the sidelines.

The only problem was... he was rooting for both sides.

The kid seemed to have no inner conflict about this at all—both of them were important to him, so he didn't seem to favor either.

"Let's start."

Shigen raised his fingers into a seal, perfectly familiar with the etiquette of ninja duels.

"I hope my fighting style won't be too difficult for you to adapt to..."

"I've always wanted to see..."

"...the skills of a shinobi from ancient times."

Jiraiya's lips curled into a smile, but as he formed his own seal, his nerves instinctively tensed.

Though his former student, Nagato, had possessed the Rinnegan, and he understood some of its abilities—such as mastery over all chakra natures—

...still, the young Nagato...

...was nowhere near the level of power Shigen possessed.

But then again...

Maybe there was no need to be overly cautious.

Since Shigen had an Edo Tensei body, Jiraiya didn't have to hold back at all. He could use any technique freely.

For someone trying to gather intel on Shigen, this was an ideal scenario!

"I should apologize in advance..."

Jiraiya smirked as he voiced his thoughts, "I've always wanted to test Lord Shigen's strength, so I might..."

"No need."

Shigen remained utterly unbothered, as magnanimous as ever.

"I'm also curious about the power of Mount Myōboku's summoning contract wielder. Whether it's your summons or Sage Mode, feel free to use them all."

"..."

Jiraiya's expression turned slightly awkward.

After all, he wasn't exactly a master of Sage Mode yet—activating it still took him some time.

But since Shigen was giving him the opportunity to fight at full strength, he wasn't about to waste it.

A gentle breeze stirred.

A single leaf drifted to the ground.

In that instant, Jiraiya moved—swiftly retreating backward while forming hand seals at incredible speed!

In battle, probing with long-range ninjutsu was often the safest approach.

Normally, such tactics could be seen as a waste of chakra, but against Shigen, conserving chakra was meaningless!

After all—

He had mastered all chakra natures.

And he could unleash powerful jutsu without even forming seals.

Jiraiya had to gauge the strength of his ninjutsu!

"Fire Release: Dragon Flame Bullet!"

Jiraiya inhaled deeply, gathering fire-natured chakra before exhaling a raging inferno toward Shigen!

The flames surged like a fire dragon, expanding its wings to envelop Shigen in a sea of fire!

"So strong!"

Naruto's eyes lit up. He had never seen such a powerful Fire Release technique before!

But in the next moment—

A tidal wave surged forth to meet the fire!

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A massive wall of swirling water rose around Shigen, forming a circular barrier that instantly extinguished the fire dragon.

"Just as I thought..."

Jiraiya's eyes narrowed.

Shigen hadn't formed a single hand seal.

There was no nearby water source.

And yet, he had conjured such a large-scale Water Release jutsu.

This was exactly what the intelligence reports had described.

However...

Judging by the power of the Water Release alone...

Jiraiya felt slightly reassured.

Shigen's Water Release wasn't overwhelmingly powerful.

"It's not as strong as I imagined..."

Jiraiya exhaled slightly, recalling the details of Edo Tensei.

"His chakra is unlimited, allowing him to spam ninjutsu endlessly—that's why he's so dangerous in prolonged combat..."

And sure enough!

Just as he expected, Shigen didn't hold back—one after another, waves of fire jutsu surged toward him, their relentless assault unhindered by any concern for chakra consumption.

However...

Their power...

...was about the same as his own Fire Release.

Orochimaru's Edo Tensei was imperfect.

Even though Shigen had strengthened his body with Hashirama's cells, his chakra reserves were still only around S-rank.

This severely limited his strength.

But...

He made up for it in sheer quantity.

The temperature in the training field soared.

A massive wall of fire swept toward Jiraiya like a raging tsunami, threatening to engulf him completely!

Naruto's eyes widened in horror!

"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"

Jiraiya's forehead beaded with sweat as he rapidly formed hand seals and slammed his palms to the ground!

A massive earthen wall erupted from the ground, shielding him from the flames.

But even so, the fire scorched and shattered parts of the wall—just barely stopping Shigen's relentless assault!

In the brief moment of reprieve, Jiraiya's mind raced.

Then—

A bolt of lightning suddenly tore through the wall!

Boom!

A surge of water burst through the opening, demolishing what remained of his defense!

"He's too fast..."

Jiraiya retreated hastily, evaluating Shigen's level of threat.

Unending jutsu.

No seals required.

If he couldn't overpower him quickly, this battle would be impossible to win.

On a battlefield...

Shigen would be an absolute nightmare—

Even more troublesome than some Jinchūriki.

After all, tailed beasts needed time to gather chakra for their Bijūdama.

Shigen?

He could fire off jutsu instantly.

No wonder the Great Toad Sage saw him as a force capable of reshaping the ninja world...

Jiraiya had no choice but to find a solution.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

Jiraiya bit his thumb, formed hand seals, and slammed his hand onto the ground.

A massive summoning array spread across the battlefield.

"Bunta!"

A colossal toad emerged in a cloud of smoke, its body wrapped in bandages, a massive short blade at its side, and a pipe clenched between its lips.

Gamabunta.

Jiraiya's most trusted summon.

Without waiting for an explanation, Gamabunta immediately noticed Jiraiya's predicament.

Ninjutsu rained down upon them.

Instinctively, the giant toad leaped high into the air, trying to escape the storm of jutsu.

"Don't run too far!"

Jiraiya shouted, "Dodge the attacks and charge straight in!"

A direct strike—

That was the best way to end this fight!

"Got it!"

Gamabunta clenched his short blade, maneuvering through the barrage of ninjutsu as he approached Shigen.

Even so, the sheer number of attacks made it impossible to advance unscathed.

But the moment he got close—

Gamabunta raised his massive blade and slashed downward with all his might!

"Summoned creatures, huh?"

Shigen didn't move.

He simply lifted his hand—

And an enormous chakra scalpel, tens of meters long, materialized in his grasp!

The greenish-blue blade clashed against Gamabunta's sword!

The toad recoiled in shock.

He had never imagined a human could match his strength!

The last time he had encountered such raw power...

...was from Tsunade.

Boom!

Gamabunta was forced back!

But before he could recover, Shigen's blade flashed again!

A thin, precise cut traced across the battlefield—

Gamabunta barely parried in time, his body accumulating multiple wounds!

"Damn..."

Jiraiya gritted his teeth as he watched—Shigen's swordsmanship was so refined that even Gamabunta struggled to keep up.

And worse—

Shigen was holding back.

Jiraiya had no doubt—if he wanted to, Shigen could have decapitated Gamabunta in a single strike.

"Jiraiya!"

Gamabunta groaned, wounded.

"Use it!"

Jiraiya's hands blurred into seals.

At the same time—

Gamabunta gathered chakra in his mouth.

Together, they unleashed their signature combination attack!

"Fire Release: Toad Oil Flame Bullet!"

A blazing inferno erupted toward Shigen!

This time—

There was no Water Release capable of stopping it!

"Shigen!"

Naruto gasped in alarm.

The flames raged toward their target.

But Shigen...

Didn't move.

Instead, he calmly raised his palm.

"...Finished warming up?"

"Sealing Jutsu: Absorption Seal."

A glowing vortex formed in his hand—

And the entire firestorm was devoured.

"What... the hell..."

Jiraiya and Gamabunta watched in horror.

Even the grass around Shigen remained untouched.

A ninja who could spam jutsu endlessly.

A ninja who could absorb any jutsu.

A ninja with infinite chakra.

Jiraiya clutched his head.

This was a nightmare.

And then—

A new energy surged around Shigen.

"...That's..."

"Sage Chakra."

Jiraiya's voice fell to a whisper.

"...Can he use Sage Mode... infinitely?"

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