[Omniscient - POV]
The roar of the crowd hadn't even settled when the proctor's voice cut across the arena, amplified with chakra. "Versus Jiraiya!"
The reaction from his teammates was instant.
Tsunade shot him a wide smile "You got this, Jiraiya. Don't embarrass us out there!"
While Orochimaru had a small grin, giving a nod. "What she said..."
Their certainty should've made him more confident, but it didn't. Jiraiya, gazing towards Hiruzen, saw him with a casual smirk. The air in this room felt a little heavy for his liking, but it was manageable.
"Jiraiya," he said lightly, "Just so you're aware, several clan heads, elders, and a number of high-ranking officials are here. All watching."
'What the fuck?' He thought the nervousness from before had completely disappeared.
The shock seemed to have worked.
"Wow, thanks…Sensei. I really could've gone without knowing that." His deadpan voice made the group laugh.
As he got ready to head down, a thought struck him. The memory of the original anime hit him, reminding him of Kakashi bringing Sasuke down to the arena. It did look quite cool and especially with a Hokage doing it?
Oh yeah.
While his goal isn't to aura farm... Nothing says he couldn't
"Hey, sensei," he said, leaning in with a suspicious smile. "Do me a favour. Flicker me down there."
Hiruzen blinked. "…What?"
"You know. For the style points..."
"No."
"Come on."
"Fine."
Hiruzen, who wanted Jiraiya to already head down there folded at the second attempt. The Hokage, in an instant, appeared behind the white haired kid, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"Sensei gave in quickly," Tsunade muttered in amusement.
They both reappeared in the centre of the arena in a flash of motion, boots slamming into the packed dirt. His red armor clanked at the speed they moved.
The audience gasped.
"Lord Third's student!"
"Whoa, look down there!"
"I see Lord Third, too!"
Across the grassy field, Shinku Yuhi had furrowed eyebrows seeing this. The arena was very green with the outer edges looking like the entrance to a forest, while near the middle, had just a few trees.
Jiraiya, who looked back up at the spectating seats as Hiruzen left, saw how high up and intimidating the sight was. This didn't last long as he had to look back to focus.
The proctor stepped forward once both boys stood on level ground.
'Let's use his genjutsu speciality against him... If he knows what's real and what's fake, that could work.' Jiraiya thought, narrowing his eyes. Beforehand, Jiraiya made up some scenarios in his head of about what he would try to do against everyone on the tournament.
While not full blown plans, there were some ideas brewing over the month.
The atmosphere of the crowd cheering were now nothing but background noise as the two boys locked into each other.
"Match… begin!"
The instant the proctor's arm sliced downward, giving the signal to begin.
Shinku Yuhi didn't waste a second pulling out three kunai out of his pouch and throwing them. Jiraiya seeing this, took out kunai of his own and looked closely at the thrown kunai.
'One has a paper bomb.' His eyes widen.
His focus returned to the tagged kunai heading his way as two of his own kunai hit two. Unfortunately for Jiraiya, one of the kunai missed but was headed towards Shinku.
Because of this, he was forced to dodge.
Tiger
Shinku veered sharply right, dodging a kunai, his own hands flashing through a single Rat seal.
[Body Flicker]
*BOOM!*
An explosion just where Jiraiya was a moment ago made a huge dust cloud, which hindered Shinku's vision. Fortunately for him, he was also a sensor and quickly pinpointed Jiraiya behind the dust. Sensing his opponent's chakra mould itself.
'I can't let him set up.' Shinku thought of throwing some shuriken.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the dust cloud, it started to go away. The shuriken were soon visible as
Jiraiya ran forward and dodged.
Ram → Snake → Tiger
[Clone Technique]
Two copies of Jiraiya appeared.
Tiger → Dog → Rat
[Afterimage Clone]
Another two joined in making it a five man charge.
Tiger
[Shadow Clone]
As he made the final hand seal, the number of Jiraiya's was still five as he hid among his afterimage clones.
Shinku started to use his sensing ability and frowned at what he was able to see.
'Two clones, two unstable clones and the real one?' He thought. There wasn't much time to think as he ignored the rest, making hand signs of his own. In a battle like this, there wasn't any time to contemplate questions.
Dog → Snake → Monkey → Ox → Tiger
[Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death]
One Jiraiya stopped right in its tracks, body tensed, eyes closed as it was placed in a Genjutsu.
Unfortunately for one of them, it ended up being a shadow clone. Shinku, who saw the "real" one, stopped.
Pulled out his ninjato and dashed forward wanting to attack, but to his surprise, the other four clones kept on moving.
'Wait, what? Why didn't they disappear... Wait, two of the unstable clones have some weight to them!'
Shinku, who hesitated, saw four Jiraiya charge at him, as he dodged a flying kick from an afterimage and slashed one which hit nothing but air. Another came from his blind side.
A punch from the afterimage clone hit his right shoulder, making his eyes widen as he retreated.
The real Jiraiya, who got the hit in, proceeded to flawlessly leave his afterimage clone by using the body flicker without a seal, as the four clones were now gone.
Shinku, now unable to focus, made it so the Genjutsu on the shadow clone disappeared.
The shadow clone, in a hurry, hurled three kunai at Shinku, not letting him rest, forcing him back away further. The momentum shifted abruptly, and the crowd above let out a ripple of excited noise as the rhythm of the fight reversed.
"He's on the back foot!"
"Jiraiya, get in there!"
Shinku didn't panic. He inhaled sharply, now thinking to himself that he couldn't underestimate lord third's student. With these thoughts in his head, his sensing ability activated.
"Hm?!" A signature was behind him, using a tree to stay away. The Jiraiya who was behind this tree stump threw two kunai with wired attached at the ends.
Jiraiya's trap tightened instantly, wires coiling like steel snakes.
But Shinkū was faster than Jiraiya expected.
Tiger → Boar
[Body Replacement Technique]
His body snapped out of existence, replaced by a thick log wrapped in wire. Even from his hiding spot, Jiraiya felt his breath hitch.
'What fast seal weaving speed.' Some sweat was going down Jiraiya's face as he let go of the wires, knowing they were useless now.
A puff of smoke erupted where the real Jiraiya had been a second earlier, making it appear as if a shadow clone dispersed under pressure.
"Was that a shadow clone?"
"Damn, so the first Jiraiya was the real one!?"
Some spectators even commented on it. But the truth was far more dangerous.
Jiraiya hadn't popped.
He had vanished.
Using the Transparent Escape Technique, he slipped into complete invisibility, lowering his presence while the shadow clone kept Shinku busy. Unfortunately for him, while Shinku was distracted, he didn't know the guy was a sensor.
Shinku sensed again, eyes narrowing as he felt the original chakra signature still near the same position.
'He didn't leave…? Which one is the real body.' His thoughts stopped as he dodged a left hook, then slashed at the shadow clone.
*Poof*
Quickly turning around, the sound of a whistling kunai could be heard from Shinku's point of view. Jiraiya, who threw the kunai, made a rat hand sign.
*Boom!*
"He faked a fake shadow clone!" An audience member shouted out.
Shinku leapt aside with admirable reflex, but he couldn't fully escape. Sending him rolling across the grass. Dirt kicked up around him as he tumbled, his vision swimming with the shock.
The stadium reacted immediately with gasps, whispers, and everybody's breath stuck.
Jiraiya, who saw this, knew it was time to strike.
Snake
[Lightning Release: Body Enhancement]
He sprinted at full speed, lightning chakra surging through his limbs.
Shinku staggered.
Still recovering from the partial blast, his breath uneven and his stance unsteady. Jiraiya didn't waste the moment as he got right in front of his opponent, ready to attack.
Shinku straightened his body, ready to react to anything Jiraiya did. But unfortunately for him. His speed wasn't enough. Jiraiya dipped his weight low and drove his foot outward in a precise oblique kick, slamming into the left knee.
"UGH!"
The impact forced Shinku's legs to buckle inward, stealing the foundation of his stance and sending his balance into freefall. It was almost like his legs were a noodle.
Pain flashed across the poor guy's face as he stumbled backwards, desperately trying to swing his ninjato.
Jiraiya's right fist snapped forward after a clean dodge. A compact, clean jab straight into the jawline.
*SMACK!*
The hit sent a jolt through Shinkū's body.
His limbs locked.
His eyes unfocused as he started to fall down. Not before Jiraiya, still attacking, went in for a kick straight to the head.
Before this could happen, the proctor flickered between the strikes. Holding the leg in place while saving Shinku from a painful fall.
"The winner of the first fight is Jiraiya!"
The proctor's voice echoed across the field, and the crowd burst open in a roar.
The cheers hit him like a wave.
"Dad, look, that guy is knocked out."
"That punch was crisp."
"As expected of lord third's student!"
"I want your kids, Jiraiya!"
Even among the more stoic clan seats, heads nodded, murmurs passed, eyebrows raised in genuine approval. It was, in all, an impressive display which made even Hiruzen gleam in a cocky smirk.
'That's my boy!' Hiruzen thought smugly.
Jiraiya let out a long breath, half relief, half exhilaration. Then performed a smooth Body Flicker. A ripple of wind, a blur, and he reappeared beside his team.
"Let's go, Jiraiya!" Tsunade shouts, walking up to him with her hand held out high. Seeing the hand, he went in for a high five, then soon after gave Orochimaru one.
"As expected," Orochimaru says in approval.
The cheers still echoed across the stadium, but now a new tone cut through them. It was time for the next battle to commence.
"Next match!" he announced, voice carrying above the fading noise.
The crowd quieted.
"Orochimaru… versus. Tsunade Senju!"
Jiraiya blinked.
'Oh, common sensei, at least rig the match-ups for us better...' Jiraiya thought to himself in a joking manner. This was quite the unfortunate outcome.