Naruto: Wood-Wood Fruit

"Giant Rasengan!"

"Boom, Boom!"

Splinters of wood flew everywhere.

One giant tree vine after another shattered, exploding in all directions.

Jiraiya dashed forward, deftly leaping from branch to branch, crossing over the massive swamp he'd created earlier, his gaze locked on Kiyoshi ahead.

Around him, countless vines twisted and surged like an endless tide, continuously sprouting and attacking with relentless fury. Yet, he dodged nimbly, inching ever closer to Kiyoshi.

Twenty meters, fifteen meters, ten meters…

Then…

His hands finished weaving signs.

"Ninja Art: Wild Lion's Mane Jutsu!"

Jiraiya's waist-length white hair surged, growing rapidly at a speed visible to the eye.

With a flash, his hair shot forward like it had a mind of its own, slicing through the air toward Kiyoshi.

"Hair?" Kiyoshi watched as the steel-like strands whipped toward him, sharp as needles.

He smirked.

With a deep breath, he gathered Fire Release chakra in his mouth.

"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!"

"Boom!"

A massive dragon-shaped flame roared to life, painting the sky in blazing red.

The inferno hurtled toward Jiraiya's mane, radiating scorching heat waves.

"What?"

Jiraiya's hair, unable to retract in time, was swallowed by the fire, which began advancing swiftly along his lengthy mane toward him.

"Fire Release?"

Jiraiya's expression shifted.

Without hesitation, he severed his hair at the midpoint, cutting it off before the flames could consume it entirely.

The remaining hair whipped back, recoiling immediately.

Then, he pushed off the ground with all his might, springing sideways to avoid the blazing fire by a narrow margin.

Crackle… The flames shot up, and thick smoke billowed around.

But Jiraiya had no chance to catch his breath.

A mass of vines lunged at him, forcing him to dodge desperately.

"Oh, by the way, Jiraiya."

Watching Jiraiya dodge with some difficulty, Tsunade crossed her arms, a smile of amusement on her face.

She reminded him, "I forgot to mention that Kiyoshi's chakra control far surpasses mine. 

His mastery of Wood Release even exceeds that of the First Hokage, and he doesn't need to perform hand signs to cast most jutsus."

"What?"

Jiraiya froze.

He stared in shock at Kiyoshi.

Casting jutsu without hand signs?

Sure, there were techniques like the Rasengan that didn't require hand signs, but Tsunade's phrase, "most jutsus," clearly excluded those exceptions.

What kind of monster was this?

"Well…"

Seeing the disbelief on Jiraiya's face, Tsunade couldn't help but smirk.

"..my student might be more talented than your Minato, right?"

Jiraiya's mouth twitched.

In his eyes, Minato was his greatest student, a true genius who achieved the rank of Hokage at a young age and even surpassed him.

But young Minato…

Couldn't have done anything as absurd as what this kid, Ishikawa Kiyoshi, was doing.

"He is indeed an exceptional prodigy." 

Jiraiya forced a wry smile, glancing over at Tsunade before his face grew serious.

He bit down on his thumb, drawing blood.

He prepared to use Summoning Jutsu.

He no longer dared to underestimate Kiyoshi, treating him as a true opponent.

If he acted too cocky and lost to a kid, it would utterly ruin his reputation as the "Toad Sage." 

He'd never hear the end of it from Tsunade.

Suddenly—

The vines halted.

Jiraiya, catching his breath, was stunned.

"Rustle… rustle."

"What's that?"

Only then did he realize, with some shock, that all around him in the lush, thriving forest, colorful trumpet-shaped flowers were blossoming at an alarming speed, all facing toward him.

Not only was he shocked, but Tsunade, Karin, Shizune, and the others all watched with fascination as the brilliant flowers, about the size of a palm, bloomed in every direction.

"Isn't that my grandfather's jutsu…. Deep Forest Bloom?" Tsunade's eyes widened in surprise. "No… it doesn't seem quite the same."

"Warm-up ends here."

Kiyoshi observed Jiraiya, arms folded, calm as ever. Smiling, he asked, "Are you ready for what comes next?"

But his voice carried an unmistakably ominous edge.

"Warm-up?" Jiraiya's heart skipped a beat.

All that was just a warm-up?

Was he kidding?

But there was no time to think.

In the next instant, Kiyoshi made his move.

"Crackle."

Blinding bolts of lightning flickered to life.

The unassuming, ordinary-looking trumpet flower closest to Jiraiya suddenly lit up with intense brightness, almost impossible to look at directly.

A faint but menacing aura spread out, filling the air.

"What?"

Jiraiya's eyes widened in horror.

Every instinct screamed of danger.

Without hesitation, he retreated.

"Swoosh—"

Just as he moved, a beam of terrifying lightning shot from the flower, tearing through the air and hurtling toward the spot where Jiraiya had been standing just moments before.

"Boom, Boom!"

The ground erupted, leaving a gaping crater, charred and blackened, a terrifying sight.

"Lightning Release?"

Jiraiya, barely escaping, was drenched in sweat.

Looking around at the sea of trumpet flowers surrounding him, a chill ran down his spine.

"Could these flowers also…?"

"What is…"

Shizune and Karin froze, utterly stunned.

"He combined all five elemental styles with Wood Release to create a completely new jutsu."

Even Tsunade, as his teacher, was taken aback.

Staring at the countless flowers scattered across the forest, she couldn't help but gape. 

"This brat!"

She rubbed her temples in disbelief.

And silently offered her condolences to Jiraiya.

"Swoosh… swoosh."

Suddenly—

The air was filled with the sound of whistling.

One ferocious wind bullet after another shot out from the trumpet flowers all around, hurtling toward Jiraiya with deadly accuracy.

If Danzo were here, he would surely recognize them.

These wind bullets shooting from the trumpet flowers were unmistakably his signature Wind Release Jutsu—Vacuum Sphere.

"What?"

In that split second, Jiraiya's face turned pale.

He rapidly formed hand signs, shouting, "Ninja Art: Needle Jizo."

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