Facing Teizawa's attack, Jiraiya sidestepped and dodged.
His elbow slammed toward Teizawa's chest.
Their bodies crossed beneath the moonlight.
They moved so fast the naked eye could barely follow them.
Fists, feet, elbows, knees—every strike carried enough force to shatter wood and crush stone.
Every blow would have broken the bones and torn the tendons of an ordinary person.
"Not bad…"
Jiraiya shouted and hammered a fist into Teizawa's arm.
The two of them retreated several steps at the same time.
He shook out his hand and flexed his numbed joints.
This young man's taijutsu was actually no weaker than his own.
But Jiraiya still had not gone all out.
"Warm-up's over…"
His voice dropped, and he began forming hand seals.
"Ninja Art: Needle Jizō!"
His white hair stood on end, each strand turning sharp as a steel needle and stabbing outward in every direction.
He charged toward Teizawa, far faster than before.
His whole body looked like a giant hedgehog rolling forward.
Teizawa did not retreat. He rushed straight at him.
At that moment, the regenerative power of his Wood Release body showed itself in full.
The instant his palm was pierced by the white hair, it healed.
The instant it healed, it was pierced again.
Blood splashed, then stopped almost immediately.
Teizawa drove a punch into Jiraiya's chest.
The white ball of spikes was sent flying dozens of meters backward.
Boom…
Jiraiya smashed into a massive tree.
The trunk snapped with a sharp crack.
He rose from the splintered wood, his expression turning grave.
This young man's physique was far stronger than he had imagined.
His self-healing ability was terrifying as well.
Did he possess some kind of special constitution too?
"Ninja Art: Wild Lion's Mane Technique!"
Jiraiya's white hair grew explosively, moving as if it were alive.
It transformed into countless thick ropes and wrapped toward Teizawa.
Teizawa did not dodge.
He allowed the white hair to bind him into a tight bundle.
Jiraiya pulled with both hands, trying to fling him away.
Only to find that Teizawa did not budge at all.
"Magnet Release: Iron Sand Needles."
Countless black iron sand needles shot out from Teizawa's body.
They shredded the white hair into pieces.
Jiraiya hurriedly withdrew his long hair and stepped back.
A blue chakra sphere gathered in his palm.
Rasengan!
Teizawa rushed straight into Jiraiya's Rasengan.
He did not use any ninjutsu.
He simply relied on the regenerative power of his Wood Release body and took the attack head-on.
The Rasengan exploded against his chest.
His clothes tore apart. His skin was burned.
But the wounds healed in the blink of an eye.
"How is that possible…"
Jiraiya's pupils contracted sharply.
He had never seen healing ability like this.
It was even faster and more terrifying than Tsunade's Strength of a Hundred Technique.
And it required no hand seals.
No chakra expenditure.
"My turn."
Lightning Release chakra gathered in Teizawa's right hand.
"Lightning Spear…"
Silver lightning burst through the darkness.
It illuminated both of their solemn faces.
Jiraiya barely twisted aside in time.
The lightning brushed past his cheek and blasted a crater several meters wide into the ground behind him.
Broken stones flew. Dust billowed into the air.
The smell of scorching filled the night.
"That was close…"
Jiraiya touched his cheek. A shallow burn marked the skin there, and a thin bead of blood seeped out.
He took a deep breath and pressed his hands together.
The chakra in his body began to undergo a qualitative change.
He was about to enter Sage Mode.
Teizawa did not give him the chance.
Magnetic force surged beneath Teizawa's feet, and the ground cracked open.
Countless streams of black iron sand poured out from the fissures.
They turned into countless thin needles and shot violently toward Jiraiya.
Jiraiya hurriedly dodged.
But the iron sand needles chased him as if they had eyes.
No matter how he tried to shake them off, he could not.
No matter how he dodged, he could not escape.
At last, he was forced into a dead end.
He drew in a deep breath.
Just as he prepared to summon the two elder toads of Mount Myōboku and forcibly enter Sage Mode, the ground beneath his feet suddenly vanished.
The earth collapsed.
Teizawa stood at the edge of the sunken ground.
He looked down at Jiraiya in the bottom of the pit.
With a wave of his hand, a mass of iron sand appeared all around the collapsed earth.
At some unknown point, it had already locked Jiraiya's lower body in place.
It was as though Teizawa only needed to move a finger, and Jiraiya would be completely buried beneath the iron sand.
"That technique of yours needs time, doesn't it?" Teizawa said. "But in a real fight, no one gives you time to prepare."
"What sharp battle instincts."
Jiraiya spoke with a grave expression.
Teizawa suddenly smiled. "I know you still have trump cards you haven't used. But I have trump cards too."
"If we keep fighting, I might not be able to hold back."
He did not continue attacking. He merely withdrew his hand.
Jiraiya lay at the bottom of the pit.
His whole body was covered in dust and scrapes.
None of his injuries were serious, but he looked utterly battered.
He fell silent for a moment.
Then he reached out and took Teizawa's hand, gripping it firmly.
"I lost."
He patted the dirt from his body. There was no resentment on his face. Instead, he wore a faint, relieved smile.
"Young man, you're strong. Even stronger than I imagined."
Teizawa said nothing. He only nodded.
His gaze shifted away from Jiraiya.
It landed on the blond boy still crouched in the distance.
Naruto was hiding behind a large boulder.
Both hands covered his mouth, and his eyes were wide and round.
He looked like a startled little fox.
What had he just seen?
Pervy Sage had been defeated…
The Legendary Sannin whom even Orochimaru feared had been defeated by this man?
Naruto's whole body trembled.
Then Teizawa suddenly walked toward him.
Naruto wanted to run.
But his feet seemed rooted to the ground. He could not take a single step.
Teizawa crouched in front of him.
Then he reached out and lightly patted his head.
"Wait. What are you going to do to Naruto?"
Jiraiya suddenly grew tense.
He even began to suspect that Teizawa had come here for Naruto from the very beginning. That the fight had only been a way to temporarily restrain him.
"Don't be afraid." Teizawa ignored him and spoke to Naruto. "It'll be over soon."
At the same time, a genjutsu enveloped Naruto.
Soon, Naruto's pupils lost focus.
His body went limp and collapsed.
Teizawa caught him, letting Naruto lean against his shoulder as he closed his eyes.
Jiraiya finally broke free from the iron sand's restraint and charged over.
He threw a punch straight at Teizawa.
Teizawa dodged with a Body Flicker Technique.
Jiraiya shielded Naruto behind him.
"What did you do to him?"
His voice was sharp and urgent, and his hand had already gone to his kunai.
Teizawa stood up and looked at the anger covering Jiraiya's face. The corner of his mouth lifted slightly.
"Guess."
"You…"
Jiraiya drew his kunai halfway out.
Dirt still clung to the blade.
"Relax. He's fine."
Teizawa shook his head, his tone calm, as if stating the obvious.
"I only took something from inside him. Something that doesn't belong to him, or to you."
Jiraiya's face twitched.
He checked Naruto's body.
Naruto was indeed only asleep.
His breathing was steady. His pulse was normal. There were no signs of injury.
Jiraiya lifted his head and stared hard at Teizawa.
"What exactly did you take?"
Teizawa took a small sealing scroll from his robes and weighed it lightly in his hand.
"A secret."
(End of Chapter)
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