Chapter Text
“Place your best, people! Place your bets! Who’s gonna win? Sannin or King!?” A man called out from atop a box, as villagers flocked to place their bets on the upcoming fight.
In the weeks preceding the anticipated fight of Jiraiya and Oda, the village had become alive with activity. Every shop, restaurant, street vendor, and even normal locals set up booths of all kinds. Food and drink flowed, trinkets were made and sold, and merry was made in the streets as the village was caught in a frenzy. Even the shinobi were not immune to this fever, as many in their off time partook in these various new shops and ventures. However, they were not the only ones at work.
All around the village, various strange booths and stalls were set up by the Seaheartians. Some sold food, of far more ancient and exotic recipes than what people were used to. Some put on shows, using either parlor tricks or even minor magics to make a spectacle. Others set up whole mobile forges to make things on commission. While the shinobi were suspicious and stayed away from these strange newcomers, the people flocked to them in droves. Civilians never did get much excitement in their lives, something the Shinobi worked tirelessly to keep.
As this went on, Naruto led the Hyūga sisters, Sasuke, and the triplets through the main street. All around them were the largest and most impressive stalls, most of which being the Seaheartians. The air was filled with the smell of exotic spices, smoke from forges, and excitement. It gripped Naruto with the biggest grin any of his friends had seen in a long time.
“Come on, guys! We need to get to Ichiraku Ramen before the match!” Naruto yelled, trying to get his friends to move at a faster pace.
“Hold on, idiot. The ramen’s not going anywhere.” Sasuke called out.
“Yes, it is! Two days in a row they were fully out of stock before I even got there! I will not be denied for a third time!” Naruto shot back, before grabbing Hinata and Enten by the wrists and pulling them along.
“N-Naruto, relax!” Enten told her friend, a blush dusting her cheeks.
“I will relax when you two slow pokes get moving! Clock’s a ticking!” Naruto firmly answered her, practically dragging them along at the rate he was going.
“N-Naruto-kun…” Hinata stuttered out, blushing even more than her sister.
“How is it that he hasn’t figured it out yet?” Shinkoku asked.
“I have no idea…” Seikoku sighed, shaking his head.
“I have an answer, but no one wants to accept it.” Sasuke said with a know-it-all tone.
“Shut it, Duck! We need to keep up!” Kei snapped at his Uchiha friend.
“Can it, short stack.” Sasuke growled as he brought up the rear.
However, as the trailing four finally caught up, they found Naruto on his knees despondent. The girls were trying to calm him down, but it was no use. Turning to look at the fabled ramen restaurant, it was stuffed to the gills with people. With throngs waiting their turn. This caused Naruto a most… enthusiastic response.
“Why, gods!? Why have you forsaken me!?” Naruto cried to the heavens, throwing his arms into the air.
“There, there, Naruto-kun…” Hinata said, patting him gently on his shoulder sympathetically.
“There’s always tomorrow…” Enten said before Naruto cut her off.
“There will not be a tomorrow! There will not even be a today! My life is ruined!!” Naruto cried out despondently. “Now I’ll never get the special event Ramen bowl!!!”
“Don’t be so sure, Naruto!” A voice feminine called out to the blonde little boy.
Naruto looked down to where the voice was coming from. Poking out of one of the side doors was the owner’s daughter Ayame, with her eyes covered by a chef’s hat that was too big for her head. In one hand, she had a bowl of exactly the event ramen. The distinct smell of fried chicken gave that away. She then motioned with her other hand for him to come over.
Naruto immediately ran over with the speed of an arrow in flight, looking at the bowl with wide, bright-eyed joy. “You set aside some for me!?” Naruto asked in disbelieving delight.
Ayame smiled as Naruto looked it over. “You bet. One Sagely King Supreme. A large bowl of garlic fried chicken ramen with turtle soup broth.”
“Who in their right mind would eat that?” Sasuke asked dismissively.
“Silence, heathen!” Naruto shouted before bowing politely to accept the bowl.
“Kei. Ayame-chan’s here. Now’s your chance!” Seikoku whispered to his brother, elbowing him.
Kei blushed. “A-Ayame-chan’s here…? H-how’s my hair!? Do I have anything in my teeth…!?” he frantically asked, fussing over his appearance.
“Sei, how many times do I have to tell you? He’s hopeless.” Shinkoku sighed.
“That’s because you don’t believe in him like a good brother should. Have at ‘em, slugger!” Seikoku said chipperly before pushing Kei forward.
Taking a deep breath, Kei smiled his brightest smile and walked over. “H-Hi, Ayame-chan. You look great today. New chef’s hat?” he asked the older girl, clearly nervous.
“Thank you for noticing it, Kei. Unfortunately, it doesn’t want to stay up.” She replied as she moved it up off her eyes.
“I-I like it. It compliments your eyes and hair…” the Kamishini lad nervously said, complimenting her.
“That was delicious!” Naruto yelled after wolfing down his ramen. “Hang on, let me get my wallet.”
“It’s on the house today, Naruto. Your godfather’s competing today for the glory of the village and to test the King of Seaheart.” Ayame told him with a smile before turning to Kei again. “Do you want some too, Kei? I came up with this new recipe myself.”
“You are a natural at this, Ayame-chan!” Naruto yelled chipperly as he handed back the bowl.
“I take it you want another round, Naruto?” Ayame asked with a smile.
“You bet!” Naruto replied with a smile.
“I-I’ll take one too, please…!” Kei nervously piped up.
“Of course. I can have them delivered. Don’t want to make you late for the fight.” Ayame answered with a warm smile.
“You are a saint of the kitchen gods, Ayame-chan!” Naruto told her joyfully as he and his friends headed for the stadium.
“Good thing Naruto is dense, huh sis?” Enten whispered to Hinata.
“H-He’s not that dense, Enten! Kei is just being more subtle about his crush!” Hinata quietly insisted.
“And you are too innocent for your own good.” Enten said as she patted her head.
“Enjoy the match, everyone! And Kei, please stop by and let me know what you think of the recipe afterwards!” Ayame told them as the younger children headed off.
“O-Of course!” Kei answered her as he rushed off with his friends.
“Good job, bro.” Seikoku said with a smile, giving him a punch on the shoulder.
“I did do pretty good, didn’t I…?” Kei asked with a smile.
“Yeah. You were actually able to hold a conversation with her this time without hiding behind something.” Shinkoku teasingly replied.
“Moving on from Kei’s attempt at romance, who do you all think will win?” Sasuke asked, rolling his eyes at his friend's antics.
Kei glared at Sasuke before taking a deep breath. “I have no idea. Honestly, this match could go either way.” he replied, unsure of who would win.
“There’s no way Grandpa Pervy Sage loses!” Naruto snapped, shocking the rest of them with his level of fervency.
“I dunno, Naruto. The King of Seaheart’s pretty powerful.” Seikoku replied.
“He’ll win! Nobody’s stronger than him!” Naruto firmly insisted.
“What about against Lord Third?” Sasuke asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow.
“You know the old man’s past his prime! He may still be strong, but Grandpa Pervy Sage can take him!” Naruto insisted, fully confident in his godfather/surrogate grandfather’s strength.
Meanwhile, At the Stadium: In the Home Team Tunnel
“I’m beginning to have my doubts about this. Orochimaru, have you found out anything about this guy?” Jiraiya asked as he stared out into the empty arena.
“Unfortunately, no, Jiraiya. The people of Seaheart are being surprisingly tightly lipped. All I know is that he is a master of this ‘magic’ they speak of. That and the fact that the Kamishini say that magic is even stronger than their Divine Chakra.” Orochimaru informed his old friend, a look of curiosity on his face at these facts.
“I’ve never known you to be this nervous Jiraiya. Are you feeling okay?” Tsunade asked, crossing her hands with worry.
“I’m fine, Tsunade. As a spymaster, I just don’t like going into a fight blind.” Jiraiya told her.
“I suppose that explains why the Toad Sage is a bit ‘jumpy’ today.” Orochimaru said with a knowing smile, causing a groan from Jiraiya.
“How about this for motivation, you old fool: If you win, I’ll finally take you up on that offer for a date.” Tsunade told her old friend, trying to motivate him.
This made Jiraiya’s eyes widen and he slowly turned to look at her. “Are you serious?” He asked.
“As serious as a shark attack in the Land of Water, Jiraiya. I’ve got a thousand Ryo riding on you for this match.” Tsunade told him.
“That doesn’t sound that encouraging…” Orochimaru muttered, getting a glare out of Tsunade.
Tsunade shrugged. “I have so much confidence in his skills that I’m willing to risk my bad gambling luck to make this bet. I’ll even add in flashing him the girls if he wins if it’ll help motivate him more.” she replied simply.
This got Jiraiya to smile his signature wide grin. With a prize to fight for, he stared back into the empty arena, determined to make this the fight of his life.
Meanwhile: In the Away Team Tunnel
King Oda cracked his neck as he limbered himself up for the match. Duan and Sato stood behind him. What stood out to them was the fact that their older brother had eschewed his armor, only bearing his shield and gauntlets. Instead, he wore free flowing robes of emerald-green with platinum stitching’s.
“Even in the most important fight of your life, you’re still flaunting your best robes?” Sato asked in confusion.
“Our brother dresses for success at all times. At least he will look good for a potential funeral.” Duan replied with a smile.
“I appreciate your support so much, Duan.” King Oda sarcastically replied.
“Anything for you, dearest brother.” Duan answered with a bow.
“Why aren’t you wearing your armor?” Sato asked, rolling his eyes at his vampiric brother's antics.
“These shinobi thrive on highly mobile combat. All my armor will do in this battle is slow me down and keep me from landing a blow. Dressing for speed, rather than defense, would be the better course of action. And, since we do not know enough about these shinobi in terms of their abilities to gauge the Toad Sage’s strength, compared to myself or even other shinobi, I’ll need every advantage I can get.” King Oda explained to his brothers.
“May the fortunes guide you to victory, brother.” Sato said with a bow.
“Give it your all, brother.” Duan said with a warm smile.
“Thank you. All right, here I go…” King Oda said before taking a deep breath.
“Hey, Hey, all you in Kono-ha!!!” A loud, energetic voice came from over the speakers. “Who’s ready to get this party started!!?”
The crowd roared with excitement as the voice continued. “Today, we got the exhibition of the century! Two titans ready to bash, smash, and crash their way into our hearts and minds! To start, the Hometown Hero, the Titan of Toads, the Savior of the Hot Spring Mania, Lord Jiraiya of the Sannin!!!!” the voice shot out, causing an eruption of cheers to come from the audience.
A puff of smoke appeared from the entrance of the hometown tunnel, as Jiraiya appeared, taking his customary broad stance. Fanning his arms, he began to pump up the crowd. From there he let out a grand proclamation.
“Thanks for the introduction, Pop Lee! People of Konoha and foreigners of all ages, prepare yourselves! Before you stands the one and only Mighty Toad Sage of the Hidden Leaf! The wise and whimsical man whose great feats make the ladies swoon and silences crying infants! Stand and present yourselves before my awesomeness!” Jiraiya called out, leaping up and clapping his wooden geta together twice before landing on his feet and whipping his hair around.
The crowds cheering soon peaked into a deafening cacophony. “He’s fired up and raring to go! I haven’t seen this much fire since my ex-wife left me! And in the other corner, awoken from a thousand-year beauty nap! The Champion of the Heavens, the Lord of Dragons, the Militia King himself, King Oda Shang!!!!” Pop Lee belted out.
“How do I do this?!” King Oda whispered harshly to his brothers.
“Make a big show of it! Just leap out there, slam your shield into the ground, and land on one knee!” Duan told him.
With a nod Oda made a mighty leap, barely avoiding hitting his head on the keystone of the tunnel entrance. Turning it into a forward backflip, he then threw his shield into the ground. Then, intentionally making himself denser with iron runes in his legs, he slammed down hard into the ground, cratering it on impact while impressively landing impressively on one knee. The crowd roared with approval at the entrance, whipped into a frenzy by the titanic display.
“Lords and ladies of Konoha! It is a great honor for me to be in front of you today, and the honor of this wonderful opportunity! Regardless of the outcome here today, I will ensure that this match will be one for the ages! A true testament to our peoples, and a token of gratitude to our honored ancestors!” King Oda proclaimed.
The crowd roared with cheers, their feet stomping in a ground-shaking cacophony as the spectacle of it all lit a fire in them all. Soon the ref arrived, who Jiraiya recognized as the main referee of the Chūnin Exams Gekkō Hayate. The Jonin looked between the two contestants before looking up at the Hokage box. Inside was every single important member of the village, and the visiting Kage. Kushina, sitting holding a sleeping Kumori, gave him a nod.
He soon raised a white flag. “Begin the match!” Hayate yelled out, dropping the flag, followed by a loud gong.
“Before we begin, I want you to know something, your majesty. I hold you no ill will while participating in this match. I just want to make sure that you and your people will be more than capable of pulling your weight against the coming threats.” Jiraiya explained, a serious look on his face.
“It is refreshing to see someone with no animus in their heart. For that, I thank you. And you will not have to worry about me or my people. We have stood as the bulwark of the world. We will stand again in that role if needed.” King Oda replied, his face turning into a stony mask.
“That’s good to know. But the Five Great Nations along with the Uzumaki, Kamishini, and Seaheart alone probably won’t be enough to deal with the threats looming over the horizon. Am I mistaken?” Jiraiya replied, raising his eyebrow.
“Perhaps we should give the people what they came here for. So, can I show you and them what their ancestors have forgotten?” King Oda asked, before giving a small smirk.
“True. They say that some people can only communicate with their fists. Let’s show them that swinging your fist with no hate in your heart can allow you to understand each other and, therefore, overcome hatred. Shall we, your majesty?” Jiraiya replied, dropping into a ready stance with a smile on his face.
This got a chuckle out of the ancient king. “Nothing would please me more.” He replied, before dropping into his own stance.
Jiraiya then clasped his hands together in the Ram seal, his index and middle fingers pointed up. Soon, as he began to concentrate, a massive amount of white-colored chakra burst from him, burning like a flame from a miniature sun. The air pressure coming off his chakra created a powerful wind that whipped the trees in the ring like a hurricane. With a roar, Jiraiya began to concentrate on his chakra as the pressure coming off him shook and cracked the ground.
King Oda gently closed his eyes before letting out a deep breath. His robes began to flutter as if a breeze had hit them. Underneath the thin silks came a shimmering a myriad of runes, which began to hum with a low rumbling. Around him as the air pressure began to pick up, the people noticed that the arena began to shimmer slightly. As if something otherworldly had begun to enter the arena before them.
As the two opposing air pressures from the different energies clashed, the ground shook, rattled, and cracked between Sage and King. The ground, the trees, even the very air itself seemed to tremble. Whether in fear, anticipation, or excitement, no one could tell. Finally, the two titans charged at each other at high speed, the ground cracking beneath Jiraiya’s swift footsteps while Oda’s seemed to glide along the dirt and grass.
The two met in the middle, Oda catching Jiraiya’s punch before throwing one of his own with his other hand. Jiraiya caught the blow as the two locked horns in a test of strength, pushing back against each other. The ground shook, trembled, and cracked as the sagely and mystic bulls before the crowd pushed against each other’s strength, trying to find an opening. Separating, Oda threw a right cross that Jiraiya pushed aside before going for a haymaker only for it to be caught. Following up, Jiraiya swung his leg up to roundhouse kick Oda in the side of his head, forcing the King of Seaheart to drop Jiraiya’s hand and put his arm up while bracing it with his other hand to block the blow.
The force of the blow sent Oda tumbling aside, forcing him to roll to his feet. As soon as he did, Jiraiya attempted to hit him with a heel drop kick that Oda slid aside to dodge, the force of the kick cracking the ground beneath them. Jumping forward, Oda performed a bicycle kick that Jiraiya put his guard up to block, forcing the mighty Toad Sage back. Stopping for a moment, the two shook their tingling arms to shake off the slight numbness from the force of their opponent’s respective blows.
“As expected of a student of the toads. You wield impressive strength.” King Oda said with a smile.
“As do you, your majesty. My arm is still tingling from the force of that kick.” Jiraiya replied with a smile of his own.
Their faces then turned serious as they dashed in, getting back into the fray. As the two broke off to begin another clash, Kumori began to stir in Kushina’s arms. Sitting up in her lap with a big yawn, his eyes then looked upon the fight. Instantly, everyone in the room noticed a difference in the baby. His eyes shone as he became enthralled by the contest of strength and was far more attentive than any baby normally would be. Kushina poked his cheek, yet he bore no reaction from it. She turned her gaze back to the fight, as things began to heat up.
At that moment, Jiraiya blocked a punch from King Oda before trying to counterattack with a palm strike. King Oda blocked before going for a Fak Sau sideways hand chop to Jiraiya’s throat. Jiraiya blocked the chop before blocking a high-speed barrage of them from the King of Seaheart. Jiraiya then brought his foot up to block a kick before landing his own Fak Sau to King Oda’s carotid artery, causing him to yell out before redirecting his gaze at the Toad Sage. However, this momentary surprise left him open to a mawashi giri kick from Jiraiya that sent him flying back, skipping across the ground like a stone along the surface of a river with his body cratering the ground with each impact.
Recovering, the King of Seaheart dashed in, going for a right cross that Jiraiya managed to block. Oda then followed up with a left jab, right jab, and left hook that were all blocked and deflected before he managed to fake a right jab before landing a left hook to Jiraiya’s jaw. Dazed, Jiraiya was unprepared for Oda’s follow up palm strike to his solar plexus before Oda dropped forward. Using the momentum, he swung his leg up and hit Jiraiya with an upward roundhouse kick to the head that sent the Toad Sage skidding back.
Shaking his head, Jiraiya smirked before cracking his neck and spitting out a little bit of blood. “Not bad, your majesty. I’m impressed.” The Toad Sage commented, genuinely surprised and pleased with his opponent’s skill level.
“I concur. Though I think now we can dispense with the warmup.” King Oda answered with an accompanying nod.
Putting his hands together behind his back, Jiraiya lifted them up to stretch his arms out. “Agreed. Shall we get started with the main event?” he asked with a smile.
“That was a warmup!?” Came from a random person in the crowd.
The rest of the crowd was in disbelief. If this level of skill and strength was from a mere warm up… then what were they about to see?
Going through hand seals, Jiraiya took a deep breath before building up chakra-infused oil in his mouth. ‘Fire Release: Flame Bullet!’ He mentally called out before unleashing a large ball of fire from his mouth.
Counter to this, King Oda’s spine began to light up a bright orange, the runes activating in kind. “Lore of Fire: Dragon’s Breath!” King Oda commanded, before a great gout of fire came from his mouth.
The two bursts of flame collided with a blast of power before exploding on contact. The air pressure from the blast was like a bomb going off as the crowd could almost feel the heat from the fire. Looking on, Jiraiya and King Oda smiled as Jiraiya made a single hand seal.
“Wild Lion’s Mane Jutsu!” Jiraiya called out as his hair seemed to grow and come alive.
As Jiraiya’s hair lengthened and hardened, the end took the shape of a lion’s gaping maw. Whipping it at his foe, Jiraiya lashed out with his hair as the lion’s jaw-shaped hair tried to bite down on King Oda. Dodging, the King of Seaheart barely managed to avoid being bitten down on as the mouth-like hair slammed into the ground, crunching down on stone. Lifting up, it had a large chunk of rock from the ground in its “mouth” before the lion’s maw-like follicles bit down, crushing the stone into gravel.
‘Don’t get caught in those jaws then…’ King Oda thought, as he worked to find a way to counter it.
Jumping, he dodged another strike from the jaws of the lion-like hair. Again and again, it struck like a snake, trying to wrap itself around the King of the Dragon Men. When it got too close, he made his shield spin on the gauntlet before the hair made contact. Sparks flew off where the sharpened edge slashed against the steel-hard follicles. Pushing against it, Oda managed to force the hair back, knocking it away before dashing in. As he got in close, Jiraiya did six hand seals.
“Needle Jizō!” Jiraiya called out as his hair wrapped around himself before shaping into sharpened spikes.
The razor-sharp shield ground and slashed against the hardened, sharpened hair. Cutting, but not doing any damage. Jumping back, King Oda tried to get some distance as the hair spikes extended.
“Needle Hell!” Jiraiya yelled out as hair needles were fired off from his hair armor.
Using his shield, King Oda deflected and blocked the needles as they fired off. Seeing the barrage increasing, he was forced to use more drastic measures of defense.
“Lore of Stone: Earth Shield!” King Oda commanded, and appearing around him came brown swirling winds.
Soon the earth before him was forced up in front of him, creating a wall of stone. The needles against it either embedded themselves or bounced off its solid surface. Despite this, bit by bit, they began punching through the stone, forcing him to dodge. As soon as he did, Jiraiya was upon him in midair with a flying roundhouse kick. Putting his arms up to block, King Oda barely blocked as the kick sent him flying into the ground, cratering it on impact.
Backflipping to get to his feet, the Militia King barely avoided an axe kick that collided with the ground where he had been, cracking and cratering it further. By the time Oda looked up, Jiraiya was swiftly going through four hand seals before stopping on the Tiger seal.
‘Fire Release: Dragon Fire Jutsu!’ He mentally called out, his cheeks puffing up before he exhaled.
As soon as Jiraiya breathed out, a massive, straight line of fire like a flamethrower erupted from his mouth like a volcano. Seeing this, the King of the Dragon Men swiftly moved to counterattack.
“Lore of Stone: Create Geolith!” King Oda commanded as swirling brown energy formed around his fist, before punching the earth.
Upon making contact, the ground inside the arena began to shake and crack. Then, before everyone's eyes, a massive chunk of earth began to levitate from the ground, forming a jagged pillage. The great pillar absorbed the plume of fire, breaking it like a wave against the shore. Oda smiled as the pillar passed, so the two men could see each other.
“I have heard much of your people’s impressive terrain mobility. Perhaps you could give me a taste of that?” King Oda asked.
Jiraiya grinned a bit and cracked his knuckles. “All right, but only because you asked. Time to take this battle to the next level!” he called out before leaping back, backflipping, and sticking to a wall.
Jiraiya then used chakra to push off the wall, taking off at King Oda faster than the king expected. Barely dodging a flying kick, the Militia King found his cheek cut from the force and speed of Jiraiya’s kick as it cratered the ground beneath them. Spinning on the ball of his foot, the great sage lashed out with a sideways kick that launched King Oda backwards. Dashing forward, the mighty Toad Sage threw a straight right punch that the King of Seaheart barely managed to bring his shield up to block, bracing himself as he skidded back. The force of the blow nearly launched him further back, but the Lord of Dragons held on as the shock traveled down through his body and threatened to break the earth beneath their feet.
“Not bad. Not bad. Let us see if you can keep up!” King Oda yelled before rushing up the Geolith.
Grinning, Jiraiya ran up the great pillar after him. The two clashed at blinding speeds, their forms little more than blurs to the audience. Soon, the two broke apart as Jiraiya went through two hand seals before planting his hands on the ground.
“Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld!” Jiraiya called out.
Soon, the entire ground beneath their feet turned into a dark, murky swamp. Jiraiya leaped up onto the pillar to avoid getting caught in it. King Oda, however, was less lucky as he got stuck, trying to get loose.
“Quicksand. I hate quicksand…” King Oda muttered, before plotting a way out.
However, his plotting was interrupted by the sound of Jiraiya’s voice. “Toad Oil Bullet!” it called out.
Looking up, King Oda was surprised to see a large gout of oil being spat out of Jiraiya’s mouth. The oil drenched him as Jiraiya began going through a set of hand seals that the King of Seaheart recognized.
‘Fire Release: Dragon Fire Jutsu!’ Jiraiya mentally called out before launching out another flamethrower-like line of flames.
“Lore of Heavens: Wings of the Celestial Crane!” King Oda called out.
Forming swirling, azure-blue energy into his back, soon shimmer wings of blue energy burst from his back. With a simple flap, he escaped his muck-filled trap and took to the sky. The crowd stared at the two combatants in awe. When the fiery tongue of death hit the oil remaining in the swamp, it combined to create a great explosion. Fire soon engulfed the floor of the arena as Oda soon flew up to Jiraiya’s level.
“Apologies for keeping you waiting, my dear sir.” King Oda said.
Jiraiya grinned a bit. “You Seaheartians really are full of surprises. Then I guess it’s time I stop holding back and go all out!” he called out before clapping his hands together, beginning to gather a massive amount of chakra.
“If that is the case, then you will face the might of the heavens!” Oda roared before closing his eyes and channeling the azure energy into himself.
Eventually, a massive explosion of smoke erupted from Jiraiya’s position. Soon, two elderly voices croaked out in reply from within the smoke.
“Jiraiya-chan? What’d ya’ summon us into this time?” An elderly male voice croaked out.
“I’m sure the lad has his reasons, Pa. Now then, what’re we up against?” An elderly female voice called out.
“Boss, ma’am. Sorry to call you both out like this again, but I can’t afford to hold back. I’m facing the king of the ancient civilization of Seaheart who wields true magic. He and his people are being evaluated to potentially join the Hidden Leaf, and I can’t afford to hold back anymore if I’m going to truly push him to his limits.” Jiraiya’s voice explained as the smoke began to clear.
When the smoke cleared, Jiraiya’s appearance was changed. His eyes had become more toad-like and the designs of the war paint around his eyes had become more elaborate and pronounced. He had a bumpy, warted nose and had grown a short beard. Fused to his shoulders sat the forms of two toads that Hiruzen, Orochimaru, and Tsunade recognized all too well.
“It is a rare day to see Sage Mode. Jiraiya must really be under pressure then.” Orochimaru said, arms crossed.
“Jiraiya’s going that far already? How powerful is this King of Seaheart…?” Tsunade asked in disbelief.
“Never underestimate a ruler fighting for the fate of his people. For Jiraiya, this is merely a test of his own capabilities. For King Oda, this is a fight for survival. I just hope that boy doesn’t push things too much farther. Then people could get hurt.” Hiruzen said with a deep sigh.
“Just in case, it might be a good idea to have the Anbu erect a powerful barrier around the inside of the ring. When Jiraiya-sama uses honored Sage Mode, he has a tough time holding back.” Kushina added, baby Kumori still in her lap.
“Boo-Boo!” Kumori called out, waving his chubby baby arms about as he did.
Kushina smiled down at the baby. “That’s right, Kumori-tan. Boom-boom. Big boom-boom.” she said before motioning to the Anbu to make their move.
“Boo-Boo! Boo-Boo!” Kumori chanted, as if want to see the said big boom-boom.
Soon, five Anbu leapt onto a part of the arena’s walls. Each put up a set of hand seals before pouring chakra into their hands as they each pulled out a talisman. Concentrating hard, each planted a talisman down in front of them. Soon, a massive, spherical barrier formed around the inside of the arena, trapping Sage and King together until the battle was finished. For even the most uninformed in the audience, this was a clear sign that this fight was getting serious.
Jiraiya then looked at his opponent. The runes on his body had lit up to the point where they were near blinding, and the wings of azure energy glistening like a starry night. His body practically radiated a swirling energy, one that felt alien to anything Jiraiya had ever felt.
“Your power… it feels like life magic… and yet, somehow, it is not. I did not know toad Ōkami were capable of this.” King Oda said with a very confused tone.
“This, your majesty, is honored Sage Mode. By taking in nature energy from the very world itself and mixing it evenly with my own mental and physical energies that I use to make chakra, I can enter this form and use Sage Jutsu. Something on a completely different level from the normal Ninjutsu and Taijutsu you’ve seen from me up to this point.” Jiraiya explained as a serious tone to his voice despite him smiling to reveal sharpened teeth.
“I see.” King Oda said with a nod, taking everything in.
“Though, while we’re giving due praise, I have to give you credit too. Your power feels like raw nature energy. Though, somehow, it feels more uncontrolled than the nature energy I take in to use Sage Mode.” Jiraiya added with a curious look on his face as he folded his arms over his chest.
“Lad, are ya’ sayin’ this king can control raw nature energy without needin’ to mix chakra with it!?” Shima, the female Sage Toad, asked in disbelief.
“That’s impossible, Jiraiya-chan! No mortal man can achieve such a feat!” Fukasaku, the male Sage Toad, added in agreement with his wife.
“Let me give you a lesson on magic. It is folly to think you can control it. Merely one directs it.” King Oda explained.
Jiraiya then kicked off his sandals, expanded his hands and feet to become more toad-like, and crouched. “Then that means I don’t have to hold back!” the mighty Toad Sage called out before rushing in with explosive speed.
King Oda found Jiraiya upon him faster than the audience could track as part of the pillar exploded beneath his hands and feet. Quickly, the King of Seaheart blocked a punch from Jiraiya that nearly sent him sailing back, only his ethereal wings keeping him in flight. The two then disappeared to the eyes of the crowd as they took off, zipping around the ring as they clashed fists. Everywhere they clashed, shockwaves and explosions rang out as they moved at incredibly high speeds. Not even the most seasoned jōnin in the crowd could follow their movements at this point. Outside of the Raikage, even the Kage-level members of the audience could barely follow their movements at this point.
“Wh-where did they go…!?” Naruto asked, frantically looking around the arena for the two combatants.
“They’re… so fast…!” Sasuke commented in disbelief.
“Try to follow the shockwaves! That’s probably where they are!” Kei commented, trying to keep his eyes open for the explosive blasts from their colliding blows.
“This match is so close…” Enten said in awe, doing her best to keep up with the shockwaves.
“U… unbelievable…! So, this is what a Kage-level battle looks like…” Hinata commented in sheer disbelief and shock.
Soo, the two appeared and clashed their fists in a punch. The force of the colliding fists of King and Sage unleashed such power that they launched each other into the walls of the barrier, shaking the arena. Kicking off the barrier, the two continued clashing before ending up in the air above the ring as Jiraiya went through hand seals.
‘Fire Release: Big Flame Bullet!’ He mentally called out before unleashing a far more massive, Sage Jutsu enhanced version of the Flame Bullet.
Less a bullet and more a large missile of flames, Jiraiya’s Fire Release Jutsu soared at the King of the Dragon Men. Seeing this, King Oda quickly made his move to counter. Readying his shield, he soon activated a rune on it and began to make it spin on his gauntlet. Soon the massive flame bullet impacted, and to the surprise of everyone sent it back spinning, creating a swirling drill of flame.
Putting his hand out, Jiraiya created a large, swirling ball of pure chakra. “Big Ball Rasengan!” he called out as he put the ball of pure, rotating chakra forward towards the drill of flames.
Jiraiya roared as he plowed through his own reversed jutsu, the heat of the flames licking at him and his two teachers as they went right through the fiery death drill. Acting quickly, King Oda made his move to try to counter as Jiraiya got in close. Taking a deep breath, he channeled as much heavens magic as he could into his shield. The shield soon was lit brilliantly in the bright light of its many runes, as Jiraiya finally made impact.
The two attacks collided in an explosion of power as shockwaves rang out, the two struggling for dominance as they pushed against each other. The sphere of pure chakra grinded against the shield shining with magic as the two combatants tried to overcome each other. However, to the surprise of all present, the clash resulted in a massive explosion that sent a massive shockwave ringing out as both King and Sage were sent flying back, the pillar between them being destroyed by the blast as the ring shook.
“What happened!? I cannot see anything!” Lee called out over the roar of the explosion, his vision just as obscured by the blast as everyone else’s.
“That's because there was an explosion.” Death Lee answered.
“Thank you, Uncle Death!” Lee called out as he tried to look for any signs of the two combatants.
“You're welcome.” Death Lee replied.
As the smoke began to clear, the audience saw to their surprise that the two were forced into the charred swamp below. Both of them were battered, bloodied, but both unbeaten. Despite the stinging, choking smoke, the two stood there staring at each other. However, for the shinobi in the crowd, they saw Jiraiya begin to pant deeply, indicating his stamina was waning. Comparatively, while King Oda was also panting heavily, he appeared to tentatively have an advantage.
“That was close, Jiraiya-chan! If ye’ hadn’t reinforced yer body with Sage Jutsu chakra, that could’ve been a lot messier!” Fukasaku said, worried for his student.
“Ye’ can’t keep this up much longer, lad! Ye’ need te’ finish it with this last move!” Shima warned, seeing how tired Jiraiya was getting.
“You’re right. It’s time to end this…!” Jiraiya called out before putting his hand up in a similar position to before.
Soon, a swirling ball of chakra began to appear in his hand. One that continued to grow bigger… and bigger… and bigger still. Until, finally, the rotating sphere of chakra was several times the size of Jiraiya himself.
“Ultra Big Ball Rasengan!” Jiraiya called out, preparing to launch his final attack.
‘If I do not go all out, I am done for… and then my people… focus, Oda. You must use it.’ King Oda thought as he ripped off one of the amulets he wore on his neck. “Lore of Heavens: Fury of the Tailed Comet!!”
Soon the amulet, one made of simple clay with ancient unknowing runes on it, began to glow. Rapidly it began to disintegrate as immense mystical energy flowed into Oda’s hands. Soon, a glow began to manifest in the sky. To the shock of all present, a miniature meteorite made of glowing mystical energy, radiating heat and light like the sun, was falling from the sky down towards Jiraiya. Looking up, Jiraiya pulled back his Rasengan as the meteorite fell.
“Come on!” Jiraiya called out with determination.
“Jiraiya, you fool! Dodge it!” Tsunade called out in concern.
“He can’t, you fool!” Orochimaru snapped at her.
“If he dodges it, it will hit the ground and kill them both along with collapsing the ground beneath the ring. His only option is to cancel it out.” Hiruzen explained in concern.
“Boo-Boo!” Kumori screamed excitedly.
“Yes, Kumori-chan… Very big boom-boom…” Kushina replied in worry.
As the glowing space rock fell, Jiraiya thrust his massively-sized Rasengan forward. The swirling ball of Sage Jutsu chakra collided with the falling, glowing space rock as a massive shockwave rocked the stadium. The entire arena shook like a continuous earthquake as the two combatants’ attacks struggled for dominance. Jiraiya and Oda let out twin roars as they put everything they had into this one final clash. Finally, the two attacks detonated as an explosion rocked the entire arena. The force of the explosion caused the barrier to begin to buckle before, finally, it gave out. The shockwave and air pressure left over from the blast rocked the arena as everyone was forced to take cover to avoid being blown back, the shockwave of the blast echoing throughout the village.
For what felt like an eternity after the clash, the arena fell into an unnerving silence as they waited for the debris and dust to settle. Minutes felt like hours as finally it began to give a breeze helped clear out the cloud. Upon the ground in the arena lay the combatants, both of them unmoving. The Sage Toads had somehow become unfused to Jiraiya, barely conscious before poofing away. The ref stood there, unsure of what to do. He did not have to as Medical Nin rushed in to help the two. Tsunade leapt down from the Hokage’s box, just in time to see the two lift their hands up in a thumbs up.
“Jiraiya, you careless moron!!” Tsunade yelled as she shook the daylights out of the poor bastard.
“E-Easy, Tsunade…! Y-You’re gonna kill me…!” Jiraiya stammered out as she shook him.
“I might as well put you out of your misery after the heart attack you nearly gave me, you monkey’s uncle!! You will rue the day when I ever let you get over this!” Tsunade roared as she kept shaking him before finally dropping him.
“Ow…” Jiraiya exhaustedly said upon being dropped like a sack of potatoes as Tsunade began the process to heal him.
Soon murmuring began to happen in the crowd as the Anbu panted from the barrier bursting like a bubble. The Seaheartians in the audience were especially nervous, as they did not know what a tie would mean. No one knew really, as the rumor mill began to grow like a wildfire. Inside the Hokage box, everyone looked at Kushina, who was deep in thought about what had just happened.
“So, Hokage? What do we do about this?” A asked Kushina, unsure of what to make of this result.
“I concur with Unruly A on this one, Kushina. A tie means that neither one wins nor loses.” Ōnoki pointed out, deep in thought himself.
“This is unexpected. To think that this ancient King could tie with Jiraiya of all people…” Rasa noted in disbelief.
“Regardless, we need a decision now before the crowd gets restless.” Yagura noted, seeing the rumors beginning to fly about.
“A. Hold Kumori for me, okay?” Kushina asked the Raikage.
“Hold him? Me?” A asked in disbelief.
“Don’t tell me you’re afraid of holding a baby.” Kushina said to him sarcastically as she handed the horned baby to him.
“Wh… what do I do with this…?” A asked, in unfamiliar territory, trying to hold the baby carefully.
“Just keep him from crying.” Kushina simply said.
“Goo.” Kumori said.
Kushina then stepped forwards to address the arena. “To our contestants of this great match, you honor us with your stellar performances! Never in my life had I imagined such a clash! However, due to the agreement that was made, we are left at a quandary of how to handle such a result! Therefore, I invoke the rights vested in me as a Hokage to clear up this impasse!” She boomed, as all eyes lay upon her.
Everyone, be they from Konoha or Seaheart, sat at the edge of their seats. Yet as King Oda lay there, he shut his eyes. He could not take the suspense, the fate of his people and their survival upon a single person, and a single sentence. Finally, after a pause, Kushina continued.
“Due to the stunning performance, perseverance in the face of adversity, and honor displayed by the challenger, I have come to my conclusion. From this day forth, the people of Seaheart are honored citizens of Konoha!!” Kushina proclaimed.
The entirety of Seaheart in the stands lit up in an uproar. Chanting, stomping of feet, proclaiming ‘Long live the Hokage.’ King Oda opened his eyes in shock and looked up at her in awe. Then, to everyone’s surprise, he forced himself to stand so that he could bow respectfully to her.
“Thank you, great Hokage! May your ancestors look upon your wisdom with honor!” King Oda proclaimed after he completed his bow.
Jiraiya smiled and got to his feet before gently clapping King Oda on his shoulder in congratulations. Oda gave a small smile back as the two then shook hands.
“Everyone! Give a cheer and applause for our challenger and our new brothers and sisters of Konoha!” Kushina called out, before giving a small clap.
The suggestion hit the arena like a wildfire. Soon everyone was cheering and clapping. The sudden force of the applause caught the other Kage off guard. Yet, before their eyes, the village had appeared to accept these newcomers with glee. Though time will tell if such gleeful peace would last…
To Be Continued…