Naruto: Starting with Tsunade

Chapter 56 Aokiji vs. Jiraiya

Why are you spouting such obvious truths? Jiraiya is unhappy about it.

Aokiji shrugged and said, "I haven't had a proper training session in a long time. You three have been under the Third Hokage for so long and have already become Chunin. I might not be a match for you now, so in order not to lose too badly later, I will naturally choose a weaker opponent."

He wasn't just saying that randomly; he genuinely felt he might not be able to beat Jiraiya, especially without using his Sharingan.

He hadn't felt this way before, but recently, while training under Elder Itachi, he realized how important it is to have someone to guide you.

No wonder Sasuke, the reincarnation of Indra, was brutally beaten by Rock Lee upon their first meeting in the original work.

No offense intended to Lee. Lee was able to defeat Sasuke in the early stages because he had a good teacher.

When it comes to hard work, Sasuke might not be much worse than Rock Lee, who is also known for his hard work.

You have to understand, Sasuke lost his entire clan, and under such pressure, he still trained desperately.

With the help of good teachers, Sasuke finally took off, leaving the younger generation far behind in just three years.

Jiraiya said with displeasure, "Damn it, how dare they look down on me. Get ready."

...............

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In a small forest far from the heart of Konoha, under a blue sky and white clouds, witnessed by Orochimaru and Tsunade, Aokiji and Jiraiya made a seal of opposition.

The last time I did this was back in the ninja academy, and it felt like I was back in those carefree school days.

To avoid causing unnecessary injury, both of them fought bare-handed and were not allowed to use offensive ninjutsu, such as fire-style ninjutsu.

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow, bent his four fingers inward twice, making a provocative gesture: "I'm at least a Chunin now, while you're not even a Genin. I'll let you make the first move."

Aokiji smirked. Jiraiya's got some nerve these days.

Upon closer reflection, it makes sense. Jiraiya's years of lounging around at school and sleeping were quite different from his time as a ninja.

Now that I have the chance to show off and embarrass myself in front of others, I have to perform well.

Provoked by Jiraiya, Aokiji wasn't about to be foolish enough to charge forward. He formed hand seals, and with a bang, a puff of white smoke rose from his side.

As the white smoke dissipated, a black-haired, black-eyed boy appeared, with a wisp of hair on his forehead.

She was dressed in all black, with the upper part resembling a kimono and the lower part consisting of extremely wide-legged trousers that reached her ankles and tapered at the cuffs. She wore straw sandals and a sleeveless white coat, making her outfit very distinctive.

(P.S.: To save you from imagining it, it's probably like the captain-level Shinigami armor of the Grim Reaper.)

If you look closely, you'll find that this boy looks exactly like Aokiji, but they are also very similar.

Seeing this, Jiraiya put away his disdainful look and became serious.

Aokiji's carefree personality is one thing, but his caution is another, and this aspect makes him a natural-born ninja.

Ninjas fight intelligence wars; it would be reckless to attack without knowing the enemy's strengths and weaknesses.

Jiraiya was just that kind of person in the past, but under the earnest guidance of the Third Hokage, he has almost completely corrected this bad habit and has begun to use his brain in battle.

The ability to create clones?

Or is it the Shadow Clone Technique?

These two ninjutsu have similar names, but their actual effects are worlds apart. The former is mindless and just a target; it disappears into white smoke at the slightest touch. The latter uses chakra to create a physical clone that has a consciousness independent of the user's original body, a certain degree of resilience, and the ability to attack autonomously.

Seeing that Aokiji summoned clones as soon as he came up, he deduced that it belonged to the latter.

Using shadow clones to test the opponent's strength is the most basic operation of shadow clones.

Jiraiya analyzed it this way, but unexpectedly, Aokiji did not command his clones to rush towards him, but instead used his main body to rush straight towards him.

Why isn't this playing by the rules?

In the blink of an eye, his opponent had already closed in and launched a punch.

In a panic, Jiraiya raised his arm to block, successfully repelling Aokiji's attack.

Orochimaru, who was watching, keenly perceived Aokiji's intentions and couldn't help but exclaim, "I see, as expected of Aokiji-kun."

Tsunade analyzed with slight appreciation: "The Shadow Clone Technique has many advantages over the Clone Technique, but it has a fatal flaw: it consumes a lot of chakra. If Aokiji summons the Clone Technique and remains still, Jiraiya will have difficulty distinguishing between the Shadow Clone Technique and the Clone Technique."

"Furthermore, this arrangement of the Shadow Clone Technique has another advantage: during the battle, Jiraiya will need to be constantly vigilant for whether the Shadow Clone Technique will launch a sneak attack, thus distracting him."

Watching Orochimaru fight Jiraiya, he remarked, "Even so, I never expected Aokiji to be able to hold his own against Jiraiya in taijutsu at this level. After all, he's currently..."

At this point, Orochimaru stopped himself in time, not wanting to continue.

Jiraiya was weak, but that was relative to him and Tsunade.

Having been trained by Hiruzen Sarutobi, he is quite skilled; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to become a Chunin.

After a brief exchange between Aokiji and Jiraiya, Tsunade remarked, "Even though Jiraiya is an idiot, it's about time this guy retaliated."

Jiraiya was inferior to the two of them in other skills, but there was one skill in which the two of them were ashamed to admit their inferiority.

Jiraiya was well aware of his strengths, and so was Aokiji, so they kept increasing his strength and preventing him from forming hand seals. But even the best-laid plans can slip up. Jiraiya seized the opportunity, formed hand seals in a cross shape, and shouted, "Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!"

As soon as he finished speaking, plumes of white smoke burst out from both sides of Jiraiya. When the smoke dissipated, about twenty Jiraiyas appeared, surrounding Aokiji.

Aokiji looked around and saw so many Jiraiyas. He smiled bitterly. This ninjutsu really suits a certain protagonist who loves to eat ramen.

Among the crowd, Jiraiya, presumably the original form, crossed his arms and laughed wildly: "Aokiji, surrender!"

The Multiple Shadow Clone Technique is A-level difficult to learn. It is the strongest ninjutsu that the Third Hokage taught him so far, and it is a ninjutsu that only someone with his naturally large amount of chakra can use.

Orochimaru looked at Aokiji, who was surrounded, and narrowed his golden vertical pupils slightly: "Aokiji-kun, what should we do next? Or do you intend to...?"

The best way to break the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique is to use a wide-range offensive ninjutsu to wipe them all out, saving time and effort.

However, since this is a friendly sparring session, it is not advisable to use this offensive ninjutsu to attack, lest one get injured.

The only way to defeat the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique is through basic physical attacks, which is very disadvantageous for Aokiji.

"Hmph, so it's the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, quite impressive..."

Facing an opponent surrounded by wolves, Aokiji remained calm and nonchalant, and began to form hand seals.

Admittedly, wide-range attack ninjutsu is the best way to break Shadow Clone Technique, but there are actually other ways to break it.

Aokiji's left hand held a sword pointing skyward, while his right hand formed the "unknown" seal.

Orochimaru, who always enjoyed studying all sorts of ninjutsu, exclaimed in surprise upon seeing this iconic move: "Water Release: Hidden Mist Technique."

(End of this chapter)