I, who just wanted to be lazy, was forced to become the Hokage.

Chapter 287 Jiraiya's Bet!

In the Land of Hot Springs, inside the Konoha camp.

"Lord Nara, my injuries have almost healed."

Jiraiya, who appeared to be mostly recovered, spoke to Nara Rinka in a strong voice.

"I wonder if Lord Nara has some free time today to continue our sparring?"

"Lord Jiraiya, are you sure there's really nothing wrong with your body?"

Nara Rinkazu's expression was slightly suspicious, his gaze fixed on Jiraiya's chest and abdomen.

"After all, a broken rib is no small injury."

"There are definitely no problems!"

Jiraiya patted his rib area, making a dull "thump-thump" sound.

However, it seems that he did not grasp the correct force of his first strike, as the subsequent "thump thump" sounds became noticeably lighter.

In fact, Jiraiya's injuries were not as fully recovered as he claimed.

Even with the assistance of medical ninjas like Shizune and Rin Nohara, Jiraiya's broken ribs from the previous battle had only begun to heal in just a few days and were not fully repaired.

If you suffer another heavy blow in battle, there is a very high probability that your old injuries will recur.

However, Jiraiya still bore the heavy responsibility of being the "Commander of the Hidden Mist Battlefield" at this time.

During the few days he stayed at the Land of Hot Water camp to recuperate, messages kept coming from the village, urging him to return to the Land of Fire to fight against the Hidden Mist Village.

Jiraiya could no longer delay, so despite his not-yet-fully-recovered illness, he insisted on fighting Nara Rankei.

Having a wound in the ribs is a very troublesome negative status for a ninja.

However, after careful consideration...

As long as you don't move your body frequently during battle and only use ninjutsu, you don't need to worry about your ribs!

It's just a broken bone, not that my body is so depleted that I can't extract chakra.

piece of cake.

Nara Rinka gave Jiraiya a strange look.

But since the other party insisted, he couldn't very well refuse outright.

Jiraiya, the commander of Kirigakure, has been receiving a barrage of urgent calls from the village in recent days, something that Nara Rinkei has also heard about.

He was also a little worried that the toad sage might just leave.

Nara Rinka is still eyeing this S-rank mission of the Immortal Taoist!

"I don't have any urgent matters to attend to today."

Nara Rinka first explained his situation, and then asked further questions.

"But Jiraiya-sama, have you decided what 'bargaining chips' you'll offer?"

"certainly!"

Jiraiya smiled slightly and took out a scroll from his ninja tool bag.

"After all, this time I took the initiative to challenge Lord Nara..."

"This is the bargaining chip I prepared. It can't be considered the true inheritance of Mount Myoboku, but it is still related to Mount Myoboku."

"Rank A Ninjutsu: Telescope Technique!"

When Nara Rinkei heard that it was "somewhat related to Mount Myōboku", he was somewhat delighted, but the so-called "telescope technique" was really beyond his expectations.

"What is the purpose of this [Telescope Technique]?"

"Ahem, it has many uses!"

Jiraiya cleared his throat and said with great enthusiasm.

"This [Telescope Technique] is actually a super-wide-range sensory ninjutsu. Using a pre-prepared crystal ball, one can spy—cough! I mean, observe the places one wants to see."

"A very large area?"

Nara Rinka blinked.

"What is the area?"

"As far as I know, the old man often uses the 'telescope technique' to spy on the women's bathhouse—and other places in the village."

Jiraiya spoke in a rather disdainful (envious) tone.

"When the old man—that is, the teacher—used this ninjutsu, the entire village was within his spying range."

"However... I have also witnessed the Great Toad Sage using this ninjutsu. The Great Toad Sage can see the scene inside Konoha Village directly from Mount Myōboku."

"By the way, the Great Toad Sage is the leader of all the toads on Mount Myōboku. He is a very, very, very old toad."

Through Jiraiya's description, Nara Ranke finally remembered what this "Telescope Technique" was.

It's that special auxiliary ninjutsu that Hiruzen Sarutobi used to monitor the entire Hidden Leaf Village with a crystal ball!

but……

How could the Great Toad Sage see directly from Mount Myōboku into Konoha?

Nara Rinka felt a slight chill run down her spine.

It should be noted that with the speed of a ninja, it only takes three days to travel from Konoha in the Land of Fire to Sunagakure in the Land of Wind.

However, it takes a full month to travel from Konoha to Mount Myōboku.

In other words.

The distance between Mount Myōboku and Konoha is ten times the distance between Konoha and Sunagakure!

[The Telescope Technique] allows one to see directly into Konoha from Mount Myōboku.

Is this really called "the art of telescopes" and not "the art of satellites"?

Hiruzen Sarutobi uses the Telescope Technique to monitor the entire Hidden Leaf Village.

The Great Toad Sage uses the Telescope Technique, which allows him to monitor the entire ninja world!

Let's do a slight conversion.

How many Hiruzen Sarutobi are roughly equivalent to the Great Toad Sage?

"The three great hermits of Mount Myōboku, Ryūchi Cave, and Shikkotsu Forest—I knew they were strong, but I never imagined they were this strong!"

"I'm fairly satisfied with this sensory ninjutsu."

Nara Rinka suppressed his restless emotions and looked at Jiraiya.

"Then it's settled."

"If I lose this sparring match, I'll hand over the [Camouflage Concealment] to you; but if you lose, the [Telescope Technique] will be mine?"

"It's a deal!"

Jiraiya nodded immediately.

The stakes are set, and the bet is settled.

After giving Nara Rinka a few words of advice to Nara Shikaku, Nara Rinka and Jiraiya quickly left the Konoha camp and found a secluded, deserted area in the Land of Hot Springs.

There were no spectators in this sparring match.

On the open field, Nara Rinka and Jiraiya stood facing each other.

"Nara-sama."

Jiraiya's confident voice drifted over on the breeze.

"This time, I won't hold back!"

Nara Rinka raised his right hand, forming the "confrontation seal," and responded calmly.

"I hope so!"

As soon as the words were spoken, the seals of opposition were formed.

Jiraiya then put his right index finger into his mouth, biting his skin and drawing blood.

"Spiritual communication!"

Jiraiya pressed his palm heavily onto the ground, and a very complex and massive summoning array spread out in all directions from the center of his palm.

Bang!

As a huge plume of smoke rose, a massive, dark red toad appeared out of thin air on the land of the Land of Hot Springs.

At the start of their second sparring match, Jiraiya unleashed his "trump card" tactic—

Toad Summoning Technique!

"Gamabunta?"

Nara Rinka lowered his right hand and gazed at the giant toad from afar.

"That giant toad I met once..."

"Jiraiya, who is the enemy this time?"

With a pipe dangling from his mouth and a blue vest draped over his shoulders, Gamabunta asked in a low voice.

"This doesn't seem to be the Land of Rain..."

"It's right across the street."

Jiraiya sat cross-legged on Gamabunta's head, rapidly gathering chakra while giving him instructions.

"Bunta, buy me some time, just hold off the opponent!"

"no problem!"

Gamabunta looked at the little man opposite him. He waved his arms and formed hand seals with his webbed hands like a ninja. A large amount of water-style chakra was condensed and refined by him.

A moment later, Gamabunta opened his wide toad mouth and unleashed a powerful Water Release ninjutsu.

"Water Release: Gunfire Ball!"

A gigantic water sphere, as large as Gamabunta's head, shot out from Gamabunta's mouth and slammed into Nara Rinka's location with tremendous force.

"The scale of this colossal ninja beast's ninjutsu is truly outrageous..."

Nara Rinka sighed softly.

"No wonder Jiraiya asked beforehand if King Koku would participate in the battle... If King Koku were here, why would he need to worry about this level of water-style technique?"

With a slight thought, Nara Rinkachi's shadowy form emerged from beneath him, carrying him directly into the sky and avoiding a direct confrontation with Gamabunta's Water Release ninjutsu.

boom!

Gamabunta's "Water Release: Gun Ball" struck the ground where Nara Rinkei had been standing, and the violent, solid water ball created a deep crater in the earth.

Water burst forth and quickly filled the hole in the ground, creating a small pond made by a toad.

"Jiraiya, you didn't say this person could fly, did you?"

Gamabunta looked at the shadow creatures flying freely in the sky and scratched his head.

"It's alright, just stall him!"

Jiraiya accelerated the rate at which he absorbed natural energy.

"Bunta, believe me, you're the best!"

First update.

The second update will be a little later...

(End of this chapter)