Black Zetsu was losing its mind. It was spiraling into a full-blown anti-Asura frenzy.
Emiya Shirou had no idea his performance had been too convincing. His plan to push Naruto Uzumaki's growth had made Black Zetsu think he'd fallen for Asura's bullshit all over again.
What was so great about Asura, anyway? All they did was talk.
While Black Zetsu was stewing in its own hatred, Emiya Shirou and Jiraiya faced off on a Konoha training ground.
"Go, Emiya!"
"Go, Master Jiraiya!"
Naruto Uzumaki yelled encouragement from the sidelines, cheering for both of them. The kid didn't seem to feel any conflict; to him, both men were equally important.
"Let's begin," Emiya Shirou said, raising his finger to form the Seal of Confrontation. He seemed surprisingly familiar with the ninja etiquette of the era. "I trust my fighting style won't be too difficult for you to handle."
"I've been wanting to see it..." A smile played on Jiraiya's lips as he mirrored the seal. "The style of a ninja from an ancient era."
Despite his confident words, Jiraiya felt a knot of tension tighten in his gut. His former student, Nagato, also had the Rinnegan, so he knew a bit about their power—like the ability to use all chakra natures. But the naive Nagato he once knew was worlds apart from Emiya Shirou in terms of raw power.
Still, there was no need to get too nervous. Emiya was in a reanimated body. That meant Jiraiya didn't have to worry about seriously hurting him and could go all out to gather the intel he desperately wanted. For him, this was the perfect opportunity.
"I should apologize in advance," Jiraiya said with a wide grin. "I've been dying to see your power up close, so I might not hold back."
"Don't," Emiya replied, completely unfazed by Jiraiya's boldness. "I also want to see the power of a Mount Myoboku contract holder. Whether it's a summoning beast or Sage Mode, feel free to use whatever you wish."
Jiraiya's face flushed with a bit of embarrassment. He wasn't exactly a master of Sage Mode and needed a good amount of time to enter it. But since Emiya had given him a free pass to use his best stuff, he wasn't about to turn it down.
A gentle breeze stirred across the training ground. A single leaf fluttered to the ground.
Suddenly, Jiraiya moved, darting backward as his fingers flew through hand seals. Probing with long-range ninjutsu was the smartest opening move.
Normally it would be a waste of chakra, but against Emiya Shirou, you couldn't afford to save it. After all, the man could use any chakra nature and unleash powerful jutsu without hand seals. Jiraiya needed to see just how strong those jutsu were.
"Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"
Jiraiya's chest puffed out, and he spat a torrent of fire. A massive dragon of flame lunged at Emiya Shirou, its fiery wings spreading wide as if to swallow him whole.
"So strong!" Naruto's eyes lit up. He'd never seen a Fire Style jutsu that powerful before.
The next moment, a wall of water rose to meet the flames. A massive wave erupted from Shirou's body, swirling into a circular barrier that completely blocked the fire dragon.
"Just as I thought," Jiraiya muttered, his eyes narrowed. Shirou hadn't made a single hand seal, yet he'd created a huge Water Style jutsu out of thin air. It matched the rumors perfectly.
But as he watched, Jiraiya noticed something. The power of the Water Style jutsu... it wasn't as overwhelming as he'd expected.
The power... it isn't that strong, he thought, feeling a bit of relief.
The Impure World Reincarnation jutsu gives him infinite chakra, letting him spam jutsu without limits. That's what makes him so dangerous.
Just as he predicted, Shirou unleashed a relentless barrage of his own. Wave after wave of fire rushed toward Jiraiya, with no regard for chakra consumption. The power of each blast was on par with Jiraiya's own, but Shirou's sheer numbers were staggering.
The air grew thick with heat as a storm of flames surged toward Jiraiya, threatening to engulf him in a sea of fire. The endless assault was powerful enough to level an entire street in Konoha.
A look of horror flashed across Naruto's face.
"Earth Style: Earth Flow Fortress!"
A bead of sweat trickled down Jiraiya's forehead as he jumped back again. He slammed his hands on the ground, and a massive wall of earth shot up, blocking the fiery onslaught. The wall crumbled under the assault but held firm.
The moment the flames died down, Jiraiya prepared to counterattack. But before he could move, a bolt of lightning flashed out, shattering a corner of his fortress. A split second later, a tidal wave of water slammed into the broken wall, washing it away completely.
"Too fast," Jiraiya grunted, hastily retreating.
His ability to unleash endless jutsu without hand seals... unless you can overpower him quickly, he's basically unbeatable.
On a battlefield, he would be an unstoppable killing machine, even more dangerous than a Tailed Beast Jinchuriki. At least a Jinchuriki needed time to charge a Tailed Beast Bomb. Emiya Shirou needed no time at all.
No wonder the Great Toad Sage believed he had the power to change the world. Jiraiya now had a better idea of the threat he posed—and a possible way to deal with it.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Jiraiya bit his thumb, whipped through hand seals, and slammed his palm on the ground. A massive summoning circle appeared beneath him.
"Bunta!"
With a huge puff of smoke, a giant toad the size of a mountain appeared. A bandage was wrapped around his waist, a giant tanto was strapped to his back, and a huge pipe was stuck in his mouth.
It was Gamabunta, Jiraiya's most trusted summoning partner.
He and Gamabunta had a perfect, unspoken understanding. The moment he appeared, he saw the trouble Jiraiya was in. As streams of ninjutsu flew toward them, Gamabunta's powerful legs coiled, ready to leap away from the attacks.
"Don't retreat!" Jiraiya commanded. "Just dodge the attacks and charge straight for him!"
It was a decapitation strike, a tactic they had perfected over countless battles.
"Got it!" Gamabunta roared, gripping his tanto. As he leaped and weaved through the barrage of jutsu, he grumbled, "Who the hell did you piss off this time? This guy's ability is nuts, using jutsu without end."
"Emiya Shirou," Jiraiya said, leaning close to the toad's ear. "I'm in a sparring match with Lord Emiya Shirou."
"Who?!" Gamabunta nearly fell out of the sky.
"Scared? Watch yourself!" Jiraiya laughed, but his smile turned bold. "I worked hard for this opportunity, after all."
"Like hell I'm scared!" Gamabunta shot back, taking a drag from his pipe and blowing a huge smoke ring. His voice grew heavy as he eyed the figure still firing ninjutsu at them. "But dodging all this and getting through won't be easy."
Despite his words, Gamabunta didn't hesitate. The giant toad leaped and dodged, constantly changing direction to avoid Emiya Shirou's attacks while steadily closing the distance.
Even though there were small gaps between the jutsu, each one was a Kage-level threat. He couldn't afford to take a direct hit.
Finally, they were close. Gamabunta swung his massive tanto in a powerful downward slash, his colossal body adding weight to the blow as he crashed down on Emiya Shirou.
"A summoning beast?" Emiya said, his feet planted firmly on the ground. He looked up at the giant toad and finally stopped his attacks.
Is he giving up? Or is something worse coming? Jiraiya wondered. He stood on Gamabunta's head, readying his own jutsu to support the attack while keeping a close eye on Shirou.
The next second, Jiraiya's voice boomed.
"Watch out!"
But it was too late. Gamabunta saw the tiny figure below raise a single palm, and a blade of green chakra tens of meters long shot out to meet his tanto.
The chakra scalpel and the giant blade collided with a deafening crash.
Gamabunta couldn't believe the force behind the blow. He'd never imagined a human could possess such terrifying strength. The only other person he knew who could match a toad of his size in pure power was Jiraiya's old teammate, Tsunade.
Bang!
Gamabunta was thrown backward. The brilliant green blade followed like a bolt of lightning, carving a long, deep trench in the ground. Gamabunta swung his tanto desperately, trying to block the flurry of strikes.
But Shirou's swordsmanship was too sharp, too fast. In seconds, a half-dozen new cuts, deep and shallow, appeared on Gamabunta's body.
"Is this a joke?" A cold dread washed over Jiraiya. He ducked down, watching in disbelief as Emiya Shirou effortlessly wielded a chakra scalpel tens of meters long, completely overwhelming Gamabunta. It looked like he was still holding back.
Jiraiya had no doubt the man could behead Gamabunta with a single strike if he wanted to.
Wait... a chakra scalpel can be used like that?
"Jiraiya!" Gamabunta roared, clutching a pierced shoulder. He couldn't hold on much longer. "Use that jutsu!"
Jiraiya's fingers flew through the seals. He and Gamabunta gathered their chakra at the same time. Gamabunta opened his mouth and spat a huge ball of toad oil, while Jiraiya unleashed a massive blast of fire.
"Fire Style: Toad Oil Flame Bullet!"
This was their signature combination, a jutsu that had never failed them. The toad oil amplified the power of Jiraiya's fire, creating a colossal inferno that surged toward Emiya Shirou. No Water Style jutsu could stop it; water would only make the oily flames burn hotter.
"Emiya!" Naruto yelled, terrified by the sheer power of the attack. On the surface, it looked far more powerful than any jutsu Shirou had used so far.
"Is this..." A bright light flashed in Emiya Shirou's eyes. His feet still hadn't moved. He simply raised his palm. "The warm-up finally over?"
"Blocking Technique... Absorption Seal."
A shimmering halo appeared between his palms.
The colossal inferno was sucked into the halo as if it were nothing more than a gentle stream, vanishing completely as it was converted into pure chakra and absorbed into Shirou's body.
"How... is that possible?"
Gamabunta and Jiraiya stared, their eyes wide with shock. Emiya Shirou hadn't moved an inch. Even the grass around his feet was untouched.
Releasing ninjutsu without hand seals... absorbing enemy ninjutsu... and infinite chakra...
Jiraiya's mind reeled. He was completely at a loss.
But then, something even more terrifying happened. After absorbing the flames and oil, the chakra aura around Emiya Shirou changed. A new power, more refined than chakra, surged from his body.
"That's..." Jiraiya sensed the change instantly, and a dreadful possibility dawned on him. His voice dropped to a whisper. "So now he was facing... an Emiya Shirou... who could use Sage Mode infinitely?"