"..."
Itachi watched one of the Sannin, Jiraiya, hopping around and didn't know how to evaluate him. With his Sharingan activated, he could only cautiously watch out for the opponent without reducing his guard.
"Since you don't want to say anything…" Jiraiya adjusted his robe and checked to see if his hair was singed, maintaining a calm tone as he spoke to Itachi, "Then I'll just have to beat it out of y…"
Before the word 'you' even finished echoing in the air, the sound of rushing wind filled the space.
'Here it comes!' Itachi's Sharingan locked on tightly.
Boom!
Jiraiya's serious punch snapped the tree trunk where Itachi had been standing clean in half. As the wood chips and dust settled, revealing no sign of Itachi, Jiraiya snorted, gathering Chakra-infused oil in his mouth and spitting it toward a specific direction. The flaming projectile, followed by a Fire Release Ninjutsu, burst forth with great power and speed, instantly engulfing a large tree in flames.
Itachi leapt out just before the sea of fire could spread, and in mid-air, he flung over a dozen kunai with an intricate technique.
Despite throwing with just his hands, the kunai's trajectories were both straight and curved. The kunai clanged as they collided mid-air, further altering their paths.
It was as if the kunai were being launched from all directions simultaneously, like an assault from multiple attackers. Jiraiya couldn't help but marvel at the years of practice required for such a skill. He abandoned his plan to strike while Itachi was airborne and vulnerable, opting instead to defend himself.
All the kunai clattered against a rising earth wall. When the wall lost its stability and crumbled into dust, along with the fallen kunai, Jiraiya was already prepared, unleashing several more flaming projectiles.
The fireballs, imbued with more searing heat than typical Fire Release Ninjutsu, approached Itachi. His expression changed slightly, caught off guard by the unexpected attack. He quickly evaded, but as he landed on a tree, he was struck by a shadowy figure that appeared suddenly, sending him flying with a punch.
The flickering fire illuminated the forest as Itachi watched Jiraiya relentlessly pursue him. Just as another punch was about to connect, Itachi's entire body disintegrated into crows and disappeared.
Jiraiya remained undeterred, his keen senses scanning the surroundings. Suddenly, he turned around and blocked the kunai Itachi thrust at him.
"You're pretty quick with your hand seals." Jiraiya sneered, staring at Itachi's expressionless face.
From the beginning until now, Jiraiya hadn't once seen Itachi perform a hand seal. Yet, his techniques seemed to flow seamlessly, which impressed Jiraiya deeply.
"Thanks for the compliment." Itachi replied in a tone devoid of any joy, as the two continued to press their strength against each other, the kunai slowly being forced back, "In fact, my hand seals might be even faster than you think. "
This was the longest sentence Itachi had spoken since they met. Hearing this, Jiraiya raised an eyebrow, thinking, 'Brat, you get cocky with a little bit of praise? You do realize I'm overpowering you right now, right?'
Jiraiya was about to deliver a snarky remark when he sensed something was off.
"Explode!" Itachi said calmly.
The Itachi before him began to distort…
'It was a shadow clone!' Jiraiya realized, immediately activating his Ninjutsu. His hair rapidly extended to shield him, but before it could fully spread, a volatile glow burst from the clone.
Boom!
The clone's self-destruction sent Jiraiya flying, the shockwave scattering everything in its path. He crashed through numerous branches before finally steadying himself by grabbing onto a tree trunk, now thoroughly covered in dirt and dust.
"Cough, cough… After a Crow Clone, now a Shadow Clone as a distraction… His hand seals are damn fast fast." Jiraiya couldn't help but curse, and the real Itachi emerged slowly from his hiding spot, which caused Jiraiya to glare at him.
"I really underestimated someone who could single-handedly annihilate his entire clan."
Despite appearing to hold a slight upper hand, Itachi felt neither relaxed nor proud. Staring at the disheveled Jiraiya who had just gotten back on his feet, Itachi instead frowned slightly.
Itachi could tell that despite the attack, his opponent was barely affected, and at most, suffering only minor injuries. Though Jiraiya appeared disheveled, his Chakra remained as stable as ever, suggesting he might be probing Itachi...
Itachi thought, 'He is really good at acting.'
Jiraiya was likely trying to understand Itachi's fighting style and techniques. From his words, he could trust maybe half of what he said, and even the previous statement might have been a ploy to gather information.
After seeing through Jiraiya's cunning nature, Itachi decided to speak less, realizing that staying silent was the best way to handle the situation.
'Senpai's side...' Itachi estimated the time again, 'He should be nearing the border by now. It won't be much longer.'
Fighting Jiraiya was far from easy, and Itachi himself had some health problems...
Jiraiya noticed Itachi remaining completely silent, making his comments feel like they were directed at thin air, which was a bit awkward. Recalling the other Uchiha brat from earlier, he thought, 'Not only does he have a paralyzed face like a wooden block, but this cold demeanor too... Is this the legacy of the Uchiha Clan? They're all the same...'
Thinking of the Uchiha kid, Jiraiya glanced in the direction Naruto and Sasuke had gone to, 'Those two going after Hattori, who's not at his best, should be fine... Tch, though catching up to him might still be up in the air.'
Jiraiya barely turned his head, but Itachi still caught the movement, 'So he's also worried about that side.'
Thinking that it would be much easier to stall for the time by making idle chat than to fight someone at Sannin level, Itachi paused and then said: "... Sending two Genin-level kids to intercept Hattori, what a reckless decision."
His eyes flickered, "Or perhaps, allowing three Genin to join this pursuit team was an egregious mistake from the start."
When Jiraiya heard Itachi's sudden change of attitude in chatting, he chuckled and said nonchalantly: "We didn't make them come along; they insisted on joining. In fact, this entire retrieval mission was something those kids pushed to initiate."
Itachi was a little surprised.
"Foolish." From what Jiraiya said, he can imagine the scene at that time, so Itachi couldn't help but say that.
"Really?" Jiraiya responded indifferently. The scene in the Hokage's office, where Team 7 and their Jonin Instructor stood united, was a memory no Ninja who valued bonds could easily forget, "I don't see it that way."
Many years ago, he had pursued Orochimaru's shadow, only for the latter to vanish into the dense forest, much like tonight.
Keeping pace with a genius required relentless effort from the one lagging behind. Jiraiya reflected on his former team, the legendary Sannin, who had earned their fame across the Ninja World and protected the village. Over time, the three of them had grown apart, their friendship often lost amid their quarreling words. Soon enough, they didn't even have the chance to see each other.
He wondered what the team taught by Kakashi will become in the future. The Jinchuriki who had Kyubi sealed into his body by the Fourth Hokage, the vengeful avenger marked by Orochimaru's Cursed Seal, and a seemingly ordinary girl... There was no telling what profound meaning lay within their connections, but he felt they were meant to pursue it.
Wiping some dust from his face, Jiraiya said, "I believe they can do it."
"Why?"
Itachi wasn't truly curious, but he asked anyway, wanting to hear the response.
"Because of bonds."