AN: Hello, sorry for the long delay for this chapter. Life has been trying, and I've also shifted some of my focus to other writing projects. I still plan on finishing this fic (eventually).
This chapter was halfway finished before I went on break. Going forward I'm going to start making longer chapters, I want to try and finish the current arc in around 3 or 4 chapters, instead of the 10 to 12 that it would be at the current chapter length. I hope to be writing more consistently, and may you enjoy this chapter.
Jiraiya and Shizuka stood on the sea. Shizuka looked back at the retreating beast as it glided through the ocean to the coastline. Exhaling through her nose, she focused her attention on the old man in front of her.
His stance was resolute, his arms crossed with a slight grin on his face. She examined him for any vulnerabilities or openings, and despite his relaxed stance, she found none. A feeling of dread came over her, one that she only felt the time she faced the Raikage all those years ago, though she wouldn't have to run now.
She yelled out across at him, "Nice trick, but your friends won't get too far without you."
"What makes you think I plan on staying here?" Jiraiya retorted
Instead of responding, Shizuka used hand signs, and placed her hands on the surface of the water.
Jiraiya felt a surge of energy as he felt a gargantuan amount of chakra gather in the water beneath him. Leaping away to get away from the area.
Water Release: Storm Spout
The ocean exploded as water propelled a large column upward, surging with enough force to push Jiraiya backwards. As the spout continued into the clouds above, Jiraiya waited for it to come back down, but not a single drop came.
Shizuka repositioned and performed another jutsu at his feet.
Water Release: Whirlpool
Jiraiya felt the water swell beneath him as he slipped under slightly as a whirlpool formed underneath him. His chakra control faltered, having to shift his full focus onto his chakra control in order to stay on top of the moving current. The whirlpool's intensity increased until Jiraiya was barely sliding across the surface.
As he descended deeper, Jiraiya felt the sky darken above him. Looking up, he spotted a storm cloud crackling with purple streaks of lightning. His blood ran cold as he channeled as much chakra as he could into his legs as he leaped out of the whirlpool.
As he did, Shizuka finished her attack
Storm Release: Orbital Ray
Light expelled from the cloud as a ray of violet destruction crashed into the sea. The beam evaporated the water around it as it struck the ocean floor, creating a void in the sea for a few moments before the water collapsed back into itself.
Jiraiya stood breathing laboured, the ends of his outfit slightly singed, grin still present. He could feel his sandals heating beneath his feet as the heat from the attack boiled the ocean.
"I guess storm release isn't something to take lightly. "
"If all you have is quips, old man, you won't last much longer."
Shizuka put her hand in a sign, as the storm cloud above began to crackle again with energy.
"Shit." Jiraiya cursed under his breath as he braced for the barrage.
Shooting downward, more pillars of destruction rained from the sky, turning the ocean into a boiling sponge. The attack continued for several moments, and steam overtook the area while Shizuka wiped sweat from her brow, finding the heat the most annoying aspect of her technique.
She extended her senses and waited, checking to see if she could sense the Sanin, not being able to find his signature before sensing a burst of chakra.
Wind Release: Great Breakthrough
A torrent of wind collided with her, knocking her off her feet and into the air, launching her away, and she regained her balance as she landed back on the water's surface.
Looking up with the steam now clear, she spotted Jiraiya unharmed, still in a confident pose.
Shizuka gritted her teeth. This old man was agile. She had already used a fair amount of chakra, thinking that she could gain the upper hand if she blitzed him out the gate with jutsu, but she hadn't even landed a hit yet.
Jiraiya laughed
"With all that firepower, you'd think you were fighting an army, though I must say as a word of advice, you shouldn't open up a battle with your more powerful techniques; they are easier to read."
Clicking her tongue, she channeled the summon seals on her wrist guard as she pulled out a whip. A dark metal-like substance formed the hilt, and chakra-conductive material covered the fall. As she coursed her chakra through it, the whip glowed with the same violet light, evaporating the water below it as it lay on the surface.
Jiraiya felt relief. In truth, he wasn't sure how many more of those rays he could have dodged, so changing the fight could only go in his favor.
Shizuka channeled chakra to her legs as she dashed forward, skidding across the water, extending the whip forward as the tendril of death went toward Jiraiya.
Jiraiya ducked the whip, but monitored it in the corner of his eye, since he knew chakra weapons could be unpredictable. On queue, the end of the whip turned sharply as it sped toward Jiraiya's back. With a quick turn, he dodged again, to Shizuka's surprise, as he performed a jutsu of his own.
Wind Release: Wind Torpedo
Expelling a high-speed gust of air, as it rocked toward Shizuka, she avoided a direct hit, but the technique clipped her in the side causing her to fly away at an awkward angle, as he flailed through the air, as he barely got her footing as she landed on top of the water, letting out a breath of frustration.
Jiraiya enjoyed the frustrated look on her face as she stared at him. Seeing an opportunity to get into her head, he taunted her. "I suggest you get really creative with your next moves. I've been in thousands of fights, so there's nothing you can do that I haven't seen before."
Trying to ignore him, Shizuka ran through hand swings as she stomped her foot on the water
The water beneath him disrupted again, but instead of descending into a whirlpool, all the water beneath him rapidly split apart as the sea opened up; he fell as to the rocky ground beneath.
Jiraiya saw the enormous walls of the ocean surrounding him, and he knew immediately what was going to happen next.
On the surface, Shizuka slammed her hands together
Water Release: Ocean Crush
Suddenly, the walls of water rushed back toward the center, ready to crush Jiraiya under the tons of liquid. Having no footing, Jiraiya went the only place he could down.
Jiraiya swung around and dove bomb himself toward the exposed sea floor, as the sea closed on top of him, he rushed through hand signs, and as he completed it, he reached his hand forward, and as he touched earth the water collapsed in.
As the ocean collapsed, Shizuka felt a surge of victory, until they felt the water beneath vibrate.
Earth Release: Tectonic Shift
Shizuka watched in awe as a small island rose from the ocean. Among the rocky and soaked mass, dozens of sea life lay immobilized as they flopped about, and on top of the island sat Jiriaya,his smile beaming down toward her.
Jiraiya mocked her again. " Nice techniques, but they're too predictable. Mix it up a bit. Throw some deception in there. Maybe a wall of water spears instead of just water." He mused
"Shut up!"
Shizuka began a very long sequence of hand signs.
Storm Release Kraken
Multiple spouts of water shot out, but instead of going into the air, they writhed like tentacles, as violet energy coursed through them, as they surrounded Jiraiya's land mass.
The tendrils then closed in on Jiraya as they crashed into the island, Jiraya quickly produced a scroll, placing it at his feet, before the attack hit. Shizuka's technique ravaged the landmass, melting through the rock, turning it into molten slag. Shizuka continued her barrage, unrelenting as she tried to finish her opponent.
She only stopped when she felt herself coming to her limit, as her chakra ran low. She dispelled the technique as the tendrils dissipated. She breathed heavily, waiting in anticipation, anxiety welling in her stomach.
Her eyes wide with shock and fear, by what she saw. On the small piece of land left, was a small dome barrier that let out a golden glow. Inside, Jiraiya sat cross-legged in the center, hand on chin, with a face of disinterest.
Sealing jutsu: Barrier of Resonance
The barrier dropped as he yawned, as he stood up and stretched. "Now that's the creativity I was talking about. Do you have anything else, or should I show off my techniques?"
Shizuka started forward in pure awe. He was perfectly fine, not a scratch was on him; hell, he didn't even look winded. Her chakra was low, and she began examining her options.
Jiraiya said, "Nothing? Then I guess I'll start." He went through hand signs, but before he could finish, Shizuka had dove backwards into the water, disappearing from sight.
After a few moments, Jiraiya extended his senses. He sensed her chakra moving away from the lab, and him rapidly. He exhaled. Good, he scared her off. He didn't want to use any of his more powerful techniques, and if the fight went on any longer, he would use chakra he didn't have to spare. It was all but certain that he was going to clash with Orochimaru before the end of the day, so the fewer resources he had to use, the better.
Jiraiya looked down at the now burned up scroll at his feet. "Months of work just to be destroyed in seconds. It was the only one of its kind he had, but he guessed he should be lucky that it was enough to dissuade her from fighting any further.
He looked out over the horizon at Jaro island, as he made his way back up to his team.