Within the World Tree space, Shiroishi stood quietly.
The description of Round Eyes was simple: it weakened the opponent's offensive output while possessing priority.
As a supportive skill, the priority of Round Eyes wasn't merely about speed enhancement in the conventional sense.
It was a perception that transcended the fleeting moments of time and space, an insight capable of capturing the opponent's intent the moment it formed in their mind.
It was a power existing between foresight and sensing.
Simply put, it was similar to Observation Haki.
Shiroishi closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
When he reopened them, the color of his pupils had subtly changed.
It was a soft and mysterious pale pink, like the morning glow reflecting the pulse of the World Tree.
Round Eyes activated.
His vision instantly expanded.
It felt as though the world had been stripped of its veils!
Everything became crystal clear in his eyes.
As if slowed down.
Every suspended speck of light, every ripple in the air, flowed in a gentle, unhurried dance.
"This feeling... it's like a heartbeat."
It was an unprecedented silence, yet it contained infinite dynamism.
He took another deep breath, his gaze shifting slightly.
"Eevee."
Eevee lifted its head, ears perked up, expression serious.
"Use Lively Bubble to attack me."
"Eevee!"
With a crisp response, Eevee leaped gracefully, its tail tracing an elegant arc.
In the next moment, countless sparkling bubbles shot forth from its mouth.
These weren't ordinary water bubbles but energy bodies infused with Chakra.
Each bubble spun and resonated in the air, creating intricate water ripple patterns.
Shiroishi's eyes narrowed slightly!
Under the vision of Round Eyes, the trajectories of all the bubbles transformed into clear energy lines in the air.
They were interwoven threads of time—each bubble's flight path, speed, and even the precise moment it would burst were laid bare before him.
"Here it comes!"
Chakra flowed through his feet, instantly triggering Lightning Flash!
His figure vanished from its original position, transforming into a streak of light.
The bubbles burst in the air, always a half-step too late.
Shiroishi's movements almost surpassed reaction.
It wasn't merely speed but an anticipation of the next instant.
He teleported again!
"Whoosh!"
Shiroishi's body came to a stop amidst a series of afterimages.
The surrounding bubbles fell and burst one after another, scattering into glistening droplets on the ground.
He landed softly, his feet firmly planted on the damp ground.
The air retained the lingering scents of electricity and water, intertwining into a peculiar tranquility.
Shiroishi slowly withdrew his Chakra, and the glow of Round Eyes gradually faded.
The pink luster swirled in his pupils for a few moments before returning to their original dull gray.
"This power..."
He murmured, a trace of awe in his tone.
Eevee happily trotted up, gently patting his leg with its tail.
Shiroishi smiled and bent down to pick it up.
"Well done, Eevee."
He looked up toward the endless branches of the World Tree,
the massive shadow of the tree seeming to watch him amidst the flowing light.
"It seems you've given me another gift."
Round Eyes was indeed just a Supportive Formula, but when resonating with the Ōtsutsuki Bloodline and the power of the World Tree within Shiroishi,
it was no longer a simple support skill but an extension of seizing the initiative.
The air was thick with dampness after the rain, and a few frogs croaked softly on the water's surface.
Jiraiya sat cross-legged on a rock, his expression focused.
Nearby, Mudkip leaped from the shallow water, its tail fin flicking as blue Chakra flowed through its body.
"Alright, Mudkip, try out that new Falling Rocks move you learned!"
At Jiraiya's command, Mudkip immediately jumped up, Chakra rapidly gathering in its mouth.
In the next moment, a brilliant blue beam shot into the sky, causing the heavens to tremble slightly.
"Boom!"
Countless rocks materialized out of thin air and crashed down toward the ground like falling meteors.
The spectacle was magnificent, the sound of shattering stones causing the very air to vibrate.
Jiraiya's expression turned serious as he formed hand signs.
"Earth Release: Wide-Area Defense!"
Boom!
The ground suddenly swelled upward, Chakra surging through the soil.
In an instant, the surrounding earth flipped and solidified, transforming into a thick crystalline rock barrier.
Like a translucent amber dome, it encircled Jiraiya, intercepting all the falling stones.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The sound of rocks striking the barrier was deafening, dust swirling and water splashing everywhere.
Yet amidst the violent rain of stones, Jiraiya stood firmly at the center, light shimmering around him, the edges of his clothes fluttering slightly.
"Heh..." he chuckled softly. "Not bad at all."
However, in the next moment, cracks began to appear on the barrier's surface.
Crack! Crack-crack!
The sound of shattering glass echoed through the quiet, misty air as the defensive wall gradually crumbled, turning into scattered mud and sand.
When the last fragment fell to the ground, silence returned to the surroundings.
Mudkip settled back into the muddy ground, wagging its tail and emitting a soft gurgle, clearly quite pleased with the results.
Jiraiya flexed his fingers, a thoughtful expression on his face.
"As expected, this technique can't maintain defense continuously."
He raised his hand to observe the lingering Chakra flow in his palm.
The energy was incredibly dense, almost pushing Earth Release to its limits,
but the resulting strain was equally heavy.
Wide-Area Defense... truly powerful.
If used on the battlefield, it could withstand coordinated ninjutsu barrages from enemy forces. Even combined elemental techniques from multiple Rock ninja could be blocked head-on.
He slowly exhaled, the Chakra at his fingertips gradually dissipating.
But its weakness was too obvious.
It couldn't be used consecutively - once activated, it required a period of rest.
He looked down at Mudkip with a wry smile.
"Your little technique has saved me a lot of research time. It seems I need to study the patterns more - perhaps by adjusting the Chakra circulation, I can extend the barrier's duration."
Mudkip tilted its head, seemingly not understanding, and simply gurgled, blowing a small bubble from its mouth.
The bubble floated lightly to land on Jiraiya's nose before popping with a soft 'pat.'
Jiraiya didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Hey now, none of your mischief."
He stood up, brushing the mud and water from his clothes, and surveyed the surroundings again.
The muddy ground had been ravaged by the techniques, pitted and scarred, with scattered stones and rippling water creating a chaotic scene.
Then he sat cross-legged once more, closed his eyes, and began mentally replaying every movement and hand sign sequence from earlier.
As an experienced ninja, Jiraiya understood well that true power lies not merely in a technique's destructive capability, but in the understanding and mastery of the art itself.
"The structure of this technique seems to condense chakra directly into crystalline soil molecules... meaning the stability of chakra control determines the defensive thickness. It's somewhat similar to the Tsuchikage's..."
He murmured while deducing, tracing patterns with his fingertip.
Orochimaru, observing from the shadows, cursed inwardly at the fool, wondering why he was wasting energy on this.
At that moment, the Rain Village squad leader who had previously received Shiroishi's Ninja Beast Egg appeared outside the Breeding House with his entire team, their arrival going unnoticed until now.