That didn't mean it was less effective.
Judgement
Both Naruto and Jiraiya reacted to that single word spoken in a way that didn't precisely sound within their ears. It was as if the world or maybe the universe as a whole had just stirred itself enough to speak that single word.
Jiraiya was busy being thrown across the island, making the trip in seconds at a speed that was insane even by ninja standards. Otherwise he'd have been doing a lot more. Especially as he'd gotten a bit more information than that single word.
By the time Naruto had dropped the sword and backed away, there was a distant plume of dust already being swept away by the light breeze off the ocean.
He had been judged.
"Ouch," said Jiraiya. That had hurt and in more than just a physical manner.
He had failed in some important task, but the seed that had been planted then was already growing and was likely to kill him. He wasn't sure WHAT that seed had been, but he knew this with a terrible certainty. Something he'd done was going to come back and bite him.
He had been guilty of many incidents against women. Mainly things that they got angry over and then blew off a month down the road. A few had not gotten over it so quickly. There were even a few who took the evidence that there was something worthy of peeping and used that to bolster their self-confidence.
So he had been judged and found... not nearly so bad as he could have been. Relatively tame by local ninja standards actually. In a world where murder, rape, arson, torture, and wholesale slaughter were common - he'd been pretty tame by comparison.
Still, a Judgement was a Judgement. If he hadn't touched the blade, it wouldn't have bothered with someone whose sins were mostly petty but since he HAD - it had to give a Judgement.
"Ouch," repeated Jiraiya as the sage stirred and slowly lifted out of the crater that had been made by that impact.
Now he had to explain this to Naruto. This would be interesting.
Naruto stared at the sword. Though it had no eyes, he had the feeling the sword was looking back.
"Yo, gaki," said a woman as she walked into their camp and plopped down on a rock. "This is going to take getting used to."
"Waitaminute," said Naruto, staring. One hand came up trembling to point. "P-P-Pervy-sage?!"
"Yeah," said the woman, sweeping her hair back. "Dang. Gonna need an all new wardrobe. Maybe I can get these altered though."
"This is my sexy jutsu, right?" asked Naruto.
"Nope," said Jiraiya, pulling her shirt out to look at her own chest. "Hmph. Well that's a different angle."
"B-but," tried Naruto.
"Hmmm," said Jiraiya, bouncing her bosom a bit. "Interesting. Not entirely pleasant though. Bit distracting. I'd say... 36D. Never thought that skill would come in handy while shopping though."
Jiraiya stood up and started taking clothes off.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Naruto fell over with a nosebleed and horrified expression.
"If you're expecting female modesty from me, then you don't know me at all," said Jiraiya, putting her fingers through a large hole in the shirt. "Dang. Clothes got ripped when I landed on those rocks."
A few minutes later a bucket of cold water was splashed on Naruto, causing another scream and a lot of spluttering.
"Wha-wha-wha?" asked Naruto. "WHAT ARE YOU WEARING?!"
"A spare undershirt, a pair of boxers, and your spare sandals," said Jiraiya as if the answer should be obvious.
"But WHY?!"
Jiraiya frowned. "Because my old sandals are too large. My height seems to have translated over. I'm shorter than I was but still fairly tall. Probably the tallest kunoichi in Konoha."
"NOT THAT!"
"Oh," said Jiraiya. "Well, because my clothes didn't change with me. My old clothes hang on me like a tent. These more or less fit which means I won't have to disrobe if we get into a fight or something."
"WHY ARE YOU STILL A GIRL?!"
"Oh. Still hung up on that?" asked Jiraiya, sighing and giving a shrug with her hands spread wide. Which looked entirely different on her than it had on him. "Your sword is capable of doing a Judgement, letting punishment fit the crime. I'm not only a pervert but a legendary super-pervert. So for crimes against women, I'm now a girl. Looks like I also lost about twenty years, which makes sense sort of. After all, I didn't peep or put the moves on OLD women. Man, I am NOT looking forward to the monthlies. Or menopause."
Naruto twitched a few times. "Why are you so calm?"
"Would freaking out help? No, it would not," said Jiraiya, waggling one finger at Naruto. "Sometimes you just got to roll with the punches and look at the bright side."
"'Bright side'?" asked Naruto.
"One, I can research for my novels from an entirely new angle," declared Jiraiya, posing overdramatically. "Two, I can frequent the girls' side of hot springs now without fear!"
Naruto facepalmed, any doubt that this was Jiraiya evaporating in that instant.
"Three!" continued Jiraiya. "If anyone is looking for Jiraiya and Naruto as we go - they won't be looking for an attractive woman with her young male protege, will they?"
"Young male what?" asked Naruto.
"Student. Protege is a fancy way of saying student," said Jiraiya. "Really, must I teach you grammar as well as ninjutsu on this trip?"
"Uhm, no," said Naruto, not willing to admit he had thought it had meant something perverted.
"Four!" said Jiraiya, brandishing a weapon. "I got this as I was being flung across the island."
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(Posted Sun, 07 Jul 2013 17:51)
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