A massive plume of smoke erupted into the air, blanketing an area nearly a kilometer in diameter before slowly fading away to reveal the summoned behemoth.
Even perched atop his newest summoned beast, Gamabunta, Jiraiya couldn't help but break out in cold sweat—Sasuke had called forth his own monstrous, purple serpent-like opponent: Manda.
Even a ninja of Kage rank summoning Manda was a dangerous act.
"What in the world is this?" Manda's booming voice rang out. "I clearly told every foolish contract holder not to summon me again under any circumstances unless they were ready to offer their lives in exchange for my power!"
Sasuke slid down from Manda's head and landed at the center of its face, staring up defiantly.
"I will… but I'm already dead, you see. If you want to wrestle the Shinigami for my soul once I break this summoning contract, be my guest. All I ask of you now is to kill him."
If he hadn't already known he'd only taste ash and dirt, Manda would have swallowed the insolent brat whole on the spot.
[Impure World Reincarnation]—that damned technique again.
"Either way," Sasuke said plainly, "I'm going to kill Jiraiya." That alone gave Manda all the motivation it needed. The giant serpent lunged straight toward Gamabunta and Jiraiya.
As Manda closed in with fangs bared, Gamabunta quickly drew his tanto and stabbed it into the ground.
Manda dodged the strike with surprising agility and snapped back, but Gamabunta held fast to the earth with his blade, using sheer brute strength to lift his entire body high, attempting to pin Manda beneath his immense weight.
He missed. Slamming heavily back down, a violent tremor shook the ground beneath them.
Gamabunta growled, watching Manda pull back momentarily to prepare another assault, then called up to Jiraiya riding on his head:
[Impure World Reincarnation]? You're fighting someone who can't die?
"I can still beat him," Jiraiya assured Gamabunta, both keeping a close eye on Manda's next move. "But first, there are two things I have to do." And neither one would be easy—first, deal with Manda. "Manda may not be immortal, so we strike first."
Sounds almost easy when you say it like that.
"It will be," Jiraiya replied firmly. "I need to get back to those kids. I can't let them face a monster like Kabuto alone. Naruto told me how he used Orochimaru's remains. If Kabuto dares to try something like this now, he must be fully prepared."
Sasuke's words lingered heavily in his mind.
The thought that Yakushi Kabuto had devised something related to [Impure World Reincarnation] sent a chill through Jiraiya's heart.
Had Team 8 stumbled into a den of resurrected, unstoppable ninjas—or something even worse?
No. No matter what lay ahead, he had the power to end this once and for all. He needed Gamabunta to take out Manda first. Without that, he'd never get close enough to Sasuke to finish everything. There was no time to delay the hardest decisions.
He had to act quickly.
That meant they needed more help.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Appearing on either side of him were an old man and woman frog.
"So you've finally called us again, Jiraiya?"
"You kids these days don't fight like we used to."
Like he said before, he didn't have time to waste. Whether it was necessary or not no longer mattered.
As the frogs landed on his shoulders, his face started transforming into something slightly amphibian-like—his fingers and toes grew webbing, and warts sprouted across his skin.
"I really hate transforming like this..." Jiraiya muttered to himself. "...it's disgusting."
Eh, doesn't matter. The battle was on.
"Father, Mother, Gamabunta is fighting Manda. Let's deal with the figure riding atop it. He's someone resurrected through the Impure World Reincarnation."
Fukasaku glared at Manda and the small figure riding it.
"Orochimaru is dead. Who would be foolish enough to use that cursed jutsu?"
"It's Orochimaru's right-hand man, but that's a tale for another time. Right now, what matters—" they couldn't kill Sasuke, so they had to find a way to stop him. "We must subdue him. I have a plan, but first I need to keep him completely under our control. We can do that, right?"
"You know who you're talking to?" Shima snapped coldly. "Do you think we're so old that we only act serious when reminded? You only summon us when you've got no other choice."
"This is definitely one of those times," Jiraiya replied. Turning toward Gamabunta, he continued, "Get me as close to that kid as possible, for as long as possible. Do whatever you want to make it happen."
Gamabunta simply gave a cold grin. He knew Manda well enough to realize what it would cost to get near it and stay there.
It wasn't wise, but it came from a trusted friend, and he could sense how dire the situation truly was.
Manda lunged forward, slithering erratically across the ground. Then, moving with incredible speed for its massive size, it coiled rapidly around Gamabunta in tight circles.
Gamabunta swung his tanto at Manda's body—that was exactly what Manda wanted. Suddenly appearing behind Gamabunta, its fangs aimed right at him, ready to strike.
"Jiraiya——!"
"I know!" Jiraiya had been watching Gamabunta's flank closely. He knew the only way to get close enough to attack the summoner on Manda's back was to bait it into delivering the final blow—an extremely dangerous move since Manda was certainly capable of dealing death in one strike.
"With the power of my two greatest disciples combined, I shall unleash [Ultimate Sage Art: Super-Ultra-Big Ball Rasengan]!"
A regular Rasengan, three times Jiraiya's size, exploded in his palm as he leaped toward Manda, striking it squarely in the face.
Manda let out a shriek of pain and collapsed onto its back.
The scales on this snake's body were extremely tough—capable of withstanding even a concentrated chakra explosion powerful enough to destroy a mountain.
As Manda's head crashed down like a felled giant tree, Sasuke turned around and began sprinting backward along its body, each colossal segment of the serpent's form slamming into the ground one after another.
The enormous summoning beast coiled tightly, trying to dig beneath the surface to escape Gamabunta, the frog opponent who threatened to flay its hide for a wallet.
However, its escape didn't go as smoothly as it had hoped. Now, not only was Jiraiya clinging fiercely to Manda, but Sasuke—the very summoner who seemed to care little for its survival—was still upon it as well.
While Jiraiya scanned for Sasuke, Manda kept burrowing deeper underground, chunks of earth constantly flying into his face, yet this didn't deter him in the least.
Soon enough, he found Sasuke. Without hesitation, Jiraiya struck again. Sasuke swung his sword at him, but Jiraiya slammed his wooden sandal brutally into Sasuke's face and neck—a devastating blow strong enough to shatter anything above his shoulders.
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