"Boss Toad, watch out! These three are extremely powerful!" Jiraiya warned.
"You don't need to tell me that!" Gamabunta growled.
Seeing Gamabunta's arrival, Raikage and his two companions also felt some frustration.
It wasn't that they couldn't handle a summoned beast—but with this giant one guarding him, their plan to quickly eliminate Jiraiya had just gone up in smoke.
"This big guy's mine!" Killer B shouted with a "Yo!" and immediately transformed into his Perfect Form.
Gamabunta puffed his pipe furiously and muttered, "Why is there an Eight-Tails here too?"
Shō, Seiki, and Orochimaru exchanged glances. In the next moment, three more massive summoned beasts appeared.
Gamaken, Manda, and the Large Slug—here they are!
"Whoa ho, Boss is here too!"
"I knew nothing good would come from being summoned by you, Orochimaru!"
"Nyaa, are we facing the Eight-Tails again? So scary!"
Suddenly seeing four summoned beasts nearly as large as himself, the Eight-Tails couldn't help but complain, "Damn it, you really know how to make trouble for me!"
Very soon, the five great beasts clashed violently in battle.
The earth trembled and trees flew through the air. The once-dense forest was instantly reduced to a barren wasteland.
Seeing the battle between the Four Summoned Beasts and the Eight-Tails, the Jonin from both sides froze in shock.
"What kind of monsters are these?"
"A mythological war or something?"
"We're all Jonin, so why is the gap between us and them so huge?"
"People can differ more than humans and dogs do!"
On another battlefield, the power balance had now changed to four versus two, seemingly favoring Shō and his group.
But in reality, it wasn't quite like that. Even Jiraiya and Orochimaru had only been able to hold their ground against Raikage thanks to the summoned beasts. Comparatively speaking, both sides had returned to equal footing.
Even Shō couldn't help but admit—Raikage was just too powerful, truly worthy of being called someone who had once fought the Eight-Tails to a standstill alone!
"Cursed brat, don't underestimate toads as sage beasts!" Jiraiya clapped his hands together and entered standby mode. "Orochimaru, save me!"
"That's right, Sage Mode!" Minato's expression turned serious. "Although I'm not skilled in Sage Art, I have no choice but to do this to boost my attack power!"
He closed his eyes symbolically for a moment—and then immediately activated Sage Mode in seconds!
Jiraiya cried out in shock, "Minato, how come you're so fast?"
Minato gave a bitter smile. "Since my chakra reserves are limited, I only need to extract a small amount of Sage Chakra, so I specifically developed this one-time Sage Mode."
Jiraiya listened in stunned silence—could such a thing even be developed?
Thinking back, Shō had once grasped Natural Energy in one try, and now Minato could activate Sage Mode within a second. Why did their experiences learning Sage techniques feel completely different from all the hardships he had endured?
Raikage and his partner saw Jiraiya preparing a major move, so their attacks grew increasingly fierce.
[Lightning Release: Black Panther!]
A panther-shaped bolt of black lightning lunged toward Jiraiya, roaring with thunderous intensity.
"Bad news—it's Raikage's unique Black Lightning!"
Jiraiya felt a chill run down his spine. This Black Lightning would paralyze its victims, but more importantly, it had a secondary spread effect.
With his hands clasped together and unable to form seals, and foot seals too slow, he struggled to dodge the secondary dispersal attack of the Black Lightning.
Sure enough, after easily dodging the initial strike, the Black Lightning "exploded," spreading tendrils of electricity that latched onto him.
In an instant, Jiraiya felt his body go numb, completely losing control.
At this critical moment, Minato teleported right in front of Jiraiya and immediately began forming a Rasengan straight into the incoming attack.
[Sage Art: Super-Ultra-Big Ball Rasengan]!
This was hardly the first time Raikage had seen this move. Confident he could withstand it, he countered with a direct Four-Tailed Fang Hand slicing straight into the oversized energy sphere.
But thanks to the Natural Energy, this Sage Art was way stronger than the regular Super-Ultra-Big Ball Rasengan. Even Raikage, caught off guard, was sent flying backward by the immense force of the explosion.
Boom!
The impact looked like a miniature meteor strike as Raikage crashed into the ground, shaking the earth itself.
Yet before anyone could even briefly enjoy their success, Raikage burst forth from the crater, spitting out a large mouthful of blood while eyeing his opponents warily.
"So this brat has made me taste injury again after all these years!"
Raikage was wary, but Shō and Minato were even more speechless.
That attack could flatten a mountain—and all he did was spit up a bit of blood?!
Jiraiya shouted loudly, "Great job, Minato! Try hitting him with another one!"
Minato sighed helplessly. Normally, he should have enough chakra for three uses of Sage Art: Super-Ultra-Big Ball Rasengan. However, instantly entering Sage Mode came at the cost of consuming at least a third of his Sage Chakra.
Which meant he only had one shot left—if he used it, he'd have to exit Sage Mode, and those eye marks would vanish completely.
Still, he understood his teacher's meaning perfectly.
Bluff Raikage!
Realizing that, Minato said carefully, "Raikage is simply too powerful. Sensei, let's wait until you and Seiki Shimaseki both enter Sage Mode before the three of us take him down together!"
Raikage subtly twitched his lips—what kind of joke was this? If he took three attacks of that level, even he wouldn't be able to endure it!
Although there was no sign of Shimaseki transforming yet, A knew one thing was certain—he absolutely couldn't underestimate this kid!
Besides, he had figured something out by now.
Konoha ninja are all tricksters!
Even someone like Namikaze Minato—who looked so honest—said he wasn't good at Sage Arts, yet hit him right in the face with one anyway.
Just as he hesitated, Jiraiya finally completed summoning the two great Sages.
"Little Jiraiya, what's all this commotion about?"
"Gamabunta and Gamashiro are here already, along with summons from two other clans, not to mention even the Eight-Tails himself."
Of course, the two Sages immediately turned their attention to the battle between the Bijū and the Summoned Beasts—it seemed far more interesting than Raikage and A.
"Boss, big sis, today's opponent is extremely tough—we need your help again!"
Sage Fukasaku replied gently, "Of course we'll help. But judging from your condition now, you don't seem quite well?"
"It's fine. I can still hold on."
Orochimaru grinned sinisterly, "Looks like it's time for us to strike back!"
Though already considering retreat, the Raikage still shot back arrogantly, "Tch! Don't get ahead of yourself!"
[Sage Art: Goemon!]
[Many Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!]
[Super-Ultra-Big Ball Rasengan!]
[Lightning Release: Black Panther!]
[Thunder God Level - Horizontal Strike!]
Powerful jutsu rained down one after another, with no regard for chakra usage. For a moment, their battle clamor even overshadowed the Bijuu summoning beast fight nearby.
Just as the battle reached its peak, Dodai came rushing over, his face filled with urgency.
"Raikage-sama, bad news! The Hidden Mist has launched an attack on our village!"
"What?! Damn those filthy Mist bastards!" The Raikage roared in anger. After a moment's hesitation, he barked out, "Full retreat!"
Jiraiya laughed mockingly, "Heh, you wanted to pull off a sneak attack? Well look what happened — your base is toast! And yeah, don't think you can just walk away now..."
Yet just as Jiraiya was basking in the irony of it all, Torifu also came running over in a panic, shouting loudly, "Lord Orochimaru, Lord Jiraiya, multiple camps have been attacked by the Mist! Urgent requests for reinforcements are coming from the front line!"
Seeing Jiraiya's grin freeze in place, the Raikage sneered, "Still feel like keeping us pinned here?"
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes and said, "Let's end this here today. Continuing this fight benefits neither side."
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