Seeing the giant salamander pinned beneath an even larger toad's backside, Nagato was the first to cry out in disbelief.
"Jiraiya-sensei?!"
"And me too."
Uchiha Obito also appeared before Nagato. Upon seeing Yahiko's injuries, he immediately took out the medical kit Rin had given him before they parted.
"You treat Yahiko-san first. I'll go help the pervy guy fight!"
Handing over the medical kit carefully, Obito gave him a reluctant glance before rushing off to support Jiraiya.
"Hanzō, it's been a while since the last great battle, hasn't it?"
Watching the salamander dissolve the summoning of its own accord and disappear, Jiraiya didn't let his guard down and remained alert as he stared at Hanzō in the distance.
"..."
Hanzō didn't respond. Instead, he turned into a puddle of water and vanished from sight.
"Body Flicker Technique, huh? I've already seen through that trick!"
Ducking low to avoid the swinging scythe, Jiraiya kicked backward, only to get caught by an iron chain.
"Wild Lion's Mane Technique!"
Feeling the iron chain tighten around his ankle, Jiraiya didn't panic. He controlled his hair to bind Hanzō instead.
"Water Style: Water Collision Wave."
Breaking free from the hair's restraint by force, Hanzō abandoned his weapon and, ignoring the blood and flesh exposed from his wound, formed seals to launch a Water Style attack at Jiraiya.
This scene happened to be noticed by Jiraiya, who had just turned around.
Locking eyes on Hanzō's wound, Jiraiya released the summoning technique. Taking advantage of the sudden drop beneath his feet, he widened the distance between them.
The two fell to the ground, and the moment Jiraiya landed, he unleashed the ninjutsu he had prepared in advance:
"Toad Oil Bullet!"
A mouthful of old oil sprayed onto Hanzō, coating him in a thick, sticky layer.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
Obito, waiting in ambush nearby, seized the opportunity. He released a Fire Style jutsu, aiming to turn Hanzō into a fried dish.
"Crack."
The chilling sound of bones breaking rang out. Faced with the approaching Great Fireball, Hanzō chose to arch his back backward in an eerily contorted manner to avoid becoming a hot entrée.
"What the hell!"
Seeing this movement, Obito looked completely baffled.
How could a human even bend like that?
"Heh heh heh, I only came to check on my cute disciples, and I end up witnessing such a grand spectacle. Hanzō, as a so-called demigod of the ninja world, why would you target children?"
Jiraiya noticed Obito's confusion, but simply waved his hand to signal him to stay silent. Putting on a carefree smile, he slowly approached Hanzō.
However, after only taking two steps, Jiraiya suddenly felt a strong sense of danger.
He instinctively leapt to the left—
A deep trench appeared where he had been standing.
Wind Style?
No—there was no sound of air being sliced.
Who?
Reflexively glancing behind, Jiraiya only saw a group of Amegakure ninja standing at the edge of the cliff.
With the sound unique to Hanzō's Body Flicker Technique, Obito's frustrated voice echoed across the battlefield:
"Damn it, pervy guy, that bastard got away!"
As Hanzō vanished, his subordinates also ceased fighting and fled the area.
"Call me sensei!" Jiraiya corrected Obito with a black-lined face, but turned serious in an instant.
No matter the jutsu or fighting style, that guy was undeniably Hanzō. But the way his flesh split open...
"Anyway, let's check on Yahiko's condition first."
Ultimately, this was Amegakure's internal affair. Jiraiya himself was one thing, but letting Obito get involved changed the stakes.
So Jiraiya buried his suspicions deep inside, maintaining his usual carefree look.
...
Once the battlefield calmed again, Setsuna emerged from the shadows with Black Zetsu.
"We failed..." Black Zetsu muttered thoughtlessly.
"Shut up, you useless trash." As expected, Setsuna scolded him.
"Why didn't you tell me Jiraiya was in the Land of Rain?"
"Apologies. We don't really keep track of that guy," White Zetsu replied.
"That man could sense my 'Sky Slash'. He's no ordinary ninja." Setsuna instinctively covered his left eye, comparing Jiraiya's strength in his mind.
Half of White Zetsu's face showed sudden understanding:
"Ah, you mean that slash attack?"
"Exactly. 'Sky Slash'—an invisible strike. Until now, no one has ever sensed it. Not even Hanzō."
Setsuna clenched his teeth. It seemed his dōjutsu wasn't entirely undetectable after all.
"So what now? That Jiraiya guy isn't weak. Hanzō alone doesn't seem enough to deal with him."
As Black Zetsu spoke in his raspy voice, Hanzō staggered out of the shadows, looking battered. A few subordinates followed behind.
"Hanzō-sama, these two are...?"
Hattori and Kamita, hailed as Hanzō's right-hand men, immediately tensed when they saw Setsuna.
They didn't strike at once—out of trust in their leader.
But—
Setsuna glared with his left eye. Instantly, thin red lines sliced across the necks of the surrounding Amegakure ninja. They collapsed, clutching their throats.
"Just one Jiraiya, that's all. These guys are among Amegakure's stronger shinobi—I refuse to believe they can't crush a mere brat."
Walking casually toward the bodies, Setsuna waited until their life force faded completely before activating his right eye's dōjutsu.
"With the power of 'Kuni no Tokotachi', I am invincible! Hahahahaha!"
Letting out a chilling laugh, the fallen Amegakure shinobi stood back up, gazing at Setsuna with vacant expressions.
"That Jiraiya guy came at the perfect time. When he dies in front of Nagato, let's see if Nagato can still maintain this current persona!"
...
As the major hidden villages licked their wounds from the Third Great Ninja War, recent events stirred their ambitions once again.
First was the battle at Kikyō Pass—Rasa was defeated and returned to the village, only to be scolded by the feudal lord. Afterward, he was forced to apologize and pay reparations under pressure from Konoha's newly-appointed Fourth Hokage, Sakumo. Sunagakure's power plummeted.
Smelling opportunity, their neighbor Ōnoki tried to take advantage. But Rasa, sensing danger, shamelessly went to Konoha to sign an alliance treaty.
Sakumo knew that strengthening Iwagakure brought no benefit to Konoha, so he agreed to the alliance, but flatly refused Rasa's request to reduce the reparations.
This firm stance earned Danzo's admiration. Coupled with Sarutobi Hiruzen's warnings before retirement, Danzo and his Root division began to quiet down.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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