"Sensei, you're still just as disgusting as ever!"
Konan shuddered and peeled off the greasy outer layer of aluminum foil clinging to her.
She glared at Jiraiya with cold disdain.
Although Konan's paper clones had blocked Jiraiya's Toad Oil Bullet using the foil,
the normal papers binding Naruto beside her couldn't withstand the attack.
They were instantly corroded and slipped from her control.
Taking advantage of this opening,
Jiraiya swiftly activated [Wild Lion's Mane Technique].
Using his extended white hair, he quickly coiled around Naruto and yanked him away from Konan.
"Cough! Cough! Cough!"
When he landed, Naruto burst into violent coughs.
After all, having oily, sticky paper shoved into your mouth is extremely unpleasant!
Especially since it was oil spat out by the Toad Sage himself—
Naruto couldn't help but feel his stomach churn.
"Are you alright, Naruto?"
"Jiraiya-sensei, your oil bomb stinks so bad!"
"Ahhh... Just bear with it for now. This isn't the time to be complaining!"
Seeing Naruto was safe, Jiraiya finally exhaled in relief.
Naruto: "What exactly happened? Who are they?"
Jiraiya: "They... they're the ones who attacked Konoha—and they're after you too!"
Naruto: "Huh? Why would they want me?"
Jiraiya: "It's too long to explain right now. I'll tell you later. For now, just endure this for a bit—for your own safety."
After saying that, Jiraiya clapped his hands together.
He immediately activated Summoning Jutsu and summoned four toads at once—
three large, one small.
The three giant battle toads were: Gamabunta wielding a single blade, Gamahiro dual-wielding two blades, and Gamaken using a trident;
and the smaller gourd toad, which possesses its own stomach barrier, capable of blocking Sensors.
As soon as the gourd toad appeared,
under Jiraiya's command,
it didn't hesitate—it simply opened its mouth wide and swallowed Naruto in one gulp.
"Aaaaaaaa~~~"
Naruto screamed once and was quickly inside the protective barrier within the gourd toad's belly.
This way, Naruto was at least temporarily safe.
Now Jiraiya could fully focus on dealing with these invaders.
"Jiraiya? Why did you summon all three of us at once?"
Gamabunta, puffing on his pipe, asked loudly.
"Gamabunta, Gamahiro, Gamaken—I need your help again!"
"There's been an attack on Konoha—please help me fight off those enemy summons!"
Jiraiya urgently requested.
Not only did the enemies have more summoned beasts, but each one was also incredibly powerful.
Across all of Konoha, only the mighty toads from Mount Myoboku stood a chance against them.
"Fine, we'll deal with you later."
"Gamahiro, Gamaken, let's go!"
At the critical moment, Gamabunta wasted no time—he gave the order immediately.
The three giant toads leaped forward, charging rapidly toward the rampaging enemy summons tearing through the village.
...
"Tch, so you sealed the Nine-Tails in a barrier, huh?"
"It seems things just got even more complicated..."
Human Path spoke calmly, though inwardly he felt quite troubled.
After all, he knew exactly how strong his perverted mentor was.
Trying to take back the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki from him wouldn't be easy...
"What now?"
"Keep him occupied. Wait for Deva Path to arrive, then surround and kill him!"
"Also, watch that little toad who swallowed the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. Don't let it escape..."
"Understood!"
The two took action again.
Human Path lunged directly toward Jiraiya.
Meanwhile Konan rapidly transformed into countless paper cranes, surrounding the gourd toad to prevent it taking away the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
...
At another part of Konoha Village,
the fierce battle between Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, and the five Susano'o clones
was gradually reaching its end.
Although Hiruzen Sarutobi possessed great strength—even losing an arm hadn't stopped him performing one-handed hand seals—
and his combined ninjutsu came effortlessly and continuously,
inflicting considerable damage!
In fact, by employing two combined trap techniques—and finally the Great Five Elements Explosion Jutsu—he successfully destroyed one of Shimoku's Susano'o clones.
Unfortunately,
compared with this Hokage, his Anbu subordinates were terribly weak.
Or rather, Shimoku's clones' Susano'o was simply too powerful.
Within just a minute,
the remaining Anbu ninja had been completely wiped out by the other three Susano'o.
Thus, despite defeating one Susano'o clone,
Sarutobi Hiruzen soon found himself surrounded by the remaining four clones.
One man couldn't fight four opponents at once.
Especially when those four were unstoppable Susano'o!
This encirclement left Sarutobi completely overwhelmed.
His defeat became imminent and increasingly apparent.
Moreover, something puzzled him greatly—
why could these Susano'o last so long?
Even after such intense fighting, there were no signs of weakening whatsoever.
Maintaining chakra consumption for five Susano'o simultaneously should have been utterly inconceivable!
Shimoku Uchiha was clearly still very young—where did he get such vast chakra reserves?
It made no sense!
...
"We can't hold on anymore!"
"Hokage-sama, please retreat quickly!"
Aburame Shibi, normally not a man of many words, finally spoke up.
Immediately urging Hiruzen Sarutobi to withdraw first.
If this continued, they feared they'd all be wiped out by these four Susano'o!
"Aburame Shibi..."
Gasping for breath, Sarutobi looked at Aburame standing beside him, unsure what to say...
"They're all clones. Continuing the fight is pointless!"
"Besides, Hokage-sama, Konoha cannot afford to lose you..."
"You should break through first and regroup with others."
"I'll cover your retreat!"
"If anything happened to you, our village might truly face destruction."
[Secret Technique: Insect Tornado!]
In the next moment, Shibi Aburame resolutely unleashed his secret technique.
Draining every last bit of chakra, he released all his Parasitic Bugs, engulfing everything within hundreds of meters in pitch-black swarms of insects.
Trying to hold back these four [Susano'o] clones to buy time for Sarutobi's escape!
...
Soon, swarms of parasitic bugs engulfed Shimoku's four [Susano'o] clones.
Ferociously devouring the chakra along [Susano'o]'s surface.
Of course, with just these insects alone, there was no way to break through [Susano'o]'s defenses.
But this vast ocean of dark bugs obscured Shimoku clone's field of vision, causing considerable annoyance.
"Irritating bugs!"
[Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!]
The four clones simultaneously unleashed fire-based jutsu.
Like a storm of fire, it rained down violently.
Instantly covering everything within a hundred meters.
Within moments, most of the parasitic insects and surrounding buildings were reduced to ashes.
"Huff—"
With a swing of its massive Susano'o hand, a powerful gale swept outward.
Quickly dispersing the smoke and ash into the air.
At the same time, Shimoku's clone noticed—
Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had been fighting fiercely earlier, had already vanished...
Tch! So he actually escaped?
That old man Sarutobi sure knows when to cut and run...
Shimoku wasn't particularly bothered by this.
After all, that man was an Akatsuki target.
Better leave him for someone from Akatsuki to hunt down.
His own clones had fought long enough—they'd certainly done their part.
Now that the situation allowed him to watch from afar, why risk himself directly?
"But still, pity about Leaf's subordinates."
Shimoku's clone looked downward.
On the ground below lay not only burned corpses of Anbu ninja.
But also Shibi Aburame of the Aburame Clan, who had run out of chakra and died from exhaustion.
There are still some hard-as-nails warriors in Konoha who don't fear death one bit!
It's a shame they were all ruined by this village's rotten leadership...
Shimoku sighed bitterly.
If The First and The Second Hokage were still alive, this village wouldn't have declined so badly.
In the future, without Naruto and Sasuke — the two pivotal figures — Konoha might've already fallen into ruin due to Hiruzen and Danzo's mismanagement.
Of course, reflection aside.
The killing must go on. Shimoku had no intention of showing Konoha even a shred of mercy.
After all, in this ninja world…
There's no right or wrong—only differences in perspective and conviction.
Hmm? It seems Pain and Jiraiya have started fighting already.
Fascinating.
Worth keeping an eye on. Might even get lucky and pick up something.
From behind the battlefield, Shimoku's true body leapt forward.
Chewing on squid skewers while glancing toward the distance.
He quickly dismissed his four clones and headed toward where Jiraiya's great battle was taking place.
<><><><><><><><>
Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!
~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** this weekend!
<><><><><><><><>
~ 100+ Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!
~ More *Free* Chapters and Books Available on Patreon!
patreon.com/Tansnovel
<><><><><><><><>