"Looks like the Edo Tensei's precision still needs work."
After Hashirama and Tobirama were sealed, Orochimaru emerged as well.
From the initial explosion to the completed seal, the entire sequence had taken only a few seconds.
"Incredible! The Third Hokage-sama actually sealed the First and Second just like that!"
"Hanabi-sama is amazing too, coordinating with the Third Hokage-sama that seamlessly!"
"The reanimated shinobi must be far weaker than they were when alive."
The ANBU outside were stunned by what they'd witnessed.
The coordination between Hanabi and the Third had been flawless—the sealing was executed in one swift motion.
"But this is as far as you go. Game over."
The Edo Tensei puppets were sealed, sure—but Orochimaru himself was still in one piece. Well… calling it "one piece" was generous. Hanabi's Ice Blade had grazed him, and that sting was no joke.
But that was purely emotional damage. Orochimaru's current body was perfectly strong.
"Yes. It's over."
Hanabi turned to face Orochimaru, a faint smile on her lips.
And then… the view cut away.
The Stage knew exactly how to cut to a cliffhanger.
"Game over." Jiraiya stood atop a toad, looking down at the bone spikes blanketing the ground.
"That was terrifying…"
Shikamaru let out a breath of relief.
If this strange man hadn't appeared out of nowhere, the bone spikes would have killed them all.
In that split second, Jiraiya had summoned a toad and pulled everyone onto its back—saving their lives.
In truth, it hadn't been as close as it looked. Jiraiya had been near the gates of Konoha the entire time.
When Gamabunta had leapt out of the exam arena with Gaara in tow, Jiraiya had seen it happen.
He'd been about to give chase when he spotted another squad—and that squad had run into Sound ninja.
Hanabi had "spoiled" it for Jiraiya: Orochimaru was the one behind the Sound.
So this man was undoubtedly one of Orochimaru's subordinates.
After Shikamaru's squad engaged Kimimaro, Jiraiya had been surprised to notice that the enemy's Cursed Seal bore a resemblance to senjutsu—so he'd hung back to observe.
"Could you be Jiraiya-sama?" Neji had heard Hanabi mention this man a few times.
"Hahaha! That's right. I am the Toad Sage of Mount Myōboku!"
Jiraiya laughed, but his gaze remained fixed on Kimimaro.
"I thought so—it really does look like senjutsu."
[So what IS senjutsu, exactly?]
[It's supposed to be a ninja series, but it keeps mashing everything together]
[They even crammed in Indian elements]
[This much is still fine. I just hope they don't splice in Europe—the cultural gap would feel jarring]
"This one… is in bad shape."
Jiraiya was taken aback.
After unleashing Dance of the Seedling Fern, Kimimaro still had fight left in him. But the instant he laid eyes on Jiraiya—knowing he couldn't win—he simply collapsed.
In short: the last breath he'd been holding finally left him.
"This guy must be in end-of-life care territory. Did he force himself up with drugs? No—even with drugs, it'd be hard to stand. How on earth did he fight these kids?"
[Holy crap, he really was on his deathbed all along]
[No wonder the pressure was so insane. If Kimimaro were healthy, he'd easily be Kage-level]
[Easily. These four together could give a Kage a fight, and Kimimaro had them completely shut down]
[He was running on pure willpower. The second Jiraiya showed up and he knew he couldn't hold out, he finally collapsed completely]
[Tragic]
[Beautiful, strong, tragic—and dead young. Tsk tsk tsk]
"Um, Jiraiya-sama—what's his condition?" Shikamaru asked.
"Ah, his body's done. Even if you rushed him to the hospital right now, he'd have a month or two at best. The man was already terminal."
Hearing Jiraiya's assessment, all four wore complicated expressions.
—Nearly wiped out by a dying man. The thought was nothing short of humiliating.
"Well, he is the enemy." Yet Shikamaru somehow felt it was a shame.
Enemy or not, Kimimaro hadn't left a terrible impression on them. He'd even given them time to plan their strategy.
In truth, if Kimimaro had picked them off one by one from the start—never giving Shikamaru a chance to coordinate—they'd have been crushed individually, long ago.
"Still, this one can't die yet."
That peculiar Cursed Seal had piqued Jiraiya's interest.
—Almost certainly another one of Orochimaru's experiments.
So Jiraiya summoned another toad and had it swallow Kimimaro whole.
"Your teamwork back there was impressive. Even a Jōnin would've had a hard time dealing with this one." Jiraiya turned to the four of them.
"Jiraiya-sama, we still have a mission." Sasuke was more concerned about Naruto's safety. Now that this side was handled, finding Naruto was the top priority.
"For Naruto, right?" Jiraiya read the situation instantly.
"You know Naruto?" Shikamaru was wary. The man might be one of the Sannin, but that didn't mean he could be trusted blindly. One of the Sannin—Orochimaru—was a traitor. Even if this guy was the real deal, that didn't rule out problems.
"Hahaha! Naruto happens to be my student." Jiraiya looked rather pleased with himself. "Didn't you notice Naruto's toads look just like mine? Hahaha."
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go find Naruto!" The only thing left in Sasuke's head was Naruto.
"Easy there. Naruto's strong—he'll be fine. Why don't you fill me in first—how are things inside the village?" Jiraiya asked.
"Sound ninja attacked during the exam. Sand seems to be in on it, but they've been acting strangely—they didn't actually attack, choosing to stay neutral instead. The Kazekage is going it alone and is currently fighting Hokage-sama." Shikamaru summed things up in a few sentences.
"I see… You go find Naruto. I'll head to the arena." Jiraiya looked toward Konoha.
The four-man squad wasted no time and pushed onward toward Naruto's location.
"What is this… What IS this?!"
Elsewhere, Naruto let out a cry of disbelief.
Both he and Gaara had burned through every last drop of Chakra.
And then, when Naruto tried to land one final Rasengan on Gaara, sand intercepted it once more.
That sand had taken the shape of a woman, her arms outstretched, sheltering Gaara.
"I don't want to lose!" Gaara panted.
"Are you kidding? I'm not losing either!"
Naruto clenched his fists.
Kushina hadn't released the Nine-Tails' power.
She knew Naruto didn't care about physical changes.
But as a mother, Kushina wanted to reduce the side effects even a little—ideally, he'd be able to stand on his own before they consumed him…
"But I'm not finished either! Adamantine Sealing Chains!"
Kushina: ???
She hadn't supplied any more support this time. So how had Naruto forcibly pulled Chakra from her again?
But Kushina understood almost immediately.
Naruto's talent was just that extraordinary. He was already able to seize partial control even while she was in her attached-spirit state!