Manda roared furiously before transforming into smoke and returning to Ryuchi Cave.
The great serpent felt it had done its utmost for Orochimaru by helping defeat two powerful summoning beasts—a tremendous contribution.
So after issuing its reminder, Manda departed without any hesitation.
"That one in the sky is quite troublesome!"
Orochimaru ignored Manda's departure, instead frowning at the clay bird soaring overhead. Their opponent was too fast and agile—ordinary attacks couldn't even connect, let alone prove effective.
This situation was rather helpless.
"Gamabunta and the others don't have better solutions either."
Jiraiya stood up awkwardly. The aerial bombardment was extremely annoying, but he had no superior alternatives.
The three toads, plus Jiraiya and Orochimaru, gathered together, staring alertly at the clay bird drawing closer overhead.
"Be careful—it's coming again!"
Just as everyone focused their attention skyward, Tendo Pain suddenly materialized before them.
"No! Watch out!"
"How did he appear without making any sound?"
"Shinra Tensei!"
Tendo Pain extended one hand toward the group as powerful repulsive force erupted, instantly hurling everyone backward.
Trees snapped, smoke rose, and the air produced an extremely harsh explosive sound.
"Ahhh—"
Wailing echoed through the air as Jiraiya and Orochimaru's bodies were launched skyward, both coughing up blood.
Such close-range attacks struck them directly, causing particularly severe injuries!
As for the three giant toads, they naturally couldn't escape the repulsive assault either. They tumbled and carved trenches in the ground, devastating the forest until they finally stopped hundreds of meters away.
Just one simple attack had completely decimated Jiraiya's previously formidable group.
Poof!
Gamabunta was the first to withdraw. He had been fighting alongside Jiraiya against Pain and had taken several solid hits from Shinra Tensei.
Then he'd endured prolonged attacks from the clay bird, making his injuries the most severe. Now struck head-on by Tendo Pain again, his wounds became critical. In desperation, he could only abandon the battle and return to Mount Myoboku.
However, Gamaken and Gamahiro reacted swiftly—one raised his shield defensively while the other used his twin swords to resist the repulsive force. Though they were also blown away, their situation was considerably better.
"Hey, be careful—the enemy has vanished again!"
Before Jiraiya and Orochimaru could rise, Gamaken shouted a warning.
Without time to wipe blood from his mouth, Jiraiya rolled over and forced himself upright.
"I didn't notice how he appeared just now, and now he's suddenly disappeared."
Jiraiya scanned his surroundings vigilantly, trying to locate any trace of Tendo Pain.
"Cough... He should be concealed. I think—cough—I saw the enemy standing within a summoning beast's mouth when he appeared. Cough—it must be the creature's ability!"
Orochimaru still hadn't risen. Even with his modified body, he had nearly lost his life after taking a direct hit from Tendo Pain.
"Something like a chameleon? Hidden within the environment?"
Jiraiya felt deeply troubled and increasingly anxious because summoning Gamaken and Gamahiro had interrupted his process of absorbing natural energy to enter Sage Mode.
So now he had to start over completely!
Unless he entered Sage Mode, Jiraiya wouldn't be able to sense Tendo Pain's location.
"Tch... get ready to run!"
Seeing that Tendo Pain hadn't yet reappeared while the clay bird overhead had already approached for another familiar bombing run, escape was their only option.
"Orochimaru!"
Before fleeing, Jiraiya attempted to warn his former teammate, but when he turned around, only discarded snake skin remained on the ground—Orochimaru had long since vanished.
"Bastard! Are you leaving me as a target?"
Swish!
Jiraiya cursed as he raced deep into the forest. He deliberately avoided the direction where Naruto and the Konoha tracking team were concealed, heading toward the opposite side to draw the enemies away.
Boom, boom, boom...
Watching Jiraiya become engulfed in explosions, Uzumaki Naruto, hidden in the shadows, saw red and immediately prepared to rush out to aid his teacher.
"Wait, Naruto!"
Fortunately, Konoha shinobi were nearby, restraining him tightly at the critical moment and preventing him from exposing himself.
The enemies were not only numerous but overwhelmingly powerful. Without proper intelligence, how could they allow Konoha's Nine-Tails jinchuriki to march toward death!
To state the cruel truth, even if Jiraiya died here today, as long as Uzumaki Naruto—the Nine-Tails jinchuriki—remained safe, they wouldn't face punishment but rather receive rewards upon returning to the village.
But if they rescued Jiraiya at the cost of Naruto being injured, they would face catastrophic consequences.
That was the stark difference between their values.
Of course, they couldn't express this truth so bluntly at the moment.
"Naruto, don't worry excessively."
"Pervy Sage is surrounded by enemies—I need to save him! Let me go!"
Seeing Naruto struggle increasingly, the others hurriedly advised, "Naruto, that's Jiraiya-sama, one of the legendary Sannin of the ninja world. He'll be fine."
"Exactly—don't assume he's at a disadvantage. This is just temporary strategy."
"Naruto, even though Orochimaru is our enemy, with him and Jiraiya-sama working together, nothing will go wrong."
"Right, look—there are still two summoned toads. They haven't fled, so Jiraiya-sama definitely isn't in danger."
"Naruto, you were watching Jiraiya-sama just now. You must have seen him hold his hands together for an extended period. He must be preparing some powerful technique!"
"Yes! Exactly that."
"Jiraiya-sama kept his hands pressed together for so long while facing enemies and releasing jutsu—the power he wants to unleash must be incredibly strong, requiring time to complete the process."
"Is that really it?"
Naruto became so confused by the surrounding Konoha shinobi's explanations that he nearly lost track of his bearings.
"But..."
"Look, Jiraiya-sama has appeared!"
"Where?"
Uzumaki Naruto immediately looked over attentively while breathing a sigh of relief.
As long as he had emerged, everything was fine.
"Nagato has begun accelerating the battle, preparing to eliminate both Jiraiya-sensei and Orochimaru."
Shihouin Naraku observed as Tendo Pain concealed himself within the Chameleon summon and approached Jiraiya's location silently.
"The Chameleon's camouflage ability is truly remarkable. Without entering Sage Mode, Jiraiya-sensei couldn't detect any trace of him."
However, any concealment abilities proved ineffective under Naraku's Observation Haki coverage.
Therefore, Naraku could clearly observe Tendo Pain's movements.
"The Deva Path, Preta Path, and Animal Path have all appeared, plus the Asura Path waiting in reserve. The Naraka Path concealed itself after repairing the Deva Path, and currently only the Human Path hasn't emerged."
But relatively speaking, the Human Path's abilities weren't particularly effective in direct combat.
So it was natural that Nagato hadn't deployed the Human Path. Unless infiltration and intelligence gathering were required, the Human Path wouldn't play a significant role in battle.
Overall, Nagato had invested considerable effort into eliminating Jiraiya and Orochimaru.
If nothing unexpected occurred, even if Jiraiya entered Sage Mode, the outcome should mirror the original timeline.
As for surprises—that would naturally be Uzumaki Naruto.
Once Jiraiya faced mortal danger, Naruto would undoubtedly go berserk.
But even if Naruto lost control and joined the battle, hopes of rescuing Jiraiya remained slim.
So at that point, it would be Naraku's turn to intervene personally.
"It's almost time for my entrance."
Naraku rolled his neck, prepared to descend at any moment.
The ground battle continued as Orochimaru remained deeply hidden, leaving Tendo Pain to pursue Jiraiya exclusively.
At this dangerous juncture, Jiraiya refused to abandon his plan to enter Sage Mode.
Having reached this point in the battle, he realized that without achieving Sage Mode, victory remained impossible.
Therefore, he absolutely had to succeed in entering Sage Mode.
"Shinra Tensei!"
"Here it comes again!"
Facing the elusive Tendo Pain, Jiraiya's expression remained unchanged. His long silver hair suddenly extended, entangling around a distant tree and quickly pulling him away from the attack.
"Don't underestimate me!"
Although Jiraiya couldn't form hand seals with his palms pressed together, he successfully completed them with his feet while airborne. Chakra surged rapidly through his body as a massive fireball erupted from his mouth.
"Fire Release: Great Flame Technique!"
The Fire Release jutsu spread rapidly, covering Tendo Pain's previous location as blazing flames seemed to devour everything.
While the summoning beast helping conceal Tendo Pain remained motionless, he would attempt using Fire Release to see if he could incinerate it.
Moreover, Jiraiya clearly observed that the heavy-set figure capable of absorbing jutsu and chakra—the Preta Path—wasn't nearby. Since Tendo Pain had just released Shinra Tensei, he could only endure the Fire Release technique.
Bang!
"Summoning Technique: Giant Drill-Beaked Bird!"
A massive bird with bared talons suddenly materialized, spitting copious amounts of water from its beak, completely smothering the Fire Release jutsu.
"Water Release: Wild Water Wave!"
Jiraiya stared in surprise at the summoned bird extinguishing his Fire Release with its water technique.
"Another one?"
Before he could react, the clay bird plummeted from the sky at speeds barely perceptible to the naked eye, stabbing toward Jiraiya with its sharp beak.
Clang!
At the critical moment, Gamaken appeared before Jiraiya, raising his shield toward the clay construct!
Boom!
The velocity transformed into terrifying impact force, directly knocking Gamaken backward. Fortunately, his shield wasn't penetrated.
Seeing the clay bird descending from unreachable heights, Gamahiro, following closely behind, ignored the Giant Drill-Beaked Bird and instead gripped his twin swords, slashing downward suddenly.
Whoosh!
Screech!
A shrill wail echoed as the clay bird was savagely cut by both blades, blood splattering everywhere!
The severely damaged construct instantly transformed into smoke and dissipated.
Seeing the clay bird that had posed such a serious threat vanish, everyone present breathed sighs of relief.
At this moment, sharp crab claws snapped toward Gamahiro from an incredible angle.
Given the Giant Drill-Beaked Bird's power and its claws' sharpness, if Gamahiro were struck, he would definitely suffer extremely severe injuries.
The critical issue was that Gamahiro had just eliminated the clay bird—his stance was compromised, leaving no time for defense. Just as impact seemed inevitable, long silver hair suddenly appeared like rope, quickly coiling around the Giant Drill-Beaked Bird.
The extremely tough hair made escape impossible for the creature. Jiraiya smiled confidently.
"Return to where you came from."
His hair suddenly applied tremendous force, strangling the Giant Drill-Beaked Bird. The summoning beast couldn't withstand such devastating damage and was defeated, disappearing instantly.
After eliminating two troublesome summoning beasts consecutively, Jiraiya and both toads breathed easier, and he could now clearly see the long-haired figure up close.
That person was none other than the Animal Path—the one continuously summoning creatures!
"Eliminate him!"
The man and two toads pivoted and rushed toward the Animal Path. Their opponent was already forming seals, preparing to summon a new creature.
Whoosh!
Jiraiya's long hair entangled the Animal Path, preventing seal completion and forcing evasive maneuvers.
But at this moment, Gamahiro's twin swords descended with tremendous force!
The Animal Path demonstrated martial prowess and audacity, stepping on Gamahiro's blade and using the leverage to successfully dodge Gamaken's harpoon thrust.
"It's not over yet!"
Bang!
A massive shield fell from above, slamming violently into the Animal Path's body and knocking him to the ground.
Crack!
A crisp bone-breaking sound echoed as the Animal Path lost all strength, collapsing in a contorted heap.
"Excellent! Another one defeated!"
The Akatsuki members observing the battle were surprised by Jiraiya's combat results.
Honestly, except for a select few, none dared claim they could endure so long under their leader's assault, let alone mount counterattacks.
But Jiraiya had not only persisted—he had repeatedly defeated the leader's bodies.
It was incredible.
"Are the Sannin really this powerful?"
"Don't underestimate Jiraiya. He achieved fame much earlier than any of you."
Faced with organizational members' disbelief, Uchiha Itachi showed no surprise. As one of the Sannin, Jiraiya possessed exactly this level of strength.
Meanwhile, at Naruto's hiding location, the Konoha shinobi were recounting Jiraiya's previous victories with satisfaction, emphasizing their superior's current combat capabilities.
But before Naruto could listen further, the battle situation changed dramatically.
Jiraiya, having just defeated the Animal Path, had no time to catch his breath before dangerous sounds filled the air.
Countless missiles rained down instantly, triggering frenzied explosions and flames that engulfed both toads and Jiraiya.
Whoosh!
A brilliant laser pierced the air, instantly penetrating Gamaken's shield and severely wounding both him and Gamahiro.
The explosions thoroughly devastated the forest, their tremendous roar audible from great distances.
"Are you alright?"
The bombardment temporarily ceased as the dust-covered Jiraiya released his clasped hands, worriedly checking Gamaken and Gamahiro's injuries.
"I'm sorry, Jiraiya—I can't continue."
"I'm quite useless!"
"You've both helped tremendously. Return and rest—I can handle things here."
Observing both toads' concerned expressions, Jiraiya smiled with apparent confidence.
But both creatures knew the upcoming battle would prove extremely perilous.
Because Jiraiya hadn't succeeded in entering Sage Mode!
He had failed!
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