Chapter 423: The Fall of Shiganshina District
"The strongest?"
Eren looked at Jiraiya. From the brief time they'd spent together, he suddenly sensed an overwhelming aura radiating from the old man.
Even though Jiraiya's strength had been sealed, he was still a seasoned warrior who had faced countless battles.
But Eren—
though a child of fate—was like most civilians and Military Police, protected behind thick walls, raised like livestock.
His pupils trembled. The feeling he got from Jiraiya… no, it far surpassed even the elite members of the Survey Corps.
"Eren," Jiraiya said, "to save the world, to change fate—it can be incredibly difficult, or incredibly easy."
As dusk approached,
a warm, golden light bathed the walls and the densely packed homes of Shiganshina District.
Suddenly, a shadow appeared atop the wall, blotting out the sun and casting a massive darkness below.
Jiraiya looked up.
A colossal head had materialized beyond the wall—appearing out of thin air.
It had no skin, its blood-red muscles fully exposed.
Scalding steam hissed from its body, engulfing the entire wall passage.
Before the Garrison soldiers could even react, they were boiled alive by the white-hot vapor.
Everyone in Shiganshina District could see the scene.
Fear, panic, screaming, and chaos filled the streets.
The crowd surged and crashed like a tide—
a forgotten terror had returned.
"The Colossal Titan…"
Eren swallowed hard, frozen in place.
Even though he had mentally prepared himself, seeing the giant again flooded his body with fear.
Suddenly, Jiraiya's booming voice snapped him out of it.
"That's what we call willpower!"
"The will to face fear head-on—to see it, fight it, and eventually surpass it!"
Jiraiya could see the same fire in Eren that had once burned in his younger self.
The Reincarnation Game had chosen him for a reason.
He was a soul of great potential, just momentarily blinded.
The Colossal Titan tilted its head curiously,
noticing that one human hadn't run away.
Strange… like an ant daring to fight back.
Whoosh.
Jiraiya flicked his fingers. His steel grappling hook shot out and embedded itself in the wall.
The cable tightened, pulling him upward at lightning speed toward the Titan.
With his mastery of vertical maneuvering,
new memories flooded his mind—thousands of hours of honed combat technique.
Even his body responded instinctively.
Just as he had declared,
he was now the strongest warrior of all three military divisions.
Roar!
The Colossal Titan let out a low growl.
Despite its massive size, it wasn't as clumsy as one might expect.
Its arms swung with surprising agility, trying to snatch the airborne Jiraiya.
But it underestimated him.
With a few quick dodges, Jiraiya landed squarely on the Titan's shoulder.
"Who is that?!"
"He's using vertical maneuvering gear… is he with the Military Police?"
Civilians trying to flee had been blocked by the moat.
Now, they turned back and stared at the tiny figure atop the Titan.
Inside the station, Survey Corps members who had just returned also looked up in disbelief.
"Never seen him before… He's not with the Survey Corps. Military Police? Garrison? Impossible!"
"Even Captain Levi… No, Levi is still the strongest!"
The Survey Corps had more contact with Titans than any other branch.
They still had a trace of wild instinct, unlike the domesticated civilians behind the walls.
Vertical maneuvering gear was an extension of their body.
Anyone who couldn't use it properly had long been Titan food.
And yet, watching Jiraiya soar and maneuver effortlessly,
they were stunned.
It was like the difference between a butcher and a master swordsman.
The only time they had seen such terrifying skill…
was with Captain Levi.
"Hmm…"
The Colossal Titan's mouth curved into a grin. It looked almost amused.
Unlike the brainless wanderers, this one was clearly intelligent.
Just as Jiraiya landed,
BOOM!
Superheated steam erupted from between the Titan's muscles,
like a thick fog blanketing the entire area.
The gust and heat knocked Jiraiya off balance, melting his skin from the intense temperature.
"Perfect!"
Jiraiya ignored the pain.
Gripping the hook embedded in the Titan's shoulder, he swung through the air in a wide arc.
Click-click-click…
His maneuvering gear jammed from the steam.
As he neared the Titan's nape, he began to fall like a severed kite.
[Redeem: Vertical Maneuvering Gear]
Mid-fall, Jiraiya opened the shop and instantly replaced his broken gear with a brand-new model.
"How many more times can you fire off that steam?"
Jiraiya had noticed something.
Each burst of steam shriveled the Titan's muscle mass.
It had to be a high-cost move.
By now, Jiraiya's entire face was raw muscle, looking like a ghost.
His grappling hook fired again.
The cable reeled him in—right to the Titan's nape.
Inside the body of the Titan, Bertholdt Hoover—soldier of the Marleyan Empire—felt a genuine sense of danger.
Even after his elite training, he had never encountered a human this insane.
"Die!"
Jiraiya swung his blade toward the Titan's vulnerable nape—
BOOM!
A second Titan, fully armored, crashed into him like a cannonball, knocking him away.
"Two special Titans… with intelligence."
Jiraiya landed back on the wall walkway, eyes narrowed.
"These aren't brainless monsters. They're coordinated. This is no accident—this is a planned assault."
The earlier behavior of the two Titans
showed signs of emotion, awareness, and mutual cooperation.
Still, Jiraiya wasn't here for espionage.
His goal was to stop the Titan invasion and protect Wall Maria.
In other words—
if the wall fell, he'd kill every Titan that crossed it.
Garrison soldiers stared, slack-jawed, at Jiraiya.
During his fight, the disguise enchantment had worn off.
They realized—they'd never seen this "officer" before.
BOOM!
The rescued Colossal Titan raised its leg.
With one devastating kick, it smashed the wall.
The explosion of dust and stone buried homes across Shiganshina.
The shockwave hurled Garrison soldiers into the air.
A massive gap yawned in the wall.
Even the sunlight seemed cold as it poured through.
Through the breach,
an endless swarm of Titans entered the city.
Each wore a grotesque smile.
Their malformed running gaits made their human-like features all the more uncanny—
triggering a visceral sense of terror.
Civilians trembled, clustered near the moat.
Where once they had pleaded for space on the escape boats,
now full-blown riots broke out.
"Move! Let me through!"
"If I can't escape, then nobody can!"
Even with Military Police trying to maintain order,
multiple gates saw chaos erupt.
The result?
Boats were capsized.
No one escaped.
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