"Not good—zero distance!"
Feeling the scorching heat rush up behind him, Jiraiya broke into a cold sweat. He lunged forward at the last moment, narrowly avoiding the incoming fireball. However, the distance was simply too close—his left leg was still grazed by the edge of the flames, leaving behind a searing burn.
"Tch… didn't dodge it cleanly, huh."
Gritting his teeth, Jiraiya bit his thumb and slammed his hand against the ground.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Boom!!!
Thick white smoke exploded outward, and a massive toad smoking a pipe appeared before Ash and Gengar.
It was Gamabunta, chief of the toads.
"Oi, Jiraiya—this is Konoha. What the hell is going on here?"
Gamabunta frowned as he took in the devastated surroundings. As one of the Five Great Ninja Villages, Konoha being attacked during peacetime was almost unthinkable.
"No time to explain," Jiraiya said, standing atop Gamabunta's head, breathing heavily. "That black summoned creature over there is yours. As for that guy—I'll handle him myself."
Gamabunta narrowed his eyes and spotted Ash, who was standing calmly atop Gengar.
"So it's Ash Ketchum… I didn't expect him to attack Konoha directly."
Gamabunta had fought in the past—during the Nine-Tails incident and other major battles. He had crossed paths with Ash more than once.
Most of Konoha's elite shinobi were familiar to Ash. Unfortunately for the village, Minato was no longer here. Otherwise, Konoha's losses would never have reached this point.
"Move out," Jiraiya ordered.
"Toad Short Sword Technique!"
Gamabunta drew the massive blade strapped to his back and charged straight at Gengar.
"What?!"
The moment the blade struck, something unbelievable happened—the sword passed cleanly through Gengar's body.
"Damn it," Jiraiya cursed. "That summon has the same ability as its master?!"
Ash chuckled softly.
"Hah. Gengar is a Ghost-type Pokémon. Physical attacks are completely ineffective against it. Even in the Pokémon world, only certain types can deal with it—let alone here."
Watching Jiraiya and Gamabunta freeze in shock, Ash smiled inwardly.
In the Pokémon world, Ghost-types were countered by Ghost and Dark types, or by strong elemental techniques. But pure physical force?
Useless.
"Fire Release: Windmill Shuriken!"
Ash pulled a massive Windmill Shuriken from his ninja toolkit and infused it with blazing chakra. Flames roared as the weapon spun, transforming into a burning vortex as it flew forward.
Jiraiya looked up and prepared to evade—only to realize the shuriken had flown past him without striking.
"…Missed?"
No. That made no sense.
Ash wasn't an amateur.
Suddenly, Jiraiya noticed faint blue glimmers in the air.
His pupils shrank.
"Chakra threads—!"
Before he could react, Ash's right hand twisted sharply. Invisible chakra threads snapped tight, yanking the flaming Windmill Shuriken into a wide arc.
This technique—learned from Sasori's puppetry methods—allowed Ash to control the weapon freely in midair.
"No—Windmill Shuriken!"
The massive blade looped around from behind, slamming into Jiraiya before he could escape.
Slash! Slash! Slash!
"Gah—!"
Jiraiya spat blood as he was sent crashing to the ground.
"…Damn it."
With Jiraiya bound tightly by chakra threads, the handleless blades embedded in his body were pulled taut. The burning Windmill Shuriken hovered nearby, its searing heat making it agonizingly difficult to endure—even someone as tough as Jiraiya could barely suppress the pain.
"Fire Release: Dragon Flame Technique!"
Ash rapidly formed hand seals. A roaring fire dragon burst from his mouth, racing along the chakra threads in his hand and surging straight toward Jiraiya.
"Short Sword Technique!"
Just as the fire dragon was about to engulf him, Gamabunta's thunderous voice rang out. His short blade flashed, severing Ash's chakra threads in a single stroke while simultaneously blocking the fire dragon's advance.
The moment the chakra threads snapped, Jiraiya tore himself free, retreating instantly and yanking the embedded blades from his body as he moved.
"…He's terrifying," Jiraiya muttered grimly.
"Whether it's ninjutsu control or timing, everything is flawless. And this is without him showing speed on par with the Fourth Hokage. If this keeps up, Konoha won't last. The battlefield has to be moved outside the village—no matter what."
His expression hardened.
"No choice… I'll have to use that technique. I just hope the old man can hold on for a while longer. To think Orochimaru would cooperate with someone this dangerous—damn it."
Landing atop Gamabunta's head, countless thoughts raced through Jiraiya's mind.
"Gamabunta, buy me some time," he said solemnly. "I'm going to use that."
Jiraiya brought his hands together. Dense chakra surged and wrapped around his arms—the unmistakable sign of gathering an enormous amount of chakra.
"What? You're really using that move?" Gamabunta clicked his tongue. "Then hurry up. That black summon isn't someone you can underestimate."
With that, Gamabunta bent his legs and leapt high into the air.
"A toad… and that high up, too," Ash muttered, eyes narrowing.
"Good. Let's see how you dodge this."
He formed seals once more.
"Fire Release!"
A massive inferno erupted—flames spanning nearly twenty-five meters in diameter surged upward toward Gamabunta, dyeing the sky crimson as they roared.
"What—?!"
Even Gamabunta was visibly shaken.
Such a monstrous Fire Release technique…
Even among elite shinobi, it was almost unheard of.
...
(End of Chapter)
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