Boom boom boom!
Boom boom boom!
The explosions were continuous.
The successive detonation of over a hundred explosive tags nearly sent Yagura flying into the sky.
Even though he reacted quickly and used the Body Flicker Technique to evade, he still couldn't escape this utterly unexpected ambush.
Dust billowed into the air!
Amidst the roaring explosions,
A figure was swiftly sent flying out of the dust cloud, blood spraying continuously in mid-air.
Sizzle~
Sizzle~
It was Yagura, who had barely escaped from certain death. His clothes were in tatters, his skin burned by the high temperature of the explosion. The flesh on his arms was exposed, and bone was visible.
This time,
Yagura was truly hit.
He never imagined that one of Konoha's Sannin could be so despicable and shameless, not only using a Clone Great Explosion as bait but also hiding the cheap trick of attaching explosive tags to a shadow clone behind it.
'Am I...'
'Really going to die?'
Yagura landed disheveledly. His arms hung limply at his sides as if boneless, completely numb.
At this moment,
Yagura couldn't even raise his hands to form seals.
A desperate situation!
A life-and-death crisis!
Yagura gritted his teeth, his face extremely grim. Watching the Konoha's Jonins pouncing towards him, his expression finally twisted ferociously as he bent down, using his mouth to pull the last kunai from his tool pouch.
"The Village of the Bloody Mist..."
"Has no cowards who fear death!"
Yagura's teeth were already bleeding from clenching. He might have many regrets, but faced with this crisis, there was no choice left.
Fight to the death!
Kill one, break even!
Kill more, profit!
"Alive or dead?"
"Kill him! This is Yagura! Being careless might get us killed!"
"Right, cut off his head! The Yamanaka Clan can still extract intelligence!"
"Be careful of him making a desperate move!"
When the Konoha's Jonins, who had been slacking off on the periphery, saw that Jiraiya had crippled Yagura, their eyes instantly lit up. With their blood boiling with excitement, they swarmed in to attack as if their lives depended on it.
Are you kidding!
They wouldn't dare touch a full-health Kage-level, but beating up a nearly dead boss and stealing the kill? They loved that!
A Kage-level!
And Kirigakure's famous general, Yagura!
Whoever took his head would rise swiftly in Konoha from then on!
Not far away,
Jiraiya stood his ground, merely watching Yagura warily without advancing.
As the leader, he didn't need to compete with his subordinates for this credit.
If you snatched all the credit from your subordinates, who would follow you and fight wholeheartedly?
Jiraiya understood this principle well.
Additionally,
He wasn't feeling too great himself after that cluster of explosive tags.
Remember,
When a shadow clone disappears, it feeds back sensations, pain, and even memories to the original.
So, even if he wasn't severely injured, Jiraiya, whose shadow clone was blown to smithereens, still had to endure significant pain.
It was a necessary move. Without using this 'damage the enemy by one thousand point, losing eight hundred point yourself' tactic, he might not have been able to take down Yagura even in a full day and night.
After all,
Jiraiya's publicly known opponent was Kirigakure's Third Mizukage. Before their final confrontation, he needed to conserve his strength as much as possible and couldn't reveal too much intelligence.
Otherwise,
If intelligence leaked, he could suffer greatly during the final battle!
Swoosh swoosh!
Swoosh swoosh!
The Konoha's Jonin swiftly closed in for the kill. Just as they were about to reach Yagura, the previously clear sky was suddenly covered by dark clouds.
Then-
From the sky,
Goose-feather snow began to fall.
Whoosh~ Whoosh~
Whoosh~ Whoosh~
A cold wind carrying snowflakes swept down from the horizon.
"It's snowing?"
An Aburame Clan's Jonin halted, his pupils constricting sharply. For some reason, he felt an extremely heart-palpitating, terrifying sensation from the insects scattered around him.
It was as if...
Something very bad was about to happen!
"Snow?"
Jiraiya frowned.
'It was currently autumn in the Land of Fire. How could it snow in this season!??'
At this moment,
Amidst the sky full of snowflakes,
A figure suddenly flashed into view, arriving directly beside Yagura.
"Who is it!??"
Yagura's face changed in shock. Clenching the kunai in his teeth, he prepared to stab the person beside him.
But looking up, he saw a familiar face.
'Sora?'
Yagura was taken aback, then inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief.
"Where's Terumi Mei?"
Sora looked at the solitary Yagura and asked in a serious tone.
"She's fine."
Yagura shook his head. "But the current situation is very troublesome."
After speaking,
He glanced at the Konoha's Jonins charging towards them and Jiraiya standing guard not far away.
"It's not troublesome."
Sora held his Zanpakuto and said calmly, "I'll just take care of the pursuers by myself."
"You?"
"Alone?"
Yagura's expression instantly turned uneasy.
Although he had always thought highly of Sora, facing Jiraiya + the team of Konoha's Jonins alone... the difficulty was something his own injuries could attest to.
He would be lucky to escape with his life, barely intact!
However,
Right now, Yagura had lost feeling in both arms and had very little Chakra left. Even if he wanted to help, he couldn't contribute much combat power.
"Can you even help?"
Sora glanced at the severely injured Yagura. "Go find Terumi Mei first. We'll meet at the camp!"
"Alright!"
Yagura gritted his teeth and agreed. He knew that at this critical life-and-death moment, wasting words meant wasting chances of survival.
Swoosh!
Then,
Yagura immediately used Body Flicker Technique to retreat into the distance.
Earlier,
He had already greatly depleted Jiraiya's Chakra. Even if Jiraiya wasn't severely injured, his combat power would be significantly reduced. He believed if it was Sora, escaping shouldn't be a big problem!
"Yagura is trying to run!"
"Capture him!"
"Who's this unfamiliar face?"
"He looks ordinary, probably not a tough character!"
"Then take him down and hurry after the big fish!"
Seeing Yagura trying to escape, the Konoha's Jonins almost blew a fuse. This was a monumental achievement, so how could they watch their merits fly away!
"Kid, don't block the way!!!"
A Jonin from Inuzuka Clan leading the charge didn't think twice before forming hand seals to activate his secret technique.
Poof!
White smoke exploded.
Immediately,
He and the black Ninken beside him merged, transforming into a massive, and menacing two-headed giant wolf.
"Human Beast Combination Transformation!"
"Double-Headed Wolf!!!"
The next moment,
The ferocious two-headed wolf, spinning at high speed, pounced towards Sora.
"Fang Passing Fang!"
A super finishing move was released!
'Take him down!'
'Go straight for Yagura!!!'
However,
What awaited this Inuzuka Clan's Jonin was Sora's indifferent expression and the slowly raised Zanpakuto in his hand.