Jiraiya looked at Kimimaro's still body and felt something rare settle in his chest. Respect. And regret.
This was the first time he had ever met someone so powerful, so utterly consumed by belief. Kimimaro's body had been collapsing long before the fight ended, yet he had forced muscle and bone to keep moving through sheer obsession. All of it was for Orochimaru. Not a cause. Not a village. Just a man he revered as a god.
He had thrown everything away. Even his life.
Jiraiya stepped forward and gently closed the eyes that hadn't shut even in death. Perhaps, to Kimimaro, being used was proof that he mattered.
Jiraiya exhaled slowly.
Kimimaro had never truly threatened his life. But Jiraiya was injured anyway. The boy had entered that self-destructive state from the very beginning and attacked without pause, without restraint, as if his life were already spent. Even Jiraiya had been struck several times by that grotesque, deadly kekkei genkai.
Kimimaro's goal had never been to kill him. Orochimaru knew better than that.
The mission had been simple. Delay Jiraiya.
And Kimimaro had succeeded perfectly, holding him back until the crystal walls vanished.
Even as his life faded, Kimimaro had likely felt apologetic. In his mind, if he could have killed both Tsunade and Jiraiya for Orochimaru, that would have been better. He had failed. And so, he believed himself worthless.
Jiraiya stared at the body for a moment longer, then formed seals. Earth rose and gently covered Kimimaro, returning him to the ground.
For a shinobi who had earned his respect, this was the least he could do.
Then Jiraiya looked up.
Manda loomed in the distance. And beside it, something else had appeared.
A slug.
Jiraiya smiled, bit his thumb, and slammed his hand down.
"Summoning Jutsu."
With a thunderous crash, Gamabunta emerged onto the plain, pipe already clenched between his teeth.
Kabuto Yakushi felt the pressure ease the moment the crystal barrier disappeared. Fighting Tsunade and Naruto together had already been exhausting. Fighting a Naruto cloaked in Nine-Tails chakra and a Tsunade who seemed to be regaining herself was another matter entirely.
His earlier use of hemophobia had worked, but not nearly as well as before. Tsunade could still move. Her strength was only a fraction of what it once was, but even a fraction of that monstrous power was dangerous.
He had managed to slice muscle fibers with his chakra scalpel, exploiting her dulled combat instincts. He had almost finished it.
Then Naruto changed.
The red blur slammed into him before he could react, sending him flying.
Kabuto stared as Naruto rose again, crouched low, feral. The injuries Kabuto had inflicted were gone. His strength and speed had skyrocketed.
"Monster," Kabuto muttered.
When the red chakra began forming a crude armor around Naruto's body, Kabuto understood. His chakra scalpel wouldn't pierce that.
This fight was lost.
Kabuto disengaged and retreated, kneeling beside Orochimaru.
"I failed you, Orochimaru-sama."
Orochimaru, standing atop Manda's head, didn't look at him. His eyes were fixed on Naruto, wrapped in blazing red chakra. It was far stronger than what he'd shown during the Chunin Exams.
And Tsunade was standing.
Shaking, but standing.
That alone shocked him.
Orochimaru glanced toward Jiraiya's side of the field and sighed deeply.
"Kimimaro… what a waste."
Without the illness, Kimimaro would have been perfect. Offense, defense, endurance. His battle with Jiraiya had proven that.
But fate had made a joke of him.
Shizune worked frantically, healing Tsunade as she gasped for breath. Tsunade watched Naruto's back. From the very beginning, he had stood in front of her.
Even after being crippled.
Even after losing.
When she was at her weakest, he had returned, wrapped in the Nine-Tails' power, refusing to let anyone pass.
Her vision blurred. Her fear of blood had never truly left. Night after night, she dreamed of Shizune dying in front of her, cut down by Orochimaru.
She had to move. She had to fight. She had to overcome it.
And yet… all she could do was stand.
Protected by a genin.
What kind of Sannin was that?
"Hey! You okay, Granny?" Naruto called, turning his head. His eyes were blood-red, yet he was smiling.
For a heartbeat, Tsunade saw Nawaki.
The memory of Fujimoto Tōma's words surfaced in her mind. Naruto was strong. Unpredictable. Stronger than he looked.
Maybe… he was right.
Tsunade smiled faintly. If Nawaki had ever called her "Granny," she would have punched him through a wall.
She took a breath. Slowly, unsteadily, she stood up fully. Blood welled as she bit her thumb and formed seals.
"Summoning Jutsu."
A massive slug appeared beside them, rivaling Manda in scale.
Shizune's eyes widened.
"Tsunade-sama…"
Did this mean her fear was gone?
"Well, I'll be damned," Gamabunta muttered. "All three of you together again."
Manda hissed. "Orochimaru, you drag me into fighting this garbage again?"
"After this," Orochimaru said calmly, "you can eat as much as you want."
Manda snorted and fell silent.
Orochimaru looked at Tsunade standing atop Katsuyu, Naruto beside her, then at Jiraiya and finally at Fujimoto Tōma, who had flash-stepped onto Gamabunta's head.
"So this is how it ends," Orochimaru murmured. "A failure."
He hadn't killed Tsunade. Worse, he had helped her recover. Kabuto's report confirmed it. And the lynchpin of his plans had been Naruto, the one he'd dismissed.
Tōma's strength was unexpected, but manageable. Kabuto being stopped wasn't.
Still, escape was easy enough.
"Tsunade," Orochimaru said, smiling thinly. "As Fifth Hokage, you accuse me. How nostalgic."
"Surrender," Jiraiya said coldly. "This is over."
"Don't be ridiculous."
"Tsunade-sama, Jiraiya-sensei," Tōma said calmly. "Hold Orochimaru here."
Both of them nodded without hesitation.
"And me!" Naruto shouted.
Tōma glanced at him, at the faint outline of a chakra tail forming behind his back. Controlled. Balanced. The Nine-Tails was cooperating.
"Then I'm counting on you," Tōma said.
He jumped down to the ground.
Orochimaru's pupils narrowed. Tōma hadn't used his strongest techniques yet. No Rasengan. No Chidori. Which meant he was waiting.
For something decisive.
Orochimaru licked his lips, anticipation and caution twisting together.
What are you preparing, Fujimoto Tōma?