Chapter 169: The Hero Appears!
The moment Gamabunta landed, he wasted no time. With a backhand motion, he drew the chillingly sharp katana from his waist.
"Behave yourself for this Great Lord!"
Accompanied by Gamabunta's gruff roar, the massive blade sliced through the air with the power to split mountains and shatter stone, ruthlessly piercing the top of the central head of the giant three-headed snake.
The blade pinned it firmly to the ground, and foul-smelling snake blood erupted like a fountain.
"Hiss—!"
As the middle head suffered a heavy blow, the other two heads let out even more violent roars, twisting their bodies frantically in an attempt to attack Gamabunta.
However, Gamaken and Gamahiro also descended from the sky—one pinned a snake head with a fork, while the other used dual blades to skewer the remaining head.
Gamabunta even had the leisure to take a puff from his pipe, blowing several large smoke rings with an air of complete composure.
Even more eye-catching was the figure standing atop Gamabunta's head.
It was a tall, white-haired man, but his current attire was a far cry from his usual image.
He wore a slightly exaggerated black theatrical robe embroidered with golden cloud patterns, appearing both magnificent and somewhat mysterious.
Over it, he wore a matching cloak, one corner of which he held up stylishly with one hand.
In his other hand, he held an unfurled folding fan decorated with landscape paintings, covering the lower half of his face. Only his eyes—weathered yet gleaming with sharp light—and his signature spiky white hair were visible.
He struck a dramatic stage pose, tilting his head slightly as his gaze seemed to pierce through the chaotic battlefield toward the distance.
Then, a sonorous voice with a unique rhythm and cadence—reminiscent of a stage monologue—rang out from his mouth, clearly carrying across the noisy battlefield:
"Looking up at the canopy of the heavens!"
He elongated his tones, enunciating every word perfectly, full of theatrical tension.
Then, he suddenly snapped the folding fan shut with a'shua' sound, whipped the cloak behind him in one smooth motion to reveal his righteous face, and raised his voice sharply, filled with heroic spirit:
"The Hero Jiraiya has arrived!"
This series of movements and lines was like cold water dropped into boiling oil, causing a moment of eerie stillness to fall over the brutal battlefield.
Whether it was the Hidden Leaf Village defenders, the attacking Otogakure and Suna Ninja, or even the struggling giant snake and the steadily standing Gamabunta, everyone was stunned by this sudden and stylistically jarring entrance.
It turned out that Jiraiya, frustrated after failing to find Orochimaru's exact whereabouts, had been thinking of ways to get closer to Naruto.
By chance, he had passed through a small town and saw a theater troupe performing. He found it interesting.
Remembering that kids Naruto's age seemed interested in 'novel' things, he had a whim and spent some time learning a few simple 'face-changing' techniques and classic lines from the troupe's old Master, even buying a set of costumes while he was at it.
He hadn't expected that just as he changed into the costume and was leisurely strolling back toward Hidden Leaf Village while practicing his lines, he would see dust rising into the sky and hear the deafening cries of battle and the hissing of giant snakes from afar.
Something big had happened!
Jiraiya instantly put away his playful thoughts. His expression turned solemn as he immediately summoned Gamabunta and rushed over at top speed.
He arrived just in time to see the three-headed snake wreaking havoc, leading to this scene of him descending from the sky.
Although the entrance was a bit... unique, Jiraiya's appearance undoubtedly injected a shot of adrenaline into the struggling Hidden Leaf Village defenders.
One of the Legendary Sannin, Jiraiya!
He was finally back!
On the rooftop, the recently summoned Edo Shodai and Edo Nidaime also looked toward the suddenly appearing Jiraiya.
"Hmm~ The Hero Jiraiya? He looks like a decent Ninja, to have summoned three such large summoned beasts on his own."
Tobirama's gaze lingered for a moment on Jiraiya's rather abrupt theatrical costume and white hair, his brow furrowing slightly.
The name Jiraiya seemed somewhat familiar.
"He looks a bit old, doesn't he? At that age, he should already be a pillar or an Elder of the Village. Can his reactions and explosive power still be at their Peak?"
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was currently confronting Orochimaru and the two Edo Hokage, felt his mouth twitch imperceptibly upon hearing the two former Hokage's evaluation of his Disciple.
Jiraiya was indeed no longer young, but as Jiraiya's Master, he himself was even older.
Maintaining his defensive stance, he responded in a low voice:
"Shodai-sama, Nidaime-sama, Jiraiya... is indeed a Ninja from the same generation as Orochimaru and Tsunade. This year, he is already fifty-one years old."
"Fifty-one?"
Upon hearing this, Shodai Hashirama's eyes widened, and a look of extreme astonishment appeared on his face.
He hadn't realized at all that so much time had passed.
His mind seemed to be stuck in the era when he was active, in the distant memory of when his granddaughter Tsunade was still a little toddler chasing after him for hugs.
"Eh? Which means... little Tsunade... is also over fifty now?"
The Shodai's voice was full of disbelief and the daze of time flying by.
The cute and lively childhood image of his granddaughter Tsunade instantly flashed through his mind, followed by an attempt to imagine her in her fifties with grey hair and many wrinkles... A complex emotion welled up in his heart, ranging from regret over missing her growth to a deep sigh at the ruthless passage of time.
"Time... really does pass quickly..."
Seeing his Elder brother looking so devastated, Nidaime Tobirama remained expressionless, but his eyes seemed to dim slightly.
Seeing this, the Third Hokage quickly added an explanation: "There is no need to worry, Shodai-sama.
Tsunade... because she mastered the Yin Seal in her early years, she can store excess Chakra and release it when needed, while also greatly delaying the aging of her bodily functions.
So her current appearance and physical state... look to be about twenty-something."
"Oh?"
Shodai Hashirama's eyes lit up again, his daze and sentimentality instantly replaced by pleasant surprise.
He clenched his right fist and slammed it into his left palm.
"Souka!"
He came to a sudden realization, a bright smile breaking out on his face.
"As expected of my granddaughter. Haha, that's good, that's good!"
Thinking that his granddaughter still maintained her youthful and energetic appearance, the Shodai's mood instantly turned from cloudy to sunny. He even ignored the tense confrontation before him, becoming happy all on his own.
To him, the well-being of his family meant that everything he did in life was not in vain.
Hashirama's original intention in founding the Village was the hope that children like his two younger brothers, Kawarama and Itama, would not have to go to the battlefield.
It seemed that even after death, Hashirama had found his way back to his original wish.
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