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-ar4ngel
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Jiraiya jumped down from the top of Gamabunta’s head, his appearance already transformed. The two toads, Fukasaku and Shima, were perched on his left and right shoulders, and his facial features had taken on a more toad-like appearance.
"You’re here," Jiraiya said, standing in the center of the group. "Be careful, these guys aren’t easy to deal with."
Kakashi looked around at the scattered remains of the Leaf ninja, his Sharingan spinning in his left eye as he gazed up at Deidara in the sky.
"I’ll handle that guy," Kakashi said.
"Then this enemy is mine!" Gai pointed at Sasori.
"Fine."
Jiraiya exhaled, his eyes sweeping over the Six Paths of Pain, who had barely made a move so far.
"That guy who uses Wood Style, his name’s Yamato, right? You stay on standby and be careful."
"Yes, Lord Jiraiya."
Yamato acknowledged the order and quickly moved to hide in another direction.
"Sage Art: Hair Needle Senbon!"
Jiraiya’s hair suddenly exploded outward, the sharp strands transforming into countless senbon that rained down across the entire battlefield.
---
Outside the Leaf Village, Minato and Naruto, along with three Hyuga clan ninja, were darting through the forest at high speed.
"Dad, the village..." Naruto grew increasingly anxious as he listened to the constant explosions coming from the village.
"Stay calm, Naruto," Minato said, remaining composed. "We need to find Nagato’s main body as soon as possible, or the fighting inside the village will never end!"
"I know!" Naruto clenched his teeth in frustration. "Damn it! It’s all because of me... and now I can’t even do anything to help!"
Minato remained vigilant as he spoke. "At times like this, we have to rely on our comrades. Once we find the enemy, that’s when we’ll get our chance to fight."
"Lord Minato, don’t worry," said Hyuga Kato, who was following behind them. "The Hyuga clan has sent ninja in all directions outside the village. We’ll find the enemy’s trail soon."
"That’s good. Thank you for your hard work," Minato nodded.
"You’re too kind. As Leaf ninja, this is what we should do."
Naruto fell silent, but his anxiety didn’t lessen in the slightest.
Damn it!
Damn it, damn it!
If only I could awaken that "Sharingan" or something!
He tried closing his eyes to sense his surroundings, but he could only vaguely detect a small area around him.
Damn it! Still no progress!
---
"Lady Hokage!" Shizune ran to the top floor of the Leaf Hospital, looking at Tsunade’s back.
"How is it?" Tsunade turned around.
Shizune shook her head with a sorrowful expression.
"I see. Those ninja have all sacrificed themselves. There are no injured left to treat," Tsunade said, her expression calm but her fists clenched tightly.
"It was my mistake in planning," she closed her eyes.
"Lady Tsunade..." Shizune wanted to comfort her but couldn’t find the words.
"Master!" Sakura stepped out and stood beside Shizune. "You should go and fight!"
"Sakura?" Both Tsunade and Shizune turned to look at her.
"Master, as the Hokage, you must be unwilling to just stay here. Please, leave the hospital to me and Shizune!" Sakura’s face showed a determined expression.
"Sakura," Tsunade was moved. She walked up to Sakura and Shizune, looking into their eyes. "Shizune."
"Leave the hospital to you two! Shizune, you handle resource allocation. Sakura, you take charge of treatment arrangements."
She turned and walked to the window, looking out at the intense battle in the distance. The wind lifted her hair and the hem of her clothes.
"As the Hokage, I must protect the village my grandfather built!"
---
The battlefield within the Leaf Village had expanded further.
The central area, now completely destroyed, had exposed the bare earth beneath.
Neither side seemed to have gained the upper hand.
Several giant toads were fighting against equally massive summoned creatures, their tremendous strength occasionally slamming into the ground and kicking up clouds of dust.
The toads were deliberately driving the summoned creatures toward the outskirts of the battlefield, with Leaf ninja occasionally jumping out from various directions to provide support.
Might Gai had already opened the sixth gate of the Eight Gates, moving like lightning across the ground as he dodged the surging waves of black iron sand.
Sasori stood steadily, controlling the Third Kazekage’s puppet to engage Gai in a battle of wits, both sides still testing each other.
Kakashi, lacking any means of flight, could only passively destroy Deidara’s clay bombs with Lightning Style techniques from the ground. Exhausted and running on fumes, he was nearing his limit.
Deidara dropped countless clay bombs, but the key ones were always neutralized by Kakashi’s Lightning Style. The rest only served to further destroy the already ruined landscape, leaving Deidara increasingly frustrated.
"Huff... huff..." Jiraiya panted heavily. "I’m really getting old..."
"Don’t talk like that, Jiraiya!" Shima smacked Jiraiya on the head. "That kind of talk doesn’t suit you!"
"Ha..." Jiraiya’s breathing slowly steadied, though his nerves remained on edge. "You’re right, Shima. I’m the Toad Sage!"
That said, this battle was truly grueling.
Jiraiya thought to himself that if he hadn’t obtained detailed intelligence beforehand, he might have already been defeated.
"Jiraiya-sensei," the Deva Path, who had yet to make a move, spoke up. "It seems this is all you’re capable of!"
"Ha! Don’t get too full of yourself, Nagato! This sage still has plenty of tricks you haven’t seen!" Jiraiya boasted loudly.
As he spoke, the Six Paths of Pain gathered together again, their six pairs of Rinnegan fixed on Jiraiya.
"Jiraiya-sensei."
The Hell Path, made from Nagato’s original body, spoke. "Though I still feel gratitude toward you, if you continue to interfere..."
"You will die!" The Deva Path extended his right hand toward Jiraiya.
"Almighty Push!!"
"It’s coming!"
Jiraiya felt the intense gravitational pull. Fukasaku and Shima quickly shot out their tongues, wrapping them around nearby debris to stabilize Jiraiya.
Jiraiya formed hand seals.
"Sage Art: Fire Style Great Flame Bullet!"
A massive wave of fire surged forward, following the gravitational pull.
"Shinra Tensei!!"
A powerful repulsive force mixed with the flames came rushing back.
The two sages retracted their tongues, and Jiraiya quickly dodged behind a broken wall.
The wall shattered almost instantly, and Jiraiya pressed his hands to the ground.
"Sage Art: Earth Style Earth Wall!"
A thick earthen wall rose from the ground, blocking both the repulsive force and the missiles fired by the Asura Path.
The Six Paths of Pain moved in unison, charging toward Jiraiya’s position.
The Asura Path’s missiles continued to rain down, and the earthen wall in front of Jiraiya was on the verge of collapsing.
"Wood Style: Wood Locking Wall!"
A hemispherical barrier of wooden planks rose in front of the earthen wall, blocking the subsequent missile barrage.
"Boom"
The ground shattered over a wide area, causing the Six Paths of Pain to lose their footing. Forced to dodge the cracks opening in the ground, they scattered.
"The Fifth Hokage?"
The Deva Path turned to look at Tsunade, who had suddenly appeared on the battlefield.