Thirty seconds earlier.
As Asuka lay on the ground, watching Nagato prepare to kill his master, Tsunade suddenly had an intelligence ninja at Allied Forces Headquarters transmit her voice directly into his mind.
"Asuka, don't let Jiraiya die on the battlefield."
Asuka: "..."
Although he had no idea how Tsunade was obtaining real-time battlefield intelligence, what did Jiraiya's life or death have to do with him?
Their relationship was not that good. Back then, because of Orochimaru's defection, the two had nearly come to blows in the Rain Country.
"Asuka, please."
But when he heard the pleading note in Tsunade's voice, Asuka admitted that his heart softened for a moment.
Then he thought of his own situation. He did not seem all that different from Jiraiya—at most, one would die first and the other a little later—and anger immediately rose in him.
That was far too unfair. Both of them were going to die, yet Tsunade wanted the one dying later to save the one dying first.
"Asuka, after the war is won, I'll guarantee Pakura in the name of the Hokage."
Asuka: "..."
As a member of the Akatsuki, Pakura would inevitably be purged once the Fourth Shinobi World War ended. With him around, it would not be difficult for her to survive, but she would most likely have to hide her identity. If Tsunade guaranteed her... "Hoo..."
Thinking back to what had happened several dozen seconds ago, Asuka looked again at the two enormous toads and forcibly made his expression more sorrowful. "Gamaken, Gamahiro, what did you train so hard for?"
Bang! Gamaken used his pot lid to block the enemy's attack, his body retreating dozens of meters at once. Then he stomped his right foot into the ground, steadying himself while launching the enormous lizard into the