Deep within the Land of Grass.
On a large bridge, Jiraiya and Orochimaru lay hidden in the forests on either side, keeping watch for any unexpected developments.
On the bridge, Tsunade stood with her arms crossed, radiating a valiant air. Her expression calm, she said,
"Your Excellency must be the leader of Kusagakure. Konoha received intelligence that Iwagakure has an elite force disguised as Konoha Shinobi, preparing to attack the Grass Shinobi and shift the blame onto..."
Looking at the masked shinobi opposite her, Tsunade spoke calmly while taking out a brownish-green Intelligence Scroll.
The masked leader of Kusagakure remained silent for a moment before saying hoarsely,
"You great nations are always talking about righteousness and morality, but behind the scenes, all you do is burn, kill, and plunder. Konoha and Iwagakure brought the flames of war to the Land of Grass, yet now you claim it is for our own good?"
Facing such accusations, Orochimaru, hidden in the forest, remained cold-eyed and utterly unmoved. Jiraiya, however, fell silent.
Tsunade, who was exchanging intelligence on the bridge, merely snorted.
"Is this your first day living in the Shinobi World? The entire Shinobi World is like this. Great nations bully the Land of Grass, but doesn't the Land of Grass bully even weaker countries as well?"
"We are all shinobi. In this Shinobi World, even great nations cannot guarantee their own peace. It is already difficult enough just to take care of ourselves!"
Having grown up in a Hokage family, Tsunade possessed a far broader perspective than ordinary people. The historical records of the Senju Clan alone constituted a thick history of war.
She was not a sage. She could only do everything within her power to ensure the stability and peace of her own country.
Faced with Tsunade's harsh rebuke, the shinobi opposite her revealed a hoarse, self-mocking smile.
"Just as Princess Tsunade said, this world has always belonged to the strong. Then I wonder, can this intelligence earn us Princess Tsunade's friendship?"
At the bridgehead, the two simultaneously threw out their scrolls, choosing to exchange intelligence.
However, the moment Tsunade caught hers and opened it, her pupils constricted. The next moment, the Intelligence Scroll spontaneously caught fire and turned to ash in the wind.
The leader of the Land of Grass sighed inwardly. Kusagakure did not want to be a fence-sitter either, but they had no choice.
Iwagakure wanted to use them, but he could not bear the consequences of angering Konoha.
Thus, he could only play both sides, hoping to buy Kusagakure a chance to catch its breath.
"I understand."
Tsunade pretended as though nothing had happened and laughed heartily, but secretly signaled Orochimaru and Jiraiya.
Danger! An ambush!
Just as the two prepared to turn and leave in different directions, more than a dozen shinobi wearing the distinctive half-arm red sleeves of Rock Shinobi suddenly emerged in the distance.
"Haha, many thanks to the Grass Shinobi leader! We Rock Shinobi have already surrounded this place. Let's kill the Konoha Shinobi together!"
Boom!
The instant the Rock Shinobi appeared, a flash of astonishment crossed Tsunade's eyes, while the leader of the Land of Grass was filled with terror.
"Wasn't it supposed to be three days from now?!"
The moment he spoke those words, the leader of Kusagakure understood everything. Iwagakure had set him up.
From beginning to end, Iwagakure had never trusted him. They had merely been using him.
"Retreat!"
Tsunade reacted even faster. The instant the Rock Shinobi appeared, she let out a fierce shout and slammed her fist down on the bridge.
Monster Strength Punch
Rumble!
Under that terrifying strength, the solid concrete bridge instantly began to collapse. Tsunade shouted coldly,
"The Rock Shinobi have surrounded this place! Break through!"
Just then, the sharp cry of Konoha's distinctive messenger hawk rang out from the sky!
At the same time, intelligence reached Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya.
"Damn it! The intelligence only arrived now!"
The moment she saw the intelligence, Tsunade cursed inwardly. She immediately burned it and darted into the forest without looking back.
Jiraiya and Orochimaru also knew that something major had happened. They immediately formed their three-man combat formation and began retreating at high speed.
"There are traps in the forest. They can only delay them for a while at most. We must break through immediately!"
Orochimaru was the calmest. Since Iwagakure had arranged all this, their encirclement must naturally have already been completed. Their only option was to break out as quickly as possible.
As for facing them head-on?
The shinobi force Iwagakure had sent this time numbered well over a thousand.
"I, the Great Toad Sage, haven't even made a name for myself in the Shinobi World yet. How could I possibly fall here?"
Jiraiya, who had been sprinting wildly, suddenly laughed boldly. Looking ahead with resolute eyes, he shouted,
"Let me, the Great Toad Sage, lead you through the encirclement and make us heroes of Konoha's new generation!"
Seeing Jiraiya acting the fool, Orochimaru did not even have time to call him an idiot. With the Legendary Sannin's tacit coordination, Orochimaru had already finished forming his hand seals in an instant.
At the same time, Jiraiya, who was leading the charge, leaped high into the air, forming the perfect angle with Orochimaru.
Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet
Wind Release: Great Breakthrough
Jiraiya and Orochimaru unleashed their ninjutsu simultaneously. With such terrifying amounts of Chakra, the flames became like a savage fire dragon in an instant, their power explosively enhanced by the gale.
The terrifying torrent of flames instantly swallowed a vast stretch of forest ahead.
Aah!
Horrifying screams and the sounds of ninjutsu being unleashed echoed from within the sea of fire.
As the flames raged, the calm Tsunade identified targets by sound. Upon hearing abnormal area-of-effect ninjutsu being cast, she threw kunai clamped between all ten of her fingers with lightning speed.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Under the dense rain of kunai and their terrifying force, even the air gave off tearing sounds. Exploding Tags were attached behind those kunai.
The next moment, the thunderous explosions of the Exploding Tags echoed endlessly through the sea of fire.
As the flames dispersed, the kunai and Exploding Tags could be seen deeply embedded in Iwagakure's distinctive Earth Release defensive ninjutsu. The next moment, the Exploding Tags exploded.
They blasted gaps in the Earth Release defense, allowing the terrifying sea of fire to pour inside. The shinobi within could only let out terrified screams before being swallowed by the flames and reduced to scorched corpses.
Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade's strength, coupled with their seamless coordination, was extremely terrifying. Their combined power was enough to threaten a kage-level expert.
In just a brief instant, the Rock Shinobi suffered considerable losses. The three showed no hesitation and continued breaking through at high speed.
"Damn it, this is a trap!"
Jiraiya, usually so unserious, was incomparably solemn at that moment as he continuously unleashed terrifying ninjutsu.
Orochimaru shouted decisively,
"Do not conserve Chakra. Break through first!"
If they tried to save Chakra now and truly allowed themselves to be surrounded, even twice as much Chakra would not be enough.
Summoning Technique
Tsunade directly summoned three Katsuyu, two of which swiftly burrowed into Orochimaru and Jiraiya's clothing and armor.
It had to be said, Tsunade truly deserved to be called the Shinobi World's number one milk cow! Ahem! Healer!
Thank you all for your support. Let's wait and see on Friday whether this can successfully advance. Mainly because there are too many amazing books launching at the same time.
Before you continue