Hidden Rain's Counterattack

"I wonder how Jiraiya is doing over there..."

Tsunade stood at the entrance of the passage, her gaze fixed firmly below.

For some reason, even though Jiraiya was only facing a frail old man, Tsunade's heart was filled with unease.

Suddenly, that unease intensified dramatically.

As if to confirm Tsunade's fears, Hyuga Mae beside her suddenly widened his eyes.

"Not good, it's a trap..."

Before he could finish, a terrifying tremor came from beneath their feet.

Then, a horrific explosion tore the entire ground apart and blasted it open!!!

Surging flames swallowed rocks and debris, rushing straight into the sky with unimaginable heat.

Even in the instant before he was swallowed by the flames, Hyuga Mae still wore a bewildered expression.

Although his Byakugan could perceive everything around him, it could only see their shapes; it could not accurately determine what they actually were.

Especially not high-energy explosives like these, which had rarely appeared even in the history of the ninja world.

Before they were ignited, they looked no different from water to the Byakugan...

Following the deafening explosion, billowing smoke wrapped in firelight continuously spiraled into the sky.

From afar, it looked like a black-and-red pillar of flame connecting heaven and earth.

"What happened?"

Such a massive disturbance naturally drew the attention of every Konoha ninja in an instant.

Then, they realized something terribly wrong—

The explosion seemed to have come from where Lord Jiraiya and Lady Tsunade were!

Could something have happened to them?

The moment that thought arose, the ninjas present immediately became tense.

After all, Jiraiya and Tsunade held positions of immense importance in Konoha.

Not only were they renowned throughout the ninja world as the Three Legendary Ninja, they were also disciples of the current Hokage.

If anything happened to them here, all of Konoha would be shaken to its core!

And for those stationed on the front lines, it would be an utter catastrophe!

However, they soon had no time to worry about that.

Because at the center of the explosion, vast amounts of dark purple gas were rapidly spreading.

It looked like a demon baring its fangs and claws!!

"That damned poison gas again!"

The Konoha ninjas' faces immediately darkened at the sight.

They had suffered terribly at the hands of this stuff these past few days!!

But it seemed they had more than just that to worry about.

That terrifying explosion appeared to be merely the signal for something to begin.

Next, astonishing cries erupted throughout the town.

Under the horrified gazes of the Konoha ninjas, these withered, elderly civilians seemed to regain their vitality.

They picked up Poison Gas Bombs and artillery tubes hidden amid the ruins and charged at the Konoha ninjas.

"Die, you damned invaders!"

"Give your hearts for the Land of Rain!!"

"Victory to the Land of Rain!!"

With such shouts and roars, astonishing fury and courage erupted from the civilians' eyes.

They became a relentless series of explosions echoing through this battle-scarred little town.

The explosives buried throughout the area were detonated at once.

Massive amounts of poison gas poured forth wildly, swallowing the entire town like an abyss...

"Poison gas, poison gas over a wide area..."

"Kill these bastards, quickly!"

"It's too late, the poison gas is already here."

"Damn it, aren't these people afraid of dying?"

All manner of chaotic voices rang out, eventually converging into one sentence—

"Run! Run for it!"

Faced with this sudden large-scale Poison Gas Attack, the Konoha forces ultimately chose to flee in rout.

They unleashed all kinds of ninja tools and ninjutsu to stop the poison gas from spreading and closing in.

Such as Exploding Tags, Earth Release, Water Release, and so on.

As for Wind Release, there were only a handful of people in all of Konoha who could use it...

Even so, only a small number of ninjas managed to escape the poisonous gas zone immediately.

More ninjas were temporarily trapped in the poison gas for one reason or another.

They would not die right away, but as time continued to pass, their chances of survival would grow increasingly slim.

"Why... why did this happen..."

At the hellish sight before them, some mentally fragile ninjas completely broke down.

They could only fall to their knees and repeatedly pound the ground with their fists to vent their emotions.

Seeing this, the others also looked sorrowful and dejected.

It was not as though they could be blamed.

After suddenly suffering such a severe blow, with both commanders' whereabouts unknown, maintaining their morale was nothing more than wishful thinking.

Fortunately, smoke suddenly burst forth with a bang from the outskirts of town.

Within the smoke, Jiraiya's familiar figure appeared once more, dressed in his green vest with his head of white hair.

Compared to his imposing appearance at the start, he now looked far more bedraggled.

His body was a mess, some strands of his hair were scorched, and his clothes were covered in ash, as if he had...

Just crawled out of an oven.

"You despicable Jingū Kiraku, was this part of your calculations too?"

Wiping the dust from his face, Jiraiya's expression was so grim it seemed water could drip from it.

He had never expected these civilians to cause them such enormous trouble.

If he had not reacted quickly enough to summon the Giant Lodging Rock Toad's esophagus at once, then had the Mount Myōboku toads hidden outside use the Reverse Summoning Technique...

Even if he had not been blown to death, he would probably have been poisoned to death!

But when he recalled the old man's resolve and hatred before his death, it felt as though a massive stone weighed upon his heart—

Were the things he had done for the village really right?

"Lord Jiraiya, what should we do next?"

Seeing Jiraiya appear, all the surviving Konoha ninjas breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly asked.

Hearing that, Jiraiya finally came back to his senses.

Now was not the time to think about such things. He had to act immediately and minimize their losses.

He turned his gaze back to the town before him.

The best way to disperse this poison gas was Wind Release!

With that thought, he quickly stepped forward, formed hand seals, and activated the Summoning Technique once again.

"Little Jiraiya?"

A green toad with white eyebrows, white hair, and a white beard, clad in a Black Windbreaker, emerged from the smoke.

It familiarly jumped onto Jiraiya's shoulder and asked:

"What happened?"

Jiraiya stared at the poison gas ahead and said:

"Brother Fukasaku, I need you to use Wind Release to disperse this poison gas."

"Tsunade and a large number of Konoha ninjas are trapped inside."

Hearing Jiraiya say this, Sage Fukasaku, who knew how much Tsunade meant to Jiraiya, immediately turned serious.

"Ibuse's poison gas?"

"I understand."

"But I'll need a little time."

With that, Sage Fukasaku pressed his hands together and began absorbing the Natural Energy in the air.

Though Jiraiya was burning with anxiety, he knew Sage Techniques could not be rushed, so he could only wait patiently at the side.

Fortunately, the other did not keep him waiting long.

A moment later, Sage Fukasaku leaped from Jiraiya's shoulder and opened his mouth toward the town ahead.

The Sage Chakra gathering in his belly rapidly transformed into a violent current of air, sweeping forth like a hurricane.

Under the cleansing force of that powerful airflow, the poison gas that had filled the area slowly peeled away like a thick sweater, revealing the shattered little town...