Who Caught Whom?

Damn it, why can't this guy just leave me alone...

On the battlefield, a Konoha ninja was fleeing at top speed.

As he ran, he kept glancing up at the sky filled with dark clouds.

Because a massive bird of prey was closely following him from above.

In truth, it was not some bird of prey, but a human figure.

It was just that the figure had grown a pair of enormous wings from his back.

His two teammates had just been brutally killed by that guy...

High in the sky, Jingū Kiraku had both hands tucked into his raincoat as the wings made of paper on his back rode the air currents forward at high speed.

As for why he did not simply finish off the scout ninja below?

Naturally, he was fishing!

On the system map before him, a squad of nine ninja was rapidly approaching the battlefield.

It looked like they were coming to provide reinforcements.

And that was Jingū Kiraku's true target.

What surprised him somewhat, however, was that aside from human icons, the squad also had icons of a toad and a slug.

"This is..."

"A Mount Myōboku toad and a Katsuyu Sage clone from Shikkotsu Forest?"

Jingū Kiraku raised a brow, seeming to realize something.

He gave a cold laugh. "A trap set specifically for me?"

"I'm truly honored..."

Jingū Kiraku glanced at the ninja below, then estimated how long it would take the others to reach the battlefield before flapping his wings.

His speed instantly surged, and in the blink of an eye, he descended onto a stone pillar in front of the Konoha ninja.

"This guy is the Amegakure Leader... Jingū Kiraku."

The Konoha ninja below finally came to a stop.

Looking at the man before him, his chest heaved violently, and the hand clutching his Kunai trembled slightly.

"You guessed right, but there's no prize."

Jingū Kiraku spoke with a cold smile on his face.

He raised a hand, and the paper wings behind him scattered into countless sheets of paper.

Every single one carried lethal intent, firmly locking onto the enemy.

The next second, dense, piercing whistles tore through the air as endless sheets of paper blanketed the battlefield like arrows.

There was nowhere to run...

That was the only thought in the Konoha ninja's mind at that moment.

The courage in his heart steadily drained away until he no longer had the strength to grip his Kunai.

Fortunately, despair did not descend as he had imagined. A huge fireball suddenly flew past him from the side.

Then it crashed into the curtain of countless papers and exploded with a deafening roar!!

The flames incinerated the incoming paper, and nearly ten figures appeared on the battlefield at once.

Without exception, they all wore Konoha uniforms and Konoha Forehead Protectors.

"Don't worry, reinforcements are here."

The leading ninja offered a word of reassurance.

Then he turned to the person beside him. "Move!"

At his command, the ninja beside him released the hand seals he had prepared in advance without another word.

"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!!"

Surging water gathered before him, forming a gigantic Water Dragon that let out a terrifying roar at the enemy.

Another ninja formed hand seals as well, his body erupting with dazzling lightning.

"Lightning Style: Lightning Stream!"

The currents rapidly attached themselves to the raging Water Dragon. Carrying terrifying force, it bared its fangs and claws as it lunged at Jingū Kiraku.

"They've finally arrived."

Even in the face of such an attack, Jingū Kiraku's expression remained calm.

He slowly raised his hands, and even more sheets of paper emerged from his body.

They layered over one another, forming an even larger white dragon.

"Paper Style: Paper Dragon Technique!!"

With Jingū Kiraku's low shout, the white dragon descended from the sky and crashed heavily into the Water Dragon wrapped in electric arcs.

"Boom!!"

Violent energy exploded in midair.

The shattered Water Dragon splashed in every direction, electric arcs darted about like silver snakes, and huge amounts of torn paper drifted everywhere...

"What kind of ninjutsu is this?"

The Konoha ninja were utterly dumbfounded.

It was their first time seeing a ninjutsu that used paper as a weapon.

However, before they could figure it out, the vast amount of paper scattered across the ground slowly began to burn.

A sense of foreboding rose in the hearts of the Konoha ninja.

"Damn it, they're Exploding Tags!"

"His attack isn't over yet!!"

As soon as the words fell, the burning sheets of paper around them rapidly displayed one explosive character after another.

Even denser and more violent explosions instantly swallowed the entire battlefield.

"Konoha's ninja really have no sense of vigilance."

Jingū Kiraku stared at the battlefield blanketed in black smoke.

The system panel showed that this round of explosions had taken out four people in total...

That meant six remained.

"If you don't show yourselves soon, I'm afraid your entire force will be wiped out."

Jingū Kiraku formed hand seals again. The paper around him rose into the air and gathered behind him into weapon after weapon—

Spears, swords, broadswords, halberds, axes...

Every kind of weapon was there.

Though made of paper, they gave off an aura sharper than steel.

"Paper Style: Unlimited Blade Works."

That was the name Jingū Kiraku had given this move.

With a sweep of his finger, the weapons surged down like the most loyal of soldiers.

Like a raging storm, they blanketed the entire battlefield!!!

The threat of death surfaced in everyone's hearts.

At last, they could no longer hold back.

Two enormous clouds of white smoke rose from the battlefield.

Sharp Ninja Blades instantly sliced through the smoke, whirling madly like electric fans.

"Clang clang clang clang!!!"

A dense barrage of weapon clashes and sparks erupted nonstop, barely managing to block Jingū Kiraku's attack.

As the smoke quickly dispersed, the towering figures of Gamabunta and the Katsuyu Sage appeared on the battlefield.

Jiraiya and Tsunade stood atop the heads of the two Summoning Beasts.

"I didn't expect we'd still be a step too late."

Jiraiya looked at the four Konoha ninja lying on the ground, a trace of grief flashing through his eyes.

They had originally planned to use the Reverse Summoning Technique to catch Jingū Kiraku off guard.

They had not expected him to move so quickly. Before he and Tsunade could arrive, four people had already been instantly killed...

"There was no helping it. Against someone like him, some sacrifices are necessary."

Tsunade crossed her arms. The anger she had accumulated over the past few days made the Chakra around her surge without end.

Jiraiya nodded and turned his gaze toward the culprit standing atop the stone pillar.

"We've finally caught you, Jingū Kiraku."

He spoke through gritted teeth, and a dull crack rang out from his tightly clenched fist.

Jingū Kiraku lightly raised a brow.

"Heh, a trap specially prepared for me by the Three Legendary Ninja?"

"I'm truly honored..."

He slowly lifted his eyes, and a terrifying aura instantly erupted from him.

"But..."

"Who catches whom is still up in the air."