Hypocrisy

"Jiraiya, stop wasting words on him."

Gamabunta clenched a pipe at the corner of his mouth, a trace of ferocity flashing in his eyes.

"Got it."

Jiraiya nodded and brought his hands together.

"Then let's go, Bunta!"

"Right."

With that, Gamabunta stomped heavily on the ground with both feet.

His mountain-like body shot into the air with a thunderous boom, his massive shadow engulfing Jingū Kiraku.

At the same time, Tsunade swiftly joined in.

"Katsuyu, I'm counting on you."

"No problem, Lady Tsunade."

Katsuyu Sage replied in a soft, gentle voice.

Then, a mass of thick acidic fluid spewed from her mouth, hurtling at the enemy like a cannonball.

"I've been looking forward to clashing with the two great sacred lands for a long time."

Jingū Kiraku smiled faintly at the incoming acid.

The next second, he vanished from atop the stone pillar.

"Sizzle..."

The sound of corrosion rang out.

The stone pillar Jingū Kiraku had been standing on was eaten away by half in mere moments.

Had he been even a little slower, not even his bones would have remained.

"Just as expected of a legendary 'sage.'"

Jingū Kiraku, having reappeared elsewhere, let out a sigh of admiration.

Then a voice came from above—

"Brat, take this!!"

Gamabunta gripped his Ninja Blade and descended from the sky, slashing down at him with crushing force!

Jingū Kiraku raised an eyebrow and sneered.

"It's not just you who has a Summoning Beast..."

As soon as he finished speaking, a pillar of white smoke shot into the sky.

Master Knife charged out of the smoke with a cleaver in hand, swinging upward without hesitation!

Clang!!

Two enormous blades, each dozens of meters long, collided with an ear-splitting metallic crash.

The terrifying force rapidly cracked the ground beneath Master Knife's feet, opening deep fissures across it.

"Get..."

Master Knife also had a pipe clenched in its mouth. As it continued to exert force, the scars on its face seemed ready to burst open and bleed.

"Out of my way!!"

It erupted with astonishing strength, sweeping its huge tail viciously through the air and finally knocking its opponent away.

Bang, bang, bang!!

Gamabunta rolled across the ground several times before finally steadying himself.

"This guy is even stronger than Hanzo's Ibuse."

Gamabunta's voice was filled with gravity as he stared at Master Knife.

At this point, he was not yet as powerful as he would be in the original story. Facing this salamander, he immediately felt immense pressure.

Of course, he was not the only one feeling pressured.

Master Knife, summoned by Jingū Kiraku, gritted its teeth as well.

"This opponent is a bit troublesome..."

As a Summoning Beast, it had naturally heard of the Three Great Sacred Lands.

Especially when it saw Katsuyu Sage in the distance, clear wariness appeared in Master Knife's eyes.

Jingū Kiraku merely smiled at that.

"What are you afraid of? Maybe one day, your salamander clan can become a sacred land for Summoning Beasts too."

Faced with the grand promise Jingū Kiraku had painted for it, Master Knife bared its teeth, seemingly a little tempted.

"Of course, that's only if we can lead the Land of Rain to survival."

Jingū Kiraku clapped his hands, intense fighting spirit filling his eyes.

"I understand."

Master Knife was invigorated. Gripping its blade with both hands, it charged toward Gamabunta.

"Here it comes!"

Jiraiya's pupils contracted as he commanded Gamabunta to swing his blade as well.

Brilliant blade light tore through the curtain of rain, intertwining like lightning.

Clang clang clang!!

The sounds of weapons colliding rang out continuously, echoing between heaven and earth.

Every clash between these two Summoning Beasts was powerful enough to shake the earth and mountains...

It couldn't be helped. Their sheer size was right there.

With even a little effort, they could destroy a village or wipe out a town!

While the Summoning Beasts fought fiercely, Jiraiya naturally did not stand idle.

He leaped directly from Gamabunta's head to Jingū Kiraku's side and demanded, "Using those civilians to attack us... don't you feel even the slightest guilt?"

Jiraiya's tone was somewhat agitated.

Clearly, what had happened in Graystone Town had deeply affected him.

"Guilt?"

A mocking expression appeared on Jingū Kiraku's face.

"Why should I feel guilty?"

"Dying together with you was those people's choice."

"The ones who should truly feel guilty are invaders like you."

"The Land of Rain's miserable state today is all thanks to you!"

"Do Konoha ninja alone get to kill others, while no one is allowed to kill Konoha ninja?"

Hearing that answer, Jiraiya froze where he stood.

His mouth opened, but he could not find a single word to refute him.

Seeing this, Jingū Kiraku sneered.

"Stop pretending, Jiraiya."

"Even if you keep talking about seeking peace, your hands are already stained with blood."

"What you've done is no different from anyone else!!"

Jingū Kiraku's words seemed to carry some kind of magic, causing Jiraiya to unconsciously recall the civilians who had died at the hands of Konoha ninja.

He remembered the old man they had deceived, who had then detonated the explosives without hesitation...

Just as Jingū Kiraku rendered Jiraiya speechless, Tsunade finally appeared.

"Don't waste words on him, Jiraiya!"

Tsunade flashed behind the enemy. A massive amount of Chakra wrapped around her palm as a razor-sharp aura burst forth.

Chakra Scalpel!

An A-rank Medical Ninjutsu that used precise Chakra control to grant the palm cutting power akin to a surgical scalpel!

In an instant, Tsunade's hand sliced through Jingū Kiraku's neck like lightning.

"Heh, what a hypocrite."

Jingū Kiraku let out a mocking laugh as sheets of paper drifted out from his wound.

Under Tsunade's astonished gaze, his headless body slowly turned around before launching a powerful sweeping strike.

Although Tsunade raised both arms in time to block, she was still sent flying.

She fell from atop Master Knife's head and slid more than ten meters across the ground before coming to a stop.

"What incredible strength..."

Tsunade's face was full of surprise.

She rarely encountered enemies who could match her in raw strength.

Other than her granduncle, Jingū Kiraku was the first!

Jingū Kiraku's attack did not end there. He transformed into countless sheets of paper and continued his assault.

The papers reassembled in midair into countless weapons, crashing down toward the ground.

Seeing this, Jiraiya could no longer spare any attention for philosophical questions.

He hurried to Tsunade's side and performed a ninjutsu.

Ninja Art: Needle Jizo!!

Masses of hair grew wildly, wrapping around him and Tsunade like a hedgehog's spines.

With a series of deafening booms, countless paper weapons blasted the ground into ruins.

Fortunately, Jiraiya's technique had powerful enough defenses.

Though it looked battered and shattered, it still blocked the attack.

"This guy's strength cannot be underestimated..."

Tsunade said gravely.