"If it wasn't you, then what is this thing?"
After casually tossing Creepy Man's severed arm aside, Hiruko reached curiously toward the Black Box with Red Rule Patterns. The thing looked like it was made of extraordinary material, and it was necessary to investigate its origins properly.
"Don't touch it!"
Jiraiya, off to the side, hurriedly reached out to stop Hiruko from courting death, his brows tightly furrowed. For something like this to appear out of thin air when even he had not sensed it—no matter how he thought about it, it was extremely suspicious.
"Uncle, you... who are you?"
Suddenly, Yahiko's puzzled voice came from behind them. Hiruko and Jiraiya's hearts tightened. They had actually failed to notice a stranger approaching. They quickly turned to look.
That look was all it took. The moment Jiraiya saw the newcomer, he felt a bone-deep chill shoot from his heels straight to the crown of his head.
"Huh? Where did this monk come from?"
"Hiruko!"
"Huh?"
Hiruko, who had been just about to ask a question, was startled by Jiraiya's sudden shift in tone. When he turned his face, he actually saw an unprecedented seriousness on his childhood friend's face.
"In a moment, take the children and run. No matter what happens, don't look back."
Jiraiya stared fixedly at the man dressed like a monk in front of the three children, his tone carrying an unquestionable resolve.
"Whoosh!"
As he spoke, he raised his hand and bit open his fingertip, then formed the seals of the Summoning Technique with his blood-dripping hands.
Facing this enemy, he could not hold even the slightest hope for luck. He had to go all out, with everything he had.
"Boom!"
As tadpole-like patterns spread beneath his feet, two small figures leapt up from the smoke rising