Breaking Free

"What happened?" Tsunade and Jiraiya were heading toward the next location when they suddenly felt the entire mountain trembling. Moments later, they saw thick tree roots drilling out of the ground.

"Looks like Madara doesn't intend to let us deal with his clones easily!" Jiraiya said with a smile.

"No kidding! That's the Wood Dragon Technique. Can that kid Ming Jing handle it?" Tsunade snapped at Jiraiya before asking worriedly.

"Don't worry." Jiraiya looked at Tsunade and said, "Even if all seven of us fail, that kid won't."

"You have that much faith in him?" Tsunade asked doubtfully. In her memory, there had only ever been two people Jiraiya trusted this completely: the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, and Naruto. Since when had Ming Jing become someone so worthy of his trust?

"That kid is the real deal when it comes to hiding his strength! Let's keep going. He can handle something this minor." As Jiraiya spoke, he fixed on a direction and continued onward. Seeing how confident he was, Tsunade temporarily put her worries aside. She followed Jiraiya and continued hunting Madara's Susanoo clones.

Mei Terumi stood beside Ming Jing, watching the trees grow wildly. What had once been an ordinary forest had now turned into a dense tropical rainforest, lush and green. The Mizukage turned to Ming Jing and asked uncertainly, "Will this really be okay?"

"Of course it will!" Ming Jing smiled. "This is only the first step. Next comes the second." Then another rift opened beside him, and his hands rapidly formed Hand Seals. "Fire Style: Scorched Earth Technique!"

"What are you..." Mei Terumi watched what Ming Jing was doing, even more confused.

"Watch closely. I'll put on a Firework Display for you!" Ming Jing winked at Mei Terumi and suddenly snapped his fingers. The next instant,