Jiraiya

At this desperate moment, something suddenly occurred to him. A glimmer flashed in his eyes, and he whipped around to face the Anbu. His hoarse voice rang with urgency and authority as he roared, "Hurry! Send for Tsunade and Jiraiya at once! Tell them to get here as fast as they can! And gather the Sealing Squad immediately! Use every means necessary to set up the Four Red Yang Formation! We have to trap him!"

The Anbu members didn't dare waste a moment. They turned and sprinted toward the village center.

But it would take time for the order to reach them, for Tsunade and Jiraiya to arrive, and for the Sealing Squad to set up the Four Red Yang Formation.

High in the air, Itachi's pale-red Susanoo was on the verge of shattering. Genki's giant hand was slowly tightening around it, its terrifying strength crushing the Susanoo's form.

Pale-red chakra scattered like a receding tide. Itachi's breathing grew weaker and weaker, and the searing pain in his eyes nearly drove him unconscious. The shadow of death had completely fallen over him...

"Crack—bam!"

Itachi's pale-red Susanoo finally gave way. The chakra covering its surface disintegrated, and its core frame was webbed with cracks, as though it would shatter completely at any moment.

The giant hand's crushing force transmitted through the Susanoo, making Itachi's insides throb as if his organs had been displaced. Blood ran from the corner of his mouth, and his vision blurred, flickering between black and red.

He gritted his teeth, fingertips trembling as he tried to activate the Totsuka Blade again. But his chakra was depleted, and the tearing pain in his eyes left him barely able to muster the strength for Hand Seals. The shadow of death was already at his doorstep.

"Five Release: Great Combo Technique!"

At that critical moment, an aged yet powerful shout cut through the smoke.

Sarutobi Hiruzen held nothing back. His hands blurred through Hand Seals, and with a thunderous bang, four identical shadow clones appeared, taking up positions to the east, south, west, and north. Together with the original, they focused and formed their seals.

"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!" The original exhaled a dragon of fire dozens of meters long, wreathed in towering flames, its scales clearly visible in the blaze. Roaring, it charged toward the giant hand of the thousand-meter Susanoo.

"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet!" One shadow clone slapped a hand against the ground. A torrent of water gushed up from beneath it, gathering into a monstrous water dragon that slammed toward its target with the force to crush anything in its path.

"Earth Dragon Bullet Technique!" Another shadow clone finished forming its seals. The ground shuddered violently as earth-colored chakra gathered into a massive earthen dragon, which barreled forward amid a storm of rocks and dirt.

"Wind Release: Wind Dragon Bullet!" The wind-natured shadow clone channeled its chakra. As the wind howled, a blue dragon of wind took shape, its razor-sharp currents like blades as it raced toward the battlefield.

"Lightning Style: Lightning Dragon Bullet!" The last shadow clone was engulfed in crackling lightning. A purple lightning dragon, sparks snapping around it, converged with the other four dragons.

The five dragons of different natures intertwined in midair and merged into a dazzling torrent of energy. Its terrifying pressure, rivaling that of a forbidden technique, made the air around them boil.

"Rumble—!!!" The torrent crashed into the giant hand of the thousand-meter Susanoo, unleashing a deafening roar. Blinding light swallowed the entire area, and smoke billowed skyward like a mushroom cloud. Even the ground shook violently.

But as the smoke spread, Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression grew heavier.

As the one who had cast the technique, he could clearly sense that his all-out Great Combo Technique, fueled by every last drop of his chakra, had only left a few faint white marks on the opponent's black Susanoo armor. It hadn't even come close to shaking its defenses!

The energy beneath that black armor was as deep and heavy as an abyss, swallowing every attack completely.

"Damn it..." Sarutobi Hiruzen clenched his fists, helplessness etched across his aged face.

Could even an attack of this magnitude fail to give Itachi a sliver of hope?

Just then, a bold, penetrating voice rang out from the night sky beyond the smoke, carrying the distinctive chakra of Sage Mode. "Sage Art: Goemon!"

Before the words had even faded, a sea of viscous black oil poured down from above like a waterfall, instantly coating the giant hand of the thousand-meter Susanoo.

Next, a raging Wind Release Ninjutsu swept in, spreading the oil until it covered the giant hand completely.

Finally, a mass of flames more violent than Fire Dragon Flame Bullet crashed down. The wind fanned the flames, and the oil fed their fury. The three techniques merged in an instant, forming a sea of fire that stretched hundreds of meters. Its terrible heat warped the air around it, instantly dispersing even the smoke.

This was Jiraiya's signature Sage Art!

The three techniques worked together, their combined power multiplying exponentially.

At last—

"Crack... crack..." The crisp sound of breaking reached everyone's ears for the first time.

The crowd looked closer. Fine cracks had appeared on the black armor covering the thousand-meter Susanoo's giant hand. A fragment no bigger than a fingernail broke off the armor and fell to the ground with a crisp clink.

It was only a tiny fragment from one finger, but it was enough to rekindle a spark of hope in the Konoha Ninja present!

That brief delay was already a chance at survival for Itachi Uchiha.

Summoning the last of his strength, he swiftly formed Hand Seals. "Substitution Technique!"

With a bang, a log took Itachi's place inside the Susanoo.

Almost at the same moment, a thunderous crash rang out. The pale-red Susanoo shattered completely into scattered chakra, and the giant hand crushed the log to dust.

Itachi himself appeared amid the ruins a hundred meters away. The moment he landed, he staggered and dropped to one knee, gasping for air. His chest heaved, and the crimson in his eyes slowly faded, leaving only deep exhaustion and lingering fear.

As the smoke finally cleared, a figure approached from the distance.

The newcomer was tall, with long white hair draped over his shoulders and two distinctive red markings running down his face. Faint toad-like patterns surfaced on his skin, and his pupils had become slits—Jiraiya, in Sage Mode!

A toad sat on each of his shoulders, each with a different appearance. On the left was the larger Fukasaku, holding a pipe; on the right was the smaller Shima, dressed in a pink kimono.

One of the legendary Sannin had finally arrived!

In fact, when Uchiha Genki first unleashed his thousand-meter slash, Jiraiya had been investigating near Konoha's outskirts and had sensed that abnormally terrifying surge of chakra.

He had rushed to the scene, but the moment he saw the thousand-meter Susanoo blotting out the sky, he knew that he stood no chance in his normal state.

So he had prudently retreated into hiding. With Fukasaku and Shima's help, he spent half a day gathering Natural Energy and entering an imperfect Sage Mode. Only then had he rushed over and saved Itachi Uchiha.