Boom!
Jiraiya, whose appearance had changed drastically, leaped down from afar with astonishing force. His feet struck the ground so hard that cracks spread across it.
"So you've finally decided to stop avoiding me?" the Third Kazekage said coldly. He had been about to mock his opponent, but when he saw Jiraiya's appearance, he abandoned the idea.
Instead, his face was filled with wariness and apprehension!
By now, a bright red marking covered Jiraiya's brow. It spread around his eyes, which had taken on the horizontal-slit shape of a toad's.
His nose had grown large and bulbous. At a glance, he looked like a toad that had gained human form.
Even more unusual, two little toads stood on his shoulders. One was a small green toad with a white beard and eyebrows; the other was a female toad with purple hair and lips.
The two great sages of Mount Myōboku had appeared at Jiraiya's summons: Sage Fukasaku and Sage Shima!
"What kind of enemy could possibly be troublesome enough to make you call on us?" The elderly voice came from the white-bearded toad on his right.
"Exactly, little Jiraiya! I was in the middle of preparing a sumptuous dinner for the children's father!" The toad on his left spoke in the voice of an old woman, though it was remarkably strong.
"Sorry, but the enemy we're facing this time is incredibly troublesome. If we don't stop them here, I'm afraid we won't be able to guarantee Konoha's safety," Jiraiya explained.
"That's right! We'll have to ask you both to give it your all this time!" Minato Namikaze said earnestly as he arrived with the Body Flicker Technique.
"Little Minato? Isn't it about time you came to Mount Myōboku to learn Senjutsu?"
"You'll have to work hard when you do. Don't