Sage Mode

Hanzo's words darkened Jiraiya's expression.

He had only wanted the two sides to clear up the misunderstanding. If possible, he wanted to avoid a fight.

After all, Hanzo's reputation was no exaggeration.

Back then, even working together with Orochimaru and Tsunade, Jiraiya hadn't been able to defeat him. Now he was alone. Though he was much stronger, he still wasn't confident he could win.

Unfortunately, Hanzo had already summoned Salamander Ibuse. A fight was now inevitable.

Letting himself be captured was out of the question. If Hanzo wanted a fight, then a fight it would be.

Hanzo moved quickly. The instant Salamander Ibuse appeared, it opened its maw and spewed out a vast cloud of poisonous mist.

It was even more potent than the poison Hanzo could produce with his own breath.

During the Second Shinobi World War, this move had inflicted tremendous losses on Konoha's forces.

Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!

At the critical moment, Qingshui opened his mouth and unleashed a gale.

To make sure he could blow the poison away, he held nothing back, exhausting the little Chakra he had left.

A fierce wind roared up, blowing all the poison Ibuse had spewed right back toward it.

Ibuse itself was naturally unaffected by the poison.

Hanzo had also promptly put his mask back on, so he was unaffected by the poison blowing back at him.

"Well done, Qingshui."

Seeing this, Jiraiya praised Qingshui before forming Hand Seals and using Summoning Jutsu.

Poof!

As a cloud of white smoke dissipated, a gigantic red toad, as large as Ibuse, appeared.

It had a huge pipe clenched in its mouth, bandages wrapped around its waist, and a short sword tucked into them.

It was none other than Gamabunta of Mount Myōboku.

"Jiraiya, how did you end up facing Hanzo of the Salamander again?"

The moment he saw Hanzo and Ibuse, Gamabunta was reminded of the memorable battle they'd fought in the Land of Rain.

"There's no time to explain right now, Bunta. Use that move immediately."

As Jiraiya's Summoned Beast, Gamabunta knew exactly what he meant.

It opened its mouth and spat out oil as Jiraiya simultaneously breathed out flames.

It was their Combination Ninjutsu: Fire Release: Toad Oil Flame Bullet!

As the saying went, oil only made a fire burn hotter. This move was far more powerful than the Great Flame Bullet. A gigantic mass of burning oil surged toward Hanzo and Ibuse.

Hanzo's response was simple. He formed Hand Seals and used Water Release: Water Wall.

It easily blocked the Toad Oil Flame Bullet.

While Jiraiya and Hanzo clashed with their Ninjutsu, Qingshui took out a Ration Pill and swallowed it.

He'd gotten it earlier from the Blue Orb. It was a food commonly eaten by Ninja in battle, and it could quickly replenish Chakra.

Of course, with Qingshui's current Chakra reserves, a single Ration Pill couldn't fully restore him.

But it could at least bring back some of his fighting strength.

Besides, he could only eat three a day at most.

Any more, and he'd suffer the same sort of indigestion as from eating too many compression biscuits.

Once his Chakra had recovered, Qingshui handed Jiraiya an Antidote Pill to keep him from being poisoned in the battle ahead.

Ibuse wouldn't be able to release another cloud of poison for five minutes, but Hanzo himself was poisonous, and his sickle was coated in poison too.

Jiraiya was the main force fighting Hanzo now. He couldn't afford to let anything happen to him.

Jiraiya naturally accepted the pill. Qingshui also told him that Hanzo's weakness was his abdomen.

By the time Jiraiya had taken the Antidote Pill, Ibuse was already charging at them.

Gamabunta wasn't about to back down. It met Ibuse head-on.

The two colossal creatures began to battle.

Hanzo, standing atop Ibuse's head, leaped down and charged at Jiraiya.

Jiraiya met him without hesitation.

Their battle was fierce, but Hanzo clearly had the upper hand.

Hanzo had been stronger than Jiraiya to begin with, and now he was taking the fight seriously and giving it his all.

Yes, he'd held back earlier when fighting Qingshui and Mikoto.

At his true strength, he could have taken them both down in an instant.

Jiraiya was still young, and his strength and battle experience were both inferior to the version of him in the Original Work.

Though he knew Hanzo's weakness, he made his attack too obvious.

Or rather, it was obvious to Hanzo.

Hanzo took advantage of this and deliberately left an opening for Jiraiya.

Before long, Jiraiya, already on the defensive, fell for the trap. Hanzo's sickle struck him.

The Antidote Pill meant he didn't have to fear the poison, but the sickle's blade was long enough to pierce a man's body with ease.

Jiraiya managed to avoid a fatal wound, but after taking such a serious injury, he struggled even more against Hanzo's relentless assault.

He had no choice but to use Body Flicker to put some distance between them. At the same time, he swiftly formed Hand Seals and spat out a Flame Bullet at Hanzo, who was already closing in again.

Hanzo didn't dodge. He formed Hand Seals just as quickly and used Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet.

The gigantic water dragon instantly snuffed out the Flame Bullet, then continued toward Jiraiya without losing any momentum.

Just as it was about to hit him, another Water Dragon Bullet appeared out of nowhere and successfully blocked Hanzo's attack.

Qingshui had come to his aid.

With Qingshui's help, Jiraiya managed to put some distance between himself and Hanzo and returned to Qingshui's side.

There was no time to heal Jiraiya, and healing him now was impossible anyway.

Hanzo wouldn't give them the chance.

Sure enough, Hanzo had already charged at them again.

Just as Qingshui prepared to face him, Jiraiya grabbed him.

"Lord Jiraiya?"

Qingshui looked at him in confusion, then suddenly noticed the red markings on Jiraiya's face.

This was Sage Mode!

During the Second Shinobi World War, Jiraiya hadn't yet truly mastered Sage Mode.

But after losing to Hanzo, he had thrown himself into training, and it had taken him more than a year to finally learn it.

Jiraiya's Sage Mode was still incomplete, though. It took a long time to absorb Nature Energy before he could activate it.

He hadn't had any time to absorb Nature Energy while rushing over to help.

That required him to be "still."

Then he'd had a sudden idea: he could use a Shadow Clone to absorb Nature Energy, then dispel it to enter Sage Mode immediately.

It had only been a trial, but to his surprise, it had actually worked.

Jiraiya was both surprised and relieved.

"Sorry, Qingshui. I let my guard down earlier. This time, I'll show him what I can really do."

In Sage Mode, Jiraiya's strength would increase tremendously.

But it wouldn't last long. His current limit was only one minute, so he couldn't afford to waste any time.

"Hm?"

Hanzo noticed the change in Jiraiya too, but he'd never seen Sage Mode before, so he didn't take Jiraiya seriously enough.

And so, when the two clashed again, Hanzo paid dearly for it.

Jiraiya easily dodged his attack, then landed a punch squarely on his chest. A terrifying force slammed into Hanzo.

Hanzo's expression changed as pain shot through his chest, and he was sent flying.

When he landed, blood was already visible at the corner of his mouth.