Fleeing in Defeat

"Jiraiya, hurry."

Sage Fukasaku stood on Jiraiya's shoulder, his expression somewhat grim. Clearly, being infected with the virus was making him feel terrible.

Sage Shima beside him said worriedly, "Old man, why don't you go back to Mount Myoboku first and have the Great Toad Sage treat you?"

Sage Fukasaku shook his head. "I can still hold on. We just need to be faster."

Jiraiya nodded firmly. "I understand."

To buy time, he decided to launch the first attack.

Jiraiya pressed his hands together before him, swiftly channeling the Sage Chakra condensed by Sage Fukasaku and Sage Shima into his hair.

His flowing white hair immediately flared up like a lion's mane, transforming under the effects of Sage Chakra into countless hard, sharp steel needles that poured toward the three figures ahead like a torrential rain.

The sharp strands pierced through the air with shrill hisses. Every tree along their path was instantly riddled with holes as though swept by machine-gun fire, then toppled over!

The dense barrage came crashing down with the momentum to pierce through everything!

Xianai immediately hooked Uzumaki Rii up with her talon-like legs and shot straight into the air.

Large amounts of Cursed Seal markings surfaced across Jugo's body, gathering around his arms like flames. Then the shape of his hands changed, condensing into a heavy, horn-like shield as tall as a person in front of him. A great deal of pale-blue Sage Chakra also appeared across its surface.

The violent white needles, carrying powerful Sage Chakra, slammed madly into Jugo's shield. Yet the strength of the shield he had formed was clearly beyond expectations. Even Jiraiya's full-force attack could not break through it in a short time.

Meanwhile, Xianai and Uzumaki Rii, who had flown into the air, had already launched their attack.

"Though