Northern border of the Land of Fire.
Jiraiya and Namikaze Minato joined forces to besiege the Third Raikage. In a two-on-one battle, they held a slight advantage.
However, the Raikage was an all-round fighter with A-rank strength, speed, and stamina. He was fast, highly defensive, and powerfully offensive. Other than being unable to heal himself, he could fight, endure, and flee. Rather than retreat because of this, he only grew fiercer as the battle went on.
Relying on his extraordinary endurance, he stubbornly dragged things out until Jiraiya's Sage Mode was about to end.
At that point, the two sages, Fukasaku and Shima, had no choice but to merge with Jiraiya and remain completely still in order to help him gather Natural Energy.
Since they had to remain absolutely still, they naturally could no longer participate in the battle.
Without the assistance of the two sages, the battle once again returned to a balanced state.
Yet as they fought, Jiraiya suddenly realized that opportunities to be alone with the Raikage like this were rare.
Simply fighting seemed rather wasteful. From the looks of things, neither side could do anything to the other anyway.
Why not do something more meaningful?
For instance, Talk no Jutsu.
After all, being a ninja was not just about fighting and killing. There were also human relationships and worldly affairs.
"Lord Raikage,"
Jiraiya leaped backward, dodging the Raikage's descending axe kick. "The war between our two countries has gone on for so long, and both sides have suffered tremendous losses. Why not end it here? This world is about to fall into crisis, and there are many more meaningful things we need to do."
Boom!
The Raikage's Righteous Lightning Indignation Thunder Axe missed and smashed heavily into the ground, instantly shattering the earth beneath him and