Uchiha Arashi vs. Jiraiya

An enormous cloud of smoke dispersed.

Uchiha Arashi immediately stopped in his tracks.

"Jiraiya, why did you call me out? Did you run into a troublesome enemy?"

From within the smoke, the mountain-sized Gamabunta poked out his head with a pipe in his mouth and looked toward the tiny figure ahead.

Jiraiya had appeared atop the toad's head at some point.

"This time, our opponent is an Uchiha. Gamabunta, be careful. He has a Mangekyō."

"Mangekyō Sharingan? Heh, that's a seriously troublesome thing. Jiraiya, how did you provoke someone like that? Aren't the Uchiha a clan of Konoha? Did you have a falling-out?"

A trace of gravity appeared on Gamabunta's toad-like face.

Ordinary people might not know the name Mangekyo, but for beings like them who stood at the pinnacle of the Ninja World, its reputation was far too great. Facing a Mangekyo was an absolute nightmare for anyone.

"It's complicated. I'll explain it to you slowly when I have time another day. For now, just help me defeat him."

"Fine, since you put it that way..."

Gamabunta took a drag from his pipe and reached for the hilt of the blade at his waist.

The next second, the hill-sized toad vanished from where he stood. Almost simultaneously, the ground where Uchiha Arashi had been standing was smashed into a huge crater by the toad.

Uchiha Arashi leaped away through the flying rubble and dust. After landing, his feet scraped across the ground as he slid backward, his eyes fixed on Gamabunta in the distance.

"Quick reflexes. Just what I'd expect from the Sharingan. Then how about this one?"

Gamabunta abruptly drew the short blade at his waist—short to him, anyway.

The blade tore through the smoke and dust, carrying unmatched force as it slashed viciously toward Uchiha Arashi.

Left with no choice, Uchiha Arashi could only leap backward again.

"Tch, this giant toad is really annoying..."

Uchiha Arashi gritted his teeth.

Such an enormous summoned beast was already impervious to ordinary ninjutsu. The Fire Release techniques he had mastered probably would not even be enough to scratch Gamabunta.

"Then... Stone Forest!"

Uchiha Arashi clenched his fist and slammed it fiercely into the ground.

The next second, countless stone pillars erupted from the earth like bamboo shoots after rain and rapidly extended toward Gamabunta's feet.

Gamabunta had been preparing to press the attack, but he was forced to leap back instead.

"Stone Spear!"

Uchiha Arashi made a grasping motion with his right hand. Hundreds of stone pillars around him snapped apart at once, floated to his side, and fused into a massive stone pillar several meters thick.

"Go!"

With a sharp flick of his hand, the Stone Spear shot out like a bullet, hurtling straight for Gamabunta's chest.

"Good grief! Jiraiya!"

Gamabunta cried out and hurriedly raised his blade to block the Stone Spear, but his enormous body was still pushed back two steps.

"Coming!"

Jiraiya had already completed his hand seals. He leaped down from Gamabunta's head and, from above, blew a fierce breath toward Uchiha Arashi below.

"Fire Release: Great Flame Bomb!"

A composite ninjutsu that refined chakra into oil before combining it with Fire Release, it possessed greater heat, longer burning time, and a wider attack range than ordinary Fire Release.

Uchiha Arashi looked up at the incoming fireball, and his figure was instantly swallowed by flames.

"Is he dead?"

Gamabunta knocked the Stone Spear aside and lowered his head to look toward the burning blaze.

"Not that easily. That's a Mangekyo..."

Jiraiya landed on the ground, his eyes locked on the burning area in the distance.

Before he had even finished speaking, the air behind him suddenly began to twist.

"Jiraiya, behind you!"

Gamabunta hurriedly warned him.

Jiraiya spun around and blocked Uchiha Arashi's attack at the last possible moment.

"Ninja Art: Wild Lion's Mane Technique!"

His hair lengthened once again, lashing out toward Uchiha Arashi.

"Stone Shield!"

Two walls of rock abruptly rose at Uchiha Arashi's side, blocking Jiraiya's attack for him as he took the opportunity to charge forward.

"Toad Oil Bomb!"

This time, Jiraiya had no time to use ninjutsu. He directly spat the oil from his mouth at Uchiha Arashi.

This oil could both assist Fire Release ninjutsu and be used directly for attacks. It was highly adhesive and could restrict an enemy's movements.

Uchiha Arashi curled his lip and could only create a rock wall in front of himself to block the oil bomb.

Above him, a massive blade descended from the sky, destroying him and all the surrounding rock walls.

Uchiha Arashi entered the Kamui space again and reappeared a hundred meters away.

"What was that just now? Jiraiya, was that the Mangekyo's ocular technique?"

Only then did Gamabunta get the chance to ask.

Jiraiya returned to the top of Gamabunta's head.

"It should have been an ocular technique. His ocular techniques seem to involve both space-time abilities and enhanced Earth Release. The space-time type in particular—Gamabunta, you have to be careful. This guy is very difficult to deal with."

No space-time technique was easy to handle.

After all, his own disciple, Minato Namikaze, was a master in that field. His superb Flying Thunder God had made ninjas from other nations tremble at its very mention during the Third Ninja World War. The Tsuchikage had even told his subordinates that if they encountered Minato Namikaze, they could abandon their mission and flee for their lives.

Minato Namikaze's greatest feat had been instantly killing fifty enemy ninjas in a single moment during the war, earning fame throughout the Ninja World.

Jiraiya was not sure whether the Uchiha before him could reach Minato's level... probably not. Otherwise, his current situation would only be even more difficult.

But even if his opponent was weaker than Minato, he was still far from easy to handle.

"You don't need to tell me that. Of course I'll be careful... but if he truly has a space-time ocular technique like you said, then the two of us alone probably won't be able to defeat him."

Driving him back would not be a problem, but defeating him would be difficult. If things got bad, Uchiha Arashi could still flee, so they needed to find a way to trap him here.

"I understand. Gamabunta, what were the two sages doing when you came?"

Jiraiya asked in a low voice.

"They were cooking... You mean?"

Gamabunta's eyes widened.

"We have to use sage arts. Gamabunta, hold him off for me first."

Jiraiya used the Summoning Technique again, summoning the two sages, Shima and Fukasaku.

If possessing a Three-Tomoe Sharingan meant reaching Jonin level, then an Uchiha with a Mangekyō was undoubtedly Kage Level—among the most troublesome and powerful tier.

In his normal state, even with Gamabunta's help, Jiraiya was not confident he could defeat him.

So he prepared to enter Sage Mode.

And to enter Sage Mode, he needed the help of Mount Myoboku's two great sages, as well as some preparation time.

Naturally, Uchiha Arashi would not indulge him. As Jiraiya summoned the two sages and smeared toad oil across his face, hundreds of stone bullets were already raining down upon Jiraiya and the three toads.