He's an Immortal Arts Prodigy!

These rock bullets were traveling at extreme speeds; even Gamabunta would feel the pain if they struck him, so he refused to take them head-on and could only leap to the side.

Jiraiya took the opportunity to jump down, retreating backward with the two Sages, Shima and Fukasaku.

He needed time to activate Sage Mode and could not be disturbed. With Gamabunta there, he could temporarily block the enemy. As for the most troublesome space-time ninjutsu, with the two Sages present, they could also help him fend it off for a while...

"Soldier against soldier, general against general. Big toad, I'll find you an opponent!"

Uchiha Arashi suddenly leaned forward, pressing both hands onto the ground. The Eye of God hidden beneath his collar erupted with unprecedented light, and then, with him as the center, the ground within a hundred-meter radius began to tremble simultaneously.

Countless rocks churned as a rocky mountain rose from the ground at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"What is he trying to do?"

Jiraiya and the three toads all widened their eyes, staring at the scene not far away.

The churning of the earth became increasingly violent; countless rocks rose from deep underground, flying into the air to converge toward the rocky mountain.

Some of these rocks were only the size of a fist, while others were as large as a house.

Countless rocks gathered together, rubbing and stacking against each other until a behemoth gradually took shape.

Jiraiya's eyes widened further and further, his expression quickly shifting into shock.

"Wh-what is this!"

In front of him, a rock giant standing several dozen meters tall, with a physique a full circle larger than Gamabunta, was rising from the ground.

"Hey, hey, hey! Jiraiya, you didn't tell me the opponent had this kind of ability!"

Gamabunta didn't even have the heart to smoke his pipe; he immediately gripped his short sword, staring at the rock giant with a tense expression.

"How would I know... Damn it, just how strong is this guy's dojutsu!"

Jiraiya felt aggrieved as well. Being able to control rocks and skip the entire process of weaving hand signs—wasn't such a dojutsu already broken enough? Now he had conjured up such an outrageous rock giant; was this really something a single person could do?

Uchiha Arashi knelt on one knee atop the rock giant's head, gasping heavily.

Although he possessed the Eye of God and could manipulate rocks, the entire process consumed his own chakra. The Eye of God did not provide any energy to save him effort; at most, it allowed him to use his own power to achieve things he couldn't do before.

Creating such a massive stone giant consumed an absurd amount of energy in one go. It was fortunate that he was an Uchiha with excellent chakra talent; if this were an ordinary ninja, they would have been finished the moment they barely managed to create the stone giant, let alone have the strength left to fight.

But it was worth it. He knew very well how troublesome Sage Mode was, and he would not give Jiraiya the chance to enter it.

However, with this big toad Gamabunta blocking the way, he had to take care of this mountain first.

Thus, the stone giant was born.

"Do it."

Uchiha Arashi patted the top of the stone giant's head, a thought flashing through his mind.

ROAR—

The stone giant roared toward the sky, thrusting its arms into the ground and pulling out a massive stone blade from beneath.

Then, wielding the blade, it charged straight at Gamabunta.

With every step it took, the surrounding earth rumbled and shook.

"Jiraiya, hurry up! I can't hold out for too long!"

Gamabunta shouted.

"I know, just hold on a little longer."

Jiraiya gritted his teeth, struggling to accelerate the absorption of natural energy.

The rock giant had already reached Gamabunta, raising its blade to strike down at him.

Gamabunta tilted his body upward with all his might, meeting the stone blade with his own short sword.

The next second, the two blades collided violently, emitting a thunderous roar.

Uchiha Arashi had already taken this opportunity to leap down from the top of the stone giant, bypassing Gamabunta and heading straight for Jiraiya.

"Two Sages, I'll leave the rest to you."

This was Jiraiya's second insurance policy. His entry into Sage Mode not only required the two Great Sages to help him better gather senjutsu chakra and extend the duration of Sage Mode, but they could also help him fend off threats during the time before he entered the state.

"Rest assured, leave it to us."

"Little Jiraiya, focus your mind, don't get distracted."

The two Sages spoke respectively, then simultaneously launched an attack on Uchiha Arashi.

These two old toads were not weak. Although their direct combat ability was mediocre, they possessed various means to control enemies, whether on a physical level or an illusionary one.

"Brat, don't get too arrogant. Tongue Bind!"

Fukasaku was the first to act, opening his mouth to shoot out his tongue. It flew toward Uchiha Arashi like a rope, attempting to bind him.

Beside him, Shima had already prepared her chakra; as soon as Uchiha Arashi was caught, she could immediately initiate the Toad Song to drag him into an illusion.

The illusionary techniques of the toad clan were different from those of the Uchiha. They were more adept at casting illusions through croaking; this sound-based illusion was harder to guard against than ordinary ones and even more difficult to dispel, even if the opponent was an Uchiha.

Uchiha Arashi was well aware of the abilities of these two toads, so he had already prepared a ninjutsu in advance, and this time, it was no longer an ordinary one.

"Sage Art: Great Flame Explosion!"

With the hand seals slightly modified and natural energy integrated, a brand-new form of Sage Chakra gathered within Uchiha Arashi, causing the Great Fireball technique cast with this new energy to evolve into a higher-level form on the spot.

A golden fireball appeared in the sky like a scorching sun.

Releasing a terrifying heat wave capable of incinerating all things, it churned and rolled as it crushed down toward the man and two toads below.

"Old man!"

Sage Shima shrieked.

Sage Fukasaku hurriedly retracted his tongue.

"Little Jiraiya, dodge quickly!"

"I know."

The moment Jiraiya saw the fireball, he had already leaped backward.

The fireball finally struck the ground.

BOOM—

Terrifying flames surged into the sky, as if hundreds of explosive tags had been detonated simultaneously; the golden fire swept across the earth, melting even the gravel in its path.

"What a terrifying ninjutsu; this isn't ordinary Fire Release..."

Jiraiya barely managed to evade the reach of the flames, and as he looked back at the spot where he had been standing, even he broke out in a cold sweat.

"Old man, did you see clearly?"

"I saw it clearly; it was Sage Chakra!"

Compared to the fireball, the two sages were more focused on Uchiha Arashi, as they could vaguely sense the change in him—a change that was identical to the one Jiraiya currently possessed.

"What? He can use Sage Mode too?"

Jiraiya was incredibly shocked upon hearing this.

"It is not Sage Mode; he has simply mastered natural energy and refined Sage Chakra on his own."

"To be able to accomplish such a thing without anyone's guidance..."

"He is a genius of Sage Arts!"

The two sages spoke in unison.