At the main camp on the front line against Kumogakure.
A middle-aged man with long white hair studied the scroll in his hands with a grave expression. He was Jiraiya, one of the Konoha Sannin and the commander-in-chief of Konoha's campaign against Kumogakure.
The information in the scroll said that the AB Combination—the Fourth Raikage and the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki—was very likely to launch a surprise attack on their position. The Third Hokage had urged him to be on his guard.
As for the Third Hokage himself, he was stationed at another battlefield, where Konoha was facing off against Iwagakure.
Ōnoki, master of the Kekkei Tōta Dust Release, was an extremely troublesome opponent. At present, only the Third Hokage, known as the Ninja Hero, had the confidence to face him head-on.
Normally, the leader of a village, its highest authority, wouldn't personally go out on a raid.
Unfortunately, the Raikage of Kumogakure was different from other Kage. Raikage of every generation had been fond of the kind of gambler's strategy that risked much for a chance at a great gain.
Back then, the Third Raikage had tried to launch a surprise attack on Iwagakure. After he was discovered, Ōnoki had mobilized a force of tens of thousands of shinobi and worn him down to the death.
His successor, the Fourth Raikage, had the same temperament and style. During the Third Shinobi World War, the Fourth Raikage had led a small squad, accompanied by the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki Killer B, to sneak into Konoha and launch a surprise attack.
But at the time, the Yellow Flash, Minato Namikaze, was in Konoha. Using the Flying Thunder God Technique, Minato had outpaced the Fourth Raikage, ultimately forcing him to retreat and abandon his plan.
Now Konoha no longer had the Fourth Hokage, and the Fourth Raikage had become the fastest man in the Ninja World. So he thought he could pull it off again.
Since the fighting with Konoha had dragged on without a clear winner, it wasn't surprising that he would try another surprise attack.
After thinking it through, Jiraiya decided they couldn't just sit back and defend. They had to take the initiative.
After all, against powerful foes like the Fourth Raikage and the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, ordinary shinobi were of little use. If the enemy really brought the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki with him, the many shinobi at their main camp would only become a burden.
However, Jiraiya alone could never take on the Fourth Raikage, Killer B, and the many Kumogakure elites.
Jiraiya, who had mastered Sage Mode, was confident he could hold his own against either member of the AB Combination. But that would only take care of one opponent. He needed someone who could help him handle the other.
If they didn't have enough powerful fighters, they'd have to make up for it with numbers.
Jiraiya decided to select elite fighters from among the troops at the front and take them with him to face the AB Combination. This preemptive strike would determine whether the war ended or dragged on, so they couldn't afford to fail.
Soon, Jiraiya called out the names of a large number of elite jonin and assembled them.
People like Hyuga Lan, who had distinguished himself with his recent performance, were also chosen for the mission.
When Hyuga Lan arrived, he found many familiar faces around him.
Asuma, Kakashi, Guy, and the others were all there. When he noticed Uchiha Shisui among them, he felt relieved.
With this Uchiha who had awakened the Mangekyo, the interception mission would be much more secure.
In the crowd, Hizashi saw that Lan had also been chosen and wore an expression that said he'd expected as much.
Lately, Lan's performance had been every bit as impressive as that of geniuses like Kakashi and Uchiha Shisui. Many people had already started treating them as equals and seeing them as Konoha's future leaders.
If their plan to intercept the Raikage succeeded, the tremendous credit for it would make the fact that Hyuga Lan had once served under Orochimaru seem insignificant.
"Lan, this battle will be extremely fierce. Be extra careful."
Lan nodded at Hizashi's warning.
"You're right, Hizashi. I'll be careful."
"Lord Raikage, the sensory unit has detected a large amount of chakra ahead. A few of them have incredibly powerful chakra signatures..."
Listening to his subordinate's report, the Fourth Raikage realized his plan to lead a small group into Konoha for a surprise attack had fallen through.
In that case, they'd just have to fight head-on. Given Konoha's current strength, there was no one who could stand against him and Killer B, the AB Combination.
On a flat grassland, the Kumogakure vanguard led by the Fourth Raikage encountered the Konoha elite force led by Jiraiya.
The Fourth Raikage looked at Jiraiya, his expression somewhat grave. But when he surveyed the others and saw that Konoha had only brought a few young men, he was delighted.
Konoha really had reached a point where it lacked capable successors. If they took out Jiraiya and these young geniuses, Konoha would be beyond saving.
"B, you hold Jiraiya off. I'll deal with everyone else."
Killer B understood how important this battle was, so he didn't launch into one of his offbeat raps. He nodded and stared gravely at Jiraiya across from him.
Then the two forces sized each other up, each looking for a suitable opponent.
Tension spread across the battlefield. Before long, both sides shouted, "Kill!" and charged into each other.
In an instant, all kinds of ninjutsu, kunai, and hidden weapons flew through the air. Casualties began to mount, and the battle turned fierce from the very start.
As Jiraiya moved to join the fight, Killer B, who had been watching him closely, came to meet him.
The two withdrew from the battlefield in tacit agreement, stopping only after they had reached a place far enough away.
Jiraiya knew that Killer B was a Perfect Jinchuriki who could control the Eight-Tails' power. If they fought on that battlefield, they might hurt innocent people.
Killer B also knew just how terrifying the Eight-Tails' power was. If he used it amid a battle where the two sides were entangled, he could easily hurt both friend and foe. So when Jiraiya led him away, he followed willingly.
In his view, aside from Jiraiya, no one in Konoha could withstand his big brother, the Fourth Raikage.
Once his big brother had dealt with the others, he could come back and take care of Jiraiya.
After exchanging a few probing attacks, Killer B summoned the Eight-Tails' true form. Soon, a monster with an ox's head, a massive body, and octopus tentacles appeared on the battlefield in his place.
Feeling the Eight-Tails Gyuki's overwhelming chakra, Jiraiya grew extremely solemn.
"Ninja Art: Summoning Technique..."
Poof!
A massive purple-red toad, carrying a shield on its back and holding a steel fork, appeared beneath Jiraiya and lifted him high into the air. It was none other than Gamaken, a master of both offense and defense.
Jiraiya then solemnly reached out and wiped the toad oil from his face.
"Clap!"
He brought his hands together forcefully and said,
"Buy me some time. I'm going to summon two great sages to help."
Just as Jiraiya was about to enter Sage Mode, the Eight-Tails Gyuki, transformed from Killer B, moved.
Although he didn't know what Jiraiya was doing, he feared that waiting any longer might lead to trouble, so he decided to interrupt him.
Thud, thud, thud...
As the earth trembled, the Eight-Tails Gyuki's massive form reached Jiraiya and swung a fist down at him.
Seeing Gyuki swing its fist at him, Gamaken hurriedly raised the shield from its back and braced it against the blow.
With a thunderous crash, the Eight-Tails Gyuki's fist slammed into the shield, driving Gamaken back several meters before it came to a stop.
Seeing Gamaken block the Eight-Tails' attack, Jiraiya couldn't help praising him.
"Well done, Gamaken."
Gamaken panted heavily and replied in a low voice,
"I'm not much use, but I'll do my best..."