The Decisive Battle Begins

At the main frontline camp for the war against the Cloud Village.

A middle-aged man with long white hair studied the scroll in his hands with a grave expression. This was Jiraiya, one of the Sannin of Konoha and the supreme commander for this campaign against the Cloud Village.

The intelligence in the scroll warned him that the "AB combination"—the Fourth Raikage and the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki of the Cloud Village—was highly likely to launch a surprise attack on their position. The Third Hokage had urged him to respond with the utmost caution.

As for the Third Hokage himself, he was currently holding the line on another battlefield, facing off against the Stone Village.

Onoki, who wielded the bloodline elimination Particle Style, was an incredibly thorny opponent. At present, only the Third Hokage, known as the Ninja Hero, had the confidence to hold him back in person.

Logically speaking, the Kage of a village, being the highest authority, would never resort to personally leading a surprise raid.

Unfortunately, the Raikage of the Cloud Village were different from other Kage; successive generations of Raikage had a gambler's streak, favoring high-risk, high-reward maneuvers.

Years ago, the Third Raikage attempted to sneak-attack the Stone Village, but after being discovered, Onoki mobilized an army of ten thousand ninjas to grind him down through sheer attrition.

His successor, the Fourth Raikage, shared this personality and style. During the Third Great Ninja War, the Fourth Raikage had once led a small squad, accompanied by the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki Killer Bee, to launch a surprise raid on Konoha.

However, Konoha had the Yellow Flash, Minato Namikaze, at the time. By utilizing the Flying Thunder God Technique, Minato surpassed the Fourth Raikage in speed, ultimately forcing him to retreat and abandon the raid.

Now that Konoha lacked the Fourth Hokage, and with the Fourth Raikage currently holding the title of the fastest in the Ninja World, he felt emboldened once again.

Finding that the conflict with Konoha had reached a stalemate, he decided that launching another surprise attack was a reasonable course of action.

After processing this, Jiraiya decided he could not remain on the defensive; he had to take the initiative.

After all, against powerhouses like the Fourth Raikage and the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, ordinary ninjas were of little use. If the enemy truly brought the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, the many ninjas currently at the base camp would only become a liability.

However, Jiraiya certainly could not take on the Fourth Raikage, Killer Bee, and the numerous elites of the Cloud Village alone.

Jiraiya, having mastered Sage Mode, was confident he could hold his own against either member of the AB combination, but only one at a time. He needed someone to help him shoulder the pressure of the other opponent.

Since he lacked enough top-tier powerhouses, he would have to make up for it with numbers.

Jiraiya decided to select the elite talents from the frontline to accompany him in dealing with the AB combination. This preemptive strike was crucial to the conclusion of the war, and failure was not an option.

Soon, a large number of elite Jonin were summoned by name.

Hyuga Lan, having performed exceptionally well recently, was also selected for the mission.

When Hyuga Lan arrived, he realized there were many familiar faces around him.

Asuma, Kakashi, Guy, and others were all present. When he noticed Uchiha Shisui in the ranks, he felt a sense of relief.

With this Uchiha, who had awakened the Mangekyo, this interception mission would be far more secure.

Hizashi, standing in the crowd, saw that Lan had also been selected, and a look of "as expected" crossed his face.

Lan's recent performance was in no way inferior to geniuses like Kakashi and Uchiha Shisui. Privately, many had already begun to group them together as the future leaders of Konoha.

If the plan to intercept the Raikage succeeded, such a great contribution would naturally render Lan's past as a subordinate of Orochimaru irrelevant.

"Lan, this battle will be extremely intense. You must be doubly careful."

Facing Hizashi's warning, Lan nodded.

"You are right, Hizashi-senpai. I will be careful."

"Lord Raikage, the sensory unit has detected a massive amount of chakra signatures ahead. Several of them have incredibly exaggerated chakra levels..."

Listening to his subordinate's report, the Fourth Raikage knew that his plan to infiltrate Konoha with a small force had failed.

Since that was the case, he would simply meet them head-on. Given Konoha's current strength, there was no one capable of handling the AB combination of himself and Killer Bee.

On a flat stretch of grassland, the vanguard of the Cloud Village led by the Fourth Raikage met the elite Konoha force led by Jiraiya.

The Fourth Raikage looked at Jiraiya with a somewhat solemn expression, but when he scanned the others and saw only a few teenagers on the Konoha side, he felt a surge of joy.

Konoha had truly reached a point where the new generation was failing to replace the old. If he could just eliminate Jiraiya and these young geniuses, Konoha would be beyond saving.

"Bee, you go hold off Jiraiya. I'll handle the rest."

Killer Bee, knowing the importance of this battle, didn't spout any off-key rap. He nodded, his expression grave as he locked eyes with Jiraiya across the field.

The two sides began to size each other up, everyone searching for a suitable opponent.

A tense atmosphere permeated the battlefield. Before long, both sides shouted "Charge!" and the two forces collided.

In an instant, various ninjutsu, kunai, and hidden weapons flew through the air. Casualties began to mount, and the war showed signs of reaching a fever pitch from the very start.

As Jiraiya attempted to enter the fray, Killer Bee, who had been eyeing him, intercepted him.

The two then tacitly withdrew from the main battlefield, stopping only when they were sufficiently far away.

Jiraiya knew that Killer Bee was a Perfect Jinchuriki capable of controlling the Eight-Tails' power. If they fought on the main battlefield, it would likely cause collateral damage to the innocent.

Killer Bee also understood the terrifying nature of the Eight-Tails' power; using it amidst the tangled battlefield would likely result in hurting friend and foe alike. Seeing Jiraiya lead him away, he followed willingly.

In his view, aside from Jiraiya, no one in Konoha could resist his brother, the Fourth Raikage.

Once his brother finished off the others, he could come and deal with Jiraiya.

After a few simple probing exchanges, Killer Bee summoned the true form of the Eight-Tails. Soon, a monster with the head of an ox and the tentacles of an octopus appeared on the field, replacing Killer Bee.

Feeling the exaggerated chakra signature radiating from the Eight-Tails Gyuki, Jiraiya's expression turned exceptionally grim.

"Ninja Art: Summoning Technique..."

Poof!

A massive, purplish-red toad wielding a steel pitchfork and carrying a shield appeared beneath Jiraiya's feet, hoisting him high into the air. It was none other than Gamaken, a summon renowned for both offense and defense.

Jiraiya then wore a grave expression as he reached up to smear the toad oil across his face.

"Clap!"

He pressed his palms firmly together and spoke, "Please buy me some time; I need to summon the two Great Toad Sages to assist me."

Just as Jiraiya prepared to enter Sage Mode, the Eight-Tails Gyuki, transformed from Killer Bee, made his move.

Though he did not know what Jiraiya was planning, he feared that any delay would only lead to trouble, so he decided to strike and interrupt him.

Thud, thud, thud...

As the earth trembled, the massive body of the Eight-Tails Gyuki reached the front of Jiraiya, raised a fist, and brought it crashing down heavily toward him.

Seeing the Gyuki swinging its fist toward him, Gamaken hurriedly raised the shield from his back to block the blow.

With a thunderous boom, the Eight-Tails Gyuki's fist slammed into the shield, forcing Gamaken back several meters before he finally came to a halt.

Watching Gamaken block the Eight-Tails' attack, Jiraiya couldn't help but offer praise.

"Well done, Gamaken."

Gamaken let out a heavy breath and replied in a low voice, "I am clumsy, but I will do my best..."