Too Much

"Since Master Jiraiya has already gained the upper hand, let's not cause him any more trouble," Uchiha Matsuri said lightly.

Hearing this, Minato Namikaze and Kiba Inuzuka nodded.

In the past, if Kiba Inuzuka had heard Uchiha Matsuri say this, he might have excitedly retorted against such "cowardly" talk. But now, with all three of them low on chakra—though Uchiha Matsuri still had a bit more—rushing in blindly would likely put them in danger. Therefore, neither Minato Namikaze nor Kiba Inuzuka had any objections to Uchiha Matsuri's idea.

After spitting out a large mouthful of toad oil, Jiraiya suddenly unleashed the Needle Jizo.

With a scream, the Iwagakure ninja entangled in Jiraiya's hair was sliced in half at the waist.

Seeing his companions die one after another at Jiraiya's hands, the last remaining Iwagakure ninja suddenly turned and ran toward the village. However, because he was covered in toad oil, his speed was greatly hindered.

"Trying to run?"

Jiraiya performed hand seals at lightning speed.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

A massive fireball erupted from Jiraiya's mouth.

Once the fireball struck the Iwagakure ninja, the toad oil acted as an accelerant, instantly engulfing him in flames.

Having finished the battle, Jiraiya brushed the dust off his clothes and began walking toward Iwagakure.

Although it's dangerous to head into Iwagakure blindly, those kids seem to have run into quite a bit of trouble, Jiraiya thought to himself.

As he walked, Jiraiya instinctively sensed a threat rapidly approaching from his rear left.

"Could there be another wave of Iwagakure ninjas?"

After swiftly dodging a kunai attack, Jiraiya leaped and kicked toward the ninja behind him.

Looking back, he saw a middle-aged man lying on the ground in a sorry state.

Without hesitation, Jiraiya grabbed a kunai and dashed to the man's side. Just as the blade was about to pierce the man's neck, he scrambled to the side, narrowly evading the strike.

"Earth Release: Earth Rising Spear!"

The man unleashed this Earth Release technique, and suddenly, over a dozen sharp rock spikes erupted beneath Jiraiya's feet.

Jiraiya reacted instantly, dodging the attack.

Before the man could recover, Jiraiya performed a series of rapid hand seals.

"Ninja Art: Needle Jizo!"

Jiraiya's hair grew rapidly, forming the shape of a lion's mane, and surged toward the man.

"Such speed!" The man broke into a cold sweat.

He had to admit that, aside from the Flying Thunder God Technique, this was the fastest speed he had ever seen. Yet, even so, he knew that the technique Jiraiya was using now was not even one-fifth of his true strength.

"Earth Release: Earth Flow City Wall!"

The man bit the bullet and used this defensive Earth Release technique, hoping to block the Needle Jizo.

However, he was destined to be disappointed; when the Needle Jizo collided with the Earth Flow City Wall, it tore the wall to pieces.

The next second, Jiraiya's hair coiled around the man, who struggled repeatedly, only to fail every time.

"Your Earth Flow City Wall is too brittle; even my hair can pierce it easily," Jiraiya shook his head.

"Is that so?" The man gave a bitter smile.

Come to think of it, the "Earth Flow City Wall" he used in the past never seemed to successfully block an enemy's attack.

Seeing the man give up, Jiraiya gradually tightened his hair around him.

Feeling the hair constricting, the man began to show a pained expression.

"Damn it, I have no choice but to use that technique."

However, just as the man was about to unleash "that technique," two more middle-aged men suddenly jumped out from the bushes on the side of the street.

"Stop, Master Jiraiya!"

The two men shouted hurriedly.

"Master?" Jiraiya was slightly surprised.

Although he had taught many students, Jiraiya was certain he had never taught these three men, who looked much older than he was.

Poof, poof, poof.

The three men dispelled their Transformation Technique, returning to their original appearances.

"You three..." Jiraiya looked speechlessly at Minato Namikaze, Kiba Inuzuka, and Uchiha Matsuri, who was still tangled in his hair.

Seeing Jiraiya's expression of disbelief, Minato Namikaze and Kiba Inuzuka only scratched their heads in embarrassment.

"Is it fun for you three to deceive your master like this?" Jiraiya feigned anger.

Seeing Jiraiya get angry, Kiba Inuzuka spoke up before Minato Namikaze could say a word: "Master Jiraiya, don't blame us! It was all, it was all Matsuri's idea."

Hearing Kiba Inuzuka sell him out so quickly, Uchiha Matsuri couldn't help but grumble internally: When I proposed this idea, who was the one raising both hands in favor??!!

That said, Uchiha Matsuri couldn't bring himself to blame Kiba Inuzuka, as the suggestion had indeed been his. As for why he did it—well, let's just say it was a whim.

"Oh?"

At the same time, hearing Kiba Inuzuka obediently tell the truth, Jiraiya shook his head and immediately put on a playful expression.

Stealing a glance at Uchiha Matsuri, who was bound tightly in the distance, Jiraiya pretended not to see him and began making small talk with Minato Namikaze and Kiba Inuzuka.

"Minato, Kiba, you successfully escorted Mr. Moriya and the caravan to their destination, right?"

"Yes, Teacher. After we completed the mission, Mr. Moriya said he would pay us an extra fifty thousand ryo as a reward."

"You didn't cause any trouble in Iwagakure, did you?"

"Uh... we did cause quite a bit of trouble, actually. It went like this..."

Within a few minutes, Jiraiya, Minato Namikaze, and Kiba Inuzuka were chatting back and forth.

Off to the side, Uchiha Matsuri, who had been intentionally left hanging by Jiraiya for quite some time, couldn't help but sigh as he watched the three of them talk without the slightest regard for him still being wrapped up in the Needle Jizo.

This is definitely on purpose! Uchiha Matsuri thought to himself.

In truth, what Uchiha Matsuri didn't know was that Jiraiya had identified his chakra from the very beginning. This also explained why Jiraiya hadn't used lethal force during their fight.

Seeing that Jiraiya was in no hurry to let him down, Uchiha Matsuri finally couldn't hold back anymore.

"Teacher Jiraiya, could you please let me down first?" Uchiha Matsuri called out weakly, having been entangled in Jiraiya's hair for a long time.

Glancing at Uchiha Matsuri, who wore a look of utter embarrassment in the distance, Jiraiya slapped his forehead as if suddenly realizing something: "Almost forgot, you're still there!"

After retracting the Needle Jizo, Uchiha Matsuri landed on the ground.

Watching Uchiha Matsuri stumble over to Minato Namikaze's side, Jiraiya finally spoke up:

"The three of you have gone too far."