14
Tsunade stared at the image, her fingertips unconsciously rubbing the rim of her teacup.
She had known this calamity was unavoidable, but she had never expected it to strike so swiftly.
When the livestream first began, Konoha's defenses had been impregnable.
Even if an assassin slipped inside, Katsuyu's clones would immediately sound the alarm.
But two days of lax vigilance had turned the gaps between guard rotations into a fatal weakness.
By now, several sensory ninja had already lost their lives.
Katsuyu's senses sent back a warning: that familiar chakra signature was approaching the village entrance.
Nagato would arrive in less than half an incense stick's time.
"Let me intercept him."
Jiraiya could no longer hold himself back, fighting spirit surging through him.
He was the sworn enemy of the Akatsuki's leader, and the only true counter to the man who possessed the Rinnegan.
"Don't be ridiculous!"
Tsunade rejected him outright, her face livid.
"Fighting him alone would be no different from throwing your life away."
"That's the Rinnegan! Once you fall into the Infinite Tsukuyomi's genjutsu trap, you won't even be able to call for help."
Glimpses of the future kept flashing through the livestream, yet Jiraiya alone was nowhere to be seen.
What did that mean?
It meant he would most likely fall in this battle.
"Afraid I'll die?"
Jiraiya grinned, but his eyes were perfectly clear.
"Don't try to shut me down with that."
Tsunade's tone hardened. "Hanzo of the Salamander provided detailed intelligence. We've already identified the weaknesses of the Six Paths of Pain."
"Since we have a chance of winning, why insist on playing the hero?"
"The ninja deployed elsewhere won't make it back in time."
"But you, me, Kakashi Hatake, and Naruto... we're enough to put up a fight!"
As her words fell,