Because Jiraiya's counterattack came so quickly, Orochimaru and Manda had no time to dodge.
So Manda could only coil up, relying on the tougher scales on his outer body to take the attack head-on.
Clang, clang, clang—
A string of sounds like metal striking metal rang out.
The hard hair needles Jiraiya fired struck Manda, making his scales ring with sharp clangs.
If that had been all, it would have been fine. Manda could have endured it and gotten through.
The key problem was that some of the hair needles Jiraiya fired followed the gaps between Manda's scales and stabbed into his flesh, which made things rather unbearable for him.
Painful hisses kept coming from his mouth.
In the end, Manda still could not endure it and once again used his life-saving ninjutsu—Snake Shedding Technique!
The next moment, Manda's speed surged. He broke free from the attack range of Jiraiya's "Sage Art: Hair Needle Senbon," leaving only a shed snakeskin behind to take the damage.
After escaping danger, his ferocity was also stirred up. He did not try to put more distance between them. Instead, taking advantage of his high-speed movement, he arrived in front of Jiraiya in an instant and tried to swallow him in one bite.
However, after entering "Sage Mode," Jiraiya had received a massive boost in strength, speed, and reaction ability.
Therefore, the instant Manda rushed in, Jiraiya reacted.
First, he flashed aside, precisely dodging Manda's bite.
Then he thrust out his right hand, palm facing forward, aimed at Manda's head, and used another Sage Art—Sage Art: Super Big Ball Rasengan!
In an instant, dazzling blue-white light appeared.
A huge Rasengan condensed from Sage Art Chakra appeared in Jiraiya's palm and was pressed toward Manda's head.
An intense sense of danger struck. Even with Manda's cruel