Jiraiya and Orochimaru
"Teacher Sarutobi... died at Orochimaru's hands?"
One was Hiruzen Sarutobi, who taught him ninjutsu and was like a father to him; the other was Orochimaru, with whom he had grown up since childhood and who had become a deep bond in his heart. When Fugaku Uchiha's words, Jiraiya was stunned and couldn't believe it for a moment.
But he knew in his heart that if it were Orochimaru, that possibility truly existed.
His thoughts drifted back to many years ago. The brighter the laughter then, the deeper the pain now. An overwhelming sorrow filled Jiraiya's eyes. Sometimes he didn't understand why they had to resort to violence. Whatever the conflict, why couldn't they sit down and resolve it together like before...?
"Orochimaru..." A wave of self-reproach washed over Jiraiya. If he had been able to capture him and bring him back to Konoha, could all these problems have been avoided...?
Jiraiya understand, or perhaps he simply couldn't accept it...
While everyone was shocked by the news brought by Fugaku Uchiha, Itachi Uchiha showed a hint of fanaticism and reverence on his face. He felt Kato Osamu's call, his hands quietly Hand Seals, and he disappeared from the battlefield without anyone noticing.
"Lord Jiraiya, Itachi Uchiha is missing..." Kakashi Hatake, who had been watching Obito Uchiha and Itachi, was startled and uneasy when he suddenly realized that Itachi Uchiha was gone.
"Orochimaru should still be in the village... This time, we definitely won't let him get away with this..." Hearing Kakashi Hatake's voice, Jiraiya snapped out of his daze. He glanced at the others on the field, feeling a surge of irritation. Right now, all he wanted was to see Orochimaru and demand an explanation for what he had done...
Just as everyone was about to make another move, a voice suddenly came from afar...
"Crack... crack..." The sound of branches being broken came from not far away, followed by a sinister laugh that broke the tense atmosphere among the crowd. Orochimaru slowly emerged from the shadows, looking at everyone with a smile on his lips.
"Jiraiya, it's been a long time... Tell me, who won't let you off the hook?"
Orochimaru silently watched Jiraiya with his signature cold, Snake Eyes, as Orochimaru appeared step by step. Jiraiya fell silent for a moment, but the anger in his heart could no longer be suppressed, and his eyes were already bloodshot.
"Orochimaru... Teacher Sarutobi... did you really kill him?"
"Teacher Sarutobi... he's old. If he had died from the Nine-Tails Rebellion, why would I need to act now..." Orochimaru chuckled lightly, seemingly unconcerned about Hiruzen Sarutobi's death. But Orochimaru's words extinguished Jiraiya's last glimmer of hope. He stared silently at Orochimaru, a hint of killing intent flashing in his eyes...
"Orochimaru! You actually... you actually killed Teacher Sarutobi! How could you bear to do that...?"
"Have you become so hopeless by now?!"
Without a word, Jiraiya threw a punch at Orochimaru, but Orochimaru easily dodged it. Seeing Jiraiya's furious expression, Orochimaru simply smiled and shook his head slightly.
How could this fool possibly understand what he's thinking...? It was like this before, and it's still like this now...
"Hopeless? Then let me see what you've improved over the years..." His hands instantly Hand Seals, and countless giant snakes rushed towards Jiraiya...
The moment Jiraiya made his move, it was as if everyone else received the signal to attack, and the great battle erupted once again.
This time, Kakashi Hatake chose to face the teammate before him, the one who had once caused him regret, remorse, and endless pain. Their two Sharingan, sharing the same origin, stared directly at each other, as if in a battle of destiny...
Might Guy also attacked Fugaku Uchiha, Susanoo with the Eight Gates, a clash imminent!
"Sage Art: Sage Art: Goemon!"
Boiling oil, hurricane, and raging fire—three ninjutsu were unleashed simultaneously. The wind and fire intertwined, igniting the viscous oil. The towering flames engulfed the entire area, the intense heat burning everything in its path, almost threatening to devour Orochimaru...
"Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave!" Facing the raging fire, a massive amount of water poured out, seemingly trying to hold back the flames for a moment. But in an instant, the fire overwhelmed the water, even engulfing it. The oily flames were completely unfazed by the water's power, and their momentum grew as they hurtled towards Orochimaru.
"Senjutsu... It seems you've improved somewhat over the years..." Orochimaru's eyes narrowed slightly, a hint of surprise in his heart. He naturally understood the Senjutsu of the Three Great Sage Lands, but unfortunately, he had no chance with the Senjutsu of Ryūchi Cave. He never expected that Jiraiya would actually master the power of Senjutsu...
"This is more interesting..." "Yin Yang: Hidden Shadow Serpent!" Instantly Hand Seals, countless jet-black serpents emerged from the shadows. The serpents, fused with the power of Yin–Yang Release, blotted out the Jiraiya and lunged at Jiraiya.
"Jiraiya, be careful! This isn't an ordinary giant snake!" Fukasaku and Shima sensed that these snakes lacked the aura of ordinary snakes; instead, they seemed to be composed of some kind of special energy, somewhat similar to the Nara Clan's Shadow Technique, yet completely different...
"Senjutsu: Ultra-Big Ball Rasengan!" The enormous Rasengan hurtled towards the giant serpent. Jiraiya was on high alert, facing these sinister black shadowy serpents. However, the seemingly indestructible Big Ball Rasengan struck the shadowy serpents as if it were being sucked into a viscous liquid. Although the serpents' bodies were churned into a mess, the power of the Rasengan was constantly being dissipated...
"It's restored again?" Jiraiya dodged the giant snake's attack, but saw that the body of the black shadow snake, which had just been destroyed, returned to its original state in the blink of an eye, as if the Rasengan had had no effect whatsoever...
"The power of Yin–Yang Release..." Fukasaku finally remembered the source of this power, a hint of shock in his eyes. This ability seemed to have been absent from the Shinobi World for a very, very long time...
"Jiraiya, Orochimaru has actually mastered the power of Yin–Yang Release... Although it seems like he only has a superficial understanding, this power is comparable to Natural Energy. You must be careful..."
"It seems that Senjutsu are indeed mutually restraining against Yin–Yang Release..." Orochimaru glanced at the Shadow Serpent that had just been destroyed, and understood some of the things Kato Osamu had told him. As a superior form of ordinary Chakra, the Five Elements Release were almost useless against Yin–Yang Release, unless it was Senjutsu imbued with Natural Energy. If Jiraiya hadn't used Senjutsu just now, a regular Rasengan wouldn't have caused the slightest damage to the Shadow Serpent...
"Come on, Jiraiya! Don't you want to avenge Teacher Sarutobi? Use all your power!"