But the moment Jiraiya closed his eyes and tried to gather natural energy, Madara Uchiha detected him from nearby.
"Over there..."
No sooner had Madara Uchiha spoken than he vanished from where he stood and appeared at Jiraiya's hiding place.
As Hashirama Senju's archenemy, Madara Uchiha was naturally very familiar with Sage Mode.
Moreover, he had later incorporated Hashirama Senju's cells into his own body. Even though he had never devoted himself to studying this energy, he was hardly unfamiliar with sensing it.
However, when he saw Jiraiya's current appearance, the corners of Madara Uchiha's mouth lifted slightly, and he mocked him dismissively:
"What a sorry sight. With Sage Mode at that level, you still call yourself a sage?"
With Madara Uchiha suddenly closing in, Jiraiya could no longer concentrate on entering Sage Mode. Faced with Madara Uchiha's overwhelming presence, a bead of cold sweat formed at his temple, and he spoke in an unusually grave tone:
"Madara Uchiha, as someone who has already entered the Pure Land, you shouldn't have returned to this world. You should also know that staying here too long can't be good for you."
Although Jiraiya did not know exactly what price a soul summoned through the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu had to pay, he knew full well that in this world, the more powerful a ninjutsu and the more it defied the natural order, the greater its cost.
And since the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu had little effect on its caster, the consequences for the summoned soul were another matter entirely.
Hearing Jiraiya's words, Madara Uchiha made no attempt to conceal the truth. His eyelid twitched slightly as he said dismissively:
"An observant brat. For those of us who are dead, staying in the world of the living does indeed come at a price."