As Sage Fukasaku and Sage Shima raised their voices, a chilling chakra presence rose from their bodies, followed by their alternating toad chants. Even though Jiraiya, standing beside them, was not the target of their technique,
he still felt as though the world around him were constantly turning upside down. The dizzying sensation sent a shudder through him, and only after he drove a sudden surge of chakra through his mind did he recover.
"The two sages' genjutsu really is getting stronger and stronger. I was only caught on the fringes just now, and I almost couldn't break free. No matter how powerful the legendary Madara Uchiha is, surely even he would have trouble escaping genjutsu of this caliber."
Having just broken free, Jiraiya wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and muttered to himself, still shaken, as he watched Madara Uchiha standing motionless a short distance away. Gamabunta had already released the Summoning Technique on his own and returned to Mount Myōboku when Jiraiya used Sage Art: Hair Needle Senbon.
Just then, Sage Fukasaku and Sage Shima, who had been crouching on Jiraiya's shoulders, suddenly opened their eyes, their gazes filled with horror. Sage Fukasaku cried out:
"This is bad!"
The moment his words fell, the two sages seemed to suffer a tremendous backlash. Chakra erupted from their bodies, fierce but chaotic, while they themselves flew backward as though someone had struck them hard in midair. Blood sprayed from their mouths in quantities far out of proportion to their tiny bodies.
By then, Jiraiya had naturally realized something was wrong. But just as he cried out and instinctively moved to catch the two sages, he froze, staring in horror at Madara Uchiha, who had appeared before him without his noticing. Madara already held the two sages in his grasp,