Elsewhere, the battle was still raging.
Although Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju's current strength was nowhere near what it had been at their peaks, they were more than capable of handling Tsunade and Gamabunta, especially with their Impure World Reincarnation bodies.
In fact, Tsunade had not been using her full strength either. She was cautious with every move, only choosing to fight at close range when she was extremely confident, to avoid getting injured and bleeding.
Once she bled and her fear of blood kicked in, not only would she be unable to help at all, she would become a burden instead. That was something Tsunade did not want to see.
Seeing how hesitant Tsunade was, Gamabunta understood her predicament, so he had been taking the lead in attacking all along.
"Jiraiya! Are you ready yet? I can't hold on much longer. Whew..."
Gamabunta panted heavily, his skin covered in wounds of all sizes. Facing two Hokage at once while occasionally acting as Tsunade's shield really was asking a lot of him.
Not only that, to keep Tsunade from seeing blood, Gamabunta also had to divert his attention after every injury to quickly wash the blood off his wounds with water. Though he looked tough and rough, he was actually a very attentive toad.
Jiraiya's gaze sharpened, and he shouted sternly, "Done! Thanks for the hard work, Gamabunta!"
"Summoning Technique!"
Poof!
Two small clouds of white smoke appeared beneath Jiraiya's feet.
Before the smoke cleared, two small dark shapes flashed out of it and appeared on either side of Jiraiya's shoulders.
"Sage Art: Sage Mode!"
As his words fell, Jiraiya's facial muscles and eyes began changing at a speed visible to the naked eye. His nose doubled in size, his pupils became those of a toad, and irregular fleshy bumps