"To manipulate everyone like a puppet?"
"They really hid it well!"
Jiraiya sighed deeply.
The most crucial point is actually the strange behavior that Sage Fukasaku exhibited at the Hokage Building.
However, Jiraiya, who had already guessed at his own fate, naturally wouldn't drag Mount Myōboku into this mess!
Haruma coldly stared at Jiraiya in his Sage Transformation Jiraiya said in a detached tone, "I don't actually intend to deal with you, provided you don't have any further intentions to investigate."
Seeing Jiraiya's resolute gaze, Haruma murmured with admiration, "As expected, your dedication to intelligence..."
"Just like always."
in the past?
Jiraiya felt a chill run down his spine. Jiraiya his intelligence network even discovered his time wandering the Shinobi World?
Jiraiya, of course, had no idea that what Haruma was referring to in the past was the story of how Jiraiya died in Amegakure while investigating Pain.
"Ninjutsu: Needle Jizo!"
Seeing the slightly dazed Haruma, Jiraiya seized the opportunity to make his move!
Her long white hair shot out like a thousand needles in an instant!
"When--"
How could this be?!
She felt the familiar resistance on her hair, but why was Haruma, whose eyes were still black, able to use the Rinnegan's Dōjutsu?!
Before Jiraiya could figure it out, the suddenly intensified repulsive force violently embedded him into the stone wall!
"Chaotic Lion - The Art of Unleashed Power!"
Amidst the falling rubble, the long white hair resembled a roaring wild lion, striking with even greater ferocity than before!
"Boom! Boom!"
One after another, booming explosions resounded, causing the cave walls to tremble!
No matter what kind of attack Jiraiya launched, Haruma simply stood there expressionless, her eyes darting around.
A twist of fate...?
Nagato, who was supposed to kill Jiraiya, was dealt with first by Nagato himself...
With Nagato gone, Jiraiya infiltrates the Summoning World to gather information about himself...
Jiraiya's fate is sealed, and Haruma has no intention of holding back.
After all, keeping Jiraiya would be much more troublesome than killing him.
But Haruma is not a soft-hearted person!
Looking at Jiraiya, who was fighting desperately, this sentence inexplicably popped into Haruma's mind...
Is the dragon returning to the sea...?
Although, it's really strong!
But do you really look down on me that much?!
He seemed distracted from the very start of the battle!
Jiraiya, with blood at the corner of his mouth, suddenly leaped up, ignoring Orochimaru who was watching the show from the side, and the faint light in his hand gradually spread!
"Xianfa Rasengan!!"
Having finally caught the cooldown of Shinra Tensei, Jiraiya suddenly unleashed a full-force attack at close range!
In the dimly lit cave, the Rasengan, enhanced by Sage Mode, instantly emitted a dazzling blue light!
The Rasengan, which could be held in one hand, Setsuna swelled to the size of a basketball as it approached Haruma!
Under Jiraiya's shocked gaze, Haruma didn't even raise his head, raising one hand and reaching towards the enlarged Rasengan!
"Zzz--"
A faint white aura rose up, and the basketball-sized Rasengan absorbed all the Natural Energy and Chakra from that slender hand!
That's really how it is!
Jiraiya, still airborne, suddenly raised his knee and rammed it into Haruma's head!
Her hands grabbed Haruma's shoulders, and her long white hair slashed down at close range once more!
"Frog Hand - Combo!"
Jiraiya's eyes snapped open; there was still a one-second cooldown before that repulsive Dōjutsu could be unleashed!
It can work!
In the Haruma sky, apart from this visible Taijutsu attack,
A surge of Natural Energy, slightly different from that in Ryūchi Cave, was now converging and crashing towards his heart!
"Don't mistake me for someone like Nagato, a useless person who only relies on his eyes."
As Haruma spoke expressionlessly, the temperature in the cave suddenly dropped!
He only uses the Rinnegan's Dōjutsu because it's convenient and also to show off!
The sheer number of Ninjutsu and the sheer amount of Kekkei Genkai that Haruma now possesses are beyond even his own count!
Ice Release: Zero Degree World!
"Katz, Katz!"
The ice crystals flashed and exploded in milliseconds!
The ice crystals, which should have been pure white and bright, emitted an eerie and ominous aura under the candlelight in the dim cave!
So close, yet so far!
That mere few centimeters of distance between them completely blocked Jiraiya's attacks!
Even the invisible attacks of Natural Energy had no effect whatsoever!
Looking through the ice crystals, just a fist's distance apart, it felt like an entire world was between them!
Not only that,
The ends of her hair were already frozen, and her hands were emitting a chilling aura; her body was frozen in mid-air...
Oops!
Jiraiya struggled with all his might, only to see those slender hands growing larger and larger in his pupils!
Shinra Tensei.
"Snap!"
A cold, emotionless whisper rang in his ears, and the ice crystals clinging to his legs and palms shattered instantly!
"Boom!!"
"Puff!"
As he spat out a mouthful of blood, Jiraiya's vision began to blur!
The constant, excruciating pain in his internal organs and back was what kept Jiraiya conscious!
"The final chapter..."
Jiraiya and shakily rose from the pile of stones.
He didn't even dare to use his Summoning Technique to send the information back in front of Haruma.
Although Haruma is the one who controls the Three Great Sage Lands, Jiraiya still believes that if he summons Fukasaku now, Fukasaku will definitely risk his life to help!
But Jiraiya could not, for his own selfish desires and for the sake of Konoha, shift the flames of war to Mount Myōboku!
Jiraiya had Jiraiya decided to give up summoning from the very beginning of the battle!
But now, let alone defeating his opponent, Jiraiya can't even see any hope of escaping!
His white hair was stained with blood, and he took the full force of Shinra Tensei head-on, while his limbs were twisted and deformed!
Seeing Jiraiya's miserable state, Haruma slowly stepped forward and said softly, "Actually, I used to really admire you."
"Cough cough..."
"The enemy leader's appreciation... cough, it is truly my honor."
Jiraiya spoke, he slowly raised his slightly trembling hands and Hand Seals.
"Still thinking about fighting back...?"
Haruma's body stiffened, and after a moment's hesitation, he raised his hand and aimed it at Jiraiya's chest!
The sharp, white bone spikes emerging from the fingertips paused slightly before shooting out like arrows released from a bow!
" Fire Style, humph!"
The sharp pain in his heart instantly interrupted Jiraiya's spellcasting.
A heart pierced through...
Jiraiya's gaze began to glaze over as various memories from the past flashed through his mind.
I've been rejected by the person I love...
It didn't stop my friend either...
Even the master and disciple couldn't be protected...
Looking back on my life...
It's all failure...
"Thump,"
Jiraiya, lying amidst the rubble, gave a self-deprecating smile.
" The Tale of the Gutsy Ninja, Final Chapter..."
"A fierce tiger should return to the mountain..."
In his final moments before dying, Jiraiya remembered the sequel he had written himself.
" The Tale of Naruto Uzumaki "
Forge ahead bravely and never give up easily.
The rest is up to you, Naruto...