Ninja Ice House

Chapter 579 Dispute

Nara Shikamaru, observing the battle situation and coordinating manpower, calmly intervened in the conversation:

"Speed ​​up, Yakumo is starting to urge us. Maintaining the mutual reflection of the two worlds in a localized manner, and interfering with each other back and forth, while suppressing the force that makes the external time flow converge, is still quite troublesome."

Even localized operations, requiring considerable internal control, are extremely difficult. Moreover, the aftershocks of the battle continuously impact the subspace barrier, and Jiraiya's summoning jutsu, which is theoretically a type of space-time ninjutsu, significantly disrupts the stability of the genjutsu space.

As for the three toad brothers of Mount Myōboku, being summoned by spirits certainly has its downsides, but it also has many benefits. One of them is that it allows Jiraiya in the dream space to have more contact with information from the real world, breaking the self-isolation and isolation deep in his soul's subconscious, and making him start to try to contact the outside world, and eventually wake up on his own.

Always remember that our task is not to defeat Jiraiya, but to wake him up.

Pulling it out of the dominant position of the "subject" in the dream space is already half the battle won; the rest is about how to achieve the other half.

As more people joined the fight... or rather, the summoned beasts, the attack escalated from a one-on-one brawl to a full-blown brawl, and the situation spiraled out of control. The three toad brothers were enormous, and with Naruto Uzumaki in his tailed beast form, their destructive power was astonishing.

Whether it's Kaguya Kimimaro, whose single-target damage is the most terrifying, or Haku, whose sweeping attacks have the strongest crowd control, or Hyuga Neji, whose Gentle Fist technique ignores defense and deals penetrating damage, or Uzumaki Naruto, whose main attack is a berserk and unparalleled force, or the Ino-Shika-Cho trio occasionally cutting into the battlefield to disrupt Jiraiya's attacks.

In short, after a tremendous amount of effort and after a long period of preparation, Jiraiya finally activated Sage Mode and, relying on his powerful Fire Release, Oil Release, and Sage Artes, managed to stabilize the situation.

After a chaotic battle, Gamabunta, distracted by the Shadow Imitation Technique and then slapped to the ground by Choji Akimichi's Multiply Technique, rolled on the ground. He quickly got up, rallied, and was about to charge forward again when he suddenly remembered something and asked:

"Boss Bunta, why are we fighting the Konoha ninja?"

"Huh? How should I know! Jiraiya, what are you doing, fighting Naruto so seriously? Even if it's just practical training, this is going beyond what's necessary..."

"Hey...do you know the person over there?"

"What nonsense are you talking about, Naruto? Didn't you ask us to teach him Sage Mode and think he was the chosen one?"

"Is that so?"

"Damn it, if you hadn't actually used the Blood Pact to summon us, I would have doubted whether you were even real. I heard you were seriously injured, have you lost your mind?!"

"I... am seriously injured, and my brain is damaged?"

Jiraiya, seemingly realizing something was wrong, was still aware of the abnormality within himself, despite being misled by the illusion of perception in his mind.

"Hey, hey, hey, you three armed giant toads over there, didn't you notice that Jiraiya on the other side looks a bit younger?"

Gamabunta swung his sword to force Kaguya Kimimaro back, then casually tossed the Nine-Tails' chakra arm aside, twirled his sword, elegantly tapped his pipe, exhaled a large cloud of smoke, and then glanced sideways at Jiraiya.

"That's normal, she's always been a little one."

Well, these giant toads with extremely long lifespans have a different concept of time than humans who only live for a few decades.

The difference in age between Jiraiya ten years ago and Jiraiya ten years later is obvious to humans, but for these "slow" toads, as long as their size hasn't changed drastically, slight differences in their appearance might not be as noticeable as a change in hairstyle.

"Should I get to know them? But..."

When doubt arises from the bottom of one's heart, the whole world changes dramatically in an instant.

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At the same time, the Hidden Leaf Village in the dream space was also swept by the beams of light emanating from the reflected town that appeared in mid-air. These beams, which acted as the core of the sealing barrier, alarmed the entire Hidden Leaf Village.

The Third Hokage, who had not yet retired, led his subordinates in the Anbu to quickly investigate the situation and arranged for second-line ninjas to protect the elderly, women, and children as they entered the shelter.

"What is that? Has the water gate been cleared...?"

Sensing the familiar chakra fluctuations of Jiraiya, and even the three toad brothers summoned by the Summoning Jutsu appeared, why would such a powerful enemy infiltrate Konoha and ambush Jiraiya?

On the other side, Orochimaru had just discussed some private matters with Shimura Danzo when they were disturbed by the commotion outside. Surrounded by Root ninjas, the two stepped out of the ground and watched as a golden streak of light flashed in the distance. Minato Namikaze had made his move.

"Orochimaru, do you want to go check on Jiraiya? It seems he's in trouble."

"Let's not worry about it for now! Although I don't like many things about that idiot, his strength is still considerable. In the heart of the village, with Minato Namikaze providing support, theoretically there shouldn't be any problems. If the enemy is so powerful that we can't even react before we take him down, then we won't need to worry about him..."

That's how powerful he is. Even if the "God of Shinobi," Hashirama Senju, were to be resurrected, he wouldn't be much different.

"That's true!"

Shimura Danzo did not deny Orochimaru's judgment.

"Regarding the experimental 'consumables' you mentioned earlier, I will naturally find a way. However, the supply of First Hokage cells is dwindling, and while we currently have a sufficient amount, it's unacceptable to wait too long without results. Furthermore... Sharingan are difficult to obtain; the Uchiha clan is keeping a close eye on them. The current clan head, Fugaku Uchiha, is easy to talk to, but not easily fooled, so we don't have enough in a short time..."

"My father is keeping a close eye on things, so I need to avoid suspicion."

"If you can become the Fourth Hokage, most of the current problems won't be problems at all..."

"Let's talk about it later. The Third Hokage and many promising new ninjas have high hopes for Minato Namikaze. I have to say, Jiraiya really has an eye for talent when it comes to choosing students..."

"Isn't selection a form of teaching?"

Orochimaru smiled without saying a word. Geniuses are never cultivated, but selected. As long as you pave the way for them, you can become a top talent smoothly and healthily.

If Minato Namikaze hadn't become Jiraiya's disciple, he would still have become a powerful Jonin and risen to prominence, becoming a model of a commoner ninja's rise to power. However, it would have been more difficult for him to successfully learn the Flying Thunder God Technique, which was most suitable for him, and to earn the title of "Yellow Flash."

"It's not bad. Whether it's you or Minato, becoming the Fourth Hokage is acceptable. However, the thought of Hiruzen getting cocky again makes me think that it's more in the village's interest for you to become the Fourth Hokage. The Third Hokage... was too weak and lost the vigor he had in his youth."