Ninja Ice House

Chapter 577 Ambush

Fortunately, as the controller of the Toad Mouth Binding Technique, Jiraiya was able to relatively easily manipulate the stomach wall of the Giant Toad Iwajuku for defense and attack.

This thing is so tough that even Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki had difficulty escaping after being hit by it. They had to use Amaterasu Black Flame to burn a hole through it in order to escape. It is clear that this move is not as easy to deal with as one might imagine.

Essentially, this is a composite ninjutsu combining a summoning technique with a sealing technique, so its power should not be underestimated.

Despite her seemingly fierce attacks, Kaguya Kimimaro used her bone blade to cut small gashes into Jiraiya. Although there was no major damage, the blood that flowed out still stained his clothes red.

Jiraiya looked a little disheveled, but he was actually fine. When he couldn't dodge it any longer, his fighting instincts made him abandon the idea of ​​complete defense and instead avoid serious injury that would affect his combat power, at the cost of minor damage.

As the stomach walls of the Toad of the Rocky Abode continued to contract, the amount of corrosive acid secreted increased, limiting Kimimaro Kaguya's performance. Jiraiya was finally able to catch his breath, begin to create distance, attempt to use Fire Release, and gather his internal chakra, preparing to activate Sage Mode at the right moment to defeat the enemy in one blow.

Engaging in close combat with a taijutsu master of the Kaguya clan who has mastered the bloodline limit Shikotsumyaku is not something Jiraiya should be doing. Although he wasn't particularly afraid, creating the most suitable scenario and playing to his strengths while avoiding his weaknesses during a battle is almost instinctive for him.

The battle between the two sides did not last long, only about five minutes, but when Jiraiya came to his senses, it felt like an hour had passed.

The rapid and fierce exchanges between them are extremely stressful, and a single oversight could easily lead to death.

"Young people are so fierce. They have no respect for the elderly or care for the young. It's really unacceptable."

From initial chaos to current composure, Jiraiya has almost adapted to Kaguya Kimimaro's fighting style. After overcoming the initial disadvantage, he has begun to have some control over turning the tide of the battle.

Strength is the only true measure of power. Although Kaguya Kimimaro was powerful and had spent most of his life in the ninja world, Jiraiya, a man of great experience and knowledge, was not an easy opponent to deal with.

Having gained the upper hand, Jiraiya steadily performed hand seals.

Fire Release: Flame Bullet!

He melts chakra into oil in his mouth, then spews it out suddenly, which ignites immediately upon contact with a spark.

This powerful fire-style ninjutsu is also a highly versatile composite ninjutsu. In Jiraiya's normal combat state, it is even more powerful than a typical A-rank fire-style ninjutsu, with a higher temperature and more terrifying destructive power, and simple defenses cannot stop it.

Amidst the fierce battle, watched intently from the sidelines, Karin sighed softly:

"Defeating Jiraiya may be much more difficult than defeating Orochimaru. As expected, those who are ranked as the 'Three Legendary Sannin' are not just for show."

In terms of talent, Orochimaru is undoubtedly stronger, but Jiraiya is definitely not stupid. It's just that his area of ​​expertise is not the same as Orochimaru's.

After finding his own right "track," Jiraiya's strength may not have surpassed Orochimaru's, but in terms of all-around ability, Jiraiya was superior.

As for Orochimaru, after repeatedly using the forbidden technique Reanimation Jutsu, he seems to have mastered more forbidden techniques and secret arts, and even the power of a bloodline limit. However, as the saying goes, flashy things are all show and no substance. For powerhouses of their level, if they want to go further, what they need to break through is not techniques in the general sense, but whether the direction of their path is correct and whether it can help them break through their bottlenecks.

Undoubtedly, Jiraiya chose the right path. Sage Mode, Summoning Jutsu, Sealing Jutsu, and Barrier Jutsu helped Jiraiya compensate for his less-than-top-tier physical talent, making him a true "all-rounder".

Orochimaru's path wasn't inherently wrong, but his goals weren't precise or clear enough, and it was too convoluted. He wanted everything, which resulted in him not excelling at anything. Consequently, he took many detours and seemed to have his priorities reversed.

The Mangekyou Sharingan is indeed powerful, but is it something that Orochimaru absolutely needs?

The bloodline limit, which was merely an added bonus, wasted too much time and energy, allowing Jiraiya, who was originally far behind him, to catch up and even surpass him to some extent.

For Kaguya Kimimaro, dealing with ninjas like Orochimaru, Rasa, Gaara, or even Naruto Uzumaki might be more effective, but against Jiraiya, he would find himself in an awkward situation where a single misstep would lead to him getting bogged down and slowly being overturned.

Fortunately, no one expected that Kaguya Kimimaro alone could suppress Jiraiya.

And so, the second strong reinforcement came into play.

Just when Jiraiya felt victory was within reach and Kaguya Kimimaro's offensive was becoming increasingly weak, he suddenly sensed something was wrong. The temperature of the surrounding air dropped rapidly, the peristalsis of the giant toad's stomach slowed down, and even the corrosive acid it secreted froze, losing its restraining effect.

"Ice Release, so it really was you, Haku?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a tremendous force pierced and shattered the stomach wall, which was already covered with thick ice crystals not far away.

The stomach wall, frozen solid, has lost its resilience and appears somewhat vulnerable to attack.

On the other side of the broken opening, Hyuga Neji appeared, striking a Bagua palm pose as if he had just exerted his strength.

"Byakugan and Gentle Fist? Could it be that the Hyuga and Furusugi clans are colluding to overthrow Konoha? And why are they targeting me at this time?"

The candidates for the Fourth Hokage position were not Jiraiya, the "Toad Sage," but Orochimaru and Minato Namikaze. Even if the Furusugi and Hyuga clans wanted to seize power, they shouldn't have targeted Jiraiya.

Because it's a waste of effort. Konoha Village is full of talented people. Even without Jiraiya, there are still several skilled individuals who could become Hokage. It's not up to the Hyuga clan, who live in seclusion, or the Furusugi clan, who represent the power of worldly daimyo, to speak.

The situation is becoming increasingly bizarre and dangerous.

Logically, with something like this happening in Konoha, the Anbu should have already activated emergency countermeasures, but so far, there has been no movement from the outside.

unless……

"Space-time ninjutsu?"

Unexpectedly, besides the Second Hokage and Minato, there are others who possess such exaggerated power. In fact, this is not a miracle that a single ninja could achieve.

The meticulously planned ambush plunged Jiraiya into despair.

What was most shocking was that we saw Hinata, Inuzuka, Aburame, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, and...

"This is impossible, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki?"

For a strong person, it may be difficult to judge whether the enemy in front of them is capable of fighting. It is hard to say before the fight. However, the amount of chakra and whether they are familiar with each other are much simpler.

The Nine-Tails' chakra was so obvious, carrying a violent aura of calamity, that it was hard to admit any mistake.