Chapter 244: Battle with Jinchūriki

“I thought you would run away directly. It seems you still haven’t recognized your own strength,” Roshi said with a surprised expression, arms crossed.

They had seen the power of their Tailed Beast Ball, yet they dared to return and continue fighting them.

“I’ll let you know the true strength of a Toad Sage right away!” Jiraiya burst out laughing, revealing that at some point, two small toads wearing cloaks had appeared on his shoulders.

“Fukasaku, Shima, I ask for your help. This time, the enemies are not simple.”

The opponents were two Jinchuriki who could use the Tailed Beast Ball, so Jiraiya didn’t dare to be overconfident. After Minato used Flying Thunder God to teleport away, he immediately prepared for Sage Mode and summoned the two Sages of Mount Myōboku before Minato teleported back.

His Sage Mode training was imperfect, requiring the assistance of the two Sages. However, precisely because of their assistance, it was more sustainable than a normal person using Sage Mode alone.

“Aren’t those Tailed Beasts? And two of them, no less. They are indeed very troublesome enemies,” Fukasaku said with a surprised expression, sensing the powerful Tailed Beast Chakra emanating from Roshi and Han.

He had lived for eight hundred years, and this was the first time he had encountered such a situation, facing two Tailed Beasts simultaneously.

“Little Jiraiya, you summoned me at the worst possible time. I was just thinking about what to cook for dinner tonight,” Shima said with some dissatisfaction.

“Now is not the time to worry about such things. We must take the enemies seriously. These are two Jinchuriki; I can feel the terrifying Chakra in their bodies,” Fukasaku said with a serious expression.

“What do you mean, ‘such things’? Husband, do you think being a housewife is easy?” Shima felt underestimated.

“After the battle, I’ll introduce you to a culinary expert, but for now, let’s focus on the battle.” With the two toads bickering at his ears, Jiraiya couldn’t help but feel a headache coming on. They were literally talking right next to his ears.

“Putting on a show,” Roshi said, his Chakra erupting as he formed hand signs to use Ninjutsu.

“Lava Release: Scorching Stream Rock Technique!”

A large number of flaming lava spheres spewed from Roshi’s mouth. The lava spheres weren’t large, just slightly taller than an adult, but there were many of them, like a meteor shower falling.

“It’s time to use Sage Art, Sage Art: Goemon!”

Jiraiya laughed loudly and, without dodging, used Sage Art on the spot to directly confront Roshi.

He condensed Chakra in his throat, transforming it into Chakra oil, and spat it towards the lava spheres.

The moment Jiraiya spat out the Chakra oil, Shima spat out Sage Art flames, which made Jiraiya’s Chakra oil scorching hot. At this point, Fukasaku spat out Sage Art Wind Release, and the wind fanned the flames, making them stronger, while also expanding the range of the scorching hot oil.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The incredibly hot oil exploded upon contact with the lava, sending scorching hot oil splashing everywhere. The lava spheres also fell one by one, and eventually all of them landed. The hot oil and flames were somewhat diminished but continued to rush towards Roshi and Han.

Muzuki showed a thoughtful expression. The amplification of Sage Mode was naturally impressive, but the current Jiraiya alone, using Sage Art Fire Release, wouldn’t be able to achieve this level of power.

It had to be said that having a good Nin-Beast could add a lot of combat power. Muzuki felt that if Jiraiya couldn’t summon the Mount Myōboku toads, his overall strength would decrease by one-third.

Muzuki had considered training Kurobane, hoping to elevate him beyond just a mode of transport so he could be useful in battle. However, after several attempts, he found it wasn’t very effective. Nin-Beasts seemed to rely more on innate talent than humans.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Roshi and Han erupted with Chakra and swiftly retreated.

“What Ninjutsu was that? Its power is even greater than my Lava Release,” Roshi said with a very surprised expression. He hadn’t expected Jiraiya’s strength to suddenly increase so much.

One had to know that his Lava Release had used Tailed Beast Chakra.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Minato quickly took out four Flying Thunder God Kunai from his Ninja pouch and threw two at Roshi and two at Han, but they were all easily blocked.

“Haha, next, I’ll teach you more Sage Arts!” Jiraiya charged rapidly towards Roshi. Under the enhancement of Sage Mode, his Taijutsu abilities were greatly strengthened.

Roshi intended to engage Jiraiya in a Taijutsu battle but overestimated his own abilities. Facing Jiraiya in Sage Mode, he was already difficult to handle, and with the two toads interfering, he was even less of a match.

Bang!

A dull thud echoed as Roshi was sent skidding dozens of meters across the ground by Jiraiya’s punch, which was imbued with Senjutsu Chakra, leaving a deep gouge in the earth before he finally stopped.

Han, who had been entangled in battle with Muzuki and others, immediately burst forth with Tailed Beast Chakra upon seeing this. White steam continuously emanated from his body, and his physical strength was greatly enhanced.

Although he himself did not possess Boil Release, he could use the Lord Fifth’s Chakra. When a Tailed Beast was inside his body, it was no different from him possessing Boil Release himself.

Unlike other Boil Release Ninja, Han had developed Boil Release into a Ninjutsu that assisted Taijutsu, cleverly using Boil Release Chakra to enhance his own strength.

The slightly chubby, dark-skinned Ninja was originally engaging Han in close-quarters combat using Lightning Release Ninja Body Technique. However, after Han used Boil Release to increase his strength, he instantly became no match. After clashing, he was sent flying backward.

“Dekai!” The black-haired Konoha Ninja couldn’t help but shout worriedly when he saw his teammate sent flying.

Han seized this opportunity, immediately concentrating Chakra in his feet to increase his speed and charging towards the black-haired Konoha Ninja.

Muzuki noticed Minato’s position and, while forming hand signs, gave Minato a subtle look.

Minato understood immediately upon seeing Muzuki forming hand signs for Ninjutsu. He deliberately waited until the very last moment, just as Han was about to charge, before appearing next to his teammate and using Flying Thunder God to teleport him away.

“Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!”

Muzuki directly aimed at the spot where Minato’s black-haired teammate had been standing and released the Fire Release. A large number of small fireballs spewed from Muzuki’s mouth, flying rapidly towards where Minato’s black-haired teammate had been.

The moment Han charged, Minato and the black-haired teammate vanished, but Muzuki’s Phoenix Sage Fire Technique was about to arrive. Over thirty small fireballs instantly struck Han.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A series of dense explosions erupted, and intense flames enveloped Han. The stirred-up dust and thick smoke obscured Han’s figure.

“Brother, your Fire Release is fierce. It’s no wonder that Karyu lost to you,” Dekai said, getting up just in time to see Muzuki’s Fire Release engulf Han, and he couldn’t help but praise him with a smile.

“Even a Jinchuriki, taking a direct hit from a Fire Release of this level, should be…”

Before Dekai could finish speaking, the grayish-yellow smoke dissipated, and white steam continuously emerged. Han, with dark red Chakra emanating from his body, appeared before everyone’s eyes, a scorched mark appearing on his red armor.

“You’re good. If I had been even a little slower, I might have been seriously injured by you,” Han said, his calm expression replaced by seriousness and solemnity.

In that critical moment, he had rapidly used a massive amount of Tailed Beast Chakra to create a Tailed Beast Cloak, blocking the attack.

Originally, he didn’t pay much attention to any Konoha Ninja other than Jiraiya, believing that only Jiraiya had some strength, and the others were not worth mentioning at all.

But now Han had changed his mind. He wouldn’t comment on the others, but those two blond Ninja certainly had some skill and could cause him a lot of trouble when working together.

“Then you’d better be careful, because I still have stronger Fire Release that I haven’t used yet,” Muzuki said with a cheerful laugh.

“Your Fire Release won’t be of any use anymore. Next, you will know the true power of a Tailed Beast,” Han said with a confident expression. The dark red Chakra on his body grew more and more, and five thick, dark red tails appeared behind him.

The partially Tailed Beast transformed Han possessed terrifying strength even without using Boil Release. A single charge could cause a huge crack in the ground.

However, with Minato’s Flying Thunder God assisting, and the few people present being essentially elite Jonin, it wasn’t that simple for Han to defeat them through brute force.

On the other side, Roshi, who had been taught a lesson in Taijutsu by Jiraiya, remained unconvinced. He directly entered Lava Release Chakra Mode, his entire body covered in incredibly hot lava, greatly enhancing both his defense and offense.

This was a Chakra Mode Roshi developed by combining his Lava Release with the Four-Tails’ special Chakra. The continuously burning lava not only greatly increased the power of his Taijutsu but also shielded him from Ninjutsu attacks.

“Has your whole body turned into lava? Then it seems I can’t continue using Taijutsu,” Jiraiya said, seeing a layer of lava armor appear on Roshi’s body, and he abandoned his Taijutsu offense.

Although Sage Mode could enhance his body, directly clashing with lava with his body was extremely unwise.

“Sage Art: Hair Needle Senbon!”

Jiraiya launched a probing attack. This Ninjutsu was his fastest to release and had a wide range.

“Scorch Release: Granite!”

Roshi used Nature Transformation to strengthen his defenses, then ignored Jiraiya’s attack, letting the hardened white hairs continuously stab at him.

Under the enhancement of Senjutsu Chakra, the hairs Jiraiya shot out were even harder than real senbon, but they still couldn’t break through the lava armor’s defense and were quickly melted by the lava.

“Husband, why don’t we use Genjutsu? It’ll be dangerous if this guy gets close to us,” Shima said.

She and Fukasaku had mastered a powerful Sage Art Genjutsu, and only they in Mount Myōboku could use it.

Before Fukasaku could reply, Jiraiya shook his head while dodging, saying,

“Jinchuriki have Tailed Beasts inside them, so Genjutsu is very difficult to affect them.”

He knew how strong the Toad Song Genjutsu was, but it wasn’t suitable for this opponent.

Firstly, Toad Song needed time to take effect, and during that time, because they had to keep singing, it essentially meant continuously giving away their position to the enemy. Moreover, during the Genjutsu’s use, the two Sages couldn’t provide him with assistance.

The battle on the field became increasingly intense. Muzuki noticed the situation on Jiraiya’s side and thought of a solution, saying,

“Minato, my Water Release is quite good. I should be able to slightly block the Four-Tails Jinchuriki’s attack. We’ll look for an opportunity to switch Lord Jiraiya over here to ambush the Five-Tailed Jinchuriki.”

Minato’s battle strategy was very clear, and he instantly understood Muzuki’s idea, nodding his head.

Muzuki created a Shadow Clone and had the Shadow Clone carry a Flying Thunder God Kunai towards Jiraiya’s direction.

Han noticed the Shadow Clone’s movement, but he didn’t pay attention to it. He wished Muzuki’s main body would come over so he could quickly kill the remaining three and then go support Roshi.

After realizing how difficult Minato and Muzuki were, he was now focused on attacking Minato’s two teammates and had already injured them.

Jiraiya, in Sage Mode, had powerful perception. He sensed the arrival of Muzuki’s Shadow Clone, but he didn’t know their specific strategy.

“Lord Jiraiya, I can temporarily block this Jinchuriki. You go deal with the other one,” the Shadow Clone said quickly and concisely.

The next moment, Minato used Flying Thunder God to teleport Muzuki’s main body over.

Jiraiya, with his vast experience, immediately realized that the two wanted to catch the Five-Tailed Jinchuriki off guard by switching places with Flying Thunder God, and immediately began forming hand signs to prepare to use Sage Art.

The situation was urgent. Minato didn’t say a word and immediately brought Jiraiya back to his teammates who were being attacked by the Five-Tailed Jinchuriki.

“Fire Release: Great Flame Bullet!”

The moment Jiraiya landed, he unleashed a powerful Sage Art flame towards Han, who was charging at them.

The enormous fireball collided with the charging Han, dealing maximum damage.

Jiraiya didn’t waste time. He immediately rushed forward, unleashed Chakra, and delivered a heavy punch to the injured Han.

Bang!

A dull thud sounded, and Han was sent flying more than ten meters, blood uncontrollably flowing from the corner of his mouth.

“Water Release: Water Shockwave!”

“Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!”

Facing Roshi’s charge, the Shadow Clone first spewed out a large amount of water, and then Muzuki’s main body, using this massive water flow, formed hand signs to unleash an incredibly thick Water Dragon Bullet towards Roshi.

The powerful impact of the Water Dragon Bullet continuously pushed Roshi’s body backward, and at the same time, the intensity of the lava on his body also diminished.

“Where did this Water Release master come from? He just happens to counter my power.” Roshi frowned deeply. This twenty-meter long, several-meter high Water Dragon Bullet was clearly not something an ordinary person could use, especially not when they weren’t on a lake or ocean.

What he hated most were Water Release Ninja. The only way he could counter Water Release Ninja was with a Tailed Beast Ball.

Although he felt he could kill Muzuki if he took some time, Roshi was more concerned about the injured Han, so he also entered a partial Tailed Beast transformation state to go support Han.

To force Jiraiya and the others back, Roshi directly charged a small Tailed Beast Ball.

Jiraiya and Minato immediately widened the distance upon seeing this and rendezvoused with Muzuki.

“Han, are you alright?” Roshi asked Han, cautiously eyeing Jiraiya.

“It’s not life-threatening, but I won’t be able to fight at full power now,” Han said as he got up.

Tailed Beast Chakra gave him strong recovery abilities, but Jiraiya’s Sage Art was powerful, and he couldn’t recover completely in a short time.

“Let’s both use Tailed Beast Ball and then retreat. These guys are difficult to deal with. Continuing the fight will only result in both sides being injured,” Roshi said.

In a one-on-one fight, he felt he could defeat either Muzuki or Jiraiya, but if it was Jiraiya with Muzuki’s assistance, it would be a tough fight.

Adding an elusive Minato made it even more difficult.

“Then let’s retreat,” Han nodded in agreement.

Anyway, Iwagakure’s troops had already lost, so there was nothing wrong with them retreating.

Then, both of them used Tailed Beast Ball, and Minato, seeing this, used Flying Thunder God to transfer everyone to a safe location again.

The same terrifying explosion of white light, even from afar, one could perceive its immense power.

“How exciting, it’s the second time,” Dekai couldn’t help but complain.

“Fighting Jinchuriki is really stressful,” the black-haired teammate touched the back of his clothes, which were soaked with sweat.

“Sensei Jiraiya, do we need to go back and continue fighting?” Minato asked.

“Let’s go back to the camp. Two Jinchuriki together are too difficult to deal with,” Jiraiya said, shaking his head.

Han was severely injured, but Jiraiya had also consumed a lot of Chakra, so he had no intention of pursuing them.

“Although we didn’t completely defeat them, there’s no doubt that this time, our Konoha has achieved a great victory!” Jiraiya said with a hearty laugh after dispelling his Summoning Jutsu and Sage Mode.

As fellow Five Great Ninja Villages, Iwagakure had sent out two Jinchuriki, while Konoha won without sending any Jinchuriki, which could be said to be far ahead.

“Everyone performed very well this time, especially Minato and Muzuki,” Jiraiya said, looking at Muzuki with an extremely appreciative gaze.

He knew of Minato’s excellence, as he had personally trained him, but Muzuki truly gave him a pleasant surprise.

He found that Muzuki’s Ninjutsu foundation was extremely solid. Although he hadn’t used too many high-level Ninjutsu, every Ninjutsu he used was very proficient and had considerable power.

If there were output data for this battle, Muzuki’s output value would definitely be second.

Of course, if he had to choose the most important support, Jiraiya would still choose Minato, because without Flying Thunder God, he wouldn’t have been able to block two Tailed Beast Balls.

“I didn’t expect that besides your unique culinary skills in the Ninja World, you’re also so good at Ninjutsu, Muzuki. Compared to me in the past, you’re more like Sensei Sarutobi’s disciple,” Jiraiya said, stroking his chin.

During the battle, Muzuki had used Ninjutsu of three different natures, all of which seemed very proficient, and he could combine them to unleash greater power.

“Mainly, Minato’s Space-Time Ninjutsu is amazing,” Muzuki smiled, giving the credit to Minato.

He actually thought so himself.

In Muzuki’s eyes, this battle was first Jiraiya, who could single-handedly suppress a Jinchuriki, then the best support Minato, and only then himself.

Through this battle, Muzuki also roughly understood the strength of ordinary Jinchuriki. He could fight them, but he couldn’t kill them.

Because Muzuki’s full power output was even less sustainable than an ordinary person in Sage Mode; his Chakra would quickly be consumed by more than half.

“No matter how strong my Space-Time Ninjutsu is, someone has to create opportunities. If your Water Release wasn’t strong enough, Muzuki, it would have been difficult for us to achieve such a result,” Minato said with a smile, mentioning Muzuki’s role.

“Haha, you two really are… Minato, if you keep this up, I’ll start to wonder if you’re tricking me, and that you two are actually biological brothers!” Jiraiya said with a laugh, placing his hands on Muzuki and Minato’s shoulders as he watched them praise each other.

“Alright, you’re all amazing, and you’re all great contributors,” Jiraiya announced the result, then led them back to the rear camp.

5k, writing this chapter was a bit of a block, so it was a bit late.

Also, the recent updates have actually been quite a lot, all 9k and 8k, it’s just that I’ve combined chapters, so it looks a bit less.