Chapter 565: Sage vs. Jinchūriki, Taking Charge in Times of Crisis

The perception squad Jiraiya requested solved the problem of the Iwagakure assassination.

However, it wasn’t that the perception squad cooperated with Minato Namikaze to kill the assassins; rather, the Iwagakure assassin squad vanished without a trace, no longer launching attacks.

Jiraiya believed this might be a minor intelligence error, leading the assassin squad to learn the news beforehand and thus abandon the assassination attempt.

Although the process wasn’t as imagined, it could still be considered a problem solved, so Jiraiya didn’t pay too much attention to it.

On the battlefield, the ultimate victory or defeat still required a major battle; small-scale harassment wouldn’t play a decisive role.

However, the subsequent developments exceeded Jiraiya’s expectations.

Iwagakure displayed incredibly strong intelligence capabilities. Even with the help of the local Ninja force in Land of Grass, the Konoha Ninja Force was at a disadvantage in the intelligence war.

They couldn’t detect the movements of the enemy Ninja Force, and their own Ninja Force’s actions were repeatedly exposed and failed.

Jiraiya was so defeated that he suspected there might be Iwagakure spies in high positions within the intelligence department.

But that was unlikely, as people with questionable backgrounds couldn’t reach such positions.

It couldn’t be that there were spies within Anbu, could it?

Under continuous setbacks, Jiraiya chose to switch from offense to defense, narrowing the Konoha Ninja’s activity range to minimize casualties as much as possible.

He could only do this; the intelligence war’s failure made them lose the initiative. In such a situation, stubbornly pushing forward would only allow Iwagakure to continuously expand their advantage.

However, what Jiraiya didn’t expect was that just as he was preparing to enter a full defensive state, the intelligence of the main army’s camp was somehow known to Iwagakure.

Boom!

A huge explosion suddenly occurred in the Konoha Ninja camp, startling Jiraiya and others who were studying strategies on a map.

“Lord Jiraiya, this is bad! We’ve been discovered by the Iwa Ninja Force!” a Konoha Jonin rushed into the tent and reported.

“Iwagakure attacked?” Jiraiya frowned, “What’s the situation with the perception squad?”

The reason he chose to defend was to use the advantage of Konoha’s excellent perception Ninja to offset the disadvantage in the intelligence war.

Yet, Iwagakure had already attacked, and the perception squad hadn’t made any move.

“Unclear. The perception squad didn’t give any warning,” the Konoha Jonin shook his head.

Boom!

Another huge explosion sounded. Jiraiya knew that this was not the time to ponder the perception squad’s dereliction of duty; what he needed to do was lead the Konoha Ninja Force out of danger.

Jiraiya stepped past the Konoha Jonin, preparing to command the Konoha Ninja Force to counterattack.

Just then, a cold glint flashed in the Konoha Jonin’s eyes, and he swiftly pulled out a Kunai, stabbing towards Jiraiya.

Bang!

Minato Namikaze, reacting extremely quickly, unleashed his Chakra and kicked the Konoha Jonin away.

Jiraiya was stunned. He never expected that Konoha Ninja to attack him.

That was a Jonin of the Sarutobi Clan! How could a spy appear?

“Ninja Art: Lion’s Mane Hair!”

Jiraiya was, after all, a powerful Ninja who had fought countless battles. Although he was puzzled by the Sarutobi Jonin’s attack, Jiraiya quickly used his Ninjutsu to attack the Sarutobi Jonin.

Regardless of the Sarutobi Jonin’s identity, the fact that the Sarutobi Jonin attacked him was undeniable, which made the Sarutobi Jonin an enemy.

Attacking a commander on the battlefield—even if Jiraiya killed him on the spot, no one could say anything.

Whoosh, whoosh!

At this moment, several conical stone projectiles flew over.

Jiraiya recognized them as Explosion Release from Iwakura, the Vice Captain of the Iwagakure Explosion Corps, and immediately changed his strategy, extending his long hair to swiftly defend and wrap around Jiraiya’s body.

Whoosh!

Minato Namikaze used the Flying Thunder God Technique to teleport.

Boom!

Explosions erupted one after another. The stones flying towards Jiraiya and Minato Namikaze suddenly exploded, and the intense white light of the explosion enveloped Jiraiya.

Whoosh, whoosh!

Minato Namikaze knew that such an attack wouldn’t kill Jiraiya. After teleporting, he immediately threw several Flying Thunder God Kunai towards Iwakura.

“Your opponent isn’t me.” Iwakura spat out a stone, blowing away the incoming Flying Thunder God Kunai, then quickly retreated.

He knew his limits and understood that he was not suitable for dealing with a Ninja like Minato Namikaze, whose speed was maximized.

Just as Minato Namikaze was about to give chase, an exceptionally powerful Chakra erupted.

“Minato Namikaze, have you decided how you want to die?” Roshi stepped out, blocking Minato Namikaze’s path.

Minato Namikaze’s expression became solemn. This was clearly a surprise attack intended to wipe out the Konoha Ninja in Land of Grass in one fell swoop.

In his perception, not only were both captains of the Iwagakure Explosion Corps present, but both of Iwagakure’s Jinchuriki were also there.

“Summoning Technique!”

After blocking the incoming Explosion Release, Jiraiya immediately used the Summoning Technique to summon the two Sages of Mount Myōboku.

“So many powerful Chakra signatures, little Jiraiya. It’s another tough battle,” Fukasaku said as soon as he appeared, sensing the Chakra of the Jinchuriki and Iwagakure’s powerful Ninja.

“This is really bad timing. I almost figured out what to make for dinner, but then the Summoning Technique interrupted my thoughts,” Shima complained.

“Honey, this isn’t the time for that.”

“Honey, don’t underestimate a housewife’s troubles.”

“Stop arguing,” Jiraiya said helplessly, noticing that the Sarutobi Jonin who had fallen to the ground had mysteriously disappeared.

“Quickly stand on my shoulders and enter Sage Mode. This time it’s very dangerous.”

Jiraiya was under immense pressure. He wasn’t worried about being punished for a defeat, but rather about the Iwa Ninja Force directly invading the Land of Fire if his forces were defeated.

The two Sages also understood the gravity of the situation. Without further ado, they quickly jumped onto Jiraiya’s shoulders and began absorbing natural energy.

“Boil Release: Unrivaled Strength!”

Just as Jiraiya was about to use Sage Mode, accompanied by a sound similar to a train’s whistle, a person in red armor rushed towards Jiraiya.

Whoosh!

Bang!

Jiraiya suddenly leaped up and dodged, and a huge crater instantly appeared where he had just stood.

Han looked at Jiraiya with a calm expression, not finding it strange at all.

If the legendary Sannin were that easy to kill, Jiraiya would have died at his or Roshi’s hands long ago.

“Sage Mode!”

After condensing the natural energy, Jiraiya merged his Chakra with the natural energy to form a stronger Senjutsu Chakra. A facial pattern appeared on his face, and his nose showed a slight toad-like transformation.

“The situation isn’t as bad as I imagined.” As he entered Sage Mode and perceived the entire battlefield, Jiraiya breathed a sigh of relief.

With no information from the perception squad and the mystery of the Sarutobi Jonin’s betrayal, Jiraiya had thought that once he activated his perception, half of the Ninja Force might have already died.

But the actual result was much better than Jiraiya had anticipated.

Currently, there were still about seven hundred Konoha Ninja fighting hard against Iwagakure.

What Jiraiya didn’t know was that Iwagakure, who now appeared to be strategically planning a major victory, was also quite bewildered.

Retsuishi had indeed received intelligence about the Konoha Ninja Force’s camp from Iwagakure intelligence personnel, but the intelligence didn’t definitively state that it was Konoha’s main force.

Moreover, Retsuishi wasn’t like those reckless Kumogakure Ninja who would charge in as soon as they got intelligence.

What if it was a trap to lure them in?

And if it really was Konoha’s main force, there would definitely be many perception Ninja on alert, making a sneak attack almost impossible.

But with intelligence, not trying would be a loss.

Ultimately, Retsuishi came up with a plan: he divided the two thousand Ninja Force into three small squads.

The first small squad was led by him, with only five hundred people, but most of them were elites. The Jinchuriki and the Explosion Corps would be in this elite squad.

The second and third small squads were regular troops, standing by on the two flanks behind the elite squad.

One was to prevent falling into a trap and being surrounded, and the other was to maximize the blockade of the area, preventing the Konoha Ninja Force from escaping.

If Retsuishi determined it wasn’t a trap, he would immediately signal for the two regular squads to converge and attack together.

Retsuishi never expected that he would lead his troops directly to the Konoha camp and only be discovered by patrol Ninja near the camp, as if Konoha’s perception squad were all dead.

Before seeing the many Konoha Ninja, Retsuishi had once believed this was not Konoha’s main Ninja Force.

Boom, boom!

Retsuishi recklessly used Explosion Release to bombard. It didn’t matter what problems the Konoha Ninja Force had; what mattered was that he was about to achieve a great merit and make a name for himself.

The Ninja Force led by the Sannin Jiraiya was about to be defeated and annihilated by him.

“Summoning Technique!”

Jiraiya slammed his hand on the ground, and two giant toads appeared beneath his feet.

One was a red toad with a pipe in its mouth and a short sword tucked into its waist; the other was a purplish-red toad with a large pot lid on its back and a spiky fishing spear in its hand.

“You two block the Five-Tailed Jinchuriki. I’ll go deal with the enemy commander,” Jiraiya quickly said.

The principle of ‘capturing the leader first’ was also useful in the Ninja World. If Jiraiya could deal with Retsuishi, not to mention turning the tide, it would at least lower the enemy Ninja Force’s morale by several levels.

“What, I’m fighting a Tailed Beast?” Gamabunta’s eyelids twitched violently.

Although his size wasn’t much smaller than a Tailed Beast, asking him to go head-to-head with a Tailed Beast was a bit difficult for a toad.

“Although I am clumsy, I will try my best to stop him,” Gamaken replied in a deep voice.

“Just for a short time, please!” With that, Jiraiya locked onto Retsuishi, unleashed his Chakra, and instantly flashed away.

Han turned to give chase, but Gamaken suddenly leaped up, swinging his fishing spear towards Han.

Han stopped, and the Tailed Beast Chakra within his body erupted. Under the persistence of Boil Release, his strength rapidly surged.

“Boil Release: Unrivaled Strength!”

Han single-handedly gripped the fishing spear that Gamaken swung at him.

Gamaken tried to use force to flatten Han, but under Han’s terrifying strength, the fishing spear remained motionless. Not only could he not push it down, Gamaken couldn’t even pull it back.

“Bastard, die!”

Gamabunta drew the short sword from his waist and slashed towards Han.

Although it was called a “short sword,” that was in comparison to Gamabunta’s enormous size; in reality, the length of this short sword was several times that of Han.

Han forcefully pushed Gamaken, sending him stumbling backward, then immediately used the Body Flicker Technique to dodge Gamabunta’s slash.

Han knew that Jiraiya’s two Nin-Beasts were not simple and would be difficult to deal with without showing his true power, so he quickly activated the Tailed Beast Chakra within his body.

A ominous dark-red Chakra rapidly surged from Han’s body, transforming him into a massive, dark-red monster with five tails.

Jiraiya, who was rushing towards Retsuishi, felt Han’s Chakra continuously growing stronger, intensifying the urgency in his heart.

Among the Ninja present, he was the only one qualified to fight a Jinchuriki head-on; Minato could at most only contain him. He had to quickly deal with Retsuishi.

Fire Release: Great Flame Bullet!

Jiraiya swiftly refined the Senjutsu Chakra within his body into oil, held it in his mouth, and then, at the moment of expulsion, ignited the oil through Fire Release Chakra Nature Transformation.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

A massive amount of flames suddenly appeared, instantly incinerating several Iwagakure Ninja closest to Jiraiya, then surged towards Retsuishi with undiminished momentum.

Although its name sounded unpretentious, the Great Flame Bullet unleashed by Jiraiya in Sage Mode possessed formidable power, surpassing most Fire Release Ninjutsu in the Ninja World.

Even with his considerable training in Hardening Jutsu, Retsuishi dared not confront it directly and rapidly retreated.

Explosion Release: Exploding Flying Stone!

Seeing his captain in danger, Iwakura rapidly spat out an Explosion Release Flying Stone to help Retsuishi block Jiraiya’s Sage Ninjutsu Fire Release.

Summoning Technique!

Jiraiya once again performed the Summoning Technique, summoning a giant, greenish-blue toad.

Jiraiya directed Gamahiro to deal with Iwakura and the surrounding Iwagakure Jōnin, while he continued to pursue Retsuishi.

“Those who can retreat, do so as much as possible! The enemy still has reinforcements!” Jiraiya commanded the Konoha Ninja on the battlefield.

His powerful perception in Sage Mode detected the approaching Chakra in the distance.

Of course, he didn’t need perception to know, because Retsuishi had openly fired a signal flare.

Sage Art: Hair Needle Senbon!

Jiraiya in Sage Mode was already formidable, and with the assistance of Fukasaku, Retsuishi was no match. Jiraiya soon seized an opportunity.

Under the influence of Senjutsu Chakra, Jiraiya’s white hair became sharp and hard.

Even with his considerable training in Hardening Jutsu, Retsuishi could only block some of it. His body quickly became covered in blood under the relentless assault of the white Hair Senbon.

“What a waste!”

Boil Release: Scorching Stream Lava Technique!

Roshi, who was chasing Minato Namikaze, had no choice but to abandon Minato Namikaze and rush towards Jiraiya, spitting out a huge lava fireball at Jiraiya.

Rasengan!

Minato Namikaze seized the opportunity, and a large amount of Chakra condensed in his palm erupted. He rapidly formed a Rasengan and smashed it towards Roshi.

However, because Roshi was in Boil Release Chakra Mode, his body was covered in a high-temperature Boil Release armor. Minato’s Rasengan not only failed to harm Roshi but also scalded his own hand.

“Such high defense,” Minato Namikaze said, feeling a bit helpless.

Once an enemy’s defense exceeded the power of the Rasengan, Minato Namikaze found it very difficult to pose a threat to them.

Roshi continued to charge towards Jiraiya without looking back.

Because he knew that if he turned back, he might not be able to kill Minato Namikaze, but if he didn’t turn back, Retsuishi would truly die.

Although he didn’t think highly of Retsuishi, the latter was, after all, a battlefield commander and the captain of Iwagakure’s demolition squad. If he died at Jiraiya’s hands, it would have a very negative impact.

“Water Release: Water Severing Wave!”

Shima formed a hand seal and spat out a high-pressure stream of water, severing the incoming Boil Release fireball, then hurriedly said, “Little Jiraiya, retreat quickly.”

Not only was the Four-Tails Jinchuriki approaching, but Lord Fifth had also repelled Gamabunta and Gamaken and was rapidly closing in.

Whoosh!

Jiraiya had no choice but to cancel his Ninjutsu and flash away.

“What a pity, just a little bit more.” Looking at Retsuishi, who was covered in wounds, Jiraiya secretly thought it was a shame.

If the Jinchuriki had been two seconds later, Retsuishi would surely have died from his Sage Ninjutsu.

“Minato, use wide-range Ninjutsu attacks,” Jiraiya reminded Minato Namikaze while gathering Chakra.

Now Jiraiya had only one goal: to cover the retreat of as many Konoha Ninja as possible.

His formidable strength combined with Minato’s Flying Thunder God Technique made it very difficult for Iwagakure to stop them.

Ordinary Konoha Ninja didn’t have their conditions and needed someone to lend a hand.

As long as enough Ninja retreated, then Konoha would not have suffered a crushing defeat in this war, merely a setback.

Once the Konoha reinforcements arrived, they could regroup and form another powerful Ninja force.

Sage Art: Goemon!

Jiraiya and the two Great Sages on his shoulders simultaneously performed Ninjutsu. Fukasaku used Wind Release, Shima used Fire Release, and Jiraiya spat out Chakra oil.

All three Ninjutsu were Sage Arts empowered by Senjutsu Chakra. The three Sage Arts complemented each other, ultimately transforming into the terrifying Goemon.

One Iwagakure Ninja failed to dodge and died instantly without even letting out a scream.

Fire Release: Toad Oil Bullet!

Minato Namikaze leaped onto Gamabunta’s head, formed hand seals to gather Chakra and perform Fire Release Chakra Nature Transformation, while Gamabunta refined Chakra to produce toad oil.

With their combined efforts, terrifying flames instantly scorched everything within tens of meters.

Minato Namikaze had also signed a contract with Mount Myōboku and was an old acquaintance of Gamabunta.

However, due to his fighting style, Minato Namikaze generally did not frequently use Summoning Technique to summon toads from Mount Myōboku.

“Then let’s see whose Ninjutsu is stronger!”

Upon seeing this, Roshi unleashed the power of his Tailed Beast to the extreme, his body rapidly transforming into a giant ape with a tail.

Roshi opened his mouth wide, and a massive amount of Chakra condensed, a black orb slowly appearing in the air.

“Don’t…” Retsuishi tried to stop him.

This Tailed Beast Ball would divide the battlefield. Konoha Ninja would be eager to escape further, so it wouldn’t have much impact on them.

However, for Iwagakure, who wanted to pursue, the impact would be significant; who would dare to chase people through a Tailed Beast Ball explosion?

Retsuishi’s voice was somewhat weak due to his injuries. Roshi might not have heard him, or he might have heard but chose to ignore him.

In any case, at that moment, the Tailed Beast Ball, representing destructive power, flew out, smashing between Minato Namikaze and Jiraiya.

Whoosh!

Minato Namikaze used the Flying Thunder God Technique to teleport to Jiraiya’s side.

For convenience in battle, Jiraiya always carried Minato Namikaze’s Flying Thunder God Kunai close to him during combat.

Following that, Minato Namikaze placed his hand on Jiraiya, activated the Flying Thunder God Technique again, and teleported to a marked distant location, while Jiraiya canceled the Summoning Technique, allowing the toads to return to Mount Myōboku on their own.

“That was close, fortunately, you were here, Minato,” Jiraiya said, patting Minato Namikaze’s shoulder.

Without Minato Namikaze, he would have truly been in grave danger this time.

After taking that blow from the Sarutobi Jonin and then fighting against the Jinchuriki and Iwagakure’s strong individuals, that would have been too difficult.

“Jiraiya-sensei, Iwagakure’s performance in this war has been too strange,” Minato Namikaze said with a solemn expression.

Jiraiya nodded in agreement.

Before today, who could have imagined that a Jonin from the Sarutobi Clan would actually be a spy?

The Sarutobi Clan was not only a veteran family in Konoha but also produced Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage. Logically, Ninja from the Sarutobi Clan should be loyal and have no motive for betrayal.

“When Hiromi Sarutobi disappeared, the phenomenon was exactly the same as when the previous Iwagakure assassin squad disappeared,” Minato Namikaze said with a serious expression.

After flashing away using Flying Thunder God, Minato Namikaze had been observing Hiromi Sarutobi.

Hiromi Sarutobi’s disappearance looked very much like using Earth Release to burrow underground, but it was clearly different from ordinary Earth Release.

Because Hiromi Sarutobi’s presence completely vanished after he merged into the ground, as if he didn’t exist.

However, Minato Namikaze knew that Hiromi Sarutobi did exist, because although he couldn’t sense Hiromi Sarutobi’s presence, he could sense the Flying Thunder God Mark he had left behind!

The moment he made contact with Hiromi Sarutobi, Minato Namikaze had placed a Flying Thunder God Technique on him.

It was only because the battle situation was too severe that Minato Namikaze couldn’t disengage, and coupled with Hiromi Sarutobi’s speed, he quickly moved out of Minato Namikaze’s sensory range, which was why Minato Namikaze hadn’t captured Hiromi Sarutobi.

“Is that so? It’s becoming more and more confusing,” Jiraiya rubbed his forehead.

He wasn’t a particularly quick-witted person to begin with, and the various anomalies in this war had already overloaded his CPU.

“But since you’ve left a Flying Thunder God Mark on him, Minato, it’ll be easy. Next time we meet him, we’ll just capture him and interrogate him thoroughly,” Jiraiya said, letting out a breath.

The Flying Thunder God Mark has a characteristic: as long as the caster doesn’t actively cancel it, it can never be removed.

In other words, the next time they encounter Hiromi Sarutobi, Minato can directly use Flying Thunder God to apprehend him.

Minato Namikaze nodded; he had the same thought.

“Let’s gather the troops and report the situation to the Village,” Jiraiya said, dusting himself off, having decided on his next course of action.

Although they had suffered a defeat, Jiraiya was in good spirits. This wasn’t the first time he had lost to Iwagakure.

During the Second Shinobi World War, Jiraiya had also been defeated by the Rain Ninja.

…

“That’s how things are. The Land of Grass force has been damaged, and now Iwagakure is rampant in the Land of Grass. No one knows when they will launch an assault on the border,” Hiruzen Sarutobi said to Muzuki in a deep voice after briefly explaining the current situation on the Land of Grass battlefield.

“Sandaime, is there anything I can do?” Muzuki asked directly.

His established persona was that of a Ninjutsu genius, not a high-IQ strategist like the Nara Clan, so there was only one possibility for Hiruzen Sarutobi to call him over to explain the war situation.

Hiruzen Sarutobi wanted Muzuki to act as a firefighter and go to the battlefield to assist Jiraiya.

“Muzuki, I’m happy you have such determination. I now order you to be the commander of the support force, leading five hundred Ninja to the Land of Grass to support the Land of Grass force!” Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled, then commanded with a serious expression.

PS: This chapter is 6k words. I’m feeling dizzy from writing today. If there are any errors, please leave a comment in that section, and I will correct them when I see them.