BOOM!
Konan's Paper Person of God Technique expanded to encompass everything within a diameter of more than ten meters, creating a devastating dome of destruction. The beautiful white origami that had appeared so innocent moments before transformed into an endless storm of razor-sharp projectiles, systematically obliterating everything caught within the technique's merciless range.
Even a shinobi of the legendary Sannin's caliber couldn't easily escape from such a comprehensive assault once trapped within its boundaries.
The coordinated attack formed by thousands of pieces of weaponized origami completely enveloped Tsunade's position, creating a whirlwind of cutting edges that left no avenue of escape. When the technique finally subsided and the last pieces of paper settled to the ground, the area where Tsunade had been standing was completely destroyed, reduced to nothing more than scattered debris and pulverized stone.
Beneath the accumulated rubble, something stirred. The debris began to shake and tremble, and with a thunderous crash, the entire pile exploded outward, reduced to fine powder by an incredible display of raw physical force.
"Still alive, are we?"
Konan's amber eyes narrowed as she observed Tsunade emerging from the ruins, her hands pressed together in a combat-ready stance. The legendary medic-nin's body was indeed covered with numerous wounds from the origami assault, blood seeping through tears in her clothing.
Konan hadn't truly expected to eliminate one of the Sannin with a single technique, regardless of its power. Tsunade's reputation had been earned through decades of surviving the most dangerous missions and conflicts the shinobi world had to offer.
She raised her hand once more, and countless sheets of paper began gathering behind her in preparation for another devastating assault.
BOOM!
At that moment, the thunderous sound that shook all of Konoha drew the attention of both combatants. The earth-shaking roar was accompanied by tremors that could be felt throughout the village.
Tsunade's expression darkened with concern as she glanced toward the source of the disturbance. Through the haze of battle, she could make out the massive form of an enormous creature facing off against an eight-headed white serpent of impossible size.
"Jiraiya and Orochimaru..."
Tsunade murmured the names of her former teammates, her voice carrying a mixture of worry and grim understanding. While she didn't possess advanced sensory abilities, her precise chakra control and decades of medical experience had made her extraordinarily sensitive to the energy fluctuations around her.
Multiple powerful auras were erupting throughout the village simultaneously, creating a chaotic symphony of conflict that spoke to the scale of the assault they were facing.
The woman floating before her was also taking this battle with deadly seriousness, clearly intent on ending their confrontation as quickly as possible.
This suggested that somewhere else in the village, these invaders' allies were likely facing significant difficulties and required immediate assistance—a realization that brought a slight smile to Tsunade's lips despite her injuries.
As these thoughts crossed her mind, another massive formation of origami began surrounding Konan in the sky above, each piece glinting with murderous intent.
"Planning to finish me off quickly?" Tsunade chuckled, raising her eyes to meet Konan's cold gaze with one of amused confidence. "I have to say, you're seriously underestimating me, aren't you?"
"What?"
Konan's composure faltered slightly as Tsunade formed hand seals below her. On the legendary medic's fair forehead, the distinctive purple diamond-shaped mark began to pulse with brilliant, almost blinding light.
"Ninja Art: Strength of a Hundred Seal—Release!"
Whoosh!
As the seal activated, all of the wounds covering Tsunade's body began emitting wisps of white mist. The cuts and lacerations that had been bleeding moments before started healing at a rate visible to the naked eye, flesh knitting together and skin regenerating as if time itself was reversing.
Within mere seconds, every injury that Konan's devastating attack had inflicted was completely healed, leaving Tsunade's skin unmarked and her strength fully restored.
"How is that possible?"
Konan's pupils contracted in shock at this display of regenerative power that seemed to defy the very nature of mortality itself. No longer willing to hesitate or hold back, she clenched her fists, and the white origami filling the sky once again formed countless sharp projectiles that descended toward Tsunade in a deadly rain.
Tsunade stood her ground calmly, making no effort to dodge or seek cover. Instead, black markings began spreading outward from the diamond seal on her forehead, extending across her face and down her body in intricate patterns that spoke of incredible power being unleashed.
"Hah!"
With the strength-enhancing markings fully manifested, Tsunade threw her fists forward to meet Konan's technique head-on, trusting in her legendary physical prowess over evasive tactics.
CRACK!
When her fists cut through the air, the very atmosphere vibrated from the overwhelming force behind her strikes, creating visible distortions that rippled outward like shockwaves.
During the collision, Konan's razor-sharp origami managed to slice through the flesh of Tsunade's knuckles, drawing blood from the impact. However, the wounds sealed themselves almost immediately, healing faster than new damage could accumulate.
The tremendous force generated by Tsunade's punches propagated outward through the air itself, violently tearing holes through Konan's coordinated attack formation and disrupting the carefully orchestrated assault pattern.
The white origami that survived the initial impact were blown backward by the sheer power of Tsunade's strikes, scattering chaotically through the air before redirecting themselves toward their original controller.
"Such terrifying strength!"
Konan twisted her body gracefully through the air, dodging her own redirected projectiles while simultaneously analyzing the threat level she was truly facing.
At that moment, Tsunade launched herself skyward with explosive force, closing the distance between them as she sought to bring her overwhelming close-combat abilities to bear.
"I am one of the legendary Sannin, after all," Tsunade declared with fierce pride, her eyes blazing with determination. "How could I possibly lose to someone young enough to be my student?"
Boom! Boom!
Throughout Konoha village, the ground continued to shake and tremble as two colossal creatures engaged in a battle that threatened to level entire districts. The thunderous impacts of their conflict echoed through every street and building, a constant reminder of the supernatural forces clashing within their borders.
Fortunately, most of the civilian population had already been evacuated to safety under Minato's advance preparations and the coordination of Konoha's shinobi forces. Without these precautions, the collateral damage alone would have resulted in catastrophic casualties among the non-combatant population.
Hiss!
The eight-headed giant serpent's forked tongues flicked out in unison as it prepared its assault, and one of the massive heads struck toward Gamabunta with lightning speed. The enormous toad summon gripped his wakizashi firmly and brought the blade down in a devastating arc, severing one of the serpent's heads with a single precise strike.
The detached head crashed to the earth below, creating a crater several meters deep and sending debris flying in all directions. However, before Gamabunta could capitalize on this success, the remaining seven heads converged on his position simultaneously.
The giant toad swung his weapon horizontally to deflect the bite attack from one approaching head, but found himself overwhelmed by the coordinated assault from multiple directions. Forced to abandon his wakizashi to avoid being completely surrounded, Gamabunta retreated with visible frustration.
"Jiraiya, whatever you're preparing up there, you'd better hurry!" Gamabunta called out in a gruff voice as he leaped backward, landing heavily on the ground in a defensive crouch.
"Just give me a few more seconds!"
Atop Gamabunta's head, Jiraiya maintained his meditative pose with hands clasped tightly together, his eyes closed in deep concentration as he stared internally at the massive white serpent before them.
At the severed stump where Gamabunta had removed one of the heads, flesh and scales began writhing and regenerating. Within moments, a completely new serpent head had grown to replace the one that had been lost, restoring the creature to its full eight-headed configuration.
The central head of the massive serpent suddenly opened its maw wide, and Orochimaru's human form emerged from within, his body covered in digestive fluids that made his appearance both grotesque and intimidating.
His serpentine eyes fixed on Jiraiya with a mixture of calculation and growing concern.
"Has Jiraiya actually mastered Sage Mode?" Orochimaru thought to himself, genuine surprise coloring his mental voice.
The concept of Sage Mode was not unique to Mount Myōboku, where Jiraiya had received his training. Orochimaru himself had attempted to learn the sage arts at Ryūchi Cave, one of the three great sage regions that rivaled Myōboku Mountain in reputation and power.
However, despite his considerable talents and years of dedicated study, he had never succeeded in mastering the dangerous art of balancing natural energy with his own chakra.
Yet Jiraiya, who had consistently been inferior to him in most aspects of ninjutsu throughout their youth, had apparently achieved what Orochimaru himself could not?
With growing urgency born from this realization, Orochimaru activated his Eight Branches Technique and launched an immediate assault.
Having been exposed to sage arts training himself, Orochimaru could clearly sense the natural energy of the surrounding environment beginning to flow toward Jiraiya's position in steadily increasing amounts.
If he allowed his former teammate to complete the transformation into Sage Mode, the resulting power increase would make this battle significantly more difficult to win.
The eight-headed serpent attacked with renewed ferocity, and without his wakizashi, Gamabunta found himself unable to mount an effective defense against the coordinated assault.
Recognizing that virtually all of the incoming attacks were aimed at Jiraiya rather than himself, Gamabunta made a desperate decision. He reached up with one massive hand, carefully gathered Jiraiya into his palm, and curled his body protectively around the sage-in-training.
CRASH!
The entire barrage of attacks struck Gamabunta's armored hide with devastating force. His enormous body shuddered under the impact, and for a moment it appeared he might collapse entirely under the punishment he was absorbing.
"That's all I can do for you, Jiraiya," Gamabunta managed a pained smile as he looked down at his summoner. "Make it count."
With a final poof of dissipating smoke, the summoning technique released and Gamabunta vanished, returning to Mount Myōboku.
"Thank you, Bunta," Jiraiya murmured with genuine gratitude as he found himself falling through empty air.
At that moment, one of the serpent heads burst through the lingering smoke with mouth agape, seeking to swallow him whole before he could complete his preparation.
"Just one more moment!" Jiraiya watched the approaching maw with grim determination, knowing he had nowhere to retreat and no means of evasion.
"Susanoo: Tsukumo!"
A brilliant green arrow suddenly streaked across the battlefield from a distant position, striking the attacking serpent head with tremendous force and pinning it to the ground before it could reach its target.
Jiraiya turned his head to see Uchiha Shisui nodding at him from within his emerald Susanoo construct, the young Uchiha's Mangekyō Sharingan spinning with focused intensity.
Orochimaru's attention had been so completely focused on disrupting Jiraiya's sage preparation that he had allowed gaps to form in his defenses against other threats. Shisui had seized this critical opportunity and delivered the intervention that saved Jiraiya's life.
"Thanks, Uchiha boy!" Jiraiya called out with a grateful laugh, his respect for the young shinobi's timing and skill evident in his voice.
When he turned his attention back to the battle, Jiraiya's entire expression began to shift and change, his features taking on distinctly toad-like characteristics as the transformation neared completion.
"Come forth!"
As his facial features settled into their new configuration, twin clouds of summoning smoke erupted from both of his shoulders simultaneously, heralding the arrival of the legendary sage summons that would turn the tide of this battle!
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