Outside the Borders of Konoha
While fierce battles raged throughout the village itself, the Sand Village forces that had been lying in ambush several kilometers away had finally moved into position, advancing to within a few hundred meters of Konoha's outer perimeter.
Their stealthy approach came to an abrupt halt as dozens of Konoha shinobi suddenly materialized from concealment, blocking their path with disciplined precision.
Swish!
Uchiha Fugaku and more than a dozen elite Uchiha clan members activated their Sharingan simultaneously, the crimson tomoe spinning as they locked onto the enemy formation before them. The combined effect of so many activated dojutsu created an intimidating display of ocular power.
Beside Fugaku, Asuma Sarutobi gripped his chakra-infused trench knives, wind chakra extending from the blades in visible currents that fluctuated with barely contained energy, ready to slice through whatever opposition they might face.
BOOM!
As the two forces faced each other in tense confrontation, another violent tremor shook the ground beneath their feet, the shockwave traveling from the village center to reach even their distant position. Everyone turned to look back toward Konoha, and their eyes widened in shock at the sight of the colossal eight-headed white serpent battling in the distance.
"That chakra signature... it belongs to Orochimaru," Fugaku muttered, his brow furrowing with concern and recognition. Having known the rogue Sannin for many years, he could identify the massive serpent's true nature through his Sharingan's enhanced perception.
Beside him, Might Guy's eyes flickered with barely restrained energy, his muscles tensing as he prepared for the inevitable clash.
"Our mission is to prevent the Sand Village forces from advancing further," Fugaku reminded his team in a calm but authoritative voice. "Don't let the battles in the village distract you from our objective."
These were Minato's explicit orders. Until the Sand Village shinobi made any overtly hostile moves, the Konoha forces were to simply maintain the blockade and keep them outside the village boundaries.
After all, based on current intelligence, it appeared that the Sand Village forces were being manipulated by the true enemy rather than acting as willing participants in the assault.
Following the suspicious incident during the recent Chunin Exams, all of the high-ranking Sand Village officials who had come to Konoha for the event had mysteriously died from poisoning, leaving their remaining forces potentially under enemy control.
Back in the Village Center
Hiss!
The eight-headed giant serpent's forked tongues flicked out menacingly from each massive head. Except for the one head that remained pinned to the ground by Shisui's precise Susanoo arrow, the other seven opened their cavernous maws and lunged toward Jiraiya with coordinated ferocity.
On Jiraiya's shoulders, the two Great Sage Toads of Mount Myōboku who had answered his summoning call observed the approaching threat with ancient wisdom gleaming in their eyes.
"It's Orochimaru, alright," Fukasaku Sage confirmed, his centuries of experience allowing him to instantly analyze the chakra fluctuations emanating from the massive serpent construct.
"Such enormous chakra reserves," Shima Sage added with a mixture of admiration and concern. "It seems this student of yours hasn't been idle during his years away from the village."
Recognizing the true power of Orochimaru's Eight Branches Technique, Fukasaku glanced sideways at Jiraiya, noting the subtle but significant changes in his student's facial expression and demeanor.
The legendary Sannin's eyes had grown cold and resolute, suggesting that he had finally overcome the emotional barriers that had previously prevented him from taking decisive action against his former teammate.
Otherwise, he never would have committed to using Sage Mode in actual combat against Orochimaru.
The implications were clear—Jiraiya had made the difficult decision to end Orochimaru's threat permanently, even if it meant killing someone who had once been like a brother to him.
The eight-headed serpent's coordinated attack commenced, but neither Fukasaku nor Shima moved to intervene directly. This was Jiraiya's battle to fight, and they trusted in his newfound resolve.
As the nearest serpent head closed the final distance, Jiraiya suddenly exploded into motion, his sage-enhanced reflexes allowing him to intercept the attack. His leg swept upward in a devastating arc, connecting with the side of the massive head with incredible force.
CRACK!
The impact was so powerful that the flesh and scales of the serpent head began to warp and distort from the kinetic energy transfer. The tremendous force was released without reservation, sending the struck head flying backward into its neighboring heads in a chain reaction of destruction.
BOOM!
The entire eight-headed serpent construct was actually repelled by Jiraiya's single counterattack, its colossal body skidding backward across the ground and leaving deep furrows in the earth from the sheer momentum of the impact.
"Incredible!" Kushina, Shisui, and the other observing shinobi exclaimed in amazement at this display of sage-enhanced physical prowess.
"Damn it... he's actually entered true Sage Mode," Orochimaru snarled as he emerged from one of the serpent heads' mouths, his expression dark with frustration and growing concern.
He could sense the enormous amount of sage chakra that Jiraiya had channeled into that devastating counterattack. However, what made the situation truly problematic was that the two Great Sage Toads perched on his shoulders were continuously absorbing natural energy from the environment and transferring it directly to their summoner.
These ancient sages had lived for hundreds of years and had achieved absolute mastery of sage arts through centuries of practice and refinement. With their assistance, Jiraiya's sage chakra reserves not only avoided depletion despite heavy usage, but actually grew stronger and more concentrated with each passing moment.
"So this is what true Sage Mode looks like," Kushina thought to herself, her analytical mind comparing what she was witnessing to her husband's capabilities.
Minato had also mastered Sage Mode, and his version was arguably even more refined and perfect than what Jiraiya was currently displaying. However, he couldn't allow the Great Sage Toads to merge with his body as Jiraiya was doing, because such a fusion would likely expose the Nine-Tails chakra contained within him, creating complications that could compromise his combat effectiveness.
Slurp!
The Samehada sword strapped to Kisame's back made an excited chittering sound, clearly detecting and responding to the powerful chakra emanations flowing from Jiraiya's sage-enhanced form.
But after a moment of eager anticipation, the sentient blade's body actually shrank back, as if withdrawing from the potential feast.
"Samehada is very interested in that chakra, but it doesn't dare to actually try absorbing it," Kisame observed with professional interest, his connection to the sword allowing him to understand its instinctive reactions.
While Samehada was indeed capable of devouring enormous quantities of normal chakra, sage chakra represented a fundamentally different and far more dangerous energy source. The natural energy component carried inherent risks that even the voracious blade instinctively avoided, recognizing that attempting to consume such power could be harmful to both itself and its wielder.
The Third Hokage felt a complex mixture of emotions as he watched Jiraiya display his mastered Sage Mode in actual combat conditions.
Years ago, when he had first accepted Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade as his personal students, Jiraiya had possessed the most eccentric personality among the three and had seemed to demonstrate the least natural talent for conventional ninjutsu.
Hiruzen had initially regarded Orochimaru as his most outstanding and promising disciple, believing that the pale boy's analytical mind and natural genius would lead him to greatness.
Now, watching current events unfold, it was clear that his original assessment had been fundamentally flawed.
A shinobi's true worth wasn't determined by the number of techniques they could master or the raw power they could wield. The ability to completely pass on one's will and principles to the next generation—that was the mark of a truly exceptional ninja.
There was no question that Jiraiya had achieved this ideal. He had not only become incredibly powerful in his own right, but had also raised an outstanding student who embodied the best qualities of both strength and character.
"There are so many powerful chakra signatures active throughout Konoha right now," Shima Sage observed with growing alarm as her sensory abilities detected the scope of the ongoing conflicts.
The assault that Konoha was currently facing appeared to be far more severe and comprehensive than the Nine-Tails attack that had occurred eleven years earlier.
"Wait... is that Minato's chakra?" Shima asked with disbelief as she and Fukasaku detected the energy signature of the Fourth Hokage engaged in his own battle against the masked man and his black-clad companion.
The two Great Sage Toads exchanged glances, their ancient eyes widening with shock at what their enhanced perception was revealing to them.
The sheer power of Minato's chakra was staggering, but what truly amazed the centuries-old sages was something even more unprecedented.
"I can barely believe what I'm sensing," Fukasaku whispered in awe. "He's drawing natural energy from not just the immediate area, but from all of Konoha... and even from regions far beyond the village boundaries."
They could clearly perceive that natural energy from across vast distances was being continuously drawn toward Minato's position, and he was successfully converting and utilizing this tremendous influx of power to fuel his sage techniques in real-time combat.
Even they, with their centuries of experience and mastery, could not absorb natural energy at the rate that Minato was currently maintaining. The human body simply wasn't designed to channel such overwhelming forces without being destroyed in the process.
When Fukasaku and Shima had first instructed Minato in the basics of sage arts years ago, they never could have imagined that he would eventually develop the ability to wield sage power on such an incredible scale.
In their long memories, only one other human being had ever demonstrated this level of sage arts mastery—the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, from several decades past.
But even Hashirama had only been able to achieve such feats by relying on the extraordinary bloodline inheritance of the Senju clan, whose genetic legacy traced back to the Sage of Six Paths himself.
The Senju, Uchiha, and Uzumaki clans all carried diluted portions of the Six Paths Sage's divine chakra within their bloodlines, which provided them with natural advantages in manipulating powerful forces.
For Minato to achieve this level of mastery without any such inherited advantages was nothing short of miraculous—a testament to pure skill, determination, and genius that defied all conventional understanding.
CRASH!
As these profound realizations settled in their minds, the eight-headed giant serpent before them coiled its massive body and launched another coordinated assault, all seven functional heads striking simultaneously.
"Boss, Ma! It's time to end this!" Jiraiya called out as his hands moved through the opening seals of a powerful combined technique.
Fukasaku and Shima immediately understood his intention, and both ancient sages began forming their own hand seals in perfect synchronization with their summoner!
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