"Jiraiya, what the hell is going on?! What is that orb? Why is it turning the toads into monsters?!"
Fukasaku and Shima shouted as they landed on Jiraiya's shoulders.
Gamabunta also stared at Jiraiya with a troubled expression.
"To be exact, any living creature exposed to that light will become a monster. As for where it came from—it's being emitted by a pendant. Only by finding the pendant can we make the orb disappear."
Jiraiya explained while urgently scanning the area, trying to locate the pendant.
"A pendant? This place is huge—how do we even start looking for it?"
Shima muttered as she looked around.
"I've lived for ages, but I've never heard of something like this. Not even the Six Paths Sage's tools could do that! Just what kind of object is this?!"
Fukasaku questioned, deeply disturbed.
"It's complicated… all I can say for now is that it's not from our world. I'll explain in detail after we find it."
Jiraiya didn't want to lie, but there was no quick way to explain the concept of a containment artifact.
"RAAAAAHHHH!!"
Suddenly, the misshapen, rotting toad with goat-like horns—Gamahiro—stood back up and let out a terrible howl.
Then, six sharp, long limbs sprouted from his back like legs.
Each of these legs stabbed into the ground, lifting Gamahiro off the ground like a giant spider.
Then, with a powerful lunge, he shot toward Gamabunta like a cannonball.
His rotting hands gripped twin blades tightly, which he slashed toward Gamabunta upon closing in!
Gamabunta quickly drew his samurai sword and blocked the strike with great effort.
The sheer strength—and the unmistakable murderous intent—made Gamabunta's face twitch.
"Gamahiro! Are you seriously trying to kill me?!"
He shouted in disbelief.
But Gamahiro responded only with the thrusting of his spider-legs, aiming them at Gamabunta from multiple directions.
Gamabunta retreated instantly to avoid being skewered.
Gamahiro gave chase, slashing wildly with his twin blades.
Gamabunta had no choice but to keep retreating, blocking each blow.
At the same time, other flesh-mutated toads began leaping at Gamabunta from various directions, joining the attack.
"HAAAH!"
Gamabunta spun fiercely, swinging his sword and generating a tornado that blew several attackers away. Then he turned and punched Gamahiro hard in the face, sending him flying.
But Gamahiro's spider legs struck the ground mid-air, allowing him to twist and land gracefully—then launch another charge.
"Gamahiro… have you really lost your mind?"
Gamabunta's hands trembled as he looked at his brother—now grotesque and unrecognizable.
He turned his gaze to the other toads around him.
All of them were seething with killing intent. With their hideous appearances, they were impossible to connect with who they once were.
"Hey! Don't you recognize me?! Say something, damn it!"
Gamabunta, usually calm and composed, shouted with heartbreaking desperation.
He wanted to believe that some piece of their former selves still remained.
But no matter how loud he shouted, the flesh-mutated toads did not respond—only their murderous roars and savage attacks answered him.
Gamabunta's heart sank. He couldn't accept the truth—that his own kin, his comrades, his family… had turned into abominations trying to kill him.
He regretted it all. Why didn't he stop them when the orb first appeared?
A strange object appearing out of nowhere, offering miraculous healing—it should have been suspicious from the start.
Why didn't he realize it back then?!
The regret and pain gnawed at him—and his attacks began to lose strength. He got hit by the mutated toads, sustaining more injuries.
"Gamabunta…"
Jiraiya noticed his friend's condition from a distance. He could feel the anguish pouring out of him.
"I understand how you feel…"
Jiraiya whispered, looking at the monsters attacking him. Among them were faces he knew—like Gamaken and Gamahiro.
The current Gamaken had grown two extra legs, walking like a four-legged beast. His body was decayed and disfigured, with multiple compound eyes and a twisted rhino horn on his head. His hands had turned into gorilla-like arms, gripping a steel fork and shield as he charged alongside the other monsters.
"Jiraiya… is there really no way to turn them back?"
Fukasaku asked, heartbroken as he looked at the horrific state of his former comrades.
"…I'm sorry, Master Fukasaku. More than anyone, I want to save them… but the intel I have… doesn't mention any way to reverse this."
Jiraiya's voice was choked with sorrow.
Fukasaku and Shima felt their hearts tighten, almost stopping at those words.
…
Meanwhile, Naruto and Tsunade watched the chaos unfold on the screen.
"So many toads… turned into monsters. Chief Toad and Pervy Sage must be suffering a lot…"
Naruto's voice was low and heavy with grief.
"Yeah… after all, they were comrades…"
Even Tsunade lowered her head, unable to continue watching.
"The only option left… might be to kill them. But I don't know if Jiraiya and the others can go through with it…"
She sighed deeply.
Naruto flinched at those words, his head dropping as tears fell silently down his cheeks.
"Heh… Jiraiya, what will you do now?"
Orochimaru sneered as he watched.
"Could you really bring yourself to kill your former toad companions?"
"If it were me, I would've done it without hesitation. That's why you keep losing things—because you're too soft."
"Don't let this spread any further. If you do, it'll be disgraceful… fufufu…"
Orochimaru let out a low, mocking chuckle—his eyes flashing with manic interest.
"This Lovecraft Pendant… it's incredible. Even Sage Chakra beasts like these can be turned into monsters? Fascinating…"
"If I could get my hands on it, and combine it with my C-Virus research… just imagine what could happen…"
He licked his lips, eyes glowing with fanatic obsession.
(End of Chapter)
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