Chapter 361 – Who Are You Talking To? A Blitz That Shakes the Earth!
At this moment—
A savage figure, as though emerging from a primeval wilderness, slowly stepped out of the Tenshukaku. His entire body was soaked in blood and riddled with jagged wounds.
His long, white hair and beard fluttered on their own, despite the still air. His fierce and indifferent gaze swept across the trio from Akatsuki—
Then locked onto Jiraiya!
In the next instant—
"He's here!"
Jiraiya's expression hardened. He brought his palms together, drawing on the natural energy he'd accumulated during his brief time hidden within the stomach of the Toad at Mount Myōboku. Fusing that energy into senjutsu chakra, he entered Sage Mode.
In an instant, his sensory perception of the surrounding environment drastically sharpened. He immediately sensed the disturbance in the natural energy around him—pinpointing the enemy's incoming attack.
Then—
"Sage Art: Hair Needle Senbon!"
Jiraiya snapped his head forward. His white hair surged outward, stretching and elongating in an instant. It then fired a volley of needle-like projectiles in a storm-like barrage, targeting a specific direction. Fueled by senjutsu chakra, his hair follicles remained activated, allowing him to unleash continuous waves of needles without pause!
The dense shower of senbon fanned out like a rain of bullets from a machine gun, sweeping violently in pursuit of a bolt of lightning.
"This should lock down his movement range, and then—!"
Just as the bolt of lightning streaked close, aiming straight for his throat—
Jiraiya suddenly swung his right fist outward, striking at empty air.
Bang!
A seemingly blind punch actually hit its mark! The old man cloaked in lightning was briefly stunned, his momentum slightly disrupted.
Immediately, Jiraiya's left hand condensed a massive Sage Art: Ultra-Big Ball Rasengan!
"Now's my chance!"
With a fierce glint in his eyes, Jiraiya thrust his palm toward the approaching Hell Stab: One-Fingered Thrust, aiming his Ultra-Big Ball Rasengan at the elbow of the Third Raikage's extended right arm!
He was trying to divert the trajectory of the Hell Stab, redirecting it to strike the lightning-shaped scar on the Third Raikage's own chest!
At this moment, he had made the same choice that Naruto would make in the future Fourth Great Ninja War!
However—
"Hmph! That move again!?"
Seeing the technique come at him, the Third Raikage's eyes turned icy cold.
"You, one of the Sannin, using the same dirty trick as that little brat… Go to hell!"
Last time in Hell Valley, he'd nearly died from this very maneuver, severely wounded by Uchiha Ci. Now that Jiraiya was reenacting the scene, it reopened the barely healed scar over his heart.
In the very next instant—
Just when Jiraiya believed his attack would land—
The Third Raikage, his build massive and aura savage, suddenly vanished in a flash of lightning—dodging the blow entirely!
Then—
He reappeared behind Jiraiya in a split second, swinging a fierce hand-chop straight at the back of his neck!
"Liger Bomb Horizontal Slash: Thousand-Year Dance!"
Jiraiya's eyes flew wide open!
He hadn't expected the Raikage to predict the fatal move he'd crafted through feints, calculated exchanges, and a final hidden trump card!
Which meant the Toad Prison Barrier he'd set up to kill the Raikage wouldn't be able to catch him either.
The tide of battle had turned completely against them—and now, he was in mortal danger!
Just then—
"Shikigami Shield!"
"Haaaaahhh!!"
"Shinra Tensei!!"
Three voices shouted in unison behind Jiraiya—Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan had arrived!
Konan immediately formed three paper shields made entirely from explosive tags using Dance of the Shikigami.
However, the tags were instantly nullified under lightning-style chakra, and the paper shields were shredded in a flash.
Then Yahiko swung a massive steel greatsword, wide as a door, slashing directly at the Third Raikage's arm!
Clang!
The powerful slash managed to halt the Raikage's momentum for only a brief second. But his hand, wrapped in lightning blades, kept pressing downward—grinding through and shattering the sword halfway through!
Until—
A burst of invisible repulsive force exploded outward from the four-man group!
Boom!!
The Third Raikage was blasted away by Shinra Tensei!
As he flew back through the air—
Nearby, Oyashiro En silently leapt up, opening his grotesque, blood-weeping eyes, attempting to make eye contact with the Raikage.
But—
All he caught was a flickering afterimage of lightning vanishing mid-air!
Suddenly, he felt the Akatsuki robe on his back being grabbed—and the next thing he knew, he was brutally slammed into the ground!
"So fast!"
His eyes widened in horror.
This opponent was nearly an old man—yet his speed surpassed even the visual tracking power of the Blood Dragon Eye!
Boom!
Oyashiro En was smashed five meters deep into the cracked earth by the Third Raikage's casual strike.
Upon impact, the savage elder declared coldly:
"One down."
He then cast his gaze upon Nagato, standing behind Jiraiya.
"That jutsu you used—a seal-less ninjutsu that repels everything around you…"
"With Hell Stab, I should be able to cancel it out completely."
At that thought, the Third Raikage once again turned into a bolt of lightning, vanishing from their sight.
At this moment—
Jiraiya, Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato stood back-to-back, tense and vigilant, eyes scanning their surroundings, searching for any trace of the Raikage.
Then suddenly—
Jiraiya snapped his head toward a direction and shouted:
"Look out, he's coming!"
Nagato immediately raised his hand and yelled:
"Yahiko! Konan!"
The two behind him nodded simultaneously and began forming hand seals.
BOOM!
Shinra Tensei erupted once more from their center, ripping up everything—grass, earth, stone—around them with overwhelming force!
In the fierce windstorm—
A figure, momentarily frozen within the repulsion wave, revealed himself: the old warrior wrapped in lightning!
"Water Release: Wild Water Wave!"
"Paper Style: Paper Binding Coffin!"
Yahiko and Konan launched their pre-prepared jutsu in sync, targeting the exposed figure.
But—
The lightning-wreathed figure, though momentarily halted, suddenly surged forward!
Grinning savagely, he began sprinting through Shinra Tensei—
Yes—
Charging through Shinra Tensei!!
And with every step—faster and faster!
The jutsu from Yahiko and Konan missed as the figure sped out of the blast zone. Nagato's eyes widened in disbelief.
"This isn't possible—!?"
"His body… is even more monstrous than a Tailed Beast!?"
Theoretically, if someone's explosive speed exceeded that of half-transformed Six-Tails Naruto, they could overcome Shinra Tensei's repulsion.
But how could a human body surpass a Tailed Beast?
Seeing this, Nagato had no choice but to pour in more chakra, beads of sweat forming on his brow as he strained to maintain the jutsu.
At that moment—
The "Void" ring on Nagato's little finger suddenly quivered.
The Illusionary Projection Technique pre-set into the ring activated on its own!
A flickering figure, resembling Uchiha Ci, shimmered into view before him.
Nagato looked up at the blood-soaked warrior charging toward him, then bit his lip and shouted toward the image of Uchiha Ci:
"Uchiha Ci, I used the Human Path's ability to search!"
"The Daimyō of the Land of Lightning isn't here!"
"And... as for Iwagakure's plan—it's too long to explain right now, but listen—gather the others and—"
"Evacuate immediately!"
But just as Nagato struggled to deliver the intel—
A cold, emotionless voice suddenly rang out next to his ear:
"Who are you talking to?"
Startled, Nagato's head snapped up—and saw—
The blood-drenched, lightning-shrouded elder was already standing before him!
The skin on the man's body was tearing and bursting under Shinra Tensei's pressure—
Yet not a hint of emotion showed on his face.
Amidst the shockwaves, he slowly turned his head, eyes narrowing toward the north—
In the next instant—
He twisted his body and, riding the push of Shinra Tensei, launched himself in a massive leap—
Soaring nearly a hundred meters in a single bound!
Then, from six hundred meters above ground—
He descended like a thunderclap, feet suspended in mid-air, eyes filled with malice—
Crashing down like lightning!