Underestimated.
Jiraiya felt slightly annoyed, but he couldn't deny the truth in Deidara's words. He indeed struggled against such high-speed, highly maneuverable opponents.
But if he couldn't deal with them, then he wouldn't bother. These two creations posed limited threats; he just needed to remain cautious.
The key to this battle was closing the distance to Deidara. His own defenses weren't particularly strong, but neither were Deidara's.
As long as he could land a solid hit, victory wouldn't be far off.
"Sage Art: Continuous Falling Earth Cover!"
A series of disk-shaped rocks descended from the sky, forming a staircase-like structure. Jiraiya stepped on them, rapidly closing the distance.
"Don't even think about it!"
Of course, Deidara understood Jiraiya's intentions. The tail of Death Wings swung down vertically. As a dragon designed for combat, its tail carried immense destructive power.
With a single slash, the massive dragon tail shattered the Falling Earth Cover like tofu. Jiraiya looked up at the incoming tail, knowing he couldn't take it head-on.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
He slapped the rock beneath his feet, summoning Gamaken to the battlefield. The confused toad felt the sudden weightlessness and panicked.
"I'm so clumsy! I can't figure out what's going on!"
"Why is something so massive falling from the sky? Can clumsy me really block it?"
Despite the abrupt situation, Gamaken's instincts from years of battle kicked in. He quickly raised his shield just as the dragon tail struck it. The immense force smashed him downward toward the ground.
Taking advantage of this brief opening, Jiraiya used Gamaken's body as a foothold, pushing off to the side and escaping the predicament.
"Thanks, Gamaken! You can go back now!" Jiraiya shouted down.
With a puff of white smoke, Gamaken disappeared as quickly as he had arrived.
"Sage Art: Earth Dragon Bullet!"
After that encounter, Jiraiya realized that Falling Earth Cover was no longer effective. This led him to discover a new and better method.
He rode atop the head of a majestic Earth Dragon, which was much faster and more agile. It could easily dodge Deidara's harassing attacks.
What the—!
Deidara was startled. He continued chewing clay, but C4-level creations required extensive preparation time, and he wasn't quite ready yet.
Even if he finished, he'd need to create a safe distance; otherwise, he'd blow himself up too.
"Death Wings: Dragon Breath!"
Death Wings turned its head. As a C4-level creation, it naturally had more than just physical attacks. Its massive jaws opened, and after a slight expansion and contraction of its abdomen, it unleashed a stream of golden-white flames, thinly veiled in a scorching red hue.
The flames were so intensely hot that they no longer appeared in the typical colors of fire.
If someone were to look up from below, they might find this a breathtakingly beautiful scene.
Of course, Jiraiya, being directly involved, didn't think so. He immediately prepared to abandon the Earth Dragon Bullet and retreat to safety.
But let's not forget—there was still the God of Shinobi, Hashirama, on the battlefield.
Until now, Hashirama had maintained a moderate level of attack intensity, merely biding his time and waiting for the right opportunity.
This was his combat style. With chakra reserves far surpassing even Madara's, combined with his extraordinary defense and recovery capabilities, prolonged battles always worked in his favor.
Just like in the original Valley of the End, he had fought Madara for three days and nights, exhausting even someone of Madara's caliber until he was completely drained.
However, with Jiraiya's assistance, Hashirama adjusted his strategy accordingly.
Clapping his hands together, an unprecedented surge of power erupted from him.
"Summit Enlightenment!"
It was difficult to describe the near-apocalyptic sensation. Under Hashirama's control, the countless wooden arms of the Thousand-Armed Kannon statue all moved simultaneously.
Each punch carried the force to shatter mountains, destroy meteors, and even crush the Nine-Tails.
The last time he used this technique, he had turned an entire plain into a deep valley, creating a waterfall where a small river once flowed. That was how the Valley of the End came to be.
And that was with Madara's Susano'o absorbing most of the damage.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Death Wings, which had been spewing Dragon Breath, was struck repeatedly, leaving it dazed. It wasn't so fragile that it could be destroyed in just a few hits, but it wasn't invincible either.
Within the onslaught of Summit Enlightenment, all it could do was survive a little longer.
"Jiraiya, seize the opportunity!" Hashirama shouted.
"Got it!"
Instead of retreating, Jiraiya accelerated. His cheeks puffed up, and though there was still some distance, he prepared to launch an attack.
"Sage Art: Toad Chant!"
To Deidara's surprise, Jiraiya didn't use another ninjutsu but instead unleashed a genjutsu.
After receiving power from the Great Toad Sage, Jiraiya had learned many new techniques.
Cough!
Deidara coughed up blood. Jiraiya's genjutsu continued to take effect, forcing Deidara to inflict self-harm to resist its influence.
"Don't underestimate me! Hah!"
Deidara tore off his left hand and hurled it toward the approaching Jiraiya. The resulting explosion engulfed Jiraiya immediately. Despite being a part of Deidara's body, the explosion carried immense destructive power.
After all, this was the ultimate art.
Jiraiya emerged from the explosion, most of his white hair burned away, giving him a slightly comical appearance. But he had no time to care about that now.
Deidara had resorted to self-detonation. Was this the end of the line for him?
The battle hadn't lasted long, but its difficulty exceeded Jiraiya's expectations. Fortunately, he had followed Kabuto's advice. Without Hashirama's help, he might not have stood a chance.
At that moment, another Deidara emerged from behind Death Wings, riding a clay bird and ascending rapidly. The original Deidara stood motionless, as if resigned to his fate.
"Do you really think such tricks will fool us?"
"It's useless! In Sage Mode, I can clearly sense that the one in front of me is the real body. The one flying away is just a clone!"
Jiraiya formed a massive Rasengan in his hand. At the same time, Hashirama's attack synchronized with his.
"Sage Art: Giant Rasengan!" "Summit Enlightenment!"
Faced with two near-Six Paths-level attacks, neither Deidara nor Death Wings had any chance of survival.
Jiraiya watched as the enemy disintegrated into ash, feeling a slight sense of relief.
Was it finally over?
Of course not.
"Don't be naive! Try out my long-prepared new art!"
A small, unassuming white sphere fell from the sky.
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