Seeing this, the surrounding ninja all exclaimed in joy.
"Great! Lord Jiraiya doesn't have to die!"
"With injuries like this healed so easily, Jonin Seiki's medical ninjutsu is truly amazing!"
Their loud cheers nearly distracted the three fighters mid-battle, causing them to almost collide.
Minato instinctively glanced sideways with his peripheral vision and indeed noticed his teacher's chest wound continuously closing up.
Overwhelmed with joy inside, Minato couldn't help but think, "Both of the most important people in my life have been saved by you! Seiki, how can I ever thank you enough?"
Orochimaru's icy gaze also slightly softened as he mused inwardly, "Heh, seems like Jiraiya's luck still defies death!"
Lord Raikage, on the other hand, was furious beyond measure, feeling as though he would explode. "Again?! This brat has ruined how many of my plans already? Could he really be our Hidden Cloud Village's destined nemesis?"
"No more stalling—we need to kill this brat now!"
Seeing Raikage glaring viciously toward Seiki, the gradually recovering Jiraiya taunted, "Ohohoho, are you planning to kill us merely with your eyes?"
Hearing Jiraiya throw back his own previously spoken words, Raikage twitched at the corner of his mouth. "Hmph! Without that little pest, you'd already be dead!"
Jiraiya laughed smugly, "But we do have him! Jealous? Too bad—you can't have him!"
"You insufferable fool!"
Infuriated beyond belief, Raikage nearly suffered a serious injury under a fierce joint attack launched by Orochimaru and Minato due to his unstable mindset. After barely regaining his composure, he coldly remarked, "Hmph! You're quite skilled at psychological warfare!"
"Is that so? Then I'll continue," Jiraiya said. "Old man Raikage, are you prepared for death in battle? Once I fully recover, it'll be three versus... no, make that four against one!"
Raikage remained expressionless. "That you could recover does surprise me. However, at most, it simply transforms the destruction plan into a conventional siege."
Observing Raikage's calmness, everyone present changed expressions.
"So, there are actions being taken not just by you, but other Hidden Cloud ninja too?"
"What else did you expect me to be acting so recklessly without?"
As he spoke, distant sounds of battle became vaguely audible.
"Lord Raikage, we've arrived!"
"Dad, you're not dead yet, are you?"
Just as Raikage was smugly watching everyone, hearing his son A's voice almost made him choke. "Damn fool—you'll die before I ever do!"
Aiming precisely at where Raikage's voice came from, A quickly charged over together with B.
Arriving at Outpost Seven and seeing none of the familiar faces missing, A couldn't help casting a disdainful glance at his father. "Dad, your plan seems somewhat mediocre, doesn't it?"
Raikage flew into a rage. "You damn bastard! If it weren't for that brat, Seiki Shimaseki, who possesses regeneration-inducing medical ninjutsu, Jiraiya would've died already under my [Four-Tailed Fang Hand]!"
"Medical ninjutsu capable of regeneration? His strength keeps increasing!" While shocked, A muttered involuntarily, "Didn't he ruin my mission two years ago too?"
"You know what? Compared to you, my intelligence doesn't seem any different!" He nodded proudly. "Hmmph, no wonder I'm his father!"
"You..."
B, who had just recovered from injuries, made hand gestures while speaking, "Aniki, if you don't shut up now, I promise you'll be limping back home!"
At this moment, a Cloud Village Jonin who had barely caught up shouted urgently, "Raikage-sama! B-sama! We should attack them while they're still healing!"
Unexpectedly, A patted his shoulder and said solemnly, "You rookies really haven't seen enough hardship yet! Remember this: when fighting against Seiki Shimaseki, always assume you're at an intellectual disadvantage. Any opportunity that seems advantageous might be part of his scheme!"
A newly promoted Jonin couldn't help but ask, "You mean we should think of ourselves as mentally handicapped?"
After saying this, he realized his wording was inappropriate and quickly added, "Sorry, that's not what I meant..."
Surprisingly, A nodded thoughtfully and replied, "Exactly! You're getting it now!"
"Huh?"
Meanwhile, Seiki Shimaseki had finished healing and stood up, speaking sincerely, "Actually, I really didn't prepare much for this fight!"
In response, A only gave him a look filled with disdain.
Jiraiya, standing nearby, looked at him curiously, "What exactly did you do to them?"
Shaking his head slightly, Seiki Shimaseki answered, "Just laid out a few psychological traps based on their personalities."
"'A few traps'? 'Just'?" A exclaimed angrily, "During our last battle in Storm Valley (Fenglei Gorge), you pretended to be severely injured. The moment I chased after you, I was ambushed and beaten up by hundreds of ninjas. If backup hadn't arrived quickly, I would have been dead meat by now!"
"And before that, you used genjutsu to mislead my men into believing there was a Lake of Life with special healing properties. I wasted tremendous resources tracking it down, only to find out it was just Katsuyu's body fluid!"
"As for the time before that..."
Seeing A opening up about all these grievances, Raikage scowled darkly and interrupted, "Enough! Don't let them enjoy our embarrassment!"
B looked at his older brother with deep sympathy. It seemed like his older brother had gone through a lot alone these past two years.
Stretching his arms, Jiraiya said, "Let's stick to our usual plan—Minato and Seiki Shimaseki, you two take care of them two, while I repay Raikage for his 'hospitalosity'!"
A's expression turned serious, "B, remember how we coordinate, right?"
Instantly entering Partial Transformation mode, B responded, "Dummy Aniki, don't underestimate me!"
[Lightning Tackle!]
Seiki Shimaseki and Minato remained vigilant, then noticed the pair rushing toward Jiraiya one after another.
Just as Jiraiya was locked in fierce combat with Raikage, he was completely taken aback. What the hell? Why were three people attacking him?
Even he couldn't possibly defend against Raikage's attacks while dodging these other two assaults simultaneously.
Luckily, seemingly out of instinct, someone without apparent coordination suddenly pushed him aside with the Hidden Shadow Snake Hands.
However, Raikage and his two companions didn't hesitate even for a moment, immediately attacking Jiraiya again.
Witnessing this, Seiki Shimaseki and others silently concluded in their hearts: This could get problematic!
Obviously, these three planned to use their superior durability to their advantage, willing to take some damage themselves in order to eliminate one of their opponents first.
Seiki and Minato were too difficult to catch, and therefore weren't the top targets.
As for Orochimaru and Jiraiya, obviously Jiraiya—who was still recovering from serious injuries—was the easier target.
Jiraiya ran desperately under the combined assault of the three, while Seiki and his group chased closely behind, occasionally using the Flying Thunder God Technique to yank Jiraiya into perilous situations at critical moments.
Instantly, chaos erupted all around.
"Damn it! Those three bastards think I'm a pushover!" Jiraiya grumbled in his mind. While fleeing, he finally seized a chance to unleash the Kuchiyose no Jutsu.
The next moment, the boss toad, taking up nearly half the forest, came into view.
"Jiraiya, you sly dog sure know how to stir up trouble!"
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