At this moment, although Asura was fully committed to battle command based on both his own experiences and the residual memories from this body's former soul, he still didn't understand why his father had chosen such a foolish plan—reincarnating his soul into this frail form.
Moreover, judging from the current situation, even if he did his absolute best within these tight constraints, no matter how brilliant his tactical genius became, it wouldn't bridge the massive gap between Mount Myoboku and the Shogunate Ninja Force in terms of conventional military strength.
Even judging purely from the equipment standard issue to the ninja forces, there was simply no way mere flesh-and-blood warriors wielding basic weapons could stand against them.
Therefore, once the Slug Sage personally dispelled Mount Myoboku's natural defensive mist barrier, Asura already knew the outcome of this battle was practically decided. Of course, the battle among the three Great Sages would influence the final result to some degree, but before those three reached a conclusion, perhaps the entire lineage of Mount Myoboku's ninja frogs would already be wiped out by the Shogunate Ninja Force.
Precisely because of this, Asura abandoned further commanding efforts altogether and immediately used Secret Jutsu Body Flicker to appear directly in front of Hyuga Soushu.
However, ever since Hyuga Soushu made that remark about "Living on past your time is nothing but theft," Asura's eyebrows hadn't relaxed again.
By that logic, not only was the Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku considered a thief, but even he himself—who reincarnated through successive lifetimes and waged an endless millennium-long war against his own older brother Indra—was also undoubtedly a thief.
And if extending that reasoning even further, then even the Six Paths Sage who remained spiritually active in the Pure Land, subtly steering the course of the ninja world, was definitely the biggest thief of all.
"Letting an unknown soul take over Jiraiya's body… well, a thief is still a thief."
Hyuga Soushu's torch pole ignited a colorless chakra aura, his entire body aura surging toward its peak while his killing intent thickened, tightly locking onto Jiraiya before him.
"No chance of talking, huh?"
Asura sighed.
Of course there wasn't!
Actually, Asura understood this very well himself.
After all, good and evil could never coexist—that was a line that must never be crossed!
"Your stance and—"
Asura hesitated mid-sentence.
After all, he couldn't publicly reveal his older brother Indra's views and methods here.
Besides, so many years had passed; according to remaining memories from this body, nobody in today's ninja world probably even remembered Indra's great deeds of cleansing the monsters anymore.
Therefore, Asura had no desire to keep entangling himself in meaningless discussions.
"The difference in principle cannot be crossed!"
Hyuga Soushu slowly raised his torch pole, pointing it straight at Asura's forehead.
Meanwhile,
[Watchtower Totem!]
A formless, insubstantial ward took shape ten meters behind Asura.
"Huh!"
The instant that false eye appeared, Asura suddenly felt a chill run down his spine—as though something was secretly watching him!
[Jumping Slash!]
Hyuga Soushu immediately dashed forward with [Jumping Slash!]
Behind him, the Shogunate Ninja Force — the directly-commanded units returning from rotation for rest — immediately entered a state of alert, avoiding potential harm from the aftershocks of battle.
As for entertaining any unrealistic notions of joining the fight, everyone in the Shogunate Direct-Control ninja units agreed it was pointless.
After all, with Hyuga Soushu's undefeated record and overwhelming combat power, they believed that the mere Jiraiya was utterly no match. To them, their commander-in-chief had just stepped into battle out of boredom.
"Peng!"
Although sensing something wrong behind him, Asura still did not evade Soushu's attack using the Body Flicker Technique. Instead, he gathered chakra to his arms and blocked the Skull-Crushing blow of the Torch Pole with an upward-striking motion.
"Ya!"
Missing his target in one strike, both men were greatly surprised!
For Soushu, this was the first time someone had actually used mere flesh and blood to block his attack head-on; as for Asura, Soushu's demonstrated level of Body Flicker technique and the sheer force behind his blows exceeded anything normally possible by a human being!
At this moment, Soushu silently activated his mind, then took a bottle of [Iron Elixir] out of thin air!
"Hou!"
Soushu's speed increased once again. The torch pole danced with afterimages as he continued to slam toward Asura, who was still holding up both arms to block.
The attack wasn't subtle or refined—swinging wide and leaving plenty of openings—but its sheer speed and force could shatter gold and split steel. Thus, for now, Asura could not launch a proper counterattack. He could only use his arms to parry and step backward continuously.
"Clang clang bang bang!"
The sharp clanging of metal against stone rang without pause. Under Soushu's fierce assault, Asura was forced to retreat more than ten steps before finally stabilizing himself.
And now, he stood barely two meters away from the [Watchtower Totem], previously placed there by Soushu.
[Power Strike!]
Just as Asura was about to regain his footing, Soushu instantly triggered another supporting skill, forcing Asura back another two steps with even heavier impact—now less than a meter away from the [Watchtower Totem]!
"Hu!"
Asura stomped hard, forcibly steadying his wavering stance.
But before he could recover completely, Soushu's next attack arrived.
"Dang!"
This time, the sound of arm striking torch pole rang clearer than before — like true metals colliding.
Asura had used specialized chakra to harden his body to nearly metallic levels.
However, doing so slightly slowed down his attacking speed.
But under the circumstances, it was unavoidable. After being bombarded relentlessly by Soushu's attacks, Asura already felt his head spinning and stomach churning with nausea.
Therefore, he needed to counterattack soon, or else he'd fall entirely into a helpless position of endless defense.
Setting aside the duel for now, inside Mount Myoboku, the confrontation among the three Great Sages had also reached its most intense phase.
With the advantage of their home ground, Senior Toad Sage—who could absorb natural energy to its fullest and refine Sage Chakra—was undeniably the most dominant in his territory.
Meanwhile, the Sage Art of Ryuchi Cave, practiced by White Snake Sage, was infamous for its brutality and viciousness. Every strike he unleashed carried mountain-shaking, sea-toppling force.
Yet before Slug Sage, despite their relentless assaults, the two Great Sages were unable to break the deadlock of the chaotic battle.
Even when White Snake Sage attempted to shift the tide by breaking away from combat to massacre Ninja, he was quickly dragged back into the fray by Slug Sage.
Moreover, no matter how creatively Senior Toad Sage bombarded Slug Sage with his Sage Techniques, they merely shredded her massive body into a bloody mess; within seconds, however, she regenerated completely beneath a radiant glow.
As for the torn fragments of slug flesh, each one would transform into smaller katsuyu and then merge back into Large Katsuyu's body.
This near-infinite cycle left both Senior Toad Sage and White Snake Sage quite troubled.
It was certain that Slug Sage couldn't defeat the physical forms of these two Great Sages, but likewise, they couldn't destroy Slug Sage's projection either.
The drawn-out battle, however, became an excellent opportunity for the Shogunate Ninja Forces.
Their armies had already pushed the desperately resisting Ninja Frogs to the brink of annihilation.
Nearly two-thirds of Mount Myoboku's land had turned into blood-soaked soil reeking of carnage and decay after continuous defeats, and the constant deaths of fellow Ninja Frogs terrified the survivors.
Mount Myoboku had never faced such a catastrophe in a thousand years.
For ages, proud of being inhabitants of this Holy Land, the Ninja Frogs had never encountered such devastation—not even during conflicts with Ryuchi Cave had they been attacked so severely, with Ninja Snakes at most ambushing up to the edge of the mist barrier.
But now, enemies had pierced deep into the heart of Mount Myoboku itself. Judging from current circumstances, Mount Myoboku was almost certainly facing defeat.
And in the eyes of the Ninja Frogs, even if Senior Toad Sage managed to turn the tide at the last moment, it would still take thousands of years of seclusion for them to rebuild their numbers to pre-war levels.
Therefore, under the guise of protecting their species' survival, some Ninja Frogs began fleeing the battlefield.
Although they didn't know what endless dead seas lay beyond Mount Myoboku, they still rushed headlong into those forsaken lands in desperate attempts to escape death by the skin of their teeth.
Still, this was just a minor episode.
Far more Ninja Frogs were gunned down the very instant they turned to flee and exposed their vulnerable backs, instantly killed by predatory Ninja who watched like wolves ready to strike.
Meanwhile, the bloodthirsty Shogunate ninja recklessly rained Ninjutsu upon every tree and blade of grass across Mount Myoboku, attempting to clear out every possible hiding place for Ninja Frogs, causing immense ecological destruction.
Today, Mount Myoboku wept, yet no one mourned for it.
Within the battlefield area, the only advantage held by Mount Myoboku was that four Sages fought against five elite warriors from the Shogunate.
But what did that matter?
After all, a small victory could not fully compensate for a large-scale defeat.
[Power Strike!]
"Clang!"
Hyuga Soushu slammed his Torch Pole forward, forcing Asura back half a step!
At this moment, he was already less than half a meter away from the Watchtower Totem!
For Hyuga Soushu, this was the perfect opportunity to attack.
[Blood Slash!]
Thus, Hyuga Soushu immediately activated the innate skill of his equipment, unleashing a ripple of red energy.
However, Asura simply shrugged off an attack of this level.
Then, Asura's fist shot toward Hyuga Soushu, landing a chakra-infused punch.
[Counter Storm!]
Hyuga Soushu blocked Asura's heavy blow directly with his skill.
Then
[Jumping Slash!]
Hyuga Soushu instantly appeared behind Asura, slamming the Torch Pole straight into Asura's waist!
Crack!
Through the conduction of the Torch Pole, Hyuga Soushu heard the familiar sound of a spine breaking!
Immediately afterward, he struck Asura's neck with his palm, then transformed his palm into claws, reaching out and grabbing Asura's cervical vertebrae!
At the same time, chakra surged violently into Asura's body, tearing through his organs and muscles.
But Asura's neck twisted like rubber, slipping right out of Hyuga Soushu's grip. He then sprang off the ground, trying to leap away!
The intensity of Hyuga Soushu's attacks was simply too overwhelming—even now, Asura could barely withstand it.
Moreover, this kind of raw, close-quarters combat prevented him from counterattacking with ninjutsu or similar techniques, effectively limiting over half of his fighting capabilities.
Especially after being ambushed by Hyuga Soushu earlier, Asura now felt physically unwell and unable to continue.
And he clearly understood one thing—if he kept fighting, he would eventually meet his death.
So, he could no longer fight!
But Hyuga Soushu wouldn't let him go so easily.
Just as the severely injured Asura attempted to retreat, Hyuga Soushu activated [Flash] and appeared right in front of him!
"Gah!"
The ghost-like figure immediately made Asura's hair stand on end!
But that wasn't even the worst part; Hyuga Soushu immediately smashed his hammer into Asura's chest, sending him flying backward.
Before Asura could fully react, Hyuga Soushu once again used [Jumping Slash], instantly appearing above Asura's head. With one strike, blood burst across Asura's face like crimson petals flying!
"Boom!"
Though it didn't fully crush Asura's skull, it shattered his face into a bloody, unrecognizable mess.
"Hell yes!"
Hyuga Soushu couldn't hold back—he had to praise it out loud.
Following this, a storm of brutal strikes hammered down on Asura like hailstones, sending him rolling around the ground screaming in pain.
[Wind Release: Gale Cyclone!]
In a panic, Asura forcefully unleashed his first ninjutsu since the beginning of the battle.
But just as the whirlwind of chakra wrapped around his body, Hyuga Soushu shattered it with another hammer strike. The refined Wind Release chakra then scattered into countless thin wind blades.
This was already Asura's limit.
If he couldn't escape Hyuga Soushu's attack, his physical form would eventually disintegrate.
"Hu."
Gritting his teeth, Asura burned his soul energy directly, unleashing a burst of golden light to intercept Hyuga Soushu's torch pole. He then pushed off the ground with both palms and slid backward, breaking free from their dangerously close engagement.
The place he retreated to was precisely where the [Watchtower Totem] had been planted.
Therefore, instead of attacking again immediately, Hyuga Soushu elegantly twirled his torch pole before pointing it toward Mount Myoboku and barking out commands: "Shogunate Ninja Force, listen well!"
"Roger!"
The freshly mobilized Shogunate Direct-Control ninja units responded in unison.
"First to Third Battalions, move up to provide support! Begin sweeping from the Left Flank Positions of Mount Myoboku toward the right, then proceed to reinforce Hatake Sakumo and others!"
As the command rang out, more than three hundred shinobi broke away from the Shogunate Direct-Control units and reentered the battlefield, each led by their respective Jonin Officers!
At this point, the outcome of the battle had become decisive!
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