It's useless. Even the legendary Jiraiya couldn't do anything against this monster.
"Lord Jiraiya, we have to go back," one of the Konoha ninja said, shaking his head. His voice was filled with alarm. "The Third Hokage has fallen, and the village is in turmoil. Konoha needs a leader of your caliber. Now more than ever."
"There has to be another way," Jiraiya replied stubbornly, clenching his fists. His voice rang with iron. "You said it wasn't the area that was growing, but Uchiha Yue who was moving. Well, let's circle this area and find out where he's hiding."
He couldn't just turn around and run. Rush here in a blaze of glory, only to flee in panic like a coward? No. He's Jiraiya, one of the Great Sannin. Retreating isn't his style.
Soon they were skirting the anomaly zone, moving at top speed. But with each passing minute, Jiraiya's expression grew darker. Hope gave way to a terrible certainty.
It wasn't a matter of movement. This area... it was growing, devouring the earth right before their eyes.
"Uchiha Yue, can you hear me?! I..."
Jiraiya's voice, amplified by chakra, rolled over the forest, but upon reaching the edge of the dead land, it sank like a stone in a swamp. The sound simply vanished, completely absorbed. Jiraiya didn't dare set foot in the cursed territory, but he hoped to reach the Uchiha's mind, appeal to his conscience, awaken the Will of Fire within him.
In vain. There, in the very heart of the anomaly, within the ghostly Susanoo, Uchiha Yue lay motionless. He either didn't know what was happening outside, or he couldn't care less. By the time he woke up, there might be nothing left of the world.
Jiraiya paused, staring into the dead wasteland. How to get inside? How to use his main weapon—his words—to reason with him? Or... how to get close enough to kill him?
"I think I have an idea."
After a moment's thought, he formed hand seals and summoned Fukasaku and Shima, immediately laying out his plan.
"So this is the catastrophe the Great Elder prophesied?" Fukasaku croaked, perched on Jiraiya's shoulder. "Little Jiraiya, he told you not to come any closer. Let's leave it at that. We'll find the Child of the prophecy, and then we'll sort this out."
"No." "Since I'm here, how can I retreat without even trying?" Jiraiya shook his head decisively. "This zone is only absorbing chakra; there's no other direct threat. If I'm fast enough, I'll make it back before my strength runs out."
His gaze was fixed on the dead zone. Today, he would prove to this young Uchiha just how wrong he was!
"Run-e-e!!!"
The panicked cry belonged to Jiraiya himself. He burst into the dead zone, and at that very moment, the golden glow of Sage Mode enveloping him began to fade and flicker like flames in a hurricane. Horror contorted his face. He raced back, squeezing out the last drops of senjutsu chakra, but the deadly aura was sucking it away at a monstrous speed.
"I told you, Jiraiya-kid! You should have listened to the Elder! We're done for now!" Fukasaku screamed desperately.
"Hold on! We have to gather more natural energy! We have to..." Shima echoed.
"It won't work! She's sucking it out faster than we can gather it!"
Jiraiya himself understood this. He ran, distraught at the realization of his own stupidity, but his body was already turning to jelly.
The next moment, the golden glow around him faded like a burned-out lightbulb. Sage Mode vanished. All his chakra and remaining natural energy were drained in an instant.
Jiraiya fell heavily to the ground. He felt his body harden, turning into useless weight. He had no strength... not a drop!
"No... to survive... I have to... I still have..."
With superhuman effort, Jiraiya raised his trembling hand and began to crawl. Slowly, painfully, like a snail, leaving a furrow in the dead earth.
"Lord Jiraiya, we will save you! Don't die!"
Seeing his desperate situation, the Konoha ninja rushed to his aid without hesitation. The moment they crossed the boundary, their chakra began to rapidly drain, and their faces turned pale.
Luckily, Jiraiya, with the last of his strength, had already crawled almost to the very edge. They reached him, grabbed his arms, and dragged him away. But after only a few steps, their legs gave way.
"No... I have no more strength... Lord Jiraiya, I'm sorry, we can't..."
Their chakra had also been drained, and with it their physical strength. They collapsed helplessly to the ground, writhing in agony.
"Nooo..." Jiraiya breathed out bitterly, but was powerless to do anything.
At that very moment, two more shinobi burst into the zone. As if in a relay race, they grabbed Jiraiya and rushed toward the boundary. But after dragging him a few more meters, they too fell limply. Jiraiya's consciousness began to fade.
"I... was wrong..." he whispered, raising his head with difficulty. "Don't listen... to me... go away... you won't save us..."
"Lord Jiraiya, don't say that! We'll get you out!" one of them cried through tears. "Just don't mess with that... Uchiha anymore! He's not a man, he's a monster! A monster no one can resist! Return... and lead Konoha!"
The last two ninja roared with exhaustion and strain, dragging their mentor's heavy body behind them. Finally, at the very edge of the dead zone, they collapsed. Their life force was drained. Their eyes rolled back in their heads.
"Just a little bit more... Lord Jiraiya... you must survive..."
With faces contorted with the effort of their last breath, they pressed their hands against Jiraiya's back and, with a final push, their last will, pushed him beyond the zone. They were left lying lifeless on the cursed ground.
"NO! DON'T! I WAS WRONG! HOW WRONG I WAS!" Jiraiya roared silently to himself, lying on the safe ground.
Hot tears poured from his eyes, mixing with the dirt. If not for his arrogance, if not for his pride... if he hadn't overestimated his strength, these people... they would still be alive.