The blazing fire and golden sand dyed the entire sky in two halves—one red, one gold.
Even from a great distance, everyone present could feel the scorching heat radiating from the clash.
This battle, moment by moment, was shattering Sasuke Uchiha's understanding of the shinobi world.
Up until now, Sasuke had always believed that the Uchiha clan's Fire Style jutsu were the strongest. But as he gazed at the inferno before him, fire so intense it looked like it could incinerate the sky, that Uchiha pride was once again ground into the dirt.
The Fire Style he was so proud of, when compared to the one Jiraiya now displayed, was like a firefly trying to outshine the moon. And the Gold Dust Jutsu controlled by the Kazekage far surpassed Gaara's sand, one ruled the sky, the other barely the ground.
'So this... is the power of a Kage?'
The clash between fire and gold continued.
To the naked eye, the front of Rasa's golden sand began to melt instantly before the blazing heat, losing form and control.
This alone was enough to prove the intensity of the flames and the sheer power behind Jiraiya's Fire Style.
And yet, Jiraiya didn't relax at all. In fact, he grew more tense, forehead clutching with wrinkles, because as someone directly engaged in the battle, he could clearly see—it was only the front layer of the Gold Dust being melted.
Gold, being a metal, didn't conduct heat efficiently.
And the sheer volume of the Gold Dust spread across the sky was simply too massive.
Then suddenly, from within the sea of flames that looked like a mountain of fire, a gigantic golden spinning top shot forth, rotating rapidly as it flew straight toward Jiraiya.
"So it's spinning to generate a vacuum barrier, shielding itself from the flames? Clever."
"Ninjutsu: Wild Lion's Mane Technique!"
Jiraiya's silver-white hair instantly extended and transformed into countless white tendrils that shot out toward the spinning Gold Dust top. In mere moments, they wrapped tightly around it. As his hair constricted, an ear-piercing grinding sound rang out—and under that pressure, the spinning top was forcibly brought to a halt by nothing but Jiraiya's hair.
At that moment, Jiraiya had already prepared his next move.
A bright chakra sphere formed in his right hand, emanating intense chakra. Leaping forward, he closed the distance and slammed the chakra sphere directly onto the golden top.
In an instant, what had looked like an unbreakable construct now turned fragile before that chakra sphere.
Like ice meeting fire, the Gold Dust began to shatter.
As the chakra sphere dug into the structure, penetrating it, Jiraiya immediately leapt away—
And then—
Boom!
A thunderous explosion rocked the battlefield.
Golden dust scattered into the air like a rain of shimmering gold.
"So... so strong! Kakashi-sensei, what jutsu was that?!"
Naruto's eyes were wide with awe, practically glued to the scene.
Kakashi blinked, then glanced at Naruto before replying, his tone filled with nostalgia.
"That jutsu is called the Rasengan. It was created by the hero who saved Konoha—the Fourth Hokage himself. What's more… it's a jutsu that requires no hand seals."
!!!
Sasuke stiffened in shock, but Naruto was already hopping in excitement.
"So strong! I'm definitely going to make Pervy Sage teach me that jutsu!"
A flicker of jealousy rose in Sasuke's heart because he knew that if Naruto really learned that jutsu, then Naruto might truly surpass him.
"Damn it...!"
This time, Sasuke finally realized how powerful shinobi from the outside world truly were. Meanwhile, he had been stuck here playing childish games with Naruto and the others.
Clenching his fists tightly, the two tomoe in his Sharingan spun furiously.
He had to observe this battle carefully, to understand just how far the gap was between himself and these real powerhouses.
But just then, he noticed that his Sharingan couldn't detect Jiraiya's presence.
Sasuke immediately understood.
He must've hidden himself using the smoke and light from the explosion. But where exactly did he go? How could he evade the perception of the Sharingan?
With Jiraiya vanishing and the flames losing their chakra support, the fire was quickly extinguished by the sand. The entire forest turned into a golden desert. But not only was there no sign of Jiraiya, but Gamabunta had also vanished.
However, while Jiraiya's concealment could deceive the Sharingan, it couldn't fool Rasa, who now possessed extraordinary sensory abilities.
"This feeling... is it a barrier technique?"
"Gold Dust Shuriken!"
In an instant, countless Gold Dust shuriken shot out from beneath Rasa's feet, flying toward a massive tree half-buried in the sand. Hidden among its leaves—was a red toad.
"How is that possible?!"
Within the barrier of Toad Gourd Prison, a concealment technique unique to Mount Myōboku, Jiraiya was stunned.
That was a barrier that should have been undetectable. How did the opponent discover it?
But now wasn't the time to figure that out.
The red toad quickly leapt out from the foliage to evade the incoming attack. At the same time, its mouth opened wide, and Jiraiya burst out from within, a Rasengan forming in his hand as he rushed toward Rasa.
The red toad simultaneously attacked from another angle, extending its tongue in an attempt to bind Rasa.
And from above Rasa's head, a massive shadow fell. It was the missing Gamabunta, descending from the sky, twin swords in hand!
Rasa, standing upon his floating cloud of Gold Dust, was instantly caught in a three-way pincer attack!
"Father!" Temari cried out from afar, shocked by the scene.
Yet Rasa didn't even flinch. Facing Jiraiya's overwhelming assault, he simply clasped his hands together.
"Sage Art Limit—Magnet Style: Gold Dust World Barrier!"
In that instant, Jiraiya felt the sand beneath his feet begin to writhe violently. The Gold Dust surged upward like a geyser, transforming into countless razor-sharp spikes, forming a dense forest of needles all around Rasa.
The red toad's tongue was instantly severed.
Seeing the deadly spiked barrier below, Gamabunta made a split-second decision.
He immediately dissolved the summoning contract and returned to Mount Myōboku.
If he hadn't, even if he didn't die, he would've been severely injured.
As for Jiraiya, he quickly canceled his Rasengan and formed hand seals.
"Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall!"
Using the rising wall of earth to block the incoming Gold Dust, he rapidly retreated.
Moments later, Jiraiya looked grimly at the earth wall, which was now riddled with holes.
"Exceptional sensory abilities and perfect offensive-defense integration with Magnet Style... he's practically impenetrable. So long-range tactics and sudden strikes won't work. And in close combat, he can absorb chakra..."
Jiraiya's forehead tensed up.
"That means if I want to gauge his true strength, I'll have to rely on taijutsu or Sage Mode...?"
At that moment, Jiraiya wasn't the only one deep in thought—so were the other Konoha shinobi.
"As expected of a Kazekage… he's really tough to handle. Shikamaru, if it were you, what would you do?"
Shikamaru shot a look at his teacher, Asuma, but after thinking it over, he answered:
"If it were me, I'd change the battlefield. Somewhere near a river or the sea. Otherwise, that ability is way too broken."
Hearing that, everyone looked at Shikamaru with admiration. As expected of Shikaku's son.
But just then, Sasuke suddenly asked in a low voice:
"Sensei… between those two and that man... who's stronger?"