Sea, But the Sea Does Not Welcome Me, Jiraiya!
Is it him…?!
Within the towering skeletal frame of Susanoo, Leo opened his scarlet Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan and locked eyes with the figure who had just sent him flying with a single powerful blow.
That familiar silhouette—
Though the face had changed slightly over time, there was no mistaking that person.
Leo's eyes flickered with faint surprise, but it vanished almost immediately, replaced by his usual cold indifference.
---
"Jiraiya…!"
At the same time, Princess Tsunade's eyes widened in shock. The figure standing before her, blocking her path, was someone she never expected to see here, in the middle of this devastating battle.
"Toad Sage! Now making his grand entrance!" the man declared, striking a familiar and exaggerated pose.
He had returned.
A true Sannin like Tsunade herself...
The Toad Sage — Jiraiya!
No one could have expected this. After rescuing Tsunade and returning to the village to help her become the Fifth Hokage, everyone assumed he had once again departed on his travels.
So why was he here now? Had he returned to the village quietly… or had the chaos of battle lured him back?
Leo stared at him from within the blue armor of Susanoo, his eternal eyes narrowing.
It doesn't matter.
A mere Jiraiya cannot change anything.
The crimson glow of his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan pierced the distance between them, filled with icy killing intent. That Rasengan just now—it may have been powerful, but to Leo, it was no more than a brief annoyance.
---
"Jiraiya-sama?!"
Elsewhere, Hatake Kakashi caught sight of the white-haired man and couldn't help his surprise. For a moment, relief flickered in his lone Sharingan eye.
Jiraiya was not just a famous shinobi—he was a legend, a sage. His appearance alone could shift the tides.
And others were already feeling it.
"It's really Jiraiya-sama…!!"
Konoha shinobi throughout the battlefield exclaimed in astonishment and joy.
Among them, elite jōnin such as Hyuga Hiashi, Nara Shikaku, Yuhi Kurenai, and Mitarashi Anko visibly relaxed. Tension that had gripped them like a vice now released, if only slightly.
Tsunade looked back at her old comrade. "Glad you could make it," she muttered, half-smirking.
Jiraiya gave a trademark grin. "You didn't think I'd let you have all the fun, did you?"
He approached her calmly. The injuries that Leo had inflicted upon Tsunade just moments ago were now fully healed, thanks to the regenerative power of her Byakugō no Jutsu—the Hundred Healing Technique.
"Be careful, Jiraiya," Tsunade said more seriously. "The enemy in front of us… He may really be the legendary Uchiha Madara."
Jiraiya's eyes narrowed. "That's hard to believe, but..." He shook his head. "The chakra I'm sensing from him... it's unlike anything I've ever felt. It might just be true."
---
"That is…"
"Guy?!"
Jiraiya's eyes swept the battlefield, and he noticed a body lying beneath the cliffs formed by the massive explosion from earlier—Might Guy.
Even from this distance, it was clear that he had given everything.
Tsunade clenched her fists in sorrow and rage. "Guy opened all Eight Inner Gates… the Death Gate! And he still couldn't kill that bastard!!"
"What?!" Jiraiya's jaw dropped.
"He used the Eighth Gate… and even then, it wasn't enough?!"
His gaze snapped to Leo, now standing calmly within his towering Susanoo. Unbelievable… someone had survived the full wrath of Might Guy's final technique?
"What kind of monster can survive that?" Jiraiya muttered. "Is this really… Madara Uchiha?"
For the first time since he'd arrived, true unease passed over his face.
---
"Pervy Sage!!"
A shout broke through the chaos. From beyond the battlefield, Naruto Uzumaki, trapped behind a dozen of Leo's Shadow Clone-controlled Susanoo shells, cried out.
"Pervy Sage!! Get that bastard!! Avenge Bushy Brows! And Asuma-sensei too!!"
Jiraiya's gaze snapped to the boy he had once trained. "Naruto…"
Then he turned toward Tsunade. "Asuma too…?"
Tsunade nodded gravely.
Jiraiya lowered his head. "The Third… Asuma… now Guy…"
He clenched his fists. First Hiruzen was taken from them by Orochimaru, and now his students were being cut down, one by one.
"The so-called Madara… I'd like to see what you're really made of."
Jiraiya's voice dropped to a low growl. His sage-like cheer vanished, replaced by the wrath of a Konoha legend.
---
Swish! Swish! Swish!
More chakra signatures suddenly flickered to life. Dozens of masked figures emerged from the shadows—members of Root.
And then—
Swish!
An old figure moved with calculated stealth, bypassing the Shadow Clone Susanoo guards and landing smoothly beside Tsunade and Jiraiya.
Shimura Danzō.
The old snake himself had slithered into the battlefield.
Was it because he had seen Tsunade falter? Had he come to present himself as the final savior of Konoha, just so he could claim the position of "5.5th Hokage" after the smoke cleared?
How laughable.
Both Tsunade and Jiraiya looked over, startled by his arrival.
"Danzō?!"
"In times like this," Danzō said with feigned righteousness, "how could I possibly ignore an enemy threatening Konoha's future?"
Jiraiya and Tsunade shared a look and rolled their eyes.
Still… at this moment, they needed all the help they could get.
---
Then came a voice—dark and echoing.
"That little brat from the Shimura clan?"
Leo's voice rang out from within the Susanoo, eyes locking onto Danzō.
"Do you remember when Hashirama and I walked these lands together? You were still clinging to your mother's breast, weren't you? And now you dare stand before me?"
Eternal Mangekyō glowed brighter, pulsing with an ancient, malevolent chakra.
Danzō sneered. "I don't know how you've survived or why you still look so young… But your era is over! I, Shimura Danzō, am no longer a child!"
Leo smirked. "Is that so?"
His words were soft, but there was menace behind them.
Then he glanced to the distance—toward his dozen Shadow Clones.
---
Swish! Swish! Swish!
In perfect synchronicity, each of the 'Shadow Clone Leo' withdrew their Susanoo armor and leaped into the air, landing around the original.
They stood like sentinels, flanking the battlefield's center.
Then Leo's voice echoed again:
"Leave Konoha… or die."
The words hung heavy in the air. This was his final mercy.
Tsunade didn't even blink. "Not happening."
Jiraiya gave a small grin, glancing at her. "Well, I'm still a Leaf shinobi. And at this moment… I follow the orders of the Fifth Hokage."
His place was by Tsunade's side.
"Root shinobi!" Danzō barked. In an instant, every Root operative gathered behind him in formation.
Without the Susanoo Shadow Clones blocking them, the rest of the Leaf forces—Kakashi, Anko, Kurenai, Hiashi, and the others—swiftly joined Jiraiya and Tsunade's side as well.
For the first time, Konoha's scattered defense looked unified again.
---
Leo stood above them all, surrounded by his clones.
And yet, he smiled.
"Do you know…"
"When people fixate too much on one enemy, they forget to check their blind spots."
A dark chuckle escaped his lips.
He had planned for this all along.
As Konoha's shinobi gathered all their hope behind one united front, they had no idea—
That the true danger had only just begun.
---
To be continued...
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