One stroke of the blade, and the head fell.
Staring at the decapitated body of the Daimyo of the Land of Earth, Jiraiya was utterly stupefied.
Ten minutes!
He and Diarmuid had left the Pleasure District one after the other; he had been delayed by ten minutes at most. Yet in that ten-minute window, Diarmuid had launched a frontal assault on the Daimyo Castle and, in such a blatant, grand manner, cut the Daimyo down with a single stroke.
"Oh, Jiraiya, long time no see." Diarmuid flicked the blood from the Kokorowatari and greeted Jiraiya with a chuckle.
"Long time no see, my foot!" Jiraiya cursed. "Is this the 'official business' you were talking about?"
"Of course." Diarmuid nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Jiraiya took a deep breath and asked, "Why? Why would you do something like this? Don't you know this is a capital crime?!"
"Interesting. Given your status in Konoha, you shouldn't be ignorant of who usually commissions these types of tasks. Instead of asking why I accepted the mission, why not ask the high-ranking officials of your Great Nation shinobi villages why they issue such requests in the first place?" Diarmuid swung the Kokorowatari, resting the back of the blade on his shoulder with a smile.
As Diarmuid spoke, Jiraiya opened his mouth several times to retort, but found himself at a loss for words. Those words had effectively cut the ground from beneath his original argument.
During this silence, Kakuzu and Sasori approached. Clearly, Sasori of the Red Sand, with his Red Secret Technique: Performance of a Hundred Puppets, appeared to be one man but had essentially brought an entire army to sack the Daimyo Castle. In reality, even if Diarmuid and Kakuzu hadn't lifted a finger, Sasori could have completed the job alone given enough time.
Jiraiya, sharp as ever, quickly recognized their identities. "S-Rank rogue ninja of Takigakure and S-Rank rogue ninja of Sunagakure... Kakuzu and Sasori of the Red Sand? You've all teamed up?"
"How about it? My teammates aren't bad, right? Like I said, I think you might find a use for us in the future. Don't forget to bring us your business when the time comes, hahahaha!" Diarmuid laughed as he sheathed the Kokorowatari.
Kakuzu then reached down and picked up the head from the ground, while Sasori remarked with dissatisfaction, "I told you, I wanted to keep him as a Human Puppet collection. What was the point of cutting the head off?"
"Don't be so macabre," Diarmuid replied.
After stowing the head, Kakuzu looked at Jiraiya and remarked, "Do you have some inexplicable destiny with the Sannin? We just sent Orochimaru on his way, and now we've run into Jiraiya?"
"Orochimaru?" Jiraiya's brow furrowed with a dark foreboding.
Diarmuid didn't follow up on the comment. Instead, he looked at Jiraiya and said, "Well, our work here is done. Jiraiya, if you want a drink, invite me next time. Now, if you'll please move aside..."
After a short pause, Diarmuid added, "Or, do you intend to meddle in affairs that don't concern you?"
It was true: this was the Land of Earth, and the one they killed was the Earth Daimyo. From the perspective of the Land of Fire, Diarmuid's actions actually aligned with their national interests. As a Konoha shinobi, Jiraiya technically had no reason to intervene.
Yet, for some reason, he felt that if he let Diarmuid walk away now, this man would eventually turn the entire Shinobi World upside down.
"Come to think of it, I haven't been back to Konoha in a long time. Diarmuid, how about coming back with me as a guest?" As Jiraiya spoke, he adjusted the hand guards on his hands.
It had to be said, Jiraiya was a man with a powerful sense of justice. He often took action based on these inexplicable gut feelings and moral compasses, regardless of political standing.
Seeing Jiraiya don his hand guards, Diarmuid sighed softly. "You two go on ahead. I'm going to catch up with this fellow for a bit."
"Don't take too long," Kakuzu warned. Then, he and Sasori vanished in a flash, one to the left and one to the right.
Jiraiya made no move to stop them. Facing two S-Rank rogue ninja and an S-Rank fugitive who had murdered the Third Raikage, he didn't dare be overconfident. Furthermore, he could see that in this "Yorozuya" organization, Diarmuid was likely the leader. If he could handle him, the rest could be dealt with in time.
"I actually thought you were a decent friend. What a shame," Jiraiya said, rolling his wrists.
"Is that so? I don't feel it's a shame at all. Or perhaps, do you think you can actually take me down here?" Diarmuid said with a jovial smile.
The moment the words left his mouth, Jiraiya, offering no reply, dropped into a Tiger seal and roared, "Fire Release: Flame Bullet!"
Jiraiya was one of the few top-tier masters of Fire Release. Though he was proficient in almost everything except Lightning Release, Fire was his specialty. The attack was incredibly fast, screaming toward Diarmuid in an instant.
Diarmuid raised an arm toward the incoming fire. "Black Hole..."
A massive surge of darkness erupted, acting like a literal black hole with an intense gravitational pull. The aggressive Flame Bullet was swallowed whole by Diarmuid, vanishing into nothingness.
A flash of shock crossed Jiraiya's eyes. What kind of jutsu is that?! I've never seen it before!
But it was only for a split second. His battle instincts and talent as a top-tier shinobi were formidable. The moment the Flame Bullet disappeared, Jiraiya lunged forward, his silhouette blurring as he closed the distance and threw a heavy kick.
Diarmuid casually raised a hand to block the strike, but his eyes widened slightly in surprise. The kick seemed ordinary, but the weight behind it was immense!
"Wild Lion's Mane Technique!" The kick was merely a feint; Jiraiya had already completed a seal with his hands.
In the next instant, his long white hair seemed to come alive, surging forward to entangle Diarmuid.
The seamless transition between combat experience and technical skill was truly impressive, leaving Diarmuid momentarily dazzled. This was the first time he had truly experienced the versatile and shifting methods of a high-level ninja. It was a sensation he hadn't felt when fighting Kakuzu, Sasori, Kagami, or even the Third Raikage.
This feeling made Diarmuid put aside the thought of using his trump cards immediately. He wanted to experience this properly and accumulate some experience.
A flicker of his Lightning Body Flicker passed through him. Just as the Wild Lion's Mane was about to bind him, Diarmuid's figure vanished, reappearing at a distance from Jiraiya.
"Water Release: Water Severing Wave!" As Diarmuid manifested in the distance, he exhaled a thin, high-pressure stream of water that cut through the air toward Jiraiya like a laser.
Jiraiya stood his ground, dropping into a defensive stance. "Ninja Art: Needle Jizo!"
His white hair wrapped around his body, instantly hardening to an incredible degree. The Water Severing Wave struck the Needle Jizo but failed to pierce through.
Simultaneously, Jiraiya seemed to have anticipated that his defense would hold. Without a moment's delay, the second stage of the technique was triggered.
"Ninja Art: Needle Senbon!"
The hair protecting him suddenly shot outward like a storm of needles, raining down on Diarmuid's position. The coverage was massive and the speed was blistering. It was fortunate that Jiraiya had not yet entered Sage Mode; otherwise, the Needle Senbon would have gained the property of being "infinite."
As if unable to dodge, Diarmuid stood his ground. However, a powerful surge of Armament Haki manifested around him like an invisible suit of armor. The Needle Senbon struck the Haki as if hitting an impenetrable shell, falling uselessly to the ground.
Jiraiya's eyes flashed with renewed surprise, but his movements didn't falter. He dropped into another Tiger seal.
"Fire Release: Great Flame Bullet!" Jiraiya took a deep breath and exhaled a massive sphere of fire, no smaller than the one Diarmuid had used previously.
If Diarmuid's earlier move relied on his vast chakra reserves to act recklessly, Jiraiya's move was purely technical. He didn't waste excess chakra but used refined technique to maximize the Flame Bullet's power. The giant fireball swallowed the surroundings, the raging flames scorching everything in sight.
"Did I get him?" Jiraiya murmured.
From the start of the fight until now, less than a minute had passed, yet he had already unleashed several powerful techniques. He was truly the strongest combatant among the Sannin. While Orochimaru and Tsunade were exceptional, in terms of raw practical combat power, Jiraiya was undoubtedly a step ahead.
But before he could finish that thought, he looked up sharply at a distant roof. Sure enough, Diarmuid's dashing figure, clad in his haori and hakama, stood there. With the bright moon behind him, he truly looked like a celestial being descended to earth.
"So fast..." Jiraiya whispered.
He felt his jutsu transitions were nearly flawless, one after another, yet Diarmuid hadn't been pulled into his rhythm at all. Instead, he had escaped the area with ease.
By now, the Daimyo Castle of the Land of Earth was in total chaos. An attack on the Daimyo's Estate was no small matter. Diarmuid looked down at the panicked citizens in the streets. He wasn't a heartless monster, after all. He smiled at Jiraiya. "I can't really let loose here. If you're interested, how about we trade blows outside?"
Jiraiya nodded. Aside from the Great Flame Bullet, his other techniques had been relatively contained. It wasn't that he didn't have more powerful jutsu; he simply didn't want to use them here. He didn't want to kill hundreds or thousands of innocent civilians just to take down Diarmuid.
In an instant, Diarmuid used Body Flicker and headed toward the outskirts of the city. He didn't mask his presence. Jiraiya followed immediately.
The two left the Daimyo Castle, traveling ten kilometers into the wilderness until they reached a desolate mountain range. Diarmuid stopped on a rocky outcrop. Jiraiya caught up shortly after.
"It seems you aren't rotten to the core," Jiraiya remarked.
He could tell that Diarmuid didn't want to involve innocent civilians, which is why he proposed the move. Otherwise, with Diarmuid's skills, he could have caused chaos in the city to pin Jiraiya down and escape with ease.
"I'm no demon, after all," Diarmuid replied.
After a short pause, Diarmuid added, "I am curious, though. You should be able to use Senjutsu, right? You are called the Toad Sage, after all. I purposely left you enough time during the trip here, yet you haven't entered Sage Mode?"
Jiraiya's eyes widened in surprise. "You actually know about Sage Mode?"
But before Diarmuid could answer, Jiraiya spoke up: "But to deal with you, I shouldn't need it!"
"That's a bit hurtful. It seems if I don't show a bit of real skill, you're going to look down on me," Diarmuid laughed.
The moment he finished speaking, a powerful surge of Lightning Release chakra erupted from his body. He instantly entered his Lightning Release Chakra Mode.
Jiraiya was shocked. "That's the Raikage's technique..."
But before he could finish, Diarmuid vanished from his sight. Jiraiya's instincts triggered a response, his hair hardening once more to protect his body.
However, in the next second, a powerful kick sent him flying. Jiraiya slammed into a stone cliff over a dozen meters away, shattering it into pieces.