"That's even more of a shame. The Hydrification Technique is a secret technique of the Hōzuki clan I don't know it either."
With those words, Kisame no longer planned to keep bantering with Furina. After all, the method they'd used to draw Jiraiya away couldn't be maintained for too long. One of the Sannin could return at any moment, and they didn't have much time left to waste.
But before Kisame could attack Furina, another tall figure appeared in front of him, blocking his Samehada and once again repelling him with tremendous force.
"Sorry about that. There was a little mishap earlier these two guys actually used genjutsu to control other people and restrict me. How despicable."
Seeing Jiraiya suddenly appear, Furina wasn't surprised at all. After dragging things out for so long, Jiraiya would have come back eventually even if he'd left. The fact that he was only showing up now made her suspect he'd been observing from outside for a while first.
"I don't know about any mishap, but is this really how you look after your disciple? Naruto was almost killed just now by the guy with the weird sword."
Hearing Furina's jab, Kisame in the distance raised Samehada toward Jiraiya in a gesture, indicating that the person Furina mentioned was him. Seeing this, Jiraiya felt his old face couldn't take it anymore.
In a normal development, shouldn't Furina have said, "It's fine, Lord Jiraiya, you came at just the right time"? How did it turn into this? And that shark-head you're actually playing along, huh?
"Almost killed my beloved disciple, but there's no way I'm letting you two get away now, Akatsuki members."
By the end, Jiraiya was no longer laughing and joking like before. He crouched down and slammed both hands on the ground.
"Toad Mouth Bind Technique!"
Accompanying Jiraiya's voice, the walls around the inn corridor gradually turned into red flesh, enveloping everything.
Faced with this change, Kisame quickly swung Samehada at the "wall," trying to cut through it, but Samehada only left faint scratches on the flesh wall, with no other effect.
"Hahaha, don't bother with useless attempts. The stomach of the Great Toad Sage is indestructible. Just stay here obediently and let it corrode you."
With Jiraiya's laughter, the scratches left by Samehada on the flesh wall quickly healed and disappeared. Seeing this, Itachi in the back couldn't help but frown slightly, but he soon relaxed again.
"Kisame, let's retreat first. Now isn't the time to fight."
With that, Itachi turned and ran toward the corner. Seeing this, Kisame didn't hesitate either and immediately followed Itachi.
After all, he had clashed with both Jiraiya and Furina before and knew neither was easy to deal with. Plus, this was Konoha's territory if reinforcements arrived, they'd be in real danger.
"Don't run!"
Upon realizing the two were trying to escape, Jiraiya immediately chased after them. Seeing this, Furina could only follow.
But reality turned out exactly as she'd thought that so-called toad stomach got a hole punched straight through by Itachi. In the end, any "absolute defense" is bound to get slapped in the face.
"Ugh…" Looking at the huge hole burned by Amaterasu ahead, Jiraiya clearly felt awkward. He now wanted to slap his own mouth twice. Why did he have to show off for no reason? Now the face-slap came so fast.
"This black flame doesn't seem to extinguish. Better to seal it up."
While avoiding Furina's slightly teasing gaze, Jiraiya quickly explained the characteristics of the black flames whether to cover for himself or genuinely intending to seal it, who could say.
"Fire Sealing Method!"
"Didn't expect you to actually seal that black flame. Lord Jiraiya is really reliable~"
"Hahaha, just average."
Hearing Furina's praise, Jiraiya scratched his head with a big smile. He said "average," but the smugness on his face was impossible to hide. Lost in his self-satisfaction, however, he failed to notice the green figure appearing at the hole.
"Dynamic Entry!"
"Gai?"
Before Jiraiya could even feel puzzled, Gai's flying kick had already landed on his face, sending him flying backward instantly. Only then did Gai realize who he had just kicked, and the cheerful smile on his face vanished.
"Lord Jiraiya, I was just observing through my forehead protector earlier and didn't see clearly that it was you…"
After a bit of chaos, Gai explained why he had come. Like Jiraiya, because of Rock Lee's injuries, he also needed to find Tsunade for help. As the most renowned medical ninja in the ninja world right now, only she could treat Lee's injuries.
"You don't need to worry about this. I'm also planning to go find Tsunade and ask her to return to the village to become Hokage. Once that happens, you can ask her to help then."
"I see. Lady Tsunade becoming Hokage is indeed suitable. Then I'll leave it to you, Lord Jiraiya."
After expressing his thanks, Gai didn't linger. After the recent battle, there were still many places in Konoha that needed help.
As for Tsunade's matter, Jiraiya had been her teammate before, so he was naturally much more suitable than Gai. Gai felt completely at ease leaving it to Jiraiya.
"By the way, Lord Jiraiya, I wanted to ask Isn't Karin with you right now? Where is she?"
"You don't need to worry about Karin. She's currently taking care of that girl who was hit by genjutsu. I also left a clone there, so don't worry she's safe."
"Mm." After hearing Jiraiya's arrangements, Furina nodded slightly. Normally he might not seem like it, but when something came up, Jiraiya was actually pretty reliable. At least she hadn't pushed Karin into a pit of fire.
"Let's go. First, take this Uchiha kid back, then we can head off to find Tsunade. I already have a lead on her."
As he spoke, Jiraiya hoisted the unconscious Sasuke onto his shoulder. Before going to find Tsunade, he still needed to get him settled properly after all, the damage from Tsukuyomi wasn't a joke.
...
"Hey, are you coming along with us too?"
After handing Sasuke over for treatment, Furina also expressed her intention to join them in searching for Tsunade. Hearing this, Jiraiya was a bit stunned. He was already bringing Naruto and Karin, which was a bit much, and now adding Furina it looked like a whole family going to force Tsunade into taking office.
"Of course. Lady Tsunade is a ninja famous throughout the ninja world I'd really like to meet her too."
"Oh~ So you admire Tsunade as well, huh? Alright then, since it's come to this, it'd be my fault if I refused now."
Although Furina's reasoning had nothing to do with Jiraiya's assumptions, she had no intention of explaining. As long as she could go along, misunderstandings didn't matter.
And it wasn't entirely a misunderstanding. Besides wanting to show her face more on this trip, she also wanted to build a good relationship with Tsunade. No other schemes just a little craving for the Senju clan's Sage Mode.