Jiraiya prepared to act. He didn't believe the Gunbai could reflect Sage Jutsu.
But Tsunade stepped forward: "Jiraiya, let me handle Ryou! I have a few things I want to say to him."
"Tsunade!"
Tsunade stated decisively: "Jiraiya, I know the situation. We must kill Ryou and prevent him from restoring Uchiha Madara's strength."
"I am also a Konoha Ninja, and my love for Konoha is no less than yours."
Sage Fukusaku instructed Jiraiya, "Little Jiraiya, king against king, general against general. You are the strongest among the Sannin right now, so you should lead the attack on Uchiha Madara."
Jiraiya nodded.
Among the Sannin, Jiraiya was currently the one with the strongest intent to kill Ryou.
Orochimaru coveted Ryou's Eternal Life forbidden jutsu and might betray them mid-fight, and Tsunade had not yet severed her feelings for Ryou.
Jiraiya also had deep feelings for Ryou, but for the sake of the Village, he had to sever this bond.
But Madara was right there, and Jiraiya didn't feel safe leaving Tsunade and Orochimaru to handle the dangerous Madara.
Tsunade flew in front of Ryou and stamped, creating a massive crater.
"Ryou, you liar."
Ryou had faked his death, deceiving Tsunade into tears, and then found a way to give her a forbidden jutsu. Although Tsunade had already given up on him, Ryou had deceived her feelings again.
Ryou rested the Gunbai on his shoulder and laughed cynically: "That's called strategic maneuvering, darling!"
"Ryou, thank you very much for your Jutsu, but—"
As Tsunade spoke, she released a portion of the Strength of a Hundred Seal from her Yin Seal.
Ryou looked at Tsunade's Hundred Seals Mode and realized that Tsunade had already learned the Creation Rebirth Technique he had given her.
Given Tsunade's talent, even without Ryou, she would have quickly developed the Creation Rebirth Technique.
After all, Ryou had reverse-engineered Creation Rebirth based on Tsunade's Ninjutsu data.
It wasn't that Ryou was more talented; it was because Tsunade lacked the time.
During the Third Ninja World War, Tsunade, who hadn't yet developed hemophobia, was the busiest, constantly rushing from one battlefield to another to treat the wounded.
Boom—
Tsunade smashed her fist into the ground. Instantly, Ryou felt as if a volcano had erupted, and the spot where he stood was utterly shattered by Tsunade.
"I'm sorry, but for the sake of the Village, I must kill you this time."
Ryou flipped backward several times, avoiding the range of Tsunade's Monstrous Strength, then looked at the fragmented ground.
Ryou swallowed. Getting hit by Tsunade really meant death.
Among the Sannin, Orochimaru was the one Ryou most wanted to fight.
It wasn't because he was weak.
It was because Jiraiya had Sage Mode, whom Ryou couldn't defeat, and Tsunade's fighting style was close-quarters combat, and the Gunbai couldn't reflect Taijutsu.
Compared to them, Orochimaru was slightly easier to handle.
Ryou activated the Mayfly Technique and sank into the earth: "Tsunade, I won't kill you, but once I catch you, I'm going to spank you hard!"
"Bastard!"
Tsunade charged forward like a Tyrannosaurus Rex, and the scenery along the way was smashed away by her Monstrous Strength.
This scene startled Orochimaru.
Tsunade, don't kill my darling.
Even Madara couldn't help but look sideways: "Hashirama's granddaughter? This Monstrous Strength really resembles Hashirama! But does she still need to rely on Ninjutsu to use it?"
"This generation of young people... they're lacking!"
Tsunade's forbidden jutsu were almost all passive abilities of Hashirama.
Seeing this, Jiraiya felt relieved and then glanced at Orochimaru beside him.
"Orochimaru, how long has it been since we fought side-by-side?"
Orochimaru snorted, drew the kusanagi sword from his mouth, and looked extremely seriously at Madara standing atop the Gedo Statue across from them.
Orochimaru pretended not to care, but he was silently calculating in his heart.
How long had it been since they fought side-by-side?
Too long!
Since the Sannin became famous, they hadn't gone on missions together. The reason was that a combination of three Jonin, especially three Super Jonin, was undoubtedly a waste of manpower.
Jiraiya had to stay in the Land of Rain to look after the orphans, Tsunade traveled everywhere to treat the sick, and Orochimaru was busy with dissections.
They really didn't have the time.
Jiraiya didn't mind that Orochimaru didn't reply and smiled. Maybe this would be the last time they cooperated side-by-side!
In that case... cherish it properly!
"Let's go, Bunta!"
"Alright!"
The Three Toad Brothers of Mount Myōboku swarmed forward, each unleashing Ninjutsu to attack Madara and the Gedo Statue beneath his feet.
"Water Release: Gunshot!"
"Fire Release: Great Flame Bullet!"
"Wind Release: Sand Dust!"
Madara looked disdainful on the surface, but inwardly, he constantly wanted to move closer to Ryou. However, being watched by Jiraiya and Orochimaru, he couldn't move.
Ryou was also tied up by Tsunade.
"Damn it, a bunch of juniors! How dare you take advantage of me!"
The Konoha juniors taken advantage of the powerless Old Madara, openly carrying him into the bamboo grove; his lips were chapped and dry, unable to cry out, and upon returning, he leaned on his staff and sighed to himself.
Madara roared and activated the remaining Rinnegan dōjutsu power within his body to control the Gedo Statue beneath his feet.
The Gedo Statue stood up, like a giant splitting heaven and earth, about to prop up the sky.
"Roar—"
With a massive roar, a deafening boom echoed between heaven and earth, and the resulting shockwave deflected all the Ninjutsu unleashed by Mount Myōboku.
It was as if a massive hurricane of force twelve or higher had swept through, blowing the toads of Mount Myōboku backward.
About ten miles away from the battlefield.
After Obito and Tobi merged, the Wood Release they used severely frightened the Kusagakure Ninja. However, since Obito didn't have Mangekyo Kamui, this alone wasn't enough to make the Kusagakure people retreat.
Wood Release and Sharingan were enough to drive a small Village like Kusagakure into a frenzy.
But the storm stirred up by the Gedo Statue caused terror in Kusagakure.
"What is that?"
The Kusagakure Ninja saw the terrifying silhouette of the Gedo Statue. They could see it clearly from this distance; how terrifying would it be if they got closer to that monster?
The Kusagakure Leader's breathing nearly stopped the moment he saw the Gedo Statue.
He asked Ryūzetsu: "Ryūzetsu, who exactly captured you?"
Ryūzetsu answered honestly: "Uchiha Madara!"
"What?! Ryūzetsu, you didn't mistake him, did you?"
"No, Lord Ryou said so!"
"Uchiha Madara, by the Sage of Six Paths! Uchiha Madara is actually still alive!"
"No wonder, no wonder! Only Uchiha Madara could stir up such a storm!"
"Run, everyone run quickly! Hurry back to the Village and evacuate everyone."
As soon as he finished speaking, the Kusagakure Ninja fled for their lives.
The Kusagakure Leader glanced at the difficult Obito.
What a pity. If it weren't for Madara, they might have been able to bring this Uchiha person back to the Village to use as a stud.
Chizu carried Ryūzetsu on her back: "Ryūzetsu, let's leave. The turmoil here is no longer something a small Ninja Village like Grass Hidden Village can interfere with!"
Ryūzetsu held her teacher tightly, casting a final glance back in the direction of the Gedo Statue.
Lord Ryou, please take care!
After the Kusagakure people left, Obito collapsed to his knees, utterly exhausted.
Although Tobi was doing the fighting, Tobi was also using Obito's body.
"Rin..."
Obito lay on the ground gasping for breath, still whispering Rin's name.
This made Tobi wonder just how fragrant the droppings of this person named Rin were, to have Obito so completely obsessed?
Sage Shima and Sage Fukusaku clung tightly to Jiraiya.
Sage Shima used one hand to block the storm and fearfully asked Sage Fukusaku: "Honey, do you know what this monster is?"
Sage Fukusaku looked at the Gedo Statue with great solemnity: "This thing must have a significant origin. Perhaps only the Great Sage knows its history."
The legends of the Sage of Six Paths and Ōtsutsuki Kaguya date back a thousand years.
Sage Fukusaku and Sage Shima are only eight-hundred-year-old sages; it's normal for them not to know the origin of the Gedo Statue.
In the original work, they didn't know the abilities of the Rinnegan the moment they saw it; they only knew it was the eye of the Sage of Six Paths.
The Great Toad Sage did not have documentation regarding this in Mount Myōboku's literature.