Jiraiya leaped out from the charred forest, panting heavily from exhaustion.
Sage Fukusaku wiped the sweat from his forehead and said solemnly, "Little Jiraiya, your body is reaching its limit. We can't refine Sage Mode Chakra for you anymore."
From Madara's Gedo Statue to the current Deep Forest Emergence, they had already performed many Senjutsu.
Although natural energy is taken from nature and is infinite...
Senjutsu is not pure natural energy; it is a one-to-one synthesis of natural energy, physical energy, and spiritual energy.
It's like a wooden bucket, where Jiraiya's physical and spiritual strength are the shortest planks.
How much Sage Mode Chakra Jiraiya has depends on his stats as a Ninja.
At most, Sage Fukusaku and Sage Shima act as substitutes to refine Sage Mode Chakra for Jiraiya, ensuring he has a steady stream of Senjutsu to use in battle.
However, Jiraiya's Sage Mode still has significant flaws. The conversion rate of Sage Mode Chakra is very low, and after using so many Senjutsu, his body and spirit are already overloaded.
Jiraiya gritted his teeth hard. "Sages, don't worry about me. Keep refining; I can still hold on."
Sage Fukusaku and Sage Shima sighed inwardly as they looked at Jiraiya's struggling form.
Jiraiya's most immature trait was his tendency to shoulder all the burdens himself.
A Ninja of Madara's level was simply not something the Sannin could handle, nor was it something a single Ninja village could deal with.
Such a person could only be defeated by gathering all the forces of the Ninja World to form a Shinobi Alliance.
Tsunade leaped over and began transferring her own Chakra into Jiraiya.
Only then did Jiraiya's condition improve. "Thanks, Tsunade!"
Tsunade shook her head. "Jiraiya, this might be the last time we fight side by side."
Tsunade looked at Madara, who was looking down at them from a distance.
Jiraiya smiled. He felt luckier than Ryou; at least Tsunade was still standing by his side, fighting with him.
Jiraiya wanted to make another heartfelt confession, but then thought better of it. He had already confessed many times; there was no need to waste time on it at a moment like this.
Just as Jiraiya and Tsunade were preparing to risk their lives, Orochimaru's roar rang out.
"Forbidden jutsu: Eight-Headed Serpent Jutsu!"
"Orochimaru!"
Tsunade and Jiraiya couldn't help but look toward Orochimaru's position.
Boom, boom, boom—
The ground cracked violently, and thick snake-shedding mucus splattered everywhere. Orochimaru's body expanded wildly within the white mist, and eight hideous protrusions arched from his back.
In an instant, Orochimaru transformed into a terrifying demon with eight snake heads and eight tails.
Yamata-no-Orochi!
Madara looked at Orochimaru with a hint of amusement. "Yamata no Orochi... interesting."
"When did Orochimaru learn such a forbidden jutsu?"
Jiraiya once again felt that Orochimaru was drifting further and further away from Konoha.
But now was not the time to discuss the Will of Fire. He hoped Orochimaru's Eight-Headed Serpent Jutsu could handle Madara!
Orochimaru, in the form of the Yamata no Orochi, lunged toward Madara.
Tsunade and Jiraiya didn't stay idle. This time, Orochimaru would take the lead, and they would provide support.
Orochimaru's eight snake heads breathed in the surrounding natural energy, releasing white light orbs.
Sage Shima was stunned upon sensing this energy. "Senjutsu?"
Sage Fukusaku shook his head. "It's not Senjutsu. Although this energy has the aura of Sage Mode Chakra, it's far inferior to true Senjutsu."
"Presumably, Little Orochimaru is using some method to drive natural energy. He really is a genius."
Orochimaru hadn't passed the White Snake Sage's trial and couldn't learn Senjutsu, but he wasn't willing to give up on its power, so he developed the Cursed Seal.
Orochimaru utilized the Jugo Clan's affinity for natural energy, extracting their enzymes and merging them with White Snake Chakra to form the Cursed Seal.
This was a low-end derivative of Senjutsu.
Its power wasn't as great as Senjutsu, but it allowed most people to utilize natural energy.
It just had a few side effects: a low compatibility rate and an extremely high mortality rate. It was lucky if one in a thousand people could survive it.
Furthermore, after being branded with a Cursed Seal, the body and mind would suffer long-term erosion, making it very easy to go berserk.
But compared to the high threshold of Senjutsu, Orochimaru's Cursed Seal was clearly an epoch-making creation.
"Orochimaru has also activated his power!"
Ryou pinched Fish Ball's head, looking on with some jealousy. He felt his own power-up was still too conservative.
The Eight-Headed Serpent Jutsu and Cursed Seal transformations had been brought forward by Orochimaru. The Ninja World's meta was starting to shift toward the late-game 'battle of the gods.'
In the future, would any Ninja honestly use hand signs? Techniques like Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet, which required a long time to weave signs, would probably go extinct.
Fish Ball hissed at Ryou. "Ryou, stop pinching me! I'm busy watching the fight!"
Yamata no Orochi: Multi-Lotus Non-Self Continuous Cannon!
The Yamata no Orochi transformed from Orochimaru used the Cursed Seal to absorb surrounding natural energy, then condensed it into white Chakra cannons to blast at Madara.
These Chakra cannons were very similar to the high-density Chakra cannons fired by Jugo in State Two, only larger and more powerful.
Perhaps they were of the same nature... Orochimaru's eight snake heads fired the high-density Chakra cannons with all their might, all directed at Madara's body.
The booming sound felt like rolling thunder.
Madara got a bit annoyed. "Have you had enough?!"
"Wood Release: Wood Dragon Jutsu!"
A giant dragon formed from towering ancient trees burst out from the earth.
The wood dragon's body was as thick as a mountain range, its scales composed of layers of hard bark, its whiskers flexible vines, and its claws sharp as steel... Madara rode the wood dragon as it charged out of the explosion's smoke. The wood dragon immediately bit into the Yamata no Orochi, performing a death coil around it.
The moment the wood dragon touched the Yamata no Orochi, it began violently absorbing its Chakra, then bit off the snake heads one by one.
Whether it was the 'Yellow Head' or 'White Head,' all were crushed into pieces.
Orochimaru let out a wail of pain.
Jiraiya and Tsunade didn't know how to save him.
If they released a Senjutsu Fire Release, it would engulf Orochimaru as well.
The next second, Madara leaped from the wood dragon, holding a dangerous-looking large black rod, heading straight for Jiraiya and Tsunade.
"Uchiha Madara—!"
Another expert?
Madara stopped and looked toward the person who had shouted his name.
The Sannin, Ryou, Fish Ball, and Black and White Zetsu all looked along with Madara.
Turning their heads, they saw a 'Yin-Yang person' with half yellow skin and half white skin, charging into the battlefield in a rage to settle scores with Madara.
"Obito?!"
Ryou was bewildered.
After the Kusagakure Ninja retreated, Obito had run back.
As a Konoha Ninja inheriting the Will of Fire, how could he see Konoha Ninja in trouble and not help?
Obito didn't know how terrifying Madara was; he only had his Will of Fire for his comrades.
Jiraiya and Tsunade were confused. "Who is this?"
To be honest, even if Minato were here, he wouldn't be able to recognize the current Obito at first glance.
Obito saw Jiraiya and Tsunade and shouted happily, "Lord Jiraiya, Lady Tsunade, I am Minato-sensei's disciple, Obito of the Uchiha Clan!"
Jiraiya was shocked. "Obito?! You're not dead?"
Obito nodded. "Lord Jiraiya, I was saved by Uchiha Madara that day. He wanted me to fall into darkness and destroy the Ninja World with him."
Jiraiya and Tsunade looked at Obito, then glanced at Madara.
Obito's status as a 'loser' was common knowledge in the Uchiha; why would Madara want Obito to join him?
Madara felt a bit humiliated.
He firmly believed that the talent of the Uchiha was love, but others didn't know that. The current Obito hadn't lost his love yet, so he hadn't awakened the true power of the Uchiha.
He was so useless, yet Madara had tried to recruit him. Wasn't that telling everyone that Madara had been so close to death that he had to sit at the same table as Obito?
"Obito, you brat, just die!"
Madara was about to kill Obito when Ryou suddenly jumped out.
"Ancestor, Ancestor, let me handle a small fry like this. No need for you to trouble yourself."
"Obito, who told you to come back?"
Ryou generated electricity in his hand, immediately shocking Obito until he foamed at the mouth.
Madara snorted and turned back to deal with Jiraiya and Tsunade.
Obito was still quite impressive; he had successfully distracted Madara for nearly half a minute, at least buying some recovery time for Jiraiya and Tsunade.