With a bang, Orochimaru exploded into smoke, and even the summoning scroll he had swallowed earlier vanished with him.
Ryou's expression soured. "Damn it, a Shadow Clone? When did he do it?"
Ryou recalled carefully; he estimated that Orochimaru had used the Shadow Clone while he was distracted signing the contract with the Ryūchi Cave summoning scroll.
His real body had likely escaped through the ground.
Ryou looked back at the forest across the bridge; a little further and they would pass through the Land of Grass.
Once in the Land of Fire, it would be Konoha's home turf.
Orochimaru had many good things: Eight Branches Technique, Living Corpse Reincarnation, Edo Tensei... which of these wasn't a forbidden jutsu?
Especially Edo Tensei; it was practically the number one bug-level forbidden jutsu in the Ninja World.
Ryou wanted to squeeze more gold coins out of Orochimaru and was about to give chase when a White Zetsu clones suddenly emerged from the soil.
"Lord Ryou, the Konoha army is gathering outside the Land of Grass. Don't chase him."
Ryou snorted. "The Konoha army?! Are you saying I should avoid their edge?"
Ryou felt a bit annoyed. The moment he planned to go further, White Zetsu appeared. Old Demon Madara was clearly reminding him that he was being watched and shouldn't try any tricks.
The White Zetsu clones stepped aside. "If Lord Ryou insists on going head-to-head with the Konoha army, I won't stop you, but Lady Tsunade..."
Ryou was speechless. "Fine, fine, I'll go back!"
Ryou, carrying the Gunbai and the Kama on his back, walked toward Madara's direction.
Ryou had already signed the summoning contract with Ryūchi Cave, so the goal of this trip was fulfilled; there was no need to act on his own initiative anymore.
Besides, with the Konoha army keeping an eye on the Land of Grass, the safest place was by Madara's side.
But the more Ryou thought about it, the angrier he became.
He grabbed the White Zetsu clones that had just delivered the message and instantly refined it.
Before its consciousness faded, the White Zetsu clones was speechless—you even kill your own teammates!
After absorbing a White Zetsu, Ryou generated another life spore. He split off a clone formed from a life spore and used Earth Release to head toward the border of the Land of Grass.
Ryou had suffered so many grievances in Konoha; now that his luck had turned, he naturally wanted to show off.
This was the saying: To achieve wealth and honor and not return home is like walking in the dark wearing fine silks.
He had to let everyone in Konoha know that Ryou was no longer the same as before; from now on, the roles of attacker and defender had swapped.
The three-year term is up; welcome back the Dragon King!
...The Jonin of Konoha were already arguing in a chaotic mess.
The Third Hokage was so shocked he stopped smoking. "Wood Release? How could Uchiha Madara possibly know Wood Release?"
Senju Gyokushun clutched his head, his eyes filled with disbelief. "Impossible, absolutely impossible! How could someone from the Uchiha have Lord First's Wood Release?"
Wood Release was a legend even within the Senju Clan; searching through the records, only the Senju founder Asura and Hashirama had awakened it.
How could an Uchiha Ninja use Wood Release? And Uchiha Madara at that!
Jiraiya coughed twice, and just as he was about to speak, Minato spoke for him.
"Sensei said is true. When I arrived, I saw a Wood Golem as tall as the Hokage Rock. It was that Wood Human that killed Orochimaru-senpai with a single punch."
"..."
The Third Hokage now completely believed the fact that Uchiha Madara possessed Wood Release.
But this really isn't logical for Ninjutsu!
The Sharingan and Wood Release are opposites. Now that Uchiha Madara has both, who in the entire Ninja World is a match for him?
The Third Hokage thought hard. No one! Not a single person!
Even if Lord First were resurrected... it's over, it's really over this time!
Jiraiya said with a pale face, "Sensei, Tsunade, Orochimaru, and I had absolutely no power to fight back against Uchiha Madara."
"Moreover, I could sense that Uchiha Madara wasn't using his full strength; he was playing with us."
"Uchiha Madara is definitely not someone Konoha can handle alone. We must unite with other hidden villages and form a Shinobi Alliance to subjugate him!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the air in the small forest seemed to freeze.
Because this was clearly impossible; the Third Great Ninja War had been going on for a long time, and everyone was at each other's throats.
Everyone's hands were stained with the blood of each other's relatives; how could they possibly unite under such blood feuds?
Jiraiya looked at everyone and said, "Everyone, I know it's hard, but this is the only way right now. Uchiha Madara's goal is to destroy the Five Great Nations."
"Only if the entire Ninja World unites can we save it."
"Cough, cough..."
Jiraiya spat out a mouthful of blood, and Minato rushed forward to support him.
The Third Hokage stepped forward, his face full of concern. "Jiraiya!"
Jiraiya gripped the Third Hokage's hand. "Sensei, I'm not going to make it. Before I die, please promise me that you will save Tsunade."
"I will, I definitely will."
Jiraiya slowly grew quiet, his eyes fixed on memories of the Ninja Academy.
Tsunade, Orochimaru, Ryou, Hiruko... I really wish we never had to grow up back then; that way, there wouldn't be these partings of life and death.
Everyone, take care!
Ryou, you bastard, you must protect Tsunade well.
You're not completely evil yet; you must find a way to escape from Uchiha Madara's hands!
And Tsunade, farewell!
Orochimaru, I'm coming to join you!
"Hahaha..."
Jiraiya closed his eyes amidst laughter.
The roaming dragon returns to the sea, but the sea does not welcome me, Jiraiya!
"Jiraiya—!"
The Third Hokage's eyes welled with tears as he tightly gripped Jiraiya's hand.
If only Tsunade were here. She is a master of medical arts; she would surely have a way to treat injuries like Jiraiya's. Unfortunately, Tsunade was captured alive by Uchiha Madara.
Tsunade captured, Orochimaru and Jiraiya killed.
The Third Hokage suddenly seemed to age by a decade.
Everything was clearly heading in a good direction; the Third Great Ninja War only had Kirigakure left, and he could have peacefully handed over the Hokage position to the Fourth.
Whether Minato or Tsunade became the Fourth Hokage, the Third Hokage was at ease.
But how did the situation suddenly change so drastically, like dark clouds pressing down on the city?
The Third Hokage felt this was heaven's punishment for him.
Suddenly, with a bang, a cloud of white smoke appeared.
Sage Fukusaku appeared on Jiraiya's shoulder.
"Sage Fukusaku..."
Minato felt as if he had seen a savior and rushed forward, desperate for Sage Fukusaku to save his teacher.
The Third Hokage became excited.
The Sages of Mount Myōboku were even more mysterious than the First Hokage; if they took action, they could surely save Jiraiya.
Sage Fukusaku's body was also covered in bandages, but he was still full of spirit. He walked up to Jiraiya and reached out to transfer the Senjutsu within him to Jiraiya.
Senjutsu could enhance a person's physical constitution dozens of times over.
With the addition of Sage Mode Chakra, Jiraiya's pale complexion visibly regained some color.
Everyone was overjoyed at the sight.
Jiraiya's consciousness began to return; he was being revived.
"...Fuk... Sage Fukusaku..."
Sage Fukusaku patted Jiraiya's shoulder. "Little Jiraiya, don't speak. Your body is still in a critical state. Come back to Mount Myōboku with me; the Great Sage has a way to save you."
"Th... thank you..."
No one likes death, especially with Tsunade trapped in a demon's den; Jiraiya could not die.
The Third Hokage said gratefully, "Thank you, Sage Fukusaku. On behalf of the Hokage of Konoha, I thank Mount Myōboku for its kindness. From now on, Mount Myōboku and Konoha shall share both glory and ruin."
Sage Fukusaku nodded, then prepared to activate the Reverse Summoning Jutsu. Before teleporting, he reminded the Third Hokage.
"Sandaime, Uchiha Madara is not someone who can be defeated by force alone. You must unite with the other hidden villages to subjugate him."