"You two really think highly of yourselves."
Obito Uchiha let out a cold, mocking snort as he glanced at Hiruzen Sarutobi and Jiraiya approaching.
Back when he was still in Konoha, those two stood at the very top, figures he could only look up to. Now, that feeling was long gone. To him, they were no longer untouchable.
Ryūjin merely shrugged, his expression calm, almost indifferent. He did not take the approaching master and student seriously in the slightest.
"One each?" he said casually, as if dividing opponents was nothing more than an afterthought.
Obito chuckled under his breath. "Who said I wanted to fight alongside you?"
The next moment, a spiraling vortex twisted into existence within his Sharingan. Space itself warped, swallowing him whole.
In an instant, Obito vanished.
"That is... a space time dōjutsu."
The surrounding Konoha shinobi stiffened, their expressions turning grave. This was no ordinary ocular ability. Compared to standard Sharingan techniques, this was far more dangerous.
"So that is how he bypassed the barrier and abducted Kushina," Minato Namikaze realized, his gaze sharpening.
Ryūjin clicked his tongue.
"Yeah right, just leave like that. Real classy."
Still, he did not look particularly surprised. Obito had seen through his situation clearly. Right now, Ryūjin needed the Nine Tails far more than Obito did.
"One ran away?" Jiraiya frowned slightly, then turned to Hiruzen. "Let me handle the remaining one first, sensei."
Hiruzen nodded without hesitation.
As one of the Legendary Sannin, Jiraiya's strength spoke for itself. Even against an abnormal Uchiha, he should be able to manage, especially with Hiruzen watching from the side.
"Jiraiya, I am not in the mood to entertain you."
Ryūjin's voice was flat. In the next instant, natural energy surged through him as he entered Sage Mode, the Sage Mode of Mount Myōboku.
Without wasting another second, he attacked.
"Magnet Release, Gold Dust: Shigure."
A dense storm of fine golden needles condensed in the air, then shot forward at terrifying speed.
Chi chi chi!
The sheer density and velocity turned the attack into a deadly barrage.
Jiraiya reacted instantly. With precise movements, he used the Body Flicker Technique to evade, narrowly slipping through the relentless rain of gold dust.
Even so, it was far from easy.
"This level of Magnet Release... unbelievable," Hiruzen muttered, his expression darkening.
He had seen Rasa in battle during the Third Great Ninja War. Yet even Rasa's gold dust could not compare to this.
Only someone of Jiraiya's caliber could avoid such an attack. An ordinary shinobi would have been pierced instantly.
And Ryūjin was not finished.
While Jiraiya was forced into constant movement, a Shadow Clone of Ryūjin appeared behind him using the Body Flicker Technique, its speed enhanced by Sage Mode.
"Jiraiya, watch out!" Hiruzen shouted.
His hands moved rapidly.
"Earth Release, Earth Flow River."
The ground beneath the clone turned fluid, dragging it off balance.
Under normal circumstances, that slight disruption would have been enough to ruin an attack.
But Ryūjin had no intention of using a conventional strike.
Crack!
"Chidori Current."
Lightning burst outward instantly, no hand signs required.
A web of electricity spread through the air, fast, wide, unavoidable.
"Lightning Release?" Hiruzen's eyes widened again.
Before Jiraiya could react, the electric net struck him directly.
With no room to evade, he was slammed to the ground.
The legendary Sannin, renowned across the shinobi world, was defeated in a clean, decisive exchange.
No struggle, no drawn out battle.
Just overwhelming execution.
A flash of yellow light followed.
Minato appeared instantly, grabbing Jiraiya and teleporting him away with the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Even so, Ryūjin had not intended to kill him in the first place.
"Sensei!"
"Lord Jiraiya!"
Chōza Akimichi, Shibi Aburame, and the others rushed to his side, shock evident on every face.
That Uchiha was far too strong.
If even Jiraiya fell so quickly, what about Hiruzen?
Their thoughts grew heavy.
Meanwhile, Ryūjin continued his assault.
Golden needles rained down toward Hiruzen in relentless waves.
Clang, clang, clang!
Hiruzen spun his adamantine staff rapidly, forming a tight defensive barrier. Unlike Jiraiya, he could not rely on speed alone.
Still, it was clear he was under immense pressure.
"We need to support Hokage-sama!" Chōza said urgently.
Shibi nodded, and Minato agreed without hesitation.
"Chōza, stay here and watch over Jiraiya. Shibi and I will assist," Minato ordered.
Without delay, both he and Shibi vanished, flanking Ryūjin from opposite sides.
From the right, Minato launched his attack, throwing a Flying Thunder God kunai toward Ryūjin.
But the moment it approached, golden sand surged up and swallowed it whole.
From the left, Shibi's insects swarmed forward in a dense cloud.
Unlike a single strike, this attack was persistent and difficult to block entirely.
Ryūjin raised more sand to intercept, but the swarm continued pressing forward, slowing but not stopping.
At the same time, his pressure on Hiruzen weakened.
Seizing the opening, Hiruzen burst forward, breaking free from the barrage.
For a brief moment, the situation seemed to shift.
"Is that all?" a quiet voice muttered from a distant tree.
Sasori watched with narrowed eyes.
Beside him, Obito had already reappeared.
"Do not underestimate him," Obito said coldly. "He has not shown everything yet."
As if proving his words, Ryūjin remained completely calm.
Even as Minato closed in from behind.
Even as Shibi's insects approached.
"Three against one," Ryūjin said lightly. "That is a bit shameless."
Then, without warning, he vanished.
No sound, no trace.
Even Minato, Hiruzen, and Shibi could not sense him.
For a split second, unease gripped them.
Then, simultaneously, Ryūjin's presence appeared behind all three of them.
"What?"
Shock flashed across their faces.
The movement resembled the Flying Thunder God Technique, yet none of them had seen him place any markers.
They did not realize that Ryūjin had already hidden Flying Thunder God kunai within the gold dust earlier.
Three Ryūjins, three positions.
"Chidori Current."
The voices overlapped.
Crack!
Three lightning nets descended at the same time.
Minato reacted instantly, disappearing with Flying Thunder God.
Hiruzen and Shibi were not as fortunate.
"Adamantine Enclosing Wall!"
Hiruzen hurled his staff. It split into multiple rods midair, forming a defensive barrier above him, barely blocking the attack.
As for Shibi, his body was engulfed by lightning.
But in the next instant, he dispersed into a swarm of insects.
An insect clone.
Even among Konoha's elite, survival always came with contingencies.