The Raikage felt Jiraiya's Ōdama Rasengan pressing relentlessly against his back. The massive sphere of chakra continued spinning with devastating force, trying to overpower the resistance of his Lightning Release Chakra Mode and push him farther forward.
Realizing how easily he had been deceived, A exploded with rage.
"Damn you, Jiraiya!"
An even greater amount of chakra burst violently from his body. The electrical arcs forming his armor intensified and spread around him, making the air tremble and evaporating part of the water and mud covering the battlefield. The pressure became so great that even Jiraiya felt his arms beginning to shake as he struggled to keep the Rasengan pressed against the Raikage's back.
Despite how well his strategy had worked, Jiraiya knew the Fourth Raikage's Lightning Release Chakra Mode would not be broken so easily. The Ōdama Rasengan was still forcing A to resist, but the dense layer of lightning chakra absorbed much of the impact before it could reach his body directly. Little by little, the balance of power began to shift.
The Raikage planted both feet firmly into the ground and tightened every muscle in his body. Although the Rasengan was still pushing him forward, his movement gradually began to slow. Jiraiya frowned as he realized A's defense was starting to overpower his technique.
"His armor is even tougher than I expected."
The massive sphere of chakra continued spinning, but the electrical pressure surrounding the Raikage grew stronger by the second. Small discharges began reaching Jiraiya's hands and arms, sending sharp pain through them.
A slightly turned his head. The fury was still visible on his face, but now a threatening smile had appeared as well.
"That was a good plan, Sannin" he said as he increased his chakra once more. "But you made a mistake by getting this close."
The Raikage's right arm began moving backward. His elbow became wrapped in an even denser concentration of Lightning chakra as he prepared a direct counterattack against Jiraiya. At this distance, a single clean hit could cause devastating injuries.
Jiraiya understood the danger immediately. If he tried to maintain the Ōdama Rasengan for even a few more seconds, he risked taking the attack head-on. He might manage to injure the Raikage, but the price would be far too high.
"I guess this part of the plan ends here" he muttered.
Without wasting any time, Jiraiya removed one hand from the Rasengan and quickly formed a seal. His white hair began growing at an incredible speed, with long strands shooting out behind him like ropes and reaching toward one of the trees still standing on the opposite side of the swamp.
The hair wrapped tightly around the trunk.
Just as the Raikage threw his elbow backward, Jiraiya dispelled the Ōdama Rasengan and used the tension in his hair to pull himself away. The Sannin's body was launched backward, while A's elbow tore through the space where Jiraiya had been only an instant earlier, releasing a powerful shockwave that sent mud flying and destroyed part of the ground.
Jiraiya flew across the battlefield at high speed as his hair continued pulling him toward the tree. Once he reached the other side of the swamp, he released his grip, twisted in midair, and landed with one hand against the ground. His sandals slid several meters before he finally came to a stop.
His breathing had become slightly heavier, and small burns left by the electrical discharges could be seen across his arms. Even so, he had escaped before the counterattack could reach him.
At the center of the swamp, the Raikage slowly straightened himself. Parts of his lightning armor flickered from the impact of the Ōdama Rasengan, but it remained active. The back of his clothing had been damaged, and a faint mark could be seen where the technique had struck him.
The attack had failed to break through his defense, but it had not been completely useless either.
A turned toward Jiraiya with a far more serious expression than before.
"You managed to fool me and escape my counterattack" he admitted as Lightning chakra once again surged around his entire body. "Now I understand why they call you one of the Legendary Sannin."
Jiraiya stood up as his hair slowly returned to its normal length.
"And now I understand why everyone talks about your ridiculous durability" he replied while returning to his fighting stance. "Though you really should control that temper of yours. It makes you too easy to trick."
A vein appeared on the Raikage's forehead.
His Lightning Release Chakra Mode exploded around him once again.
"Try fooling me again!"
The ground beneath his feet cracked as he prepared to charge.
Jiraiya watched every movement carefully. The first part of his strategy had worked. He had managed to land a hit, force A to spend even more chakra maintaining his armor, and prove that speed alone would not be enough to defeat him.
However, he had also confirmed something troubling. Even a direct hit from the Ōdama Rasengan was not enough to easily break through the Fourth Raikage's Lightning Release Chakra Mode. If Jiraiya wanted to win, he would need to find another way to weaken that defense before risking another close-range attack.
The battle continued without giving either of them even a moment to rest.
A disappeared and reappeared across the battlefield like a blue flash, launching punches, kicks, and charges powerful enough to destroy entire sections of the terrain. Jiraiya responded with a constant combination of ninjutsu, shadow clones, and hair techniques, carefully avoiding a direct contest against the Raikage's monstrous physical strength.
Every collision shook the ground.
Jiraiya raised an earthen wall to stop one of A's charges, but the Raikage smashed straight through it without losing much speed. The Sannin barely managed to move aside in time, leaving behind a shadow clone that was immediately destroyed by the impact. Before A could turn around, Jiraiya's hair shot out from the side and tried to wrap around one of his arms.
The Raikage reacted instantly.
A burst of Lightning chakra spread across his body and tore through the strands before they could fully restrain him.
Jiraiya retreated several meters, his breathing becoming heavier. Although both men were fighting with everything they had, the balance of victory was slowly beginning to tilt in favor of the Fourth Raikage.
Jiraiya possessed a far greater variety of techniques and much more versatility, but A had several advantages that were extremely difficult to overcome: his speed, his endurance, and his incredible ability to keep fighting without slowing down.
Every time Jiraiya prepared a technique, the Raikage found a way to break through it or avoid it. Every time the Sannin managed to land a hit, the Lightning Release Chakra Mode absorbed most of the damage.
On the other hand, a single direct strike from A could decide the entire battle.
Jiraiya jumped backward once again as the Raikage's fist destroyed the place where he had been standing only an instant earlier.
"Damn it."
He landed on a rock and carefully studied his opponent.
"Without Sage Mode, the best I can do is probably keep this fight at a stalemate."
Jiraiya knew perfectly well how much of a difference that transformation would make. Sage Mode would greatly increase his strength, speed, endurance, and perception. It would also allow him to use far more powerful techniques and follow the Raikage's movements more easily.
"If I could activate it, I could probably beat him."
But there was an obvious problem.
He did not have the time.
To enter Sage Mode, Jiraiya needed to remain still long enough to gather natural energy. Against a man capable of crossing huge distances in a fraction of a second, that was nearly impossible.
And Jiraiya had not arrived on the battlefield in good condition to begin with.
When he received the message informing him of the situation, he had been at Mount Myōboku. For the past several days, he had been avoiding his responsibilities and isolating himself from the shinobi world.
The death of his student still weighed heavily on him.
He had spent that time with the toads, trying to endure the pain and put his thoughts in order, far away from Konoha and everyone who might expect him to keep moving as though nothing had happened.
He had only returned a day earlier when he learned about the battle. The moment he understood how serious the situation was, he left immediately for the battlefield.
He did not rest.
He did not prepare supplies.
He did not even take the time to fully recover his strength.
He had run for nearly an entire day just to arrive as quickly as possible. By the time he finally reached the battlefield, the area was already covered in corpses, wounded shinobi, and the remains of countless techniques.
There had been no time to stop and think.
He had summoned three giant beasts from Mount Myōboku to contain the Two-Tails Jinchūriki and then immediately thrown himself into battle against the Fourth Raikage.
Those summons alone had consumed a massive amount of chakra. The long journey, the emotional exhaustion, and the nonstop fighting were finally beginning to take their toll.
Jiraiya could feel his muscles becoming heavier with every movement. His chakra reserves were still considerable, but they were nowhere near full.
"If I had arrived rested, I could keep this fight going for much longer."
Jiraiya dodged another charge from the Raikage and responded by launching a mass of oil, which A avoided without difficulty.
"Given enough time, I might even be able to wear him down."
The Raikage suddenly appeared beside him and launched a horizontal strike.
Jiraiya ducked, feeling A's arm pass only a few inches above his head. The force of the attack was enough to tear away several strands of his hair and carve a deep line into the ground behind him.
The Sannin extended his hair toward a distant rock and used it to pull himself backward.
"But in this condition…"
He landed awkwardly, his feet sliding across the dirt.
"I don't think I can keep this up much longer."
The Fourth Raikage seemed to have reached the same conclusion. A watched Jiraiya's heavy breathing and the growing stiffness in his movements.
"You're tired, Sannin" he said as a slow smile appeared on his face. "Your techniques are annoying, but you're getting slower."
Jiraiya straightened himself and gave him a casual smile, even though he knew the Raikage was right.
"You should worry more about yourself. I've forced you to spend quite a bit of chakra maintaining that armor."
"I still have more than enough to crush you."
The Lightning Release Chakra Mode intensified again. A lowered his body slightly, preparing for another charge, while Jiraiya brought one hand toward the ground, ready to raise another defense.
But before either of them could continue, a strange sound echoed across the battlefield.
Clank.
Both men stopped.
Clank. Clank.
It was a heavy metallic sound, like several chains being dragged and pulled tight at the same time.
Jiraiya and A turned their heads almost simultaneously.
The sound was coming from the area where Killer B was fighting Baku and the Ino–Shika–Chō formation.
In the distance, a powerful light began rising from the ground.