— — — — — —
The moment Renzo's shadow clone heard that, he chuckled. "Okay, yeah—maybe I was a little curious to see how things would play out."
"Anyway, the main body's already on his way with two full squads. Mission straight from Minato."
"But he can't just ditch his post right now—he's got to protect Kakashi, Obito, Kurenai, and the rest."
"I mean, if you think about it, I did my part. Those are your precious students, right? Handpicked and handed off to my main body by your golden boy—the Fourth Hokage himself."
"If he wasn't stuck babysitting that whole crew, he probably would've been here by now. So, um... yeah—not really my fault you got your ass kicked."
Jiraiya: "…"
So basically… Minato set him up?
No, wait—this still feels like Renzo's fault. That bastard can teleport an entire group across the battlefield if he wants to.
"By the way," the shadow clone added with a sly grin, "why didn't you just go into Sage Mode yesterday? You were getting crushed."
Jiraiya coughed awkwardly. "Well, uh… there wasn't enough time, alright? You don't get it—Sage Mode takes prep time."
He was clearly avoiding the topic. Which, of course, just made Renzo's clone even more interested.
"Oh, come on! I learned Sage Mode through Orochimaru and Ryūchi Cave, remember? Don't try to play dumb with me."
"Isn't Sage Mode just, like—clap, and boom, you're in?"
Yup. The real body didn't even need to clap anymore. He was practically always in Sage Mode.
After all, he'd already converted his chakra into full sage chakra and merged it with his Source Energy. Being in Sage Mode was just his baseline now.
"..."
Jiraiya looked like he'd been hit with a Rasengan.
"Excuse me? That's total crap!" he snapped. "If you've really trained in Sage Mode, then you should know it takes balancing natural energy with mental and physical energy—it's a process! You don't just snap your fingers and jump in!"
"Nope," the clone said, still all smiles. "Not lying. Tsunade told me herself that the First Hokage could enter Sage Mode with just a clap. Prep time? Doesn't exist!"
"If you do need it? That just means you never mastered it properly."
"And that means…"
He turned to Jiraiya with a mocking look. "You only half-learned it, huh? At best, you're using some fake version."
"Otherwise, no way it'd take you that long!"
"Let me guess—you probably get all ugly when you go Sage Mode, right? Since Snake Sage Mode gives people snake features, the Toad one probably gives you… y'know, toad face."
"So is that why you're avoiding it? You don't wanna look like a freaking frog-human hybrid?"
Well, as expected from a Renzo. This shadow clone had the mouth of a devil.
Jiraiya: "..."
"That's it! I'm beating your punk ass!"
He lunged at the clone, fists flying, clearly going for a brawl.
Too bad he couldn't catch him—Renzo's clone was way too fast.
Internally, though, Jiraiya was panicking.
"This brat actually knows this much? Did he really master Sage Mode?!"
"Wait… is he talking about the perfect Sage Mode that Fukasaku mentioned before? The kind even I couldn't pull off?"
If that were true, and he went up against this kid using his janky, unstable version…
Forget winning—he'd be laughed at for the rest of his life.
With that horrifying thought, Jiraiya immediately dropped the idea of using Sage Mode in the upcoming fight against the Kumo forces.
Unless he was on the verge of death, there was no way he'd bust it out.
Winning or losing was one thing… but he wasn't about to lose his dignity.
Yep, that's it. Dignity is greater than just winning the battle.
— — —
The next morning
After an early breakfast, the Kumo forces launched a fresh assault.
Ay and Killer Bee—Eight-Tails' Jinchūriki—went straight for Jiraiya again.
Meanwhile, Yugito Nii, the Two-Tails' Jinchūriki, made a beeline for Renzo's shadow clone—the same guy who showed up yesterday out of nowhere and kept pulling last-minute saves for the Uchiha.
On paper, the Kumo side had 4,000 troops; the Konoha side had around 3,600.
But the Uchiha clan was there—and every one of them had their Sharingan active.
So in terms of overall fighting power? They were just about even.
"Lightning Style: Hell Stab!"
"Four-Fingered Thrust!!"
Right off the bat, Ay unleashed a powerful move—his body crackling with lightning chakra as he thrust his four fingers, sharpened and fused by chakra, straight at Jiraiya.
"Acrobat!!"
Killer Bee followed, drawing blades even with his mouth.
With his wild, signature style—the Seven Swords Dance—he spun toward Jiraiya like a tornado.
Jiraiya barely dodged Ay's lightning-fast strike, forming hand seals in an instant before spitting out a blob of thick toad oil straight at Killer Bee.
"Toad Oil Bullet!"
The attack splattered all over Bee, drenching him completely.
"Fire Style: Giant Flame Bullet!"
Dodging another attack from Ay, Jiraiya weaved signs again and launched a massive fireball directly at Bee.
The moment the flames touched the toad oil, it ignited with a whoosh—an inferno burst to life, engulfing Killer Bee in a raging blaze.
"Did that do it…?" Jiraiya muttered hopefully.
But the next second, several monstrous octopus tails burst from the flames, swatting the fire away like it was nothing. The force even flung off the burning oil from Bee's body.
Standing in the middle of the now-cleared battlefield was Killer Bee—completely unharmed.
"You've got the nerve to get distracted while fighting me?! Three-Fingered Thrust!"
Ay was furious. Taking advantage of Jiraiya's brief lapse, he surged forward again at insane speed.
"Crap!"
Jiraiya's eyes widened—he couldn't dodge in time. Ay's attack was closing in fast.
BOOM!
Suddenly, a figure appeared next to Jiraiya in a blur. A fist, pitch-black and crackling with power, shot forward to meet Ay's charge.
"Sage Art: Armament Haki—Impact Punch!"
Ay looked stunned to see Renzo appear out of nowhere—but then he noticed the kid was meeting his signature move head-on with a bare fist and burst out laughing.
"You idiot! You're dead meat now!! Hahaha!"
Did this kid really think he could go toe-to-toe with him in close combat?
Did this brat think he was the Third Raikage or something?
BOOOOOM!!
Fist clashed with three extended fingers in a thunderous explosion.
The shockwave blasted out like a hurricane in all directions.
Crack! Crack!
"AAARGHH!!"
The next second, a sickening scream echoed through the battlefield.
Ay's arm snapped with a gut-wrenching crack as the punch connected—bones shattering on impact.
The blow didn't stop there. It kept coming, zeroing in on his chest. At the last possible moment, Ay threw up his other arm to block—
Crack!
That one snapped too.
The shock tore through his body, denting his chest from the force before launching him through the air.
His body soared through the air like a ragdoll, flipping and spinning until it finally slammed into the ground hundreds of meters away—dragging a deep canal through the dirt.
Pffft!
Ay coughed up a mouthful of blood, eyes wide with disbelief as he stared at Renzo from a distance.
"No way..."
Not only had the kid shattered his signature move in a head-on clash, but his strength was on a completely different level. That one punch had done more damage than anything Ay had ever taken before.
If he hadn't instinctively blocked his chest at the last moment, he wouldn't be lying here injured—he'd be dead.
"Big bro!!"
Everything happened in just a flash. Killer Bee finally snapped out of it. He swept his tentacle legs across the ground, forcing Jiraiya back, and raced toward Ay.
"Big bro, you okay?!"
In a blur, Bee appeared at Ay's side. Seeing his brother in such a wrecked state filled him with both shock and rage.
He turned toward Renzo with a fierce glare.
"You finally decided to show up, huh?" Jiraiya exhaled, finally catching his breath. "Another second and I'd be toast."
He wouldn't admit it out loud, but he regretted not using Sage Mode from the start.
Fighting both Ay and Killer Bee at the same time had been reckless—borderline suicidal.
"I swear, kids these days are insane..." he muttered, still shaken.
.
.
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