The taijutsu of Flower Deer and the other three was no match for Jiraiya.
The four moved like they were in slow motion before him.
Yōkō did not intervene. An opportunity to spar with Jiraiya was precious for any ninja.
Although Jiraiya was anxious, he currently held no killing intent towards his Konoha comrades, so there was no need to worry about the safety of Flower Deer and the others.
Might as well let them use this as practice.
Jiraiya's taijutsu didn't have many special tricks; it followed a simple, solid, and robust path, with each punch and kick carrying immense power.
He seldom dodged.
A punch came; Jiraiya blocked it with his forearm, then grabbed Leaf Monkey's weak point with his other hand and sent him flying with a punch.
A side kick came; Jiraiya blocked it with his knee, then swung along the raised leg, using a whip kick to send Horned Ox flying.
Seeing they were at a disadvantage in taijutsu, Flower Deer signaled the team to retreat.
Opening the Cross Seal, a large amount of chakra appeared. The Flower Deer Squad began using a combination jutsu.
"Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique!"
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
This was one of the most common and practical combination jutsu.
Konoha ninja most frequently used Wind-Fire combination jutsu.
Seeing the surging fire dragon whirlwind, Jiraiya quickly used an Earth-Style Wall to block it.
Behind the wall, Jiraiya thought it was strange. Why don't these Anbu ninja know to conserve chakra? Do Anbu members have such large chakra reserves?
The Earth-Style Wall held for a few seconds before being overwhelmed by the fire dragon whirlwind.
Seeing the crumbling Earth-Style Wall, Flower Deer felt a pang of panic.
Did they accidentally kill Jiraiya?
Flower Deer quickly looked towards Captain Fox, only to see him turning his head to look up and to the side.
Following the Captain's gaze, Flower Deer saw Jiraiya standing high up on a tree branch nearby.
So Jiraiya had used Body Flicker behind the Earth-Style Wall, and Flower Deer hadn't even noticed.
Yōkō thought to himself, Jiraiya is very strong. He hasn't even used Summoning, the Wild Lion's Mane Technique, etc. Just basic taijutsu and elemental jutsu are enough to suppress an entire Anbu squad. I wonder if he has mastered Sage Mode? Should I try to draw something from him this month? If he hasn't mastered it, then this month's lottery draw will be wasted.
Jiraiya suddenly shouted: "Not good! Anbu ninja have died!"
Yōkō didn't look back, unsure if Nagato had unleashed his power or if his real target had arrived.
He asked: "Lord Jiraiya, didn't you teach your disciples not to kill Konoha ninja?"
Jiraiya thought to himself, Konoha brought war to the Land of Rain. I need time to compensate them. Nagato's parents died at the hands of Konoha ninja; that deep-seated hatred is far from fading. How could I demand they not harbor hostility towards Konoha at this time?
He body-flickered towards Nagato's direction.
However, he was intercepted mid-air.
Fox's fist slammed towards Jiraiya's chest.
Jiraiya hurriedly crossed his arms to block, feeling a sharp pain in them the next instant.
Such strong power, such a hard fist!
He was sent flying back, crashing into a tree trunk with a loud bang.
The trunk cracked, and Jiraiya felt the clothes on his back being torn by the splintered wood.
"Lord Jiraiya, you're too impatient. You forgot to observe my position."
For the first time, Jiraiya revealed a cold, murderous glint in his eyes.
He had just seen two Anbu ninja flung into the air, chopped into several pieces.
Such cruel methods. A real fight to the death has broken out over where Nagato is.
But could Nagato and the other two really handle several Anbu squads? Could they really kill two Anbu members?
The four Anbu members he just fought all had Special Jōnin-level strength; they were a true elite Konoha squad.
Solid taijutsu, large-scale combination jutsu, well-trained, and tight coordination.
A squad like this was already a powerful force that the village could field. Could Nagato's trio kill such a squad?
What worried Jiraiya more was Nagato's Rinnegan!
The Rinnegan, possessed only by the Sage of Six Paths in myth, might have unknown abilities he wasn't aware of.
Whether it was Konoha Anbu deaths or casualties among Nagato's trio, neither outcome was acceptable to Jiraiya.
"Move aside, Fox! Don't force me to kill you!"
"Kill me?" Yōkō said:
"Lord Jiraiya, don't obstruct the Anbu from capturing the Uzumaki remnant. You are the Third Hokage's student. Beating you up would make the Hokage unhappy, don't you think?"
Jiraiya bit his finger, quickly formed hand signs, and used the Summoning Technique.
Yōkō thought, Jiraiya is getting serious.
White smoke was suppressed by the heavy rain as a large red toad appeared.
"Why is it always this damned Land of Rain? My pipe got doused again."
Gamabunta, smoking a pipe, appeared. Unlike the giant Gamabunta from the original story, his height now was about half of that, not yet his adult size.
"Gamabunta! Hold off, these Konoha Anbu! I'm going to save Nagato!"
Jiraiya's body flickered away.
He couldn't afford to get entangled with Fox; he couldn't decide the outcome with this Anbu elite in a short time.
Just as Yōkō was about to stop him, a twenty-meter-long giant sword came slashing down.
Gamabunta's speed was unexpectedly fast.
The giant sword blocked Yōkō's path, forcing him to dodge backward.
Even with the Absolute Defense: Copper Light, being hit by a twenty-meter-long giant sword would probably cause internal injuries.
Seeing Jiraiya had gotten away, Yōkō turned and charged towards Gamabunta.
The giant sword kept slashing down. Gamabunta found he had encountered another agile-type ninja and simply couldn't hit him.
Gamabunta jumped backward, slapping his belly mid-air.
"Water Release: Water Gun Technique!"
A water bullet over ten meters wide, whistling as it flew, smashed towards the Konoha Anbu on the ground.
Yōkō formed a single hand seal and used Water Cutting Wave.
The potency of Water Cutting Wave was higher than the Water Gun.
To his shock, Gamabunta watched his Water Gun get sliced in half, collapsing into two large puddles of water.
Since when are Konoha Anbu this powerful? What kind of Water Release is that? Why can it be performed with just one hand seal?
When Gamabunta landed, Yōkō jumped up and slapped his thick waist.
"Self-Cursing Body Binding Seal!"
This time, Yōkō applied the technique through direct contact, unleashing its full power. Under the effect of the massive chakra from the Cross Seal, Gamabunta immediately became unable to move.
Gamabunta struggled, his limbs straining against the force but locked tight by the sealing technique.
His horizontal-pupiled toad eyes looked down at the Fox Anbu. Gamabunta had no choice but to dispel the summoning, turning into white smoke.
I need to tell the elders at Mount Myōboku about this; Konoha has a formidable Anbu.
Flower Deer was astonished. They knew Captain Fox was strong, but they didn't expect even the legendary great toad summon from the sacred land to be no match for the Captain.
Yōkō and the Flower Deer Squad hurriedly chased after Jiraiya.
In the distance, Yōkō saw a writhing Wood Dragon.
He's here! Uchiha Madara! Going to see Uchiha Madara again!
Beneath his mask, Yōkō's lips curled into a slight smile.
Danzo, you wanted to find Uzumaki remnants, right? Well, I found one for you. I hope your people are tough enough to withstand Uchiha Madara's assault.
Uzumaki Nagato possesses the Rinnegan, Uchiha Madara's precious treasure.
Sure enough, before Nagato grows up, Uchiha Madara is watching over him.
***
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(End of Chapter)