"Are you watching, Orochimaru?"
On the light screen, Jiraiya suddenly grinned, a sly glint flashing across his face.
At that moment, Orochimaru muttered a silent curse—something bad was about to happen.
The next instant, he vanished from Otogakure. His vision blurred, and the world around him changed completely.
To the audience, it looked as if Orochimaru had suddenly appeared inside the light screen out of thin air—no warning, no transition—just pop—he was there.
"What a reckless guy, that Jiraiya," said Tsunade helplessly.
She had already guessed who Jiraiya would call out. Orochimaru was always an unavoidable existence in his story.
Still, as she watched the two of them facing off inside the light screen, a faint smile crept onto her lips.
How many years had it been since they looked like this?
"Jiraiya!" Orochimaru narrowed his eyes, staring at him with restrained irritation.
"Hahaha! Don't get too emotional—most people would kill for this chance!" Jiraiya laughed loudly.
"You really are a fool!"
"Hmm? Wrong! The Toad Sage of Mount Myōboku—none other than Jiraiya-sama himself!"
Orochimaru ignored him and instead looked toward Kuroda. Since he was already here, he might as well make the most of it.
Kuroda smiled at him and handed him a phone. If anyone could create as much entertainment as Jiraiya, it was this slippery snake standing before him.
Orochimaru hesitated for a moment before taking it.
He'd already noticed—this place looked like a small room, but that was only what the cameras showed. Beyond the visible area was a vast white void, endless and boundless.
Once they sat down, Kuroda spoke.
"You two, let's make it a one-on-one ninja duel this time. I'm sure everyone's only interested in [Jiraiya]."
Jiraiya?
Orochimaru froze for a second, then quickly realized that this [Jiraiya] was not the real one.
He didn't mind, but his eyes lingered on Kuroda for a moment... This host seemed to have quite a bit of authority here.
...
The view shifted to the battlefield.
Naturally, Jiraiya chose to play as himself, bringing along the Toad Sages as his Summon and equipping the Secret Scroll "Earthquake."
Interestingly, Orochimaru also chose Jiraiya—the same ninja he had only seen demonstrated but never personally played.
"Orochimaru, you sure you know how to play? My combos aren't simple—you might get wiped out before you land a hit," Jiraiya taunted.
"Your ninja is just like you—three and a half techniques, nothing complicated. I watched once, and that's enough," Orochimaru replied coolly.
Jiraiya didn't get angry; instead, the corner of his mouth curved upward.
He had noticed that Orochimaru's Secret Scroll was Forbidden Jutsu: Yin Healing Wound Destruction—the so-called Invincible Body...
"Battle start!"
Boom! Boom!
Two identical toads were summoned onto the field, hopping toward each other aggressively.
Orochimaru frowned—his [Jiraiya] had been hit right from the start. The toad's range was farther than he expected.
But that wasn't the problem. The real question was... how could Jiraiya still dash in and keep attacking? Weren't those skills supposed to trigger simultaneously?
"Didn't see that coming, huh, Orochimaru? I guessed you'd start with Gama, so I offset the Y-axis right after using my skill."
Jiraiya looked quite smug.
"After all, that move set—you just learned it from me earlier, didn't you?"
Orochimaru shot him a sideways glance. This guy was scheming even during the tutorial segment!
Jiraiya's words reached the audience outside the light screen, who burst into laughter and commentary. Indeed, as expected of the Legendary Sannin—even their banter was full of traps.
Of course, some called him shameless, but opinions were divided—depending on who you asked.
Poof! (Substitution Jutsu)
As Orochimaru escaped with a substitution, Jiraiya immediately long-pressed his first skill.
But Orochimaru took advantage of his invincibility frames to summon the Toad Shop Technique, trapping Jiraiya in place.
Then, tanking through the damage, he reached the map's edge, and kicked Jiraiya straight off the platform.
A perfect counterplay.
Jiraiya quickly used his substitution. Orochimaru instantly responded with a new summon.
Shukaku appeared, conjuring a massive whirlpool of sand in front of him, pulling everything toward it with suction like a black hole.
"That thing again?! Damn it!"
Kankurō clenched his fists in frustration, his expression sour.
Players who unlocked their First Top-Up Bonus on day one already had Shukaku, and the beast quickly became both beloved and despised.
Beloved because it was powerful. Despised... for the same reason.
It's that kind of thing—you love using it yourself, but you hate when others do.
Shukaku's absurd range—covering most of the Y-axis and half the X-axis—had already driven countless players mad. Its duration was among the longest of all summons.
"Aagh!"
Gaara suddenly grabbed his head and screamed in pain.
Kankurō jumped in shock. No way... he was just complaining! Don't tell him Gaara's about to kill him over this?
Panicking, Kankurō hid behind Temari, then peeked out cautiously.
"Gaara, are you okay?" Temari asked with concern, though she hesitated to move closer.
Gaara didn't answer. He just held his head tightly, trembling. After a few seconds, he finally calmed down.
"Shukaku... Shukaku is acting up again. He's saying... saying something about... Summoned Beast... I... I forgot."
His stammering words sent chills through both Kankurō and Temari. Was Shukaku really reacting to this?
...
Inside Gaara's body—
"You bastards! How dare you treat the great Tailed Beast Shukaku-sama as a mere Summoned Beast! Damn humans! Damn game! Unforgivable! Unforgivable!"
Shukaku's shrill roar echoed wildly.
Tailed Beasts could see through their Jinchūriki, so of course he knew all about the Ninja Mobile Game by now.
While he was curious what kind of game this was, what infuriated him more was the fact that he—the mighty Shukaku—was being used as a summon, and worse, as a First Top-Up Reward worth just 20 ryō!
What kind of sick joke was this? Both his looks and his power were the finest among all Tailed Beasts!
Even the Sage of Six Paths himself once said Shukaku was his favorite.
And now this? None of the other Tailed Beasts had been released yet, and somehow, he was available for pocket change? A disgrace beyond words!
But then Shukaku paused, thinking it over.
Wait a second... among the nine Tailed Beasts, only he had been added to the Ninja Mobile Game. Didn't that mean he was special? None of the others even made the cut!
"Gyahaha~ That's right! Exactly right! And money—isn't that the most precious thing to humans?" Shukaku convinced himself, rolling around gleefully on the ground.
But when he lifted his gaze and saw what was happening on the light screen, his freshly emptied rage meter instantly maxed out again.
"You bastard! Unforgivable!"
On-screen, Orochimaru's Shukaku had been summoned near the stage edge—a perfect counter placement, using Shukaku's strongest tactic.
But Jiraiya used his first skill right after substituting, trapping Orochimaru inside, and then turned him into a toad to easily escape Shukaku's range.
It was the exact same technique Orochimaru had just used against him!
"Hahaha! Thanks, Orochimaru!" Jiraiya grinned smugly. "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have learned that trick!"
Orochimaru glared at him, fists tightening.
He had every reason to believe that bastard already knew the trick—and was just mocking him on purpose.
Though his summon was wasted, Orochimaru didn't panic. He still had a way to devour Jiraiya's summon in return.
Once his substitution was ready, Orochimaru used it immediately, then cast his first skill, trying to trap Jiraiya again.
But Jiraiya crouched and unleashed the Secret Scroll "Earthquake," nullifying the Toad Shop Technique's capture.
"What?!"
Orochimaru was shocked. Before he could react, his summoned toad started to retreat instinctively.
"Summoning Technique: Food Cart Destroyer Technique!"
Jiraiya long-pressed his second skill, summoning Gama and leaping onto his back to chase after Orochimaru.
In an instant, the two of them had dashed from one side of the battlefield to the other.
Jiraiya's skill duration ended, but he didn't hesitate for a second—he summoned the Toad Sages right away.
Orochimaru smirked. Jiraiya, you fool.
There was nothing to worry about here—everyone knew the toad's area of effect was even bigger and lasted longer than Shukaku's.
"Forbidden Jutsu: Yin Healing Wound Destruction!"
But the very moment Orochimaru activated his Invincible Body, the white glow vanished instantly—and within the toad's range, he was struck into a stunned state!
"What?!"
Orochimaru's eyes widened. The normally calm snake straightened up in alarm.
This time... it was the toad that devoured the invincible snake!