Jiraiya naturally knew the true identity of the masked Shiroishi.
But he didn't expose it.
He had neither the time nor the luxury to do so.
During this brief moment of eye contact, Orochimaru moved.
Without any warning, the ground in all directions suddenly twisted and cracked open!
Hiss—!!
Countless poisonous snakes emerged from the soil, coiling densely together, their snake eyes flickering with an eerie green light, surging toward Jiraiya like a biological tsunami.
Immediately after, Orochimaru swiftly formed hand signs.
Dragon Release: Random Light!
All the snake heads opened their mouths simultaneously.
Countless beams of light shot out in the same instant, like millions of light spears stabbing inward from all directions.
Wasn't that just mutual destruction?
The terrifying aspect of this Random Light lay in the fact that the number of light beams equaled the number of summoned dragon heads.
And the number of snakes Orochimaru had summoned far exceeded what an ordinary ninja could withstand.
In an instant, Jiraiya was swallowed by an endless sea of light.
Wide Guard!
Jiraiya stomped the ground, and the surrounding air solidified.
Crack!
Transparent crystals rapidly spread, forming multiple crystalline walls that blocked all the blinding light beams.
The beams struck the barrier, emitting thunderous explosive sounds.
The crystal surface turned white from the heat but remained completely unmoved.
Simultaneously, the residual energy from the barrier distorted the battlefield. The crystalline energy released by Jiraiya expanded, compressing the space around Orochimaru and Shiroishi, forming a solidified zone.
The compressive force of this crystalline layer was enough to crush any object.
But just as the crystals closed in, Orochimaru's figure melted like sugar into a viscous liquid, seeping through the gaps in the crystals without suffering any harm.
"Ssss..."
The liquid Orochimaru emitted a sinister sound, like countless small snakes wriggling across the ground.
On the other side, Shiroishi did not resist head-on.
He simply took a light step, and the space behind him parted like water pierced open, revealing a deep fissure. His figure instantly vanished into it.
The next moment, Shiroishi emerged from the shadows to Jiraiya's left.
"Lord Jiraiya."
His voice was unnervingly calm.
The moment he appeared, a frigid storm erupted around Jiraiya's body.
The surrounding air rapidly solidified, and the temperature plummeted to an extreme low.
Jiraiya's fist, coated in thick frost, slammed fiercely toward the spot where Shiroishi had appeared.
But just as the punch was about to land, Jiraiya abruptly halted.
Shiroishi gazed at him calmly.
"Why did you stop?"
Jiraiya snorted coldly, turning his head away without looking at him.
"Because... you're not the one I need to hit."
In the next instant, his body pivoted sharply!
His fist smashed down toward the writhing syrup on the ground!
Frost instantly spread, continuously freezing along the syrup, forcibly locking Orochimaru's liquid form into a block of ice.
Shiroishi was taken aback.
Because, from beginning to end, Jiraiya believed that even in such dire circumstances, Shiroishi had been led astray by Orochimaru's instigation!
Orochimaru.
He was the mastermind, the shadowy thread most likely connected to the Hidden Leaf Village.
"I won't lay a hand on you."
Jiraiya muttered coldly.
"But you, Orochimaru..."
Crystalline energy, frost, and Chakra—three forces—continuously pressed down upon the frozen syrup.
The ice began to crack, the syrup structure emitting a piercing noise.
Yet Orochimaru's voice suddenly rang out from the icy mist.
"Jiraiya, you bastard."
The ice surface shattered!
Liquid instantly gushed from the fissures, serpentine slime surging like a tide to reform a body.
Orochimaru flicked his tongue, his hands subtly moving.
All the scattered syrup fragments around suddenly flowed back, as if drawn, returning to his body.
This was the last of the three skills Flapple had mastered—Recycling!
The liquid flowed within him, reshaping a complete human form, restoring Orochimaru to his normal state.
Jiraiya gritted his teeth.
At that moment, Shiroishi slowly released countless bubbles: "I never intended to oppose you."
The syrup re-coalesced in Orochimaru's palm as he slowly pressed his hand to the ground.
The earth shook violently as if torn apart, the ground rolling, swelling, and collapsing like a giant dragon turning underground. Countless mud waves surged toward Jiraiya with the tremor.
"You picked the perfect moment to strike..."
Jiraiya stomped his foot, his figure standing firm on the shattered, quaking ground.
The next instant, whoosh!
Jiraiya slowly exhaled a cold breath from his mouth.
Since mastering Ice Punch, he had gained control over the combination of water and wind Chakra Attributes.
The air around him condensed into fine ice shards, and the mud waves beneath his feet instantly froze as the cold wave approached, as if their momentum were strangled by an invisible force.
Orochimaru's gaze sharpened: "Tch... troublesome guy."
Before he could adjust his stance.
Shiroishi beside him coughed lightly twice.
The sound was soft, yet it instantly made the atmosphere subtle.
Shiroishi swayed slightly like a candle in the wind, his breathing erratic beneath the mask, as if he might collapse at any moment.
He deliberately displayed extremely subtle signs of weakness: shoulders sinking, slight panting, hands trembling faintly.
Yet it was just right.
Both Orochimaru and Jiraiya caught this detail simultaneously.
Shiroishi was indeed capable, but physically fragile.
This judgment flashed through both their minds at once.
Orochimaru glanced at Shiroishi, thinking to himself: Shiroishi's constitution is still too weak to handle high-intensity combat.
Jiraiya, meanwhile, furrowed his brow deeper.
He knew Shiroishi was intelligent, sharp, analytical, and deductive.
But in terms of strength...
Shiroishi had always given him a contradictory sense of immense talent paired with physical frailty.
He couldn't ignore Shiroishi's danger, yet he couldn't bring himself to kill a clearly weakened student.
Suppressing his complex emotions, Jiraiya couldn't help but demand.
"Why!?"
Shiroishi looked up, his gaze behind the mask as calm as a deep well.
His voice was flat, devoid of inflection:
"Everything is for the Land of Rain."
The tone held no anger, no resentment, not even emotion.
It was as if he were stating a chillingly calm fact.
"You are, after all, just a ninja of the Hidden Leaf Village.
Shiroishi continued, "I don't trust you."
The air seemed to stand still.
Jiraiya clenched his fists. "You've been led astray by Orochimaru!"
Orochimaru: "..."
His eyes held disappointment, anger, and deep sorrow.
Shiroishi slowly turned to him, his tone still unchanged. "It wasn't Orochimaru."
"Rather, I saw the future of the Land of Rain."
At that moment, something stabbed sharply into Jiraiya's chest.
"Now, now, Jiraiya."
Orochimaru spoke with a soft, sinister tone. "When have I ever led anyone astray?"
"Orochimaru, shut up!"
Jiraiya roared in anger.
Orochimaru: "..."
And Shiroishi simply watched the two of them quietly.
Chilling air, sticky syrup, shattered ground, churning earth...
"Our paths are different."
"The Land of Rain cannot rely on the Hidden Leaf Village."
"Nor will I rely on you."
Watching Shiroishi grow increasingly frail, Jiraiya felt somewhat helpless.
Because his fighting spirit was rapidly fading.
After a moment, Jiraiya finally spoke. "Enough. I won't interfere with you and the Land of Rain anymore!"
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