Shigure's gaze shifted between Orochimaru and Jiraiya.
All he needed was to delay them — just a little longer.
Once Tsunade reached Haku and the others, he could summon the Flying Nimbus, and return to the Hidden Mist instantly.
Neither Jiraiya nor Orochimaru could fly. Once he took to the skies, they'd never catch him.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Two voices shouted at once.
Bang! Bang!
Twin clouds of smoke erupted, shaking the ground beneath them.
From one, the massive toad Gamabunta appeared, pipe clenched in his mouth. From the other, the colossal serpent Manda coiled and hissed, its scales grinding against the earth.
The two summons faced each other, boxing Shigure in between them.
Gamabunta squinted across the field. "Oi, Jiraiya! You drag me out here just to fight Orochimaru again?"
Jiraiya shouted back, "Not this time! Today's opponent is that kid!"
"Kid?" Gamabunta looked down at Shigure, his voice rumbling. "You serious?"
Meanwhile, Orochimaru stood atop Manda's head, his tone soft but venomous.
"Kill that boy. I'll reward you with a thousand human sacrifices. But don't underestimate him—he's a Jinchūriki."
The word alone made Gamabunta stiffen.
"A Jinchūriki, huh?" He puffed on his pipe, smoke swirling from his lips.
"You don't make things easy, Jiraiya. Fighting one of those isn't exactly simple."
Jiraiya's reply came sharp. "He took Tsunade. I need to bring her back!"
Gamabunta's expression hardened. "Then it can't be helped."
He gripped the massive tantō at his waist — a "small knife" by toad standards, but a mountain-sized blade to any human.
With a thunderous clang, Gamabunta swung.
Shigure met it head-on, one hand gripping Zangetsu, his ninja blade.
Clang!!!
The impact sent a shockwave through the clearing, kicking up dust and shattering the ground beneath them.
Gamabunta's eyes widened. "What the—?! This brat's strength… he's not weaker than me?!"
Jiraiya grimaced. "He's a Jinchūriki, remember!"
As if to prove his words, three spectral tails of chakra unfurled behind Shigure, radiating immense power. The energy of the Three-Tails surged through him like a living storm.
"Tch. Jinchūriki are always a pain," Gamabunta muttered.
Manda's head darted forward from behind, his fanged mouth gaping wide. "Hmph. I never thought I'd end up fighting beside this stinking toad!"
His tail swept toward Shigure like a living whip, cracking the air.
If that struck, even with tailed beast chakra shielding him, the impact alone could shatter bones.
Shigure's eyes flashed.
"Ice Release — Freezing Moment!"
An enormous wall of crystal ice rose between him and the serpent's strike.
Crack! Boom!
The barrier shattered instantly under Manda's brute force, but the blow's momentum dulled.
Before the next strike could land, Shigure's fingers weaved another seal.
"Water Release — Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
A roaring water dragon surged from the ground, colliding with Manda's tail mid-swing and scattering the attack in a violent spray.
But Orochimaru was already moving.
He had slithered closer in the chaos, one hand gripping the bloodied, one-armed Kabuto.
"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"
Dozens of serpents burst from Orochimaru's sleeve, hissing as they shot toward Shigure.
Shigure's gaze hardened. He raised his hand — and the serpents froze solid mid-air, turning to ice statues that shattered into glittering shards.
Then came the next technique.
"Boil Release — Heat Breath Blade!"
Sizzle—!
A surge of searing heat radiated from Zangetsu, steam rising as the metal glowed faintly red.
The edge sliced against Gamabunta's tantō, melting a deep groove into the weapon.
Gamabunta gritted his teeth. "That sword's dangerous!"
At that moment, Shigure's three chakra tails lashed out, coiling around Gamabunta's arm. With a twist and a heave, he flipped the massive toad over his shoulder, slamming him into the earth with a resounding crash.
Jiraiya leapt high from Gamabunta's head, landing midair with his hands already forming seals.
The battle between the Toad, the Snake, and the Mist's Twin-Tailed Jinchūriki was only beginning.
Fire Release — Fire Dragon Flame Bullet.
Shigure moved his hands and cast a ninjutsu at the same instant.
Water Release — Water Ranpō.
Fire and water collided in a roaring column of steam. The clash held for a breath — unexpectedly even.
But the truth was clear to anyone watching: Jiraiya had been preparing. He had stockpiled chakra for a long, deliberate moment in order to unleash a Fire Release of that scale.
Shigure, by contrast, had acted on the fly — and still matched him. That alone spoke volumes. His Water Release was terrifyingly refined; his command of ninjutsu could rival, or even surpass, Jiraiya's.
"Orochimaru!" Jiraiya barked.
Orochimaru gave a short, resigned sigh. "Understood."
They'd fought together enough times that no words were needed to coordinate. Orochimaru's eyes flickered; he spat out the Kusanagi, then swung the blade with both hands straight at Shigure's Zangetsu. Shigure could only parry — his weapon locked by the Kusanagi's pressure — and the rest became Jiraiya's job.
A Rasengan's hum split the air. Jiraiya used Shunshin no Jutsu and appeared behind Shigure, driving a Rasengan into his belly with full force.
Their strikes landed nearly together.
Great Sage, block him!
Mist erupted, automatically condensing to intercept the Rasengan and stall Jiraiya's advance. From that mist sprang countless razor-sharp spikes, hurling themselves at Jiraiya like a rain of knives.
Orochimaru wrapped an arm around Shigure to restrain him. "Kid—don't be reckless."
Shigure only sneered. He knew what Orochimaru had not yet learned about the Boil Release he'd been cultivating. With a soft hiss the air around Shigure shimmered.
Boil Release — Acid Mist.
Acidic vapor rolled outward, and the corrosive cloud licked at Orochimaru's hand. Sizzling ate away at fabric and skin; Orochimaru's grip started to deteriorate as the acid bit through cloth and flesh.
As soon as he freed himself, Shigure moved again.
He vanished in a ripple of motion — images of him blurred across the field, a flurry of strikes appearing from multiple angles. When his silhouettes crossed Orochimaru, five deep wounds burst open across the snake-sannin's torso.
Orochimaru's face drained of color. He forced out a cunning smirk and activated Substitution — Serpent Body Replacement to slip away.
But Jiraiya was already there in his place.
"Try this!" Jiraiya roared. "Super-Big Ball Rasengan!"
Booms rocked the clearing as Jiraiya's Rasengan swelled and struck. The mist that had shielded Shigure shuddered under the attack's sheer consumption of chakra; fog thinned and spat away until gaps appeared.
Seizing the opening, Jiraiya lunged forward and threw a punch.
Close quarters favored raw strength. Shigure answered with a sudden acceleration of thought and movement — his chakra tails lashed out, coiling around Jiraiya's limbs. Half a step back, he slammed a counterpunch, channeling a burst of brute force that echoed the Senju-style surges of power.
Jiraiya's eyes widened; he spat blood and staggered, his face paling.
Orochimaru, having returned to the fray, caught Jiraiya as he fell. He regarded the injured sannin with a cold calculus. "If you don't enter Sage Mode soon, you'll be outmatched."
Jiraiya's expression hardened. He knew it was true — but did he have the time?
Above them, a dark shadow swooped.
Manda lunged from the air with a gaping maw.
Shigure tried to vanish with Water Release — Body Flicker, materializing in midair just as Manda closed.
"Stinking toad!" Manda hissed.
"Say that again and I'll make you a snakeskin wallet," Gamabunta grunted in reply, even as his blade rose.
The summons continued to argue, but their movements were lethal and precise. Gamabunta slashed with his massive tantō; the impact was like being hit by a mountain. Shigure was sent flying, hurtled across the clearing by the force of the summoned toad's strike.
The battle had only just begun — and already the field was a churn of chakra, metal, fang, and flame.
...
TN:
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