Ebara eyed Jiraiya. "Didn't expect a thick-browed guy like you to use such lowlife tricks."
Jiraiya deflected. "Learned it from you."
Ebara scoffed. "From me? My moves are beyond you. Watch and learn!"
As he spoke, he began forming seals.
Jiraiya smirked at the seals. "Earth Wall? What's to learn?"
Ebara grinned. "Earth Wall's nothing. But what about Thousand Years of Death Earth Wall?"
"Thousand Years of Death Earth Wall?" Jiraiya blinked, confused.
He knew Thousand Years of Death and Earth Wall, but together? Clueless.
"Time to open your eyes—and theirs!" Ebara said, laughing.
Five Earth Walls rose from the ground.
Unlike typical flat walls, these formed a pair of hands.
The hands clasped, mimicking the Thousand Years of Death gesture.
Ebara nodded, pleased.
You might not know what carving dog heads on an Earth Wall means. We call that genius! I always say, if Kakashi can carve dog heads, I can make Earth Walls do Thousand Years of Death—no problem!
The Thousand Years of Death Earth Wall shot toward the two lead jonin and their ninjas.
Fast. Precise. Ruthless.
The ninjas never expected such a move.
Caught off guard, they were hit dead-on.
"Argh!"
Screams of raw sensation echoed.
They'd never felt anything like it—a soul-ascending experience.
Clutching their rears, they launched skyward.
Their faces mixed pain, shame, and confusion.
Ebara even spotted one ninja looking… pleased.
Damn, a bro right next to me!
"Learn anything?" Ebara asked, patting Jiraiya's shoulder.
Jiraiya gaped. He couldn't believe Ebara had taken Thousand Years of Death to this level.
He was on layer one; Ebara was on layer ten.
"I'm convinced," Jiraiya said. "When it comes to lowlife moves, you're untouchable. No sane person would dream up that jutsu!"
Ebara patted him again. "Keep learning. The depths are endless!"
Jiraiya: "…"
As they bantered, the remaining ninjas charged, faces twisted with shock and rage.
Shocked that Ebara fought so dirty, fearing they'd be next.
Furious that their numbers couldn't handle two guys.
"No time to waste," Ebara said. "See ya."
He formed seals again.
"Earth Style: Earth Core Shift!"
The ninjas attacking Ebara and Jiraiya felt the ground vanish.
They lost control, plummeting.
After tumbling twenty meters through the air, they hit the ground, bones shattered, writhing in pain.
Earth Core Shift could reshape terrain—perfect for pillars or pits.
"Done!" Ebara said, dusting his hands, expression relaxed.
He told the system, "Shut off the experience card."
The fight took a full minute, making Ebara wince.
"No good. I need to keep battles under five seconds," he muttered.
He turned to Jiraiya. "Let's go."
Jiraiya stared. "Are you really Ebara? Not someone else?"
Ebara sighed. "Honestly, I'm not Ebara."
"Then who?"
"Your dad!"
"Get lost!"
Bantering, they headed to Kushina and Sawako.
Since Ebara turned off the Mu card, his rock clone had vanished.
Sawako, about to flee with Kushina, froze.
"Where you two headed?" Ebara asked, arms crossed, grinning at Sawako.
She blinked, stunned. All those enemies, gone that fast?
Quickly, she put on a pitiful look. "Two ninjas came here earlier. They almost hurt us, and your clone vanished. We had to fend for ourselves."
Ebara nodded. "I see. Let me help."
He reached for Sawako's arm.
Her eyes flashed with caution, but she said, "You took out all of Yoen's ninjas?"
"Piece of cake," Ebara said, grabbing her hand and pulling Kushina along.
"Let's move."
"Okay," Sawako said, forcing a smile.
To her, escaping Yoen was just trading a wolf's den for a tiger's lair.
Iwa might be worse.
Gotta find a way to escape on the road.
But these two were too strong. She wasn't their match.
After mulling it over, she settled on one plan: seduction.
"Hurry up. No time to waste," Ebara said.
The file (Chapter 44) mentioned other villages hunting Sawako and Kushina.
It wasn't Yoen, but Ebara didn't want complications.
The sooner they reached Konoha, the sooner he could report to the Third (Chapter 43).
The four sped through the night, exiting the Land of Mountains by dawn.
As the sun rose, birds chirped, and springs bubbled.
Exhaustion hit.
"Let's rest. I'm done," Jiraiya said.
"Me too…" Sawako said, giving Ebara a pitiful look.
Ebara felt tired too. Days of travel had worn them down.
"Fine, rest a bit," he nodded.
"I need a bathroom break," Sawako said.
"I'll go with you," Ebara replied.
In a secluded spot, Sawako blushed. "Can you turn around?"
Ebara declared righteously, "I'm a renowned gentleman. No way I'd peek!"
Then he stared, eyes wide as saucers, like he'd miss nothing.