Yagura, Mei, Fuguki, Juzo, Raiga...
At this moment, the expressions on the faces of these famous Kirigakure's powerhouses were uniformly dumbfounded, shocked, and horrified.
Gazing at the terrifying energy vortex soaring into the sky on the distant battlefield, their horrified and shocked expressions unexpectedly also revealed a trace of irrepressible surprise and delight.
Among those present, even the weakest, Mei, possessed strength close to that of an Elite Jonin, while Yagura and Fuguki were bona fide Kage-level.
They naturally could also realize what the energy flow emanating from Sora, sufficient to suppress Jiraiya, truly meant!
Kage!
And...
An extremely powerful Kage-level Ninja comparable to Konoha's Sannin!!!
"I'm a real idiot, I took that beating for nothing!"
If both his arms weren't broken by Duy, Juzo would have given himself a hard slap across the face.
It can't be helped.
Before the mission, he actually had the nerve to provoke a Kage-level comparable to Konoha's Jiraiya back at the camp. He was really committing suicide back then!!!
"Sora..."
"Is actually this strong!??"
Mei's almond-shaped eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at the overwhelming cold wave that seemed to suppress the raging sea of fire.
'This...'
'Was this really the same boy who had only beaten me by a little bit during the Chunin Exams?'
'Sora!'
'When did he become so powerful!??'
After Yagura was severely wounded and left earlier, he hadn't planned to escape. He just wanted to inform Mei to flee for her life before returning himself to fight to the death.
But unexpectedly, although Mei usually acted like a young lady and seemed a bit cowardly when facing strong enemies, when it truly came to the critical moment, she wasn't afraid in the slightest.
Hearing that Sora was facing the encirclement and killing of Konoha's Ninjas alone, she grabbed a kunai, kicked away her senior brother Yagura who tried to stop her, and charged over furiously.
Death?
Mei was indeed afraid of death.
But if she, the deadweight, caused Sora to die, even if she survived by clinging ignobly to life, she would be doomed to live a life of regret and pain.
So what if it's death!
It's better than being a coward who fears death for a lifetime!
And so-
The helpless Yagura and the furious Mei, on their way, also encountered the trio of Ninja Swordsmen, who similarly showed expressions of discontent and indignation.
Well...
They are also equally very wounded and in a sorry state.
But Fuguki had his reasons too. What kind of people was he leading? And they expect him to lead them?
Suddenly some Genin who can instantly open the Eight Gates pops out? Can he fight? He can't! He just doesn't have the ability, you know?
What?
They say he's no good?
Well, if they're so good, they can go!
Oh!
They say they're no good either?
Then why don't they have Konoha's Third Hokage come and try? See if he can handle that cheating Genin!
'Those bastards from Konoha even dare to use the Eight Gates cheat, they really have no shame!'
Just as Fuguki was still cursing internally-
On the battlefield.
Sora and Jiraiya, taking advantage of the massive explosion from their clash, instantly created distance between them.
But the battle between the two was far from over.
"Sage Art: Hair Needle Senbon!"
Jiraiya crouched on the ground like a toad, and then his hair, which had become as hard as steel, scattered out like a storm of needles.
This was the fastest of all Jiraiya's Sage Art, capable of unleashing thousands of attacks in an instant. If one couldn't react in time, they would instantly be turned into a pincushion by the hair needles.
"Hyorinmaru!"
"Icicle Birds!"
The rapidly retreating Sora was not to be outdone. With a swing of his Zanpakuto, a flock of ice birds formed, flying forward to meet the incoming hair needle senbon.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
Ice Birds vs Hair Senbon!
Sora and Jiraiya were frantically shooting at each other. A vast quantity of ice birds and senbon poured out as if endless.
One second!
Ten seconds!
One minute!
Five minutes!
The frenzied output did not stop. The two seemed to be locked in a contest of endurance.
Sora madly swung out ice birds, while Jiraiya recklessly shot senbon like his life depended on it.
The intense exchange of fire stirred up continuous, unending explosions.
But...
Neither stopped their offensive. Sora and Jiraiya were like two fearless warriors holding gatling guns, standing in place blasting each other, waiting to see who would falter first!
"Come on!!!"
Jiraiya roared loudly: "Kirigakure's pretty boy!!!"
"I, the great Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku, am definitely tougher and have more stamina than you!!!!"
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
Instantly,
The firing rate of the Hair Needle Senbon increased yet another notch.
As soon as the words fell,
Sora nearly laughed out loud.
'You, a simp who's been licking Tsunade's boots for decades without success, have the face to say that?'
Boom!!!
Reiatsu erupted!
The ground beneath Sora's feet shattered with terrifying cracks, caused by the nearly solidified Reiatsu pressing down.
"Fall!!!"
Sora shouted lightly.
Then,
The snowflakes falling all over the sky suddenly glimmered with a crystalline light, then spun rapidly like blades, cutting towards Jiraiya's position.
Using Hyorinmaru's ability, Sora hardened the snowflakes, forming attacks akin to the Shadow Clone Shuriken Technique, scattering them across the sky.
Swoosh swoosh swoosh!
Swoosh swoosh swoosh!
The snowflakes spun-
Slice!
Jiraiya, who was focusing all his effort on output, suddenly had his cheek cut by an ice shard.
'Huh?'
Seeing the blood blooming at the corner of his eye, Jiraiya's face instantly changed dramatically: "Sage Art: Needle Jizo!!!!"
Instantly,
His shooting long hair retracted, taking on a shape like satin, sweeping up the three Konoha's Jonins not far away, and forming a cocoon-like shape, hunkering down in place.
No more deaths!
If he brought fourteen Jonin and couldn't bring a single one back alive, he, Jiraiya, might as well just commit seppuku on the Hokage Rock right now!
Swoosh swoosh swoosh!
Swoosh swoosh swoosh!
The sky-blotting snowflakes fell, shredding the defense of the Needle Jizo layer by layer. However, this was, after all, Jiraiya's ultimate defense used in Sage Mode.
Even though Sora was exerting his full strength, he still couldn't inflict damage on Jiraiya in a short time.
In the distance,
Just as Yagura, Mei, and the others were staring dumbfounded, admiring the extremely gorgeous battle before them, a figure suddenly appeared in front of them.