Konoha's Mission Master

Naoki Ishihara instinctively drew his scalpel to defend himself, then put it away and sighed softly.

"What? It's just a toad."

"Croak, croak, croak, croak."

The croaking of frogs began to rise louder and more intense, as if possessing some kind of melody, and the pebbles on the ground bounced slightly up and down with the loud noise.

“How jarring…” Naoki Ishihara murmured.

At this moment, heaven and earth were reversed in his perception.

Suddenly, two enormous toads appeared in his eyes. They croaked and sang... in anger!

Naoki Ishihara suddenly felt a sense of panic and tried to mobilize his chakra to struggle, but his body was already unable to move.

"Magic - Toad's Lament".

Someone was chanting softly.

"Damn it, why can't I move..."

Naoki Ishihara suddenly felt his head was very heavy, so heavy that his eyelids could no longer support it, and most importantly, he completely lost control of his body.

Jiraiya used his legs to propel himself forward, instantly appearing beside Ishihara Naoki. He then brought his long sword down, beheading him instantly.

"I heard... you like to use children from the Land of Fire for human experiments to research medical ninjutsu?"

His head flew into the air... Jiraiya's eyes blazed with fury.

The two hermits, Fukasaku and Shima, stood on his shoulders.

Red paint appeared around his eyes, and his nose was covered in bumps; his entire body exuded a powerful and surging aura.

"Sage Mode".

Less than a minute later, the head of the guard, Sada Sotaro, arrived at the battlefield with his men. Seeing Ishihara Naoki's headless corpse, he did not immediately take action.

But Jiraiya had already used the Body Flicker Technique to get close.

Swish, swish, swish.

The Development Department Director... Akira Matsushita, has arrived!

The Minister of Scientific Research... Muzhai Youren, has arrived!

The last person was an old man with white hair and wrinkles on his face, but his aura had reached the level of a Kage. He was an ancient relic from the Warring States period who had survived in the Land of Grass.

The previous head of the development department... Matsushita Shiranui!

"Lord Jiraiya... if you promise not to continue your revenge, we can let you... leave."

Sada Sotaro spoke up, and the others did not raise any objections, but they stared warily at Jiraiya, whose black hair was flying wildly.

They were actually quite puzzled by Jiraiya's actions. He was one of the legendary Sannin, one of the high-ranking members of Konoha. Why would he risk his life for those lowly commoners?

Of course, the most important thing is that the three of them simply cannot defeat Jiraiya. As for Matsushita Shiranui, he is the last remaining strength of Kusagakure. He only has the strength for one last battle, and they do not want to waste it on Jiraiya.

"You've mistaken me for someone else... I'm not Jiraiya."

This denial means that the matter is unlikely to end well.

"Sigh." Sada Sotaro sighed softly.

"Why bother? Can't we sit down and talk things over? Is it all because of those lowly commoners?"

Matsushita Akira asked, puzzled.

The group removed their outer garments, revealing their ninja combat suits.

"No, I won't talk about it," Jiraiya coldly refused.

"Fine... since that's the case... I'll risk my life... and test your limits!"

Matsushita Shiranui began to remove her white robe, revealing a dark green breastplate. Her aura surged, sweeping away her outward signs of old age and decay, and her complexion became rosy, as if she had become several years younger.

Back to light.

"I will die after this battle, no matter what."

Its momentum was overwhelming, and a powerful pressure of chakra spread out.

Jiraiya's eyes remained calm. He knew of Matsushita Shiranui's existence and understood that he might have to risk his life in this battle, but what did it matter?

The surrounding area was very open, but he deliberately chose the battlefield to be far away from Kusagakure Village to avoid affecting civilians.

“I once taught my disciples to guard the fire in their hearts to ignite the darkness, but I unknowingly lost my original belief… I only truly understood it yesterday.”

"To ignite the darkness... use raging fire!"

"Sage Art: Goemon!"

Chapter 121 Frog Croaking and Sword Dance (Bonus chapter due to some minor worries)

On the battlefield.

Jiraiya spat out a large amount of toad oil, Fukasaku used Wind Release, and Shima used Fire Release.

Scorching fire, raging wind, viscous oil.

The three elements merged and exploded, resulting in extremely high temperatures.

It was as if the entire night sky had been instantly ignited, turning it into daylight. The air was slightly distorted, and some of the Kusagakure ninjas were caught in the firestorm and turned into charred remains before they could even dodge.

Screams, wails, and pleas for mercy filled the air.

This is a unique attack in Sage Mode.

Sada Sotaro, Matsushita Akira, and Mokusai Yuten quickly searched for a place to stand and dodge.

"Water escape·water rushes into waves."

Sada Sotaro formed hand seals, opened his mouth and spat out a stream of water that crashed into the sea of ​​fire. The two collided... and the water, like a moth drawn to a flame, was instantly evaporated into a massive amount of white steam.

The fire of immortals is unmatched!

The fire was scorching and violent, even the stones began to burn, as if it wanted to ignite everything tangible. Fueled by the wind, the fire was like a red wave that kept devouring life.

On the battlefield, only Matsushita Shiranui maintained her initial composure, and her gaze toward Jiraiya held a hint of barely perceptible admiration.

"Secret Technique: Hozuki Barrier!"

Matsushita Shiranui formed hand seals, and gray mist was born from his body, spreading... Eventually, a gray barrier spread out, completely enveloping the surroundings, and an invisible force began to suppress the raging flames.

Gray matter, like ashes after a fire, swirled around him. The gray barrier resembled a lampshade, while Matsushita Shiranui was the ever-burning wick.

People are the candles, and the fire of the heart is the ignition.

This is a desperate tactic.

Hozuki's Barrier Grass is a secret forbidden technique, but very few people practice it. This is partly because the technique is extremely difficult, and partly because it uses life force as a price to temporarily gain immense power.

And... the higher the proficiency... the faster it burns.

The greater the power.

"You cannot leave this barrier before I die."

As the gray substance swirled around, Matsushita Shiranui's skin began to tighten, her muscles became fuller, and her face looked several years younger, as if time had reversed and life and death had been reversed, making her aura even more powerful.

"I never thought of leaving!"

Jiraiya responded firmly.

"Water Release·Water Crush Wave!"

Sada Sotaro formed hand seals again, then opened his mouth and spat out a massive amount of water. The collision and agitation of water and fire produced intense white mist, but the fire was not extinguished. Instead, it floated on the surface of the water, continuing to burn and release high temperatures.

Meanwhile, Mokusai Yuuto and Matsushita Akira also began forming hand seals and releasing water-style ninjutsu, trying to extinguish the burning flames with their combined strength.

…………

From the treetop, Yakumo saw flames soaring into the sky, tearing through the night, and at the same time felt two waves of chakra rising into the sky, gradually radiating in all directions.

A battle of Shadow-level power!

How could there be a shadow in Kusagakure?!

Yakumo was surprised.

Three elite Jonin, together with more than a dozen Jonin and a Kage-level expert, were enough to surround and kill Jiraiya.

"Since it was my insistence to continue the mission, we cannot let Lord Jiraiya risk his life alone in front of us."

Yakumo made up her mind and immediately began changing into black clothes on the treetop, securing the Demon-Subduing and Jade-Unraveling swords to her back, opening her storage scroll to choose a mask. Last time it was a fox... this time she'll use a monkey mask.

The seal has been broken.

Chakra surged freely with exhilaration, muscles bulged slightly, and even his height increased by several centimeters, his powerful aura gradually spreading outwards.

Even though he had gradually adapted to the state of concealing his strength, he still preferred the state after the seal was broken.

At this moment, I am my true self, free from shackles and burdens, and every breath I take is filled with the taste of freedom.

"bump."

Yakumo created shadow clones.

A quarter of his chakra suddenly dropped from his body.

He suddenly felt that he didn't have enough chakra to participate in battles between Kage-level opponents.

After a moment's thought, Yakumo opened the game interface.

Passive: Chakra Refining Technique 'Acceleration'

Chakra: 306 (650 points to advance to Kage level)

Gold coins: 12800

Yakumo clicked "Speed ​​Up" repeatedly.

'Acceleration' x128!!

This was his unique talent, and also the reward for his hard work during this period of training. He opened his arms and quietly felt the increase, surge, and boiling of chakra within his body.

The chakra inside Yakumo's body was flowing at an extremely fast speed, nourishing her skin, muscles, bones, and meridians, and chakra was being generated continuously.