Huff huff!!
A large amount of fire suddenly appeared, directly incinerating the Hidden Rock Ninjas closest to Jiraiya, then continued to surge towards Rekiseki.
Although the name sounds plain, the power of the Giant Flame Bomb unleashed by Jiraiya in Sage Mode is extremely fierce, surpassing most Fire Release techniques in the Ninja World.
Despite having decent proficiency in Hardening Jutsu, Rekiseki did not dare face it head-on and retreated rapidly.
"Explosion Release: Exploding Shattering Stone!"
Seeing the captain in danger, Iwakura quickly spat out an Explosion Release flying stone to help block Jiraiya's Sage Art Fire Release.
"Summoning Technique!"
Jiraiya once again used the Summoning Technique, bringing forth a gigantic toad with blue-green skin.
Jiraiya had Gamahiro handle Iwakura and the surrounding Hidden Rock Jonin, while he continued to pursue Rekiseki.
"Withdraw if you can, the enemy has reinforcements!" Jiraiya ordered the Konoha Ninja on the battlefield.
The powerful perception of Sage Mode allowed him to sense the rapidly approaching Chakra from afar.
Of course, even without sensing, it was obvious because Rekiseki had openly fired a signal bullet.
"Sage Art: Thousand Needles!"
In Sage Mode, Jiraiya's strength was already formidable, and with the support of two Sages, Rekiseki wasn't a match at all, quickly caught by Jiraiya's opportunity.
Under the influence of Sage Art Chakra, Jiraiya's white hair became sharp and hard.
Even with decent proficiency in Hardening Jutsu, Rekiseki could only resist partially, his body quickly becoming bloodied under the torrential storm of white hair needles.
"Truly useless!"
"Lava Release: Scorching Stream Rock Jutsu!"
Having chased Namikaze Minato, Roshi had no choice but to abandon him and dashed towards Jiraiya, spewing a massive lava fireball at him.
"Rasengan!"
Namikaze Minato seized the opportunity, unleashing a compacted sphere of Chakra into Roshi.
But since Roshi was in Lava Release Chakra Mode, with searing Lava Armor on him, Minato's Rasengan not only failed to harm Roshi but even burned his own hand.
"Such high defense." Namikaze Minato felt a bit helpless.
Once an enemy's defense surpassed the power of Rasengan, Namikaze Minato found it hard to pose any real threat.
Without even looking back, Roshi continued charging at Jiraiya.
Because he knew, even if he looked back, he might not kill Namikaze Minato, but if he didn't, Rekiseki was really going to die.
Although he didn't think much of Rekiseki, the latter was after all the battlefield commander and the captain of the Hidden Rock Demolition Squad. His death at Jiraiya's hands would have dire consequences.
"Water Slash!"
Shima Sage formed hand seals and spewed a high-pressure water stream to slice the incoming Lava Release fireball, hurriedly saying, "Little Jiraiya, retreat quickly."
It wasn't only the Four-tailed Jinchuriki attacking, but the Five-tailed Jinchuriki had also beaten back Gamabunta and Gamaken and was rushing over.
Whoosh!
Jiraiya had no choice but to cancel the Ninjutsu and flashed away.
"So close, just a little more." Seeing the severely wounded Rekiseki, Jiraiya thought with regret.
If the Jinchuriki had arrived two seconds later, Rekiseki would surely have died under his Sage Art.
"Minato, use large-scale Ninjutsu attacks." Jiraiya reminded Namikaze Minato while gathering Chakra.
Right now, Jiraiya had only one goal—to cover the retreat of as many Konoha Ninjas as possible.
With his immense strength coupled with Minato's Flying Thunder God Jutsu, it was nearly impossible for Hidden Rock to hold them.
Ordinary Konoha Ninjas didn't have their luxuries, and needed help to escape.
As long as enough Ninjas withdrew, Konoha wouldn't suffer a crushing defeat, just a temporary setback.
Once Konoha reinforcements arrived and regrouped, they'd still have a powerful Ninja squad.
"Sage Art: Goemon!"
Jiraiya and the two Sages on his shoulders simultaneously unleashed Ninjutsu, with Fukasaku using Wind Release, Shima employing Fire Release, and Jiraiya spitting Toad Oil.
All three Ninjutsu were Sage Arts enhanced by Sage Art Chakra, complementing each other, finally transforming into the terrifyingly powerful Goemon.
A Hidden Rock Ninja wasn't able to dodge, dying instantly without even a scream.
"Fire Release: Toad Oil Flame Bomb!"
Namikaze Minato leapt onto Gamabunta's head, forming hand seals and gathering Chakra to perform Fire Attribute Chakra Nature Changes, while Gamabunta refined Chakra to produce Toad Oil.
Working together, the terrifying flames instantly charred everything within dozens of meters.
Namikaze Minato had signed a contract with Mount Myoboku and was an old acquaintance of Gamabunta.
However, due to his combat style, Namikaze Minato rarely used Summoning Techniques to summon the toads of Mount Myoboku.
"Let's see whose Ninjutsu is stronger!"
Seeing this, Roshi maximized the power of the Tailed Beast within him, rapidly transforming his body into a giant tailed ape.
Roshi opened his mouth wide, a vast amount of Chakra condensing into a black sphere slowly appearing in the air.
"No..." Rekiseki tried to stop him.
A Tailed Beast Ball would separate the battlefield, which was exactly what Konoha Ninja wanted, so it wouldn't significantly impact them.
But for the pursuing Hidden Rock, it would be detrimental, as no one dared pursue under the explosion of a Tailed Beast Ball.
The injured Rekiseki's voice was weak—Roshi might not have heard it, or perhaps he did but chose to ignore it.
In any case, at that moment, the destructive force known as the Tailed Beast Ball was sent flying, crashing between Namikaze Minato and Jiraiya.
Whoosh!
Namikaze Minato used the Flying Thunder God Jutsu to teleport next to Jiraiya.