Excluding Might Guy's life-sacrificing Eight Gates formation, Sage Mode Jiraiya was undeniably one of the absolute strongest fighters currently active in the ninja world.
Whether it was Tsunade, Orochimaru, or any of the Kage from the other four Great Villages—not a single one of them could defeat him in a fair fight. In the original timeline, his defeat during the infiltration of the Rain Village was heavily influenced by a massive disparity in intelligence. Of course, Nagato suffered from an intelligence gap as well; the true power of Sage Mode wasn't something easily understood, and Jiraiya had never used it in any recorded past battles.
Not understanding the unique traits of Sage Mode definitely cost Nagato during that fight.
However, compared to the sheer versatility of the Rinnegan and the Six Paths of Pain—which allowed the real Nagato to comfortably hide in the shadows, far surpassing normal puppetry—Jiraiya was still at a severe disadvantage. It wasn't an absolute certainty, but hypothetically, if both Nagato and Jiraiya fought with full knowledge of each other's abilities, Jiraiya would likely have had the higher chance of winning.
Naturally, battles between shinobi are constantly shifting and unpredictable. Unless there's an absolute, unbridgeable gap in raw power, victory or defeat is never guaranteed. The perfect example was Kaguya Otsutsuki: she possessed vastly superior power compared to Naruto and Sasuke in their final battle, yet she still lost.
The same logic applied to every battle.
But one thing was undeniably clear: Sage Mode Jiraiya possessed power firmly in the Super Kage tier. Unlike Naruto—who had immense talent but had only just mastered the mode and lacked the decades of accumulated experience—Jiraiya was a completely different beast.
In their head-on clash, Menma could clearly feel the massive difference between the two.
Naruto couldn't effectively pressure Menma; at his current stage, Sage Mode Naruto was, at best, pushing the absolute ceiling of the regular Kage tier. But Jiraiya was different.
After just a few exchanges, Menma acutely realized that a single mistake here would be fatal.
And more importantly...
Jiraiya still had an ultimate kill move.
Or more accurately, the two elderly Myōboku toads had one. It was the upgraded version of the sonic blast they'd just used: the Frog Kata, widely considered by fans of the original story as one of the most overpowered genjutsu in existence.
Its only flaw was the obscenely long casting time.
Once detected, it was easily interrupted.
Furthermore, on a wide-open battlefield like this, it was incredibly difficult for Jiraiya to protect the toads long enough to cast it.
Still, Menma knew he had to be extremely careful.
Mount Myōboku was a Sage Region that had existed for over a millennium, predating even Kaguya's arrival from the stars.
Any bizarre, logic-defying jutsu they pulled out wouldn't be surprising.
Menma couldn't afford to screw this up.
He didn't have the luxury of a second chance; a single failure here meant utter annihilation.
Taking a deep breath, Menma stared intently at Jiraiya in the near distance, his nerves pulling taut.
Clap!
Sheathing the Sword of the Thunder God, he slammed his palms together.
Whoosh!
The Nine-Tails chakra roared to life, blooming in brilliant crimson-gold and projecting the faint, terrifying silhouette of a demonic fox into the sky.
Swish!
Menma kicked off the ground, launching himself forward once more.
Attacking from a slightly elevated angle...
"Wind Release: Vacuum Great Sphere!"
As the hand seals completed, massive, highly compressed spheres of pale green wind materialized, hurtling toward Jiraiya with terrifying speed.
The sheer pressure of the attack...
The freezing aura it carried...
Its speed and massive area of effect made it nearly impossible for an ordinary shinobi to dodge. But to Jiraiya, it wasn't a threat at all.
Swish!
With a casual, effortless leap, Jiraiya dodged diagonally forward, easily clearing the barrage of wind spheres. Menma hadn't expected the jutsu to actually hit; he just wanted to force Jiraiya into a specific position.
The next second.
Clatter!
Clang!!
Accompanied by the sharp screech of metal...
At point-blank range, four thick, golden chains violently erupted from Menma's body, shooting out to encircle Jiraiya.
"Adamantine Sealing Chains!"
Seeing the golden chains, Jiraiya's pupils shrank slightly.
Knowing exactly how devastating this jutsu was, Jiraiya knew he absolutely could not let them touch him.
The jutsu's ability to suppress chakra was obscenely powerful.
While it didn't have the specialized, hyper-effective suppression it held over Tailed Beasts, a human's chakra reserves couldn't even compare to a Tailed Beast anyway.
The previous Jinchuriki, Mito and Kushina Uzumaki, had both used this exact jutsu to completely subjugate the Nine-Tails.
Even the Nine-Tails was reduced to a helpless prisoner under the Adamantine Sealing Chains.
If an ordinary ninja was caught...
Escape was impossible. Jiraiya certainly wasn't going to test it. Calling it one of the strongest sealing jutsu in existence was not an exaggeration.
"Ninja Art: Needle Jizō!"
Without missing a beat, Jiraiya slammed his palms together. His spiky white hair, heavily amplified by Senjutsu chakra, instantly hardened, becoming stiff and razor-sharp.
Leaning his body forward...
From a slightly crouched angle...
Swish-swish-swish-swish-swish-swish-swish!
In an instant, his hardened white hair shot outward like a barrage of lethal needles, firing with the speed and intensity of a Gatling gun.
Tink-tink-tink-tink!
The violently explosive counterattack slammed directly into the incoming golden chains, generating a flurry of sharp, metallic clashes.
The sheer force of the needles managed to forcefully deflect the chains.
As their momentum slowed...
"Sage Art: Fire Release: Toad Oil Flame Bullet!"
Jiraiya leaped into the air, flipping gracefully as he slammed his palms together once more.
Rumble!
His stomach expanded.
The next second, dozens of massive, toad-shaped fireballs erupted from his mouth, shooting rapidly toward Menma's position.
The barrage of fireballs formed a perfect, inescapable net.
Yet, Menma barely reacted.
BOOM!
With a flick of his wrist...
A cold gleam of steel flashed.
Swish!
The next second, with a single thought...
Right before the fireballs could incinerate him...
Following a flash of crimson light...
Menma completely vanished from the spot.
The Flying Thunder God!
Watching this, Jiraiya's expression grew even colder.
Less than a second later...
Swish!
Menma materialized directly in Jiraiya's forward-right blind spot.
But Jiraiya had anticipated this. His hands clapped together once more.
"Ninja Art: Wild Lion's Mane Technique!"
His white hair rapidly lengthened and expanded again, whipping toward Menma with the speed and ferocity of a gale.
Menma, having barely just reappeared, was forced to confront the incoming mass of razor-sharp hair.
His pupils shrank. With a flick of his wrist, he drew the Sword of the Thunder God once more.
CLANG!
He barely managed to block the ferocious strike head-on.