Jiraiya's figure suddenly appeared, pushing Orochimaru away with one hand.
Orochimaru's snake-like pupils instantly slit to their maximum: "Jiraiya!!"
Madara thrust a sword into Jiraiya's heart, and the light in Jiraiya's eyes instantly dimmed.
Ryou closed his eyes: "It's over, Jiraiya!"
Perhaps this is the sorrow of a Ninja; once you step onto this path, a tragic end is inevitable.
A Ninja is essentially an assassin by trade, and assassins rarely meet a good end.
Beneath Ryou, Tsunade stirred, as if sensing Jiraiya's final chapter.
"Idiot, fool, you're always like this. Why are you always like this?"
Orochimaru cursed Jiraiya loudly.
His body had long since been modified into a snake-like form, giving him far more tenacious vitality than an ordinary Ninja; he could hold on even if his head were pierced.
Even if things got worse and he was killed by Uchiha Madara, Orochimaru still had ways to be resurrected.
After the Second Great Ninja War, Orochimaru began dabbling in forbidden human experiments; he had countless ways to save his own life.
Even if the entire Ninja World were destroyed, Orochimaru might not necessarily perish.
But Jiraiya didn't know that. He still thought Orochimaru was a mortal of flesh and blood, and he still considered Orochimaru his bond.
His voice sounded like a broken thread: "Oro... Orochimaru, the Village... the Village will depend on you from now on. You must believe in Sensei... don't... don't defect..."
In a daze, memories of the past seemed to echo in Orochimaru's mind.
"Hey! Orochimaru! Come out and fight! Are you looking at those weird books again?"
"Orochimaru, cough cough... your bandaging skills are far worse than Tsunade's. Damn it, these Amegakure guys are too troublesome!"
"Orochimaru, is this the disciple you took in? I never would have thought a Unwinged Angel person like you would take a student. Congratulations, truly congratulations!"
"You idiot—!"
Orochimaru lunged at Madara like a Lunatic; in a moment of negligence, Madara was actually bitten by Orochimaru's venomous fangs.
As Madara and Orochimaru fought further away, Ryou stepped forward to collect Jiraiya's body.
Jiraiya still had a breath left. Sensing Ryou's presence, he opened his dull, lifeless eyes.
"...Ryou..."
Jiraiya made one final plea: "...Protect Tsunade, I beg of you!"
Having said that, Jiraiya's head slumped down, never to be raised again.
A faint green glow appeared on Ryou's hand as he prepared to reach toward Jiraiya.
Suddenly, a yellow blur carrying a blue-and-white Rasengan flickered between Ryou and Jiraiya.
It was Minato!
Minato slammed a Rasengan into Ryou's chest, sending him flying.
"It's you again, Minato!"
Minato quickly supported Jiraiya, his eyes full of worry: "Sensei! Sensei!"
"..."
Jiraiya's aura was very faint; Minato felt that his life force was on the verge of fading away.
A surge of fury rose in his chest.
"Ryou—!"
The Rasengan deals powerful blunt trauma through Chakra twisting; Ryou's internal organs were mangled by Minato's Rasengan.
Using the Chimera Technique to realign his organs, he then burned a life spore to restore his condition.
Ryou stood opposite Minato, somewhat confused by his rage.
Then he understood: Minato thought that he was the one who killed Jiraiya.
That was giving him too much credit.
Although Ryou was no longer who he used to be, he wasn't yet at the level where he could take down a Kage-level expert like Jiraiya.
Since he was being misunderstood, Ryou simply accepted it. He closed his eyes and then snapped them open.
The Three-Tomoe Sharingan appeared in his pupils.
Ryou straight up claimed Madara's achievements as his own.
"That's right, Minato. I resurrected Madara, I killed Jiraiya, and I captured Tsunade. I did it all."
Minato's peripheral vision swept over the devastated landscape, and he was shocked to his core.
Even Kirigakure front lines couldn't produce such a shattered battlefield. What kind of battle had they been through?
And that red figure toyed with Orochimaru-senpai... that aura of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood felt like a top-tier powerhouse who had fought his way out of the Warring States Period.
Is that... the resurrected Uchiha Madara?
Minato recalled the description from Mount Myōboku's liaison frog.
All of this was because of... Ryou!
Minato gripped his Kunai, his expression solemn: "It's my fault for being too careless. I can't believe I was fooled by you back then."
Ryou chuckled: "Minato, you did indeed pierce my heart, and I almost died."
"But unfortunately, next time, remember to aim for the head!"
Minato tightened his grip on the Flying Thunder God Kunai: "Thank you for the advice, I'll be sure to remember it! I won't make the same mistake twice."
Minato was about to move, but Ryou was even faster than the yellow flash.
"Ancestor, save me!"
Ryou dropped the act and ran straight toward Madara.
It wasn't that his movements were fast; he was just fast at running away.
Minato: "(⊙_⊙)."
"If you encounter Konoha's yellow flash, the mission can be abandoned immediately without accountability!" — Iwagakure Ninja Regulations.
In a one-on-one, the Flying Thunder God is invincible.
Without a counter or a way to defend against space-time Ninjutsu, don't even think about fighting Minato alone.
Even if you have one, do you think your battle IQ can match Minato's?
That idiot Obito thought he could counter Minato with Kamui, but in the end, he was still beaten into a pathetic retreat by Minato.
Without White Zetsu cells, he would have been killed long ago.
Ryou had a way to deal with Minato: his main body would use the Mayfly Technique to hide underground, and then he would fight with Spore Clones.
But if the main body couldn't win, wouldn't the clones just be feeding him?
Why bother with all that useless stuff! Just let Old Demon Madara handle Minato.
Madara used Wood Release to bind Orochimaru, but at this moment, Madara's body seemed to be experiencing some minor issues.
A curse mark bearing the symbol of Ryūchi Cave appeared on his arm, accompanied by some small red spots.
This was... snake venom!
Orochimaru laughed loudly: "Madara, this is my poison curse mark, made by combining the venom of the Ryūchi Cave's White Snake Sage with a curse mark."
"Even a Ninja like the First Hokage would die in an instant if they were struck by my poison!"
"Ridiculous!"
Madara sneered, and the Yin-Yang Release within his body instantly suppressed Orochimaru's poison curse mark.
"Die!"
Madara formed hand seals, and a Wood Golem's fist smashed down toward where Orochimaru was.
The punch shattered mountains and seas; the surrounding dozens of miles shook violently as if hit by an earthquake.
Orochimaru... not even a bone remained!
After the commotion subsided.
Minato, holding Jiraiya, looked with shock and uncertainty at the Wood Golem that seemed capable of crushing everything.
"This... what kind of Ninjutsu is this?"
Madara then turned back and noticed Minato.
Minato was instantly frozen in place.
Uchiha Madara, the legendary Ninja of the Warring States Period, the man who stood on equal footing with the First Hokage.
Jiraiya suddenly gasped for air and struggled to give Minato instructions: "...Minato, run... you are no match for him..."
"Sensei!"
Minato helped Jiraiya up and glanced at Madara.
"Hmph! Thinking of escaping?"
Ryou charged back, a Rasengan forming in his hand.
Minato activated the Flying Thunder God Technique; suddenly, before vanishing, he saw a yellow-and-white shadow struggling out and lunging toward him.
"Minato-sensei! Minato-sensei!"
Minato: "(・_・?)."
Ryou's Rasengan smashed a large crater into the ground; the figures of the master and disciple, Jiraiya and Minato, were no longer there.
Ryou brushed the dust off his clothes and snorted: "They got away fast! Next time, I will definitely take both of your heads."
The great battle between the Sannin, Minato, Madara, and Ryou.
Minato fled in defeat, Jiraiya's life hung by a thread, Orochimaru was killed in action, and Tsunade was captured—Konoha's top fighting force was essentially wiped out.