Underestimated.
Jiraiya felt a little annoyed but had to admit that his opponent was right—he really couldn't keep up with such high-speed, highly mobile enemies.
But if he couldn't keep up, then so be it. These two creatures weren't too much of a threat, all he needed to do was remain cautious.
The real key to this battle was closing the distance to Deidara. Jiraiya's defense was strong, but his opponent's wasn't anything exceptional either. As long as he could land a solid hit, victory wouldn't be far away.
"Senjutsu! Continuous Earthfall Cover!"
A series of massive, disc-shaped rocks rained down like steps from the sky. Jiraiya leapt from one to another, quickly closing in.
"Not happening!"
Deidara instantly saw through Jiraiya's intent. Deathwing's tail slashed down in a vertical arc. As a dragon built for combat, its tail possessed incredible destructive power.
With a single swing, the massive dragon tail shattered the Earthfall Cover as if it were made of tofu. Seeing the incoming tail strike, Jiraiya knew better than to take it head-on.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
He slammed his hand against the rock beneath him, and in a puff of smoke, Gamaken appeared on the battlefield, startled by the sudden sensation of freefall.
"I'm so clumsy! I don't even know what's going on!"
"What's with this massive thing falling from the sky?! Can clumsy old me really block this?!"
Despite his confusion, battle instincts honed over years of combat kicked in. Gamaken raised his shield just in time as Deathwing's tail came crashing down. The impact sent him hurtling toward the ground.
Jiraiya used that brief opening. The moment Gamaken started to fall, he pushed off the toad's body and launched himself sideways, escaping the crisis in an instant.
"Thanks, Gamaken! You can head back now!" Jiraiya called out.
Poof!
Gamaken vanished in a cloud of white smoke as quickly as he had appeared.
"Senjutsu! Earth Dragon Bullet!"
After witnessing Deidara's interference, Jiraiya realized that Earthfall Cover wouldn't cut it. Instead, he came up with a better approach.
Now, he was riding atop a fierce-looking earthen dragon, moving at a much faster and more agile pace, fully capable of dodging Deidara's harassment attacks.
Shit!
Deidara was caught off guard. He kept chewing on his clay, but preparing a C4-level explosive took too much time—he wasn't quite there yet.
Even if he managed to finish molding it, he would need to put some distance between himself and the explosion, otherwise, he'd blow himself up too.
"Deathwing! Dragon's Breath!"
Deathwing turned its head. A C4-class creation like itself wasn't limited to just physical attacks. It opened its jaws wide, its belly expanding and contracting slightly before unleashing a blast of golden-white flames. A thin layer of searing red surrounded the outer edges of the fire.
The flames were so hot that they no longer resembled the colors of ordinary fire. From below, someone might have even found the sight beautiful.
But Jiraiya certainly didn't think so. He immediately prepared to abandon the Earth Dragon Bullet to avoid the attack.
However, let's not forget—there was another force on the battlefield.
The God of Shinobi, Senju Hashirama.
Up until now, he had been holding back, launching moderate attacks while waiting for an opportunity. This was his combat style. His chakra reserves far exceeded even Madara's, and coupled with his monstrous defense and regeneration, the longer a battle dragged on, the more it worked in his favor.
Just like in the original battle at the Valley of the End, where he fought Madara for three days and three nights, exhausting even an opponent of that caliber to his limit.
Now, with Jiraiya's assistance, Hashirama adapted his tactics accordingly.
With a powerful clap of his hands, an overwhelming presence erupted from him.
"True Several Thousand Hands!"
It was difficult to describe the sheer, earth-shattering force of this technique. Under Hashirama's control, the thousands of layered wooden arms behind the Buddha statue all moved at once.
Each punch carried enough power to crush mountains, shatter meteors, and even pummel the Nine-Tails into submission.
The last time he used this technique, he transformed an entire plain into a deep valley, creating a river that flowed into a new waterfall.
That very place became the Valley of the End.
And that was after Madara's Susanoo absorbed most of the damage.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Deathwing, in the midst of unleashing its Dragon's Breath, was struck over and over, completely disoriented. It wasn't weak—this wasn't an attack that could take it down in just a few hits.
But it wasn't invincible either. Under the relentless assault of Hashirama's True Several Thousand Hands, all it could do was hold on for a few extra moments.
"Jiraiya! Now's your chance!" Hashirama shouted.
"Got it!"
Instead of retreating, Jiraiya accelerated forward. His cheeks puffed as he gathered power. Though still at a distance, he was already prepared to strike.
"Sage Art: Frog Call!"
To Deidara's surprise, Jiraiya didn't use a conventional jutsu—he unleashed a genjutsu.
After being infused with the Great Toad Sage's power, Jiraiya had mastered many new techniques.
Cough!
Deidara coughed up blood. Jiraiya's genjutsu forced him to continually inflict damage on himself to counteract its effects.
"Don't underestimate me! Hah!"
Deidara tore off his own left hand and hurled it at the incoming Jiraiya. The resulting explosion engulfed him in flames.
Even though it was part of his own body, the blast was still incredibly powerful.
After all, this was the ultimate form of art.
Jiraiya emerged from the explosion, his once-white hair now mostly burnt away, leaving him looking rather ridiculous. But he had no time to care about appearances.
His opponent had resorted to self-destruction—was this truly the end of the fight?
This battle had been shorter than expected, but far more difficult than he had imagined. He was grateful he had taken Kabuto's advice, without the First Hokage's assistance, he might not have stood a chance.
At that moment, another Deidara emerged from behind Deathwing, riding a clay bird as he ascended higher into the sky. Meanwhile, the Deidara on the ground remained motionless, as if waiting for death.
"Trying to trick us with illusions?"
"It's useless! In Sage Mode, I can sense clearly—this one in front of me is the real you! The one flying away is just a clone!"
Jiraiya's hands formed a massive Rasengan.
At the same time, Hashirama's attack followed suit.
"Senjutsu! Giant Rasengan!"
"True Several Thousand Hands!"
Facing two near-Six Paths-level attacks, neither Deidara nor Deathwing had any hope of survival.
Jiraiya exhaled slowly as he watched his enemies disintegrate into ashes.
Was it finally over?
Of course not.
"Don't be naive! Try out my latest masterpiece!"
A small, unremarkable white sphere dropped from the sky.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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