"You want me to defeat Rasa?"
Jiraiya sat on a stone, holding the secret letter delivered by the ANBU ninja.
As for war, Jiraiya had long since lost interest.
Ever since receiving the Great Toad Sage's prophecy, Jiraiya had been searching for the Child of Prophecy.
Only the Child of Prophecy could truly bring peace to the shinobi world.
Jiraiya had once placed his hopes on Minato Namikaze, but Minato had died.
Then Jiraiya thought of Yahiko and Nagato. But for a very, very long time, neither Nagato nor Yahiko had made any sound in the shinobi world.
That made Jiraiya unable to help wondering whether the two of them had unknowingly died at some point.
"Minato… probably wasn't killed by Teacher Sarutobi."
"Teacher Sarutobi does have some bad habits, but he shouldn't be evil to that extent."
"The one who created the Nine-Tails' rampage was someone else."
"Sunagakure…"
A trace of disgust appeared in Jiraiya's eyes.
On one hand, Jiraiya had always hated those who started wars. In his view, the current situation was Sunagakure constantly provoking Konoha.
Sunagakure was the one starting the conflict.
On the other hand, in Jiraiya's heart, Konoha stood above everything—even Tsunade had to be placed behind it.
"Teacher Sarutobi asked me to return to the village. It seems he truly has no other way."
"Minato is dead, and Sunagakure is pressing too hard."
Jiraiya tore the secret letter in his hand to pieces and threw it into the water.
"Then I'll let Sunagakure taste a little lesson."
Jiraiya did not carefully select a suitable target. Instead, he directly chose a Sunagakure ninja camp.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Along with a tremendous sound, an enormous figure appeared.
Its body was formed of deep red and light red colors. Its back was covered in bumpy protrusions, looking slick and sticky, and a grayish-brown cloak was draped over its body.
"Bunta, destroy them!"
At Jiraiya's command, Gamabunta immediately launched a fierce assault on the Sunagakure ninja camp.
"Enemy attack!"
Across the entire shinobi world, Gamabunta's strength could not be considered especially overwhelming.
But against ordinary ninja, he possessed an absolute advantage.
In just an instant, Gamabunta caused tremendous destruction.
However, after learning that Jiraiya had arrived at the border of the Land of Wind, there was no way Sunagakure would have sent only ordinary ninja to resist at the front line.
"Snort!"
A figure covered beneath sand suddenly stood up. With a violent shake, all the sand on its body scattered away.
Then it moved its four limbs.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
A pair of incomparably huge and sharp horns charged straight toward Gamabunta.
Behind the horns was the massive body of a giant bull.
After the appearance of the mechanical sand ships, the giant bull's role had been replaced.
First, the giant bull's speed was still relatively slow. It could not compare to the mechanical sand ships, and large amounts of food had to be prepared for it along the way. The mechanical sand ships had no such concern.
One energy ball could make a round trip and did not take up much space.
Second, Rasa wanted more people to feel an even greater and more urgent need for the mechanical sand ships. Only that way could the ships be sold for a higher price and bring more revenue to Sunagakure.
As a result, the giant bull had temporarily been liberated from the work of pulling ships.
Rasa had placed it on the front line.
Gamabunta was enormous.
But the giant bull's size was equally astonishing.
The two giant beasts clashed, and for a time, the earth shook.
Jiraiya frowned.
"Is this the summoned beast Sunagakure used to pull their ships?"
During the Third Great Ninja War, aside from Pakura and Rasa, Sunagakure's large summoned beasts had also drawn the attention of many people.
Kirigakure especially hated Yatagarasu. A series of explosive eggs had bombed them until they were in unbearable pain.
There was also the chameleon.
It had secretly infiltrated the heart of Kirigakure's camp and destroyed the dam, causing Kirigakure's army to collapse.
The giant bull was also known to everyone.
"This summoned beast is quite strong, but it may not be Bunta's match."
Jiraiya had great confidence in Gamabunta's strength.
But right at that moment—
An invisible figure quietly arrived behind Gamabunta.
Smack!
Gamabunta seemed to sense something, but it was already too late to react.
The chameleon's tail lashed out like a whip, striking Gamabunta hard across the back.
Gamabunta felt a sharp burst of pain.
The giant bull seized the opportunity and thrust upward violently.
Gamabunta's massive body was forcibly lifted into the air by the giant bull and flipped over.
Boom!
The next moment, he crashed heavily onto the ground.
The entire earth trembled.
Jiraiya's expression changed. He hurriedly joined the battle.
With the two giant summoned beasts as their core, the Sunagakure ninja briefly held back Jiraiya and Gamabunta's attack. But they also understood that they could not hold out for long.
Unless they were willing to pay an enormous price.
Just like when Iwagakure had surrounded and killed the Third Raikage.
"Hurry and send word to Kazekage-sama!"
The moment Rasa received the message, he directly used the Summoning Jutsu.
"Yatagarasu, we're going!"
Yatagarasu let out a cry and flapped its wings, quickly rising into the sky before flying at full speed toward the battlefield.
By the time Rasa arrived, the Sunagakure ninja had already retreated a great deal.
"Yatagarasu?"
"It's Yatagarasu! Kazekage-sama is here!"
"Wonderful!"
The Sunagakure ninja grew excited.
In their eyes, Rasa was omnipotent.
Rasa was invincible.
Even if the opponent was one of Konoha's Sannin—Jiraiya.
Even Minato Namikaze, who had mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique, had not been Rasa's match. How could anyone else be?
Rasa was the undisputed strongest person in the current shinobi world.
And more than that, Jiraiya had not participated in war for many years. How much of his former strength did he even have left?
The Konoha ninja's expressions became solemn.
Jiraiya raised his head and looked at Yatagarasu high in the sky.
"Sunagakure… Rasa."
"An opponent even Minato could do nothing against. This time, let me, his teacher, see just how capable you truly are."
Rasa looked down from above.
He saw the Sunagakure ninja being forced back step by step.
And he also saw the giant bull and chameleon, both badly injured.
But Gamabunta on the other side had not come away well either. He had suffered quite a few wounds.
Jiraiya took a deep breath.
"Rasa, come down and fight!"
Rasa looked at Jiraiya indifferently.
Then he gave Yatagarasu an order.
"Yatagarasu, use explosive egg attacks. Target the Konoha ninja!"
You tell me to come down, and I should come down?
You launched a surprise attack and caused such heavy losses to Sunagakure. Did you think I came all this way just to accompany you in a duel?
Where in the world was there such a convenient thing?
Konoha had to pay the price first.