In an instant, the scale of the battlefield suddenly expanded.
Rasa's advantage spread to the other Sunagakure ninja, and the more they fought, the fiercer they became.
The morale of the Konoha ninja, by contrast, was extremely low.
The Jiraiya they had placed such high hopes on had actually fallen into disadvantage before Rasa.
Rasa had used a strange ninjutsu that forced Jiraiya into passivity.
"Kill these Konoha bastards!"
"Kazekage-sama is invincible!"
"Sunagakure will win!"
"Defeat Jiraiya!"
…
The Sunagakure ninja were excited to the extreme.
The territory they had retreated from because Jiraiya had attacked first was taken back all at once. They did not stop there, but continued pursuing and attacking the Konoha ninja.
Jiraiya's expression was ugly.
"Where did Rasa get so many strange ninjutsu?"
But Jiraiya no longer had time to think too much.
Because Rasa's attack arrived once more.
Jiraiya again dodged the pincer attack of the sand soldiers.
"Grant S!"
"Grant N!"
But very soon, another sand soldier rapidly charged toward Jiraiya, getting closer and closer.
At the same time—
"Gold Dust Thundercloud!"
At some unknown moment, a large mass of gold dust had appeared above the two of them.
Large amounts of lightning appeared within that gold dust.
Then it descended violently.
Silver serpents of lightning crackled and snapped.
The entire region was enveloped by lightning. The Konoha ninja outside who wanted to support Jiraiya could not even approach.
"So this is Rasa's strength?"
"He's completely suppressing Jiraiya-sama!"
"What terrifying Lightning Release!"
"Will Jiraiya-sama be alright?"
The special nature of the sand soldiers caused Jiraiya tremendous trouble.
And the thundercloud covering the sky above also made Jiraiya suffer bitterly.
Even his vision was obstructed. He could not see Rasa's position clearly at all.
But it had no effect on Rasa.
Rasa wanted very much to get rid of Jiraiya.
Sunagakure and Konoha were enemies, not friends.
The stronger the enemy, the worse Sunagakure's situation.
And Jiraiya was an extremely important part of Konoha's strength.
Jiraiya regarded Konoha as more important than anything else. He was loyal and devoted. Against enemies, he would show not the slightest mercy. His hands were stained with the blood of countless hostile ninja.
Including Sunagakure ninja.
Moreover, his strength was extremely high, especially after entering Sage Mode.
That was why Rasa wanted to eliminate Jiraiya here.
This time, Jiraiya had not used Sage Mode. Next time, he might come prepared with Sage Mode, and his strength would be far greater than it was now.
This was the best opportunity.
Rasa used his full strength.
"Crescent Moon Sand Dune!"
A mass of special sand appeared over Rasa's right arm, transforming into the shape of a large hand as it grabbed toward Jiraiya.
Jiraiya wanted to dodge, but because of the sand soldiers' restraint, he could only block.
He condensed chakra into his palm.
"Rasengan!"
The two collided.
Jiraiya's expression suddenly changed. He abruptly felt a force of attraction appear on his arm. The moisture within his arm was rapidly being extracted, causing the arm to wither.
And that withering was still spreading.
Jiraiya's pupils shrank. He gritted his teeth, raised a kunai, and slashed fiercely at his own forearm. At the same time, he retreated as quickly as he could, even if it meant enduring the sand soldier's attack.
Puchi!
Puchi!
Two sounds rang out.
One was the sound of Jiraiya's forearm being severed.
The other was the sound of the sand soldier's spear piercing into Jiraiya's body.
"Damn it!"
But Rasa's attack still had not ended. Instead, he pursued with even greater speed.
"Ninja Art: Needle Jizo!"
Countless hair-thread senbon shot toward Rasa.
What shocked Jiraiya was that this time, Rasa did not dodge.
Instead, he withstood the ninjutsu and further closed the distance between them.
"What?"
Closer.
Even closer.
Rasa raised Anubis in his hand.
Jiraiya was stunned that Rasa had not dodged his Ninja Art: Needle Jizo.
But the next moment, he was even more shocked that his Ninja Art: Needle Jizo had failed to harm Rasa at all.
It passed straight through Rasa's body.
It caused no damage whatsoever.
When Anubis in Rasa's hand slashed down, Jiraiya finally came back to his senses. It was already too late to dodge, so he could only raise the kunai in his hand to meet it and block.
But the metallic clash he expected did not ring out.
Puchi!
Jiraiya saw that the blade in Rasa's hand, at the instant it collided with his kunai, passed directly through it without the slightest obstruction.
The kunai in his hand seemed not to exist at all.
"What?"
Jiraiya's pupils suddenly constricted. He moved his body with all his strength.
Puchi!
Anubis's sharp blade swept across him.
A wave of intense pain struck.
Blood gushed out violently.
Jiraiya's eyes widened to the extreme.
Suddenly—
"Reverse Summoning Jutsu!"
At the most critical instant, half of Jiraiya's body vanished.
The lower half dropped powerlessly onto the sand.
"What a pity."
A trace of disappointment appeared in Rasa's eyes.
"If I guessed correctly, that should have been Gamamaru acting. He didn't act when Jiraiya was killed by Pain, but this time he actually saved Jiraiya? Because the things he wants Jiraiya to do aren't finished yet?"
"But with injuries like Jiraiya's, even if he survives, he won't have much strength left."
"There won't be much difference from being dead."
With Jiraiya's defeat, the situation on the battlefield instantly became clear.
The Konoha ninja fled in terror in every direction.
The Sunagakure ninja pursued excitedly.
"Konoha has lost! Konoha has lost!"
"Jiraiya has lost!"
"Our Sunagakure has won!"
"Kazekage-sama has won!"
"Long live Kazekage-sama!"
…
Before long, Jiraiya was sent back to Konoha's medical department by the toads. His body was wrapped in bandages as he lay motionless on the sickbed, eyes tightly shut, an expression of pain on his face.
In this battle, Jiraiya had lost.
He had lost completely.
He had lost one arm and both legs. Only by relying on Mount Myoboku's Reverse Summoning Jutsu had he barely escaped with his life.
The Hokage Building.
"What?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi shot to his feet.
"Jiraiya lost?"
"Even Jiraiya lost?"
"And he was severely injured?"
"Just what level has Rasa's strength reached?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's face was ugly.
"This… what should I do now?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi had originally placed great hopes on Jiraiya.
He had hoped Jiraiya could teach Sunagakure a lesson, make Sunagakure restrain itself, and stop them from arrogantly publishing so much anti-Konoha content in Ninja World Weekly.
He had never imagined Jiraiya would actually lose.
"With Rasa's personality, he will definitely take even harsher measures against Konoha."
"That fellow is the typical sort who never forgives once he gains the upper hand."
"Damn it. Why did Jiraiya lose?"