Chapter 389: A Clash of Fates

A massive red figure with two sharp horns on its head appeared. In one hand, it held a huge yellow shield-like dish, and in the other, a Y-shaped spiked club. This was Gamaken, the toad summoned by Jiraiya, well-known for its defensive capabilities due to the massive dish it carried.

"Summoning jutsu..." Orochimaru muttered as he watched the arrival of Gamaken. He made no attempt to summon Manda, deeming it unnecessary unless Jiraiya summoned Gamabunta. In Orochimaru's eyes, a mid-tier summon like Gamaken wasn't worth expending chakra to counter.

But Orochimaru didn't know that Gamaken was not intended for offense. Jiraiya had summoned it merely to buy time to activate Sage Mode.

Had Orochimaru realized this, he would have summoned Manda immediately to disrupt Jiraiya's plans.

"Gamaken, hold off Orochimaru for a while," Jiraiya instructed, positioning himself behind the towering toad, out of Orochimaru's direct view.

"As you wish, Jiraiya-sama," Gamaken replied in a slow, deliberate tone, moving its colossal body forward to engage Orochimaru.

While Gamaken initiated its assault, Jiraiya glanced at Kotoe, who was still struggling to cleanse the toad oil from her body, before focusing his attention inward. He clasped his hands, revealing the mechanism hidden in his wrists that stored ritual paints. Using his middle finger, he marked his face, connecting the vertical red lines beneath his eyes into a unified pattern.

This was the Contract Seal, a necessary precursor to fusing with the two Toad Sages for Sage Mode.

With the seal complete, Jiraiya began the summoning process. Meanwhile, Gamaken advanced on Orochimaru, his massive frame stirring up clouds of dust as he swung his Y-shaped club repeatedly at the ground like a hammer.

Orochimaru, agile and calculated, dodged each strike with ease. After avoiding a dozen attacks, he completed a set of hand seals.

Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld!

The ground beneath Gamaken's feet turned into a swampy mire, causing his massive body to tilt and begin sinking rapidly.

"Damn..." Gamaken muttered, pressing his hands onto stable ground to steady himself, unable to continue his offensive.

Seeing Gamaken restricted, Orochimaru dashed toward Jiraiya, bypassing the immobilized toad.

In this brief exchange, Orochimaru had expended minimal chakra to counter a large summon, demonstrating the importance of strategy when fighting evenly matched opponents.

Jiraiya, observing Orochimaru's approach, remained calm.

"Perfect timing."

A thick white mist erupted, enveloping Jiraiya's form.

Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet!

Orochimaru formed another set of seals, summoning a mud dragon that shot into the mist.

Boom!

The mud dragon exploded within the mist, dissipating it in a gust of wind, revealing Jiraiya's transformed figure.

The attack had no effect.

Jiraiya's appearance had changed. His eyes had an amphibian-like quality, his nose was broader, and his chin sported a tuft of white hair. On his shoulders perched the two Toad Sages, Fukasaku and Shima.

"Jiraiya-boy, you summoned us at a terrible time," Fukasaku grumbled, holding chopsticks with a fat purple worm wriggling between them. "I was in the middle of dinner!"

"And I hadn't even started eating the meal I cooked!" Shima snapped, clearly irritated.

Jiraiya offered an apologetic smile, pressing his hands together in a gesture of respect. "My apologies, I didn't mean to interrupt, but I need your help urgently."

"You've never summoned us before," Fukasaku remarked, mildly surprised. "I remember you complained this form made you look ugly."

Jiraiya locked eyes with Orochimaru, his tone serious. "That's true. But now's not the time for vanity."

"Let's get this over with, you old geezer," Shima grumbled, though she shifted her focus to the task at hand.

Orochimaru's cold gaze flickered with intrigue as he observed Jiraiya's transformation. The aura emanating from him now bore an uncanny resemblance to the energy of the White Snake Sage.

"Could it be...?" Orochimaru's brow furrowed in realization.

"You can't defeat me in Sage Mode," Jiraiya declared with a resolute tone. He glanced briefly toward the other ongoing battle. Tsunade was holding her ground against Yezhi, but it was clear that decisive action was needed.

"Sage Mode?" Orochimaru echoed, his expression shifting to shock.

"How... How do you know about Sage Mode?" Jiraiya asked, genuinely surprised. He had never revealed his ability to enter Sage Mode, even to Tsunade or Orochimaru, until much later.

"Sage Mode isn't exclusive to Mount Myoboku," Fukasaku explained, still chewing on his meal.

Jiraiya's eyes widened at this revelation. He had always assumed Sage Mode was a unique art of Mount Myoboku. Was it possible that Orochimaru had also dabbled in it?

In truth, Orochimaru hadn't mastered Sage Mode; he had only begun to explore it.

To think that the so-called "dead last" of their generation had surpassed him in this way...

Orochimaru's shock gave way to a calculating glare. "Let's see how powerful this Sage Mode truly is."

Silently, Orochimaru activated a trap he had prepared during their earlier exchange.

The ground beneath Jiraiya quivered slightly.

Reacting instantly, Jiraiya leapt into the air. The moment his feet left the ground, massive stone spikes erupted from beneath him, narrowly missing their mark.

"So, he noticed..." Orochimaru muttered.

Orochimaru prepared to launch his next wave of attacks, but—

As Jiraiya landed, his figure blurred in an instant, moving several times faster than before. In a flash, he appeared directly in front of Orochimaru.

"So fast!" Orochimaru's pupils contracted sharply.

"Big Ball Rasengan!"

Jiraiya quickly gathered a massive amount of chakra into his palm, forming an energy sphere several times larger than the standard Rasengan, slamming it directly into Orochimaru, who had only just started to react.

Boom!

The immense energy hit Orochimaru squarely, eliciting a scream of pain as his body was launched backward like a cannonball, hurtling through the air.

After sending Orochimaru flying, Jiraiya did not pursue. Confident that this strike had severely injured Orochimaru, he turned his attention to Yezhi.

His next objective was to knock Ye Zi unconscious before moving to assist Tsunade.

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Currently on Chapter 444 - The Aftermath of Ye Zi's Rampage