Chapter 259: Announcing the Battle Team is a Must 

Nagato had refrained from using large-scale ninjutsu on Konoha for two reasons. 

One, to avoid damaging the Fourth Hokage's grave—if they lost track of it, Akatsuki would have no choice but to face the Nine-Tails head-on. 

Two, to buy "Madara" more time… 

Well, now he should be called Obito. 

Obito was taking way too long! Honestly, they should have switched—Obito should have come to Konoha, and Nagato should have gone to execute the next phase of their plan. 

Of course, given the state of his legs, that was just wishful thinking. 

Just then, a sudden surge of chakra erupted from behind him. 

Nagato, who had been on guard against Tsunade, instantly tensed up and frowned, shifting his gaze toward the source of the chakra flare. 

He saw Jiraiya, who had been standing motionless in the backlines, suddenly move forward. His figure seemed to disappear for a moment before reappearing right next to Tsunade. 

At this moment, Jiraiya's face had changed. Strange markings appeared on his skin, his pupils had transformed into horizontal slits, and his body now had odd bumps—he almost looked like… a toad? 

It sounded like an insult, but there was no better way to describe it. 

On Jiraiya's shoulders sat two small toads, one on each side. 

Tsunade snorted. "Too slow. No matter how strong Sage Mode is, in a real fight, no one is going to wait for you to activate it." 

Honestly, if she hadn't been holding off Pain for him, there was no way Jiraiya would have had the time to enter Sage Mode so easily. 

Jiraiya sighed helplessly. "Well, what can I do? I'm not like Naruto or Sasuke—I can't enter Sage Mode instantly. And I still haven't mastered it completely. Give me a little more time to train, and I should be faster." 

Tsunade shot him a glance. "You said that ten years ago." 

"Little Tsunade is right," the toad on Jiraiya's left nodded in agreement.

Fukasaku sighed helplessly. "Jiraiya, if you had just focused on training in Sage Mode, maybe you wouldn't be perfect, but at least you wouldn't need me and my wife to help you keep it under control." 

"Heh… cough." Jiraiya chose to ignore their teasing. 

Clearing his throat, he ignored Tsunade's annoyed look, struck a dramatic pose, and began speaking in a theatrical tone: "Now presenting~ the legendary sage~ the child of Mount Myoboku~ the great toad—" 

"You're too loud!" x3 

Fukasaku and Shima both punched Jiraiya in the face, one from each side, while Tsunade delivered a powerful blow to the top of his head. 

The combined strength of two toads and one woman left Jiraiya's face completely distorted, making him look utterly ridiculous. 

Tears welled up in the corners of his eyes. "W-why…?" 

All he wanted was a proper introduction! What did he do wrong? 

The slug on Tsunade's shoulder glanced at Jiraiya's misshapen face with concern. "Little Jiraiya, are you alright? Do you need me to heal you?" 

Mostly, the slug just had some lingering trauma from Tsunade's punches. 

Shima scoffed, "No need to worry, Lady Slug. We didn't even hit him that hard. He's just being dramatic." 

The slug paused, then glanced at Tsunade, somewhat unsure. "Is… is that true?" 

"It is," Tsunade said, nodding as she gave Jiraiya a dangerous look. "Right?" 

Jiraiya: "…" 

If I say no, she'll probably beat me to death. 

"…Right." Jiraiya nodded firmly. 

A true man knows when to surrender. 

"Anyway, the most important thing right now is the enemy in front of us." Fukasaku brought the conversation back on track, shifting his gaze toward Tendo, putting on the airs of a wise sage. 

Unfortunately, the serious mood didn't last long. 

The moment Fukasaku got a good look at Tendo, he gasped sharply, his voice filled with shock. "Those eyes…?! The Rinnegan?!" 

"What?!" Shima was just as stunned. 

Jiraiya hesitated for a moment before speaking slowly, "Yeah… that was revealed a few chapters ago. I'll explain it to you two later." 

Fukasaku: "???" 

Why is this guy talking like he's a character in a book?! 

Shima frowned. "Do we have any intel on him?" 

Fighting an opponent with legendary eyes without any information would be a nightmare. 

"We do." Jiraiya nodded and began explaining everything he knew about the Rinnegan and Nagato. 

The entire time, Tendo remained silent, watching Jiraiya clown around and casually share all of his information with Fukasaku and Shima, as if he wasn't even worried about losing. 

After Jiraiya finished, he turned back to Tendo. "Thanks for waiting, Nagato." 

"It's fine," Tendo shook his head slightly. "I'm actually curious to see what final lesson you have for Yahiko." 

Jiraiya grinned. "Oh? Interested, are you?" 

"I won't deny my curiosity. Sage Mode is something completely unknown to me—"

After all, even White Zetsu had no intel on this. Most of what they knew about Sage Mode came from investigating Naruto and Sasuke. 

Which basically meant they had almost nothing. 

At this point, Tendo paused for a moment before speaking again, slowly. 

"We need information on this technique, Jiraiya. If you surrender now, I won't kill you. Just hand over everything you know about Sage Mode." 

"You really think I'd agree to that?" Jiraiya shot back. 

Tendo didn't hesitate. "Of course not. Seems I was just wasting my breath." 

Tsunade couldn't stand listening anymore. She stepped forward, clenching her fist. 

"Enough talk. Jiraiya, I'm going all out. Can you keep up?" 

"Now… it's your turn to keep up with me." 

The playful look in Jiraiya's eyes vanished in an instant, replaced by absolute seriousness. 

"Nagato, I'm coming." 

Tendo was about to respond when, in the blink of an eye, a dark figure appeared right in front of him. 

His pupils shrank as he instinctively activated Shinra Tensei. But just as he did, he finally saw it—Jiraiya was already in front of him, Rasengan in hand. 

"So fast!" 

Sure, it was a sneak attack, but even Nagato had to admit that Jiraiya's speed had completely exceeded his expectations. 

"Shinra Tensei!" 

The powerful force sent Jiraiya flying backward. 

At the same time, Asura Path swung a massive steel saw while launching several missiles, aiming to take Jiraiya down midair. 

But before he could close in, Tsunade dropped from the sky like a meteor, crashing down in the middle of the battlefield. 

"Heavenly Foot of Pain!" 

With a thunderous roar, Tsunade's immense strength struck right in the center of the group. 

The ground shattered, sending debris flying in all directions, cutting off the escape routes of the five figures trying to dodge. 

Standing in the middle of the crater she just created, Tsunade smirked at Tendo. 

"Your technique has a cooldown between uses. Did you really think I wouldn't notice after using it so many times? Or do you think I don't have the eyes to see it?" 

"You're underestimating us!" 

As soon as she finished speaking, Tsunade slammed her palm into the ground. 

With a puff of smoke, Jiraiya shot out from the cloud, Rasengan ready, charging straight at one of the scattered figures. 

His target— 

Hell Path! 

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