Chapter 109: Hiruzen Sarutobi Is Captured

Within the Konoha Cemetery, Jiraiya and Hiruzen Sarutobi found themselves restricted in their movements.

Normally masters of ninjutsu, they dared not use any techniques and instead fought Tsunade using only taijutsu.

Tsunade was also holding back during the fight, careful not to use devastating taijutsu moves like the Heavenly Foot of Pain that could shatter the ground beneath them.

Branches continuously moved through the trees, positioning themselves in front of Tsunade and appearing around Jiraiya and Hiruzen from all directions.

Hiruzen Sarutobi and Jiraiya felt extremely frustrated—on one hand carefully countering Tsunade's attacks, while also remaining alert against chakra absorption.

Suddenly, another sharp sound cut through the air. Thinking immediately of the hidden Hyuga clan members and their known techniques, Hiruzen Sarutobi instantly performed a Body Replacement Technique.

"How unfortunate."

A faint sigh echoed softly.

Hiruzen turned his head to see Hiroki leaning casually against a large tree, completing the motion of drawing his palm inward.

At the same time, Hizashi launched an Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm toward Jiraiya.

Luckily, Jiraiya—who remained vigilant—managed to dodge it.

Frowning deeply, he bit his thumb, then smeared blood across the ground.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

Two small frogs appeared simultaneously, leaping onto his shoulders—one on each side.

"Little Jiraiya, are you ready?" Fukasaku the Frog Sage asked.

Shima the Frog Sage remained serious as well.

"Yes," Jiraiya nodded.

"Release!" He canceled a Shadow Clone technique.

He had planned for this day, leaving several Shadow Clones at Mount Myoboku to gather natural energy.

Now that the Shadow Clone jutsu was lifted, all the natural energy gathered by those clones returned to his main body.

With assistance from the two Frog Sages, he entered Sage Mode, strange eye markings forming on his face.

In Sage Mode, his sensory abilities strengthened dramatically. Positions of Shizune and other Hyuga clan members became clearly distinguishable, eliminating concerns about surprise ambushes.

Those not fighting directly were only watching; Shizune was no more than an observer here.

Hizashi stayed alert, ready to jump in and assist Tsunade if she ever fell into disadvantage.

Meanwhile, Hiroki now focused on Jiraiya's frogs, continuously launching Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm strikes at Fukasaku and Shima.

Jiraiya and both frogs grew increasingly annoyed but couldn't directly confront Hiroki without putting Hiruzen Sarutobi into an even worse position.

"Wood Release: Mute Binding No Jutsu!"

Without warning, several branches shot out from multiple directions, racing toward Hiruzen.

"Adamantine Prison Wall!"

The Enma staff, transformed into a diamond-hard Ruyi Bang (literally "flexible Ruyi"), was thrown forward by Hiruzen Sarutobi. At the same time, the Ruyi Bang cloned into dozens of identical rods, forming a cubic cage structure that intercepted the incoming branches.

Simultaneously, the two frogs seized their opportunity, leaping upward together while releasing piercing high-frequency croaks.

[Sage Art: Frog Croak] As the sound reached her ears, Tsunade's expression suddenly revealed signs of exhaustion.

Even the previously shifting pieces of wood froze in place abruptly.

[Sage Art: Hair Needle Senbon.]

Jiraiya's hair hardened and shot forward like a storm, firing rapidly.

"Tsunade-sama..." Shizune couldn't help but cry out, exposing her hiding place.

"What a noisy nuisance," Kaguya said with clear disdain in her voice.

Suddenly, the branches in the forest began to move again.

Ka... ka... ka...

It was as if they possessed consciousness, continuously connecting and stacking together, forming a wooden wall in front of Tsunade.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

Jiraiya's hair, like steel needles, pierced into the wooden wall. They penetrated through, only inflicting minor injuries on Tsunade behind it.

Tsunade coldly leapt backward.

Sarutobi Hiruzen couldn't help but feel stunned.

Could Wood Release really be this flexible? He had never seen Kinoto demonstrate such agility with Wood Release before.

"Jiraiya-sama, Lady Tsunade has never done anything to betray you. Why... why would you do this?" Shizune angrily shouted.

In her eyes, if not for Tsunade's quick reaction just now, her life might have been in grave danger.

Jiraiya silently chuckled bitterly in his heart.

Perhaps being misunderstood was the price every messenger paid.

Just as Sarutobi Hiruzen was momentarily distracted, danger quietly descended.

[Wood Release: Thorned Binding Vines]

Several vine-like wooden tendrils erupted from underground, binding both him and Enma.

And that wasn't all—instantly, multiple wooden pillars emerged around him, prepared for any movement.

Enma could only revert to his original form. Vines covered his entire body, constricting both man and beast by the throat.

Realizing there was no way to break free, Enma immediately decided to cancel the Summoning Jutsu voluntarily, vanishing in a puff of smoke before everyone's eyes.

"Tsunade, are you truly going to kill your master?" Jiraiya couldn't help but ask.

"A gentleman's heart sees only honor, while a petty man sees deceit," Tsunade replied coolly.

Only she knew how cold her own heart had gone the moment she said it.

How exactly did Jiraiya see her—as what kind of person?

"Jiraiya, why don't you reflect upon what you've done yourself?" Tsunade couldn't help but say.

Jiraiya merely shook his head slightly, gazing at her with sorrowful, pitying eyes.

Tsunade suddenly burst into laughter without reason.

Had he gone mad?

Thinking this, Tsunade realized her own anger and resentment seemed completely unnecessary.

"Shizune, Hizashi Hyuga, you can all come out now..." Tsunade called.

Everyone who had hidden cautiously revealed themselves, approaching Tsunade.

"Just look at this impostor. I'll drag him back later for the village to deal with."

Although the wooden vines tightly bound Sarutobi Hiruzen, they didn't restrict his breathing. Tsunade jutted her chin toward him, still bound in place.

Yuki and others surrounded Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Tsunade looked at Jiraiya, seemingly waiting for his next move.

"Little Jiraiya, shall we go another round like before?" Shima, perched on his left shoulder, asked.

Jiraiya stared solemnly at the thoroughly ensnared Sarutobi Hiruzen and said seriously, "Tsunade, what will it take for you to release our teacher?"

Tsunade didn't reply, but then turned her head toward Hiruzen Sarutobi. "If you're going to hate someone, hate Jiraiya instead! I never wanted things to turn out this way—it's him who made you look so weak."

"He claims to be human yet constantly follows the frog's instructions. If that's the case, why not just give up his humanity then?"

"If the frogs are truly so powerful, why do they confine themselves to one area?"

"It's humans who dominate the land and lead the world's development—not a bunch of beasts."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's mouth was completely muffled, only his eyes visible. His eyes darted back and forth—no one could tell what he was thinking.

"Jiraiya, use that technique," Fukasaku said coldly, paying no heed to Tsunade's sarcasm. "These wooden pillars are too annoying."

"But…" Jiraiya hesitated slightly—he worried about damaging the cemetery.

"No buts…" Fukasaku repeated firmly.

[Sage Art: Goemon]

Jiraiya spat out frog oil from his mouth, Fukasaku used the Wind Release, while Shima employed the Fire Release. Together, these three combined into an immense and extremely powerful flame.

"That clearing's visible again—who's that over there? Is it Hiruzen?" Danzo Shimura's eyes lit up from a nearby location.

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