Chapter 28
JIRAIYA- THE TOAD SAGE
"Huff, Huff" Jiraiya was breathing hard. He looked around and saw the devastation around him.
"It seems to me that your age has finally caught up with you, sensei," Orochimaru said from the opposite side. And Jiraiya's eyes moved toward his sensei.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was clutching his bleeding abdomen, and his armor had cracks in several places. Jiraiya again looked to the front and saw the four people they had been facing.
The form of the second and first Hokage had taken severe damage. According to sensei the kinjutsu, Edo Tensei was incomplete, and the reanimated shinobi were not at their full strength. And wasn't that daunting.
They were struggling so much against the mere shadows of these greats. And the thought sent shivers down his spine. Just how strong were they in their prime?
"Sensei, should I use ninjutsu?" he asked his sensei.
"NO!" the reply came. And then sensei stared at him and replied as he began making hand seals.
"This is going to end soon enough." And Jiraiya noticed the seriousness of his tone. Then Jiraiya heard a small tick from the opposite side and his eyes widened as he turned.
Mito Uzumaki was now constraining all three people besides her with her adamantine chains.
"DO IT NOW! SARU!" and then his sensei vanished from his side and appeared right in front of Orochimaru.
"REAPER DEATH SEAL." And as soon as the words left his sensei's mouth dread pooled in Jiraiya's heart.
"What are you doing? This will kill you!" he shouted.
He saw Orochimaru try and struggle, but a huge specter appeared behind sensei. The bodies of the first and second Hokage struggle to get free, yet the chains only bound them tighter. He pushed the chakra to his feet, heading straight towards his sensei to stop him, yet a huge chain was directed towards him and stopped him in his path.
He jumped to the side to avoid it.
"What are you doing? I must stop him!" he shouted at the reanimated body of Lady Mito. But the wife of the first Hokage looked at him sadly and shook her head.
"I can not allow you to do that. This is his determination. This is his battle. Let him finish this."
Jiraiya just gritted his teeth at that.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING OLD MAN? HAVE YOU GONE SENILE? DO YOU HAVE A DEATH WISH!" He heard his old teammate shout. Then he began making hand seals. As Orochimaru's eyes darted towards the body of Lady Mito.
"AND HOW ARE YOU FREE? I designed that control seal myself!" he shouted.
Lady Mito just gave Orochimaru a look. And then she scoffed and replied.
"If you think that patchwork could control me then you are overestimating yourself, child."
Orochimaru just gritted his teeth. And then Jiraiya's eyes widened as he opened his mouth and a sword came out of it.
Sensei was still holding onto Orochimaru.
"SENSEI!" he shouted yet the sword went right through his chest.
Hiruzen sensei spurted a mouthful of blood, yet he could see the sealing taking place. Orochimaru's life force was being driven out of his body. Orochimaru was struggling yet to no avail.
He felt sensei turn towards him and gave him a smile. And then his next words would make Jiraiya harden his heart.
"I leave the rest to you, Jiraiya."
The implication behind these words made Jiraiya tear up slightly as he nodded toward his sensei. At the same time, the reanimated corpses stiffened and he felt their skins crack and wither.
"NOOOOO! NOOOO! YOU OLD FOOL!" Orochimaru shouted and a part of Jiraiya felt sympathy for his old teammate.
"It seems my time is also up," came the voice of Lady Mito. As she looked toward her flaking hand.
"Jiraiya, look a—" but her words were cut off as Jiraya felt the space ripple in Infront of him. His senses warned him of a foreign chakra.
He saw Lady Mito's eyes going wide and then he saw a shape appear right behind Orochimaru with a swirl.
A man with a black cloak and a white mask. Jiraiya was able to make out the single shining Sharingan.
He saw Orochimaru stiffen slightly as fear came over his features.
"It seems I have finally found you," came the gruff voice from the mask. The man then looked, eyes leveling towards the shaking and flaking form of Mito.
"It is good to see you again, Mito." And Jiraiya was shaken. His senses were warning him to stay away. He could sense some form of natural energy permeating from the masked man.
"WHO ARE YOU? AND WHY DO YOU HAVE THAT CHAKRA!" Jiraya heard Lady Mito shout.
He saw the man place a hand on Orochimaru's back and soon the space was distorting around that area.
And Orochimaru was gone. He saw his sensei fall to the ground. The man then knelt on the ground, his hand on his sensei's body, and Jiraya's eyes widened.
"It is disheartening to see that you have forgotten about me Mito." The man said, and Jiraya was now rushing towards him. Chakra brimming to be let out. He could already sense another slight disturbance near the man.
"After all, you did seal away my fox, to save your husband."
'Rasengan.'
Jiraya shouted yet the attack did not connect as he felt his attack pass right through the body.
He could see that sole eye landing on him.
"So, you can use it too like him. Well, no matter. We will meet again, in time."
And then the man vanished along with his sensei's body. And Jiraya was angry and confused. He had passed right through that body. What was that? He then looked at Mito sama. Her body was almost completely gone.
"Was that him?" he asked quickly.
Mito sama shook her head.
"I do not think so. Yet be careful. That chakra I sensed is an extremely dangerous and ancient entity, those secrets were supposed to end with us yet somehow someone has tampered with them after all this time. Be careful Jiraiya. And …" but her words were cut short as he felt her eyes lose all color and her body slumped to the ground.
Jiraya processed her words and then closed his eyes. Sadness and anger were enveloping him. There was also a slight hint of worry, yet he could not ponder. For he had a duty. A duty entrusted to him by his sensei. He made hand seals and then slammed his hand on the ground.
'Summoning Jutsu.'
And out of the smoke appeared two small bodies. The two of the most ancient and powerful senjutsu beings amongst the toads.
"It is time Ma and Pa." then he felt them take a place on his shoulders. And Jiraya closed his eyes. He could feel his senses expand through the village. He and sensei were supposed to do this together yet now this all had fallen onto him.
Yet one surprise was the lack of Ichibi's huge chakra. Someone had taken care of that. He could feel his body get strength. And after some time, he stood up.
It was time to show the world, why his name was feared throughout the Five nations. It was time for Konoha's enemies to face the second sage of Konoha.
0000
SAKURA HARUNO
Sakura was shaken as she saw hundreds of bodies being brought to the hospital. People were running everywhere, and it all seemed like a mess. A huge shockwave had gone through the village some time ago and now she could spot some huge structure over at the arena.
"Sakura, hurry up we have been called." Ten-Ten san said and Sakura nodded and began moving towards the front of the hospital. On the way, both of them were joined by Shikamaru.
"What is going on?" she asked.
"I do not know but we were called by the commander of the guards." Ten-Ten san replied from the front.
All three of them reached outside the hospital. Several shinobi clad in Konoha uniforms were guarding the place. There were still sounds of fighting yet, it had lessened to some extent. They ran towards the man with the commander's band on his arm.
"Sir, we are here." Ten-Ten san said. The gruff man looked towards them all three.
"Ok, we have reports that two very critical patients are en route, and they are being attacked by enemies continuously. All three of you are to follow me and assist in their retrieval."
All three of them nodded and then they were rushing through the village but not far away she spotted a huge commotion.
"There, assist that genin in carrying the injured to the Hospital." And they rushed towards the genin.
As they got closer, she was able to make out the genin. It was one of her classmates.
"It is Shino," Shikamaru said. And she strained her eyes to see the two people beside him. She recognized the two individuals.
It was Shinso kun and that new red-haired Uzumaki girl. All three of them landed beside him and her heart dropped as she saw the state of the body of Shinso kun. Shinso kun was so strong. What had reduced him to such a state?
"Who did this to him?" Ten-Ten san questioned with a strained voice.
"He faced and stopped the one-tailed beast. He is severely injured and needs immediate medical attention. But the shinobi from sound have been attacking him consistently." Shino san spoke with a haggard breath.
He was also bruised with many cuts and bruises visible on his body. His coat was coated with a lot of red.
"Get out of here kids. We will cover for you." Came a shout and they were on the move.
They were able to reach the hospital and as soon as they entered, she spoke up.
"I have two patients. One male genin has severe chakra exhaustion and extensive injuries." She reported as per procedure and moved on. The med noting things on a pad.
"The other female probably retired genin. Chakra exhaustion with minimum injuries."
"We do not have a free bed. They will have to wait!" someone from the other side shouted.
"It is urgent. According to our jounin Hatake, they are a high priority." Shino san spoke.
"Everyone is high priority, but I have two units filled with jounins, ANBU, and chunins. He is a genin. So let me do my job." And Sakura saw him move forward. She checked Shinso Kun's pulse and it was very feeble. His body was cold and clammy. He was going into shock.
"He needs immediate help!" she shouted.
"Treat them first," a soft voice came from one side of the room. She looked toward the source and saw an ANBU with purple hair trying to get off her bed. The med nin was trying to push her back but she slapped his hand away.
"Treat him first. That kid stopped the Ichibi. Most of us wouldn't be here without him," the ANBU spoke again, and she saw the med nin stiffen due to the implication of those words.
Then she saw him nod and rush toward them. He immediately began checking over Shinso kun.
"Ok, he needs an operating table, clean of the injuries, and wrap them up. Flush him with fluids. ASAP. Check the blood type and get blood from the storage."
"Sir, we are out of blood in the storage," the second person replied.
"I am a match. I was examined before the tests. I can donate," Ten-Ten san said from the side and the med nin nodded.
"Ok, stabilize him first and then call me. There is something wrong with his chakra. But I can only deal with it when he is somewhat stabilized." The second person nodded and carried the roller toward the other side.
The med nin then rushed toward the red-haired girl, Karin, her brain supplied the name. And then he stopped for a moment.
"Isn't she the Uzumaki clan head?" he asked as he began to examine her.
"Yes," Shino Kun replied from the side. And then med nin completed the examination.
"She has severe chakra exhaustion. Get her into the non-lethal bay and monitor her vitals" and the junior nodded and the stretcher was getting moved once more.
"INCOMING! BRACE FOR IMPACT!" suddenly a shout erupted from a shinobi.
And her eyes went to the window, and she saw a huge boulder heading straight at them.
But just as it was about to crash into the building. A huge creature got in its way blocking the view completely.
'Reverse summoning Jutsu.'
She heard a deep voice. And she heard the boulder crashing into something. Yet the building remained untouched.
"It Is a toad. It is Jiaraya sama. We are saved," a shinobi shouted, and she felt a cheer break out in the Hospital.
And then she heard a huge signal. The sound was quite foreign to her. But from the reactions going around it was visible that it was not quite foreign to some shinobi.
"It's Sunagakure's retreat signal. They are retreating. We have won!" and she could feel the shift in the morale. Even she felt slightly lighter, they had repelled the invaders.
The worst was over. Or was it?
0000
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