Takara was only still for a second between entering Sage Mode and Jiraiya's shout, quickly processing which moves he could make and which he couldn't to avoid revealing his identity.
If it were only the Konoha ninjas, he wouldn't need to hold back so much, but Jiraiya had ways of escape against which he couldn't act fast enough, especially now that he was in enemy territory, like reverse summoning.
Puppets, chakra threads, and noxins, discarded.
Needle sword, replaced by a metal chakra katana used by his puppets.
As for ninjutsu, it could also be used to deduce many things, but it also had its way of taking everyone by surprise and giving him an even more skewed identity.
He jumped from the ground and with a pendulum movement, he cut off the heads of the two nearest ninjas who didn't react to Jiraiya's warning in time, taking advantage of their slow reflexes to kill them.
Nineteen left.
As he was about to land on the tree branch, he was greeted by six fireballs, five wind blades, and multiple shuriken. He used the momentum he still had and, using his foot as an inverted hook, partially grabbed onto the branch to change his trajectory and avoid the attacks. They collided with each other, generating an explosion that gave him a push from his back, catapulting him toward another ninja and cutting him from the shoulder to the stomach.
Taking advantage of the momentary smoke from the explosion that hadn't dissipated yet, he performed hand seals.
—Sound Wave Jutsu!
Did they want him to be a ninja from Otogakure? Well, he would use that card!
While Takara couldn't use this technique with enough power to knock out those present as Orochimaru would due to lack of familiarity, it was still enough to leave them stunned for two seconds.
Two ninjas to his right widened their eyes when roses of blood bloomed from their necks under the impact of two kunai.
Who would have thought? In the end, these things do manage to kill someone when thrown.
Sixteen left.
The sound of burning paper caught his attention downward, watching as they also threw kunai with explosive tags attached, forcing him with the explosions to fall to the ground.
—Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld! Jiraiya slammed the ground with both hands while his gaze never left him.
The hard ground with grass where he was going to fall transformed into a surface of dark mud, large enough to ensure that his fall into it was inevitable.
But to everyone's surprise, using controlled chakra explosions, Takara "stepped" on the air three times, moving away from the swamp area and throwing another kunai, which missed when the target used the substitution technique to replace themselves with a wooden log.
Well, it seems he couldn't repeat the previous achievement.
Landing safely on a thick tree branch, Takara quickly performed abstract seals and inhaled enough for his chest to expand absurdly before exhaling.
—Sage Art: White-Eyes Blue Dragon!
A silvery viscous liquid took the form of a sinuous dragon with open jaws that quickly approached the most densely populated area of the encirclement, causing the expressions of the four targets to pale as they narrowly dodged the technique and passed between them without causing harm.
Before they could breathe a sigh of relief, the liquid contracted and burst into a rain of liquid bullets that pierced the ninjas, leaving them unrecognizable not only because of the number of tiny holes in their bodies but also because soon after, their bodies dissolved into a puddle that evaporated leaving nothing behind.
"Indeed, the other party can use Sage Mode," Jiraiya gritted his teeth as he watched the numbers dwindle to twelve. "He even has full Sage Mode!"
He would lie to himself if he denied feeling jealous and envious; the enemy didn't need help, and he didn't even mutate physically to become ugly like he did!
"Needles Jizo!"
Hair shot out from Jiraiya's white mane, seeking not only to damage Takara but also to dispel the transformation technique. Partly to know his identity and also because he wanted to confirm which Sage Mode he was practicing, as he couldn't see the characteristic markings either.
Takara opened his eyes at the sudden attack, and his body filled with chakra-hardened hair, leaving him seriously injured and staggeringly unstable.
"No, be careful!" Jiraiya realized it wasn't the real one.
Indeed, the clone turned into a puddle of slime and lost its form at the same time that several snakes emerged from the ground and wrapped around half of the ninjas who let their guard down, believing everything was done, managing to kill their victims by constriction amid screams and sounds of broken bones.
Six left.
"Hidden Snake Hands combined with the Mole Hidden Technique!"
Then the enemy has a contract with Ryuichi Cave!
Otherwise, it wouldn't be possible for him to use snakes, much less in this way!
But how could a subordinate of Orochimaru be appreciated enough to be allowed to sign the snake contract that he kept close?
The last one who managed it was Anko, and...
Jiraiya's eyes widened when a lightning bolt pierced his mind, and he understood everything.
"You... You're Orochimaru's son!" he shouted, pointing at him with a trembling finger.
"Nani?!" the other ninjas exclaimed at the revelation, shocked by the sudden revelation.
Takara even stumbled as he emerged from the ground.
Indeed, Jiraiya's thought process was truly legendary.