Path Of War-Chapter 344: I’m Disappointed

Jiraiya took a deep breath, then crouched low with all fours on the ground. Without warning, he launched himself high into the air, and at the peak, his body arched upward.

"Sage art: massive rasengan!"

A swirling sphere of chakra rapidly grew in his palm, aimed directly at Hoshikaze and John.

But while the technique descended upon them, something unexpected happened: the front fabric of their white cloaks tore apart as if it had been struck by sharp blades.

'Sage art, triple water dragon jutsu...'

Jiraiya's eyes widened in surprise after six enormous water dragons erupted from the surrounding water and collided with the descending Rasengan.

Boom-boom-boom-boom-boom!

A colossal explosion was created, followed by a flash of blinding light and a deafening noise that sent shockwaves rippling outward. Such force.

Jiraiya managed to land safely on the ground, but what he saw next froze him in place. Every enemy—Arthur, John, Kaito, Ryugetsu, and Hoshikaze—had entered their own version of Sage Mode: Simian Sage Mode!

Their abs were more chiseled as primal natural energy coursed through them. Jiraiya didn't need to see their faces to tell just how much the tables had turned. For it wasn't in their eyes, but in how each of their arms radiated with different elemental chakra natures.

"We're in a lot more trouble than I figured," he relayed to his two companions.

"Shush, Jiraiya-boy!" Shima instructed. "If we're gonna get outta this alive, you'll need to focus!"

"No need to tell him twice, ma."

Kaito, sensing an opening, leapt into the air with a jump kick aimed at Jiraiya's head. Jiraiya barely managed to block it as the force of the impact staggered him momentarily.

But that was just the beginning.

Hoshikaze seized the opportunity to strike by appearing suddenly in front of the Sannin and swiping at his side, sending him flying toward John.

Jiraiya flipped midair and tried to land a kick to destabilize his opponent, but John was ready. With a single forearm, he intercepted Jiraiya's attack by catching his ankles. Then, with an almost casual flick, he summoned Hiramekarei.

As a blue, ethereal blade formed to slice Jiraiya's arm off, Fukusaku deflected it with at technique.

"Water tongue battle slash!"

His long, thick tongue shot out with tremendous force that propelled John back. With one slow backflip, John softly landed on two feet. Fukusaku's eyes widened in shock—his technique was powerful enough to cleave heavy metal in two, yet there wasn't a single scratch on John's torso! fɾēewebnσveℓ.com

"You're getting distracted," Kaito hissed with his Boltswords already drawn. Electricity crackling along his weapons. 'Lightning blade jutsu: thunderbolt...'

Jiraiya barely had time to respond by resorting to one of his strongest video game techniques: "Sage art: flaming rasengan!"

It collided with Kaito's Thunderbolt and created a violent storm of fire and lightning that illuminated the entire battlefield.

"We've never seen that before..." John relayed to Arthur.

The explosion continued, sending shockwaves through the air. In the midst of the clash, Shima shouted, "Jiraiya-boy, those two are trying something."

Indeed, Arthur was trying something; he materialized the Blade of Chaos and charged it. When it reached its maximum velocity, he swung it downward in a sweeping arc, unleashing a massive bolt of pure lightning that crackled with destructive energy.

Ryugetsu responded immediately by waving his Leaf Fan to amplify Arthur's attack. The combined electricity surged outward in a blinding wave that engulfed everything in its wake.

And in that moment, everything changed. The force of the attack was so immense that it struck the four—Kaito, Jiraiya, Fukusaku, and Shima—all at once.

The battlefield was then engulfed in a deafening explosion of light and sound that caused an electric storm to tear through the air.

When the dust and sparks finally settled, there was silence. The toads and Jiraiya all lay battered and stunned, some bleeding, others trembling from the shockwave. The battlefield itself was littered with the charred remnants of their clash.

Jiraiya himself could barely breathe at this point. More importantly, his Toad Sage Mode just ran out.

Struggling to see, his eyes saw Fukusaku and Shima, who were practically down for the count. The electric attack had been brutal, and he knew that the fight was about to end with his demise if he didn't do something.

They had underestimated their enemies, but now they knew—these foes were beyond anything they'd faced before.

"No more Sage Chakra," Arthur's voice rang out in his head. "That's too bad..."

Jiraiya clenched his fists in refusal to give up. No, not when he still had so much to give. But what was he to do in this weakened state? His body was battered, and he struggled to breathe.

Suddenly, Arthur was upon him. Arthur reached down and grabbed Jiraiya by the ankle before heaving him upward like a ragdoll. Jiraiya's body twirled helplessly as blood bubbled from his mouth.

Kaito and John reacted in unison by quickly leaping into the air with their weapons drawn. They slashed at Jiraiya, causing the Sannin's form to spin wildly. That's when Hoshikaze appeared at the apex of Jiraiya's fall and delivered a strong kick that forced him downward.

As Jiraiya descended toward Arthur, time slowed down for a moment. The Sannin looked and saw Arthur upside down. But in truth, it was Jiraiya who was the one upside down.

To think he'd have to face such a well-prepared opponent, he thought.

Then Arthur's body started to move faster than Jiraiya's slow descent. He swung the Blade of Chaos in a wide arc and cleanly severed Jiraiya's leg off!

The sound of flesh and bone splitting echoed sharply as Jiraiya's body hit the ground hard.

"Argh!" he screamed, feeling the poisonous pain the blade caused.

Shima, who had been unconscious, suddenly stirred. Her eyes fluttered open to the horrific scene—blood, destruction, and her student's severed limb.

"Jiraiya-boy!" she desperately called out.

What she failed to see was that Kaito was right behind her. He stepped in front of her and blocked her view. All she could see now were his cold, unyielding eyes under his hood—a warning that said he was going to kill her.

She struggled to move, to reach the fallen Jiraiya, but suddenly chains erupted from the ground and coiled tightly around her. She thrashed and tried to break free, but the chains held firm. All she could do now was cry out in frustration.

From behind, Fukasaku managed to crawl upright. His voice was strained, but he managed to lunge forward and shout with all his strength, "Get away from her!" But before he could reach Kaito, Ryugetsu intercepted him with a kick right in the toad's side. "Argh!"

"I see you talking creatures aren't wise after all," Arthur taunted without looking in their direction. He then stepped closer to Jiraiya, who was barely conscious. "As for you, I'm... disappointed."

He nodded at Kaito. The signal was understood instantly. Kaito's chains tightened further around Shima and lifted her high into the air. She struggled fiercely and tried to break free, but the chains were not going to break.

Meanwhile, Hoshikaze twirled the Executioner's Blade, and with a quick motion, he hurled the weapon in the air. The blade sliced through Shima's neck and instantly killed her.

Blood burst out as Fukasaku's eyes widened in shock. The brutal sight of seeing his wife's head separate from her body made him go into a rage.

But the moment he even dared to move, the elder toad felt a sharp pain in his back. When he looked, he both saw and heard a blue ethereal blade sticking through his belly from behind. He then let out a cry as pain overwhelmed him—such was the effects of being stabbed by Hiramekarei.

John slowly lifted Fukasaku's body and held him upright. The spinning Executioner's Blade, still airborne from Hoshikaze's throw, struck again—this time slicing off Fukasaku's head in a clean, brutal arc.

In that instant, both elder toads from the famous Mt. Myōboku had died.

Jiraiya remained unconscious as Arthur looked down at him. So far, he had played his cards right—not a single person had interfered thus far. So he still had to be careful.

Given Jiraiya's strength and the importance of the fight, Arthur and his clones needed to be incredibly strong to defeat him. The battle demonstrated that they were more powerful than Jiraiya alone due to their combination of physical strength and perfect synchronicity.

Perhaps if the Sannin had help, these results may have been different. And perhaps if it was a one-on-one, he would have likely been able to defeat the clones individually.

This fight also showed how strong Arthur was. Both his physical prowess and his intelligence surpassed that of a typical shinobi, enabling him to easily defeat even large creatures like Gamabunta. This was further emphasized when he stopped the enormous sword in Gamabunta's attack with his palms.

From what everyone understood, Jiraiya was considered the strongest character before the Akatsuki's introduction. Now that Arthur's defeated said character, that technically puts him around the top five of the strongest foes in this world.

Why only the top five? For one instance, he didn't like the results his ice style techniques brought forth; his ice wolves were too easily destroyed by a simple defensive technique.

One could argue that it was from Jiraiya, but that only showed how less potent many of Arthur's ninjutsu skills were.

The biggest factor that won him this fight was undoubtedly his clones. Hoshikaze's strength, Kaito's speed, John's versatility, and Ryugetsu's vigour—these clones appeared to be on par with Jiraiya when combined. And give them unique weapons; Arthur may not have even needed to lift a finger.

Additionally, their combined efforts were sufficient to push Jiraiya to his limits, causing him to enter Sage Mode and then, after intense exchanges, be pushed to the brink of death.

Perhaps they weren't like Nagato's Sage of Six Paths; they were most certainly just as deadly.

And despite the Sannin's formidable skills, Arthur simply knew too much about his skills. All those fire style techniques, his frog kata taijutsu—they were all prepared for in advance.

Why else had Arthur chosen to summon Shisui? It was to test the Uchiha's latest Mangekyō Sharingan ability. Because throughout the entire fight, Arthur was merely testing his strength.

After finding the results adequate enough, one by one, he and his clones surrounded the fallen Sannin. Their eyes glowed bright red—a sign that their Tamashiis was being pushed to their maximum output.

The clones then raised their hands and performed the same hand signs simultaneously. Their chakras flared brightly as they channeled it into a potent genjutsu—an illusion meant to trap Jiraiya's mind.

A red glow burst forth before enveloping Jiraiya in a swirling, dreamlike aura. His body stiffened as the illusion took hold.

By the time things settled and the darkness faded, Jiraiya awoke with a sudden gasp as if he'd just come out of a nightmare. His body was drenched in sweat, and for a moment, he simply lay there, trying to catch his breath.

Quickly, he moved his hand to his side, feeling around under the covers to see if his leg was still there. The reassurance of his limb grounded him—nothing was missing. He was still himself.

He then tried to clear his mind, but the unease persisted. His thoughts were scattered, and he struggled to relax. Then, out of nowhere, he felt movement beneath the sheets next to him. Before he could react, he reached out instinctively, pulling the sheets away.

Beneath the covers was Tsunade. She was still asleep with a relaxed face. But what shocked him the most was that she was half naked!