Starting as the mastermind behind Naruto

Chapter 149 The Trail of Two Rogue Ninjas

Jiraiya is very strong in Sage Mode.

If he wanted to, he could escape from the encirclement of top-tier forces like the Six Paths of Pain, and with sufficient intelligence, he could even kill a few of them.

The Fukasaku and Shima sages sitting on Jiraiya's shoulders may appear short, but they are actually the strongest fighting force that Mount Myōboku can summon. In addition to providing him with natural energy to maintain Sage Mode for a long time, they can also fight alongside him.

However, after defeating Might Guy in his Shock Gate state, Uehara Naraku's confidence was greatly boosted, and he was certain that he could win.

If Uehara Naraku were willing to fight to the death, Jiraiya, without any information, probably wouldn't be a match for him, right?

After all, if all else fails, Uehara can still summon Galio.

However, the relationship between Jiraiya and Akatsuki is complicated.

Uehara Naraku didn't want the fight to be too intense; he just wanted to take the rewards for defeating Jiraiya, since those rewards were sure to be pretty good.

Uehara Naraku looked at Jiraiya and shook his head, sighing softly, "I respect you very much. My teachers and elders have great respect for Lord Jiraiya. If they knew that I was your enemy, they would be very unhappy."

This sentence is true.

Even though the master and disciple went their separate ways, Konan always held Jiraiya in high esteem.

"Oh?"

Jiraiya raised his eyebrows, seemingly showing some interest: "Unfortunately, I didn't make many friends in Amegakure... Many years ago, I did take on three disciples in the Land of Rain, but unfortunately, they all died in the Third Shinobi World War."

"Little Jiraiya".

Fukasaku suddenly interrupted their conversation, saying in a deep voice, "Don't waste time communicating through spirit mediums! Bunta is still lying in bed! Let's hurry up and finish this; my wife and I need to go take care of him!"

"Huh, is Bunta injured? What happened?"

Jiraiya had some old friends who cared about him.

Fukasaku nodded and explained in a low voice, "Well, Gamabunta said that one of Naruto's friends injured it, something like... something..."

"Uehara Naraku."

Uehara Naraku revealed his name and explained, "Actually, I just wanted to help Naruto capture his summoning beast. After all, Jiraiya asked me to help him, and I happened to find that the toad named Gamabunta had a foul mouth and was a bit disobedient."

The gazes of the man and the two toads immediately fixed on Uehara.

Jiraiya couldn't help but slap his forehead and say, "Hey, kid, that's not what I meant..."

Fukasaku the Sage immediately said with some displeasure, "This brat is really meddling! A summoning beast is a ninja's partner, not a ninja's servant..."

Master Shima couldn't help but roll up his sleeves and chime in, "Jiraiya, this brat really needs to be taught a lesson... Let's not waste summoning time, let's finish this battle right away!"

"clear."

This battle was unavoidable.

The chaos in Konoha must be quelled immediately.

"Earth Release·Yellow Spring Marsh!"

Jiraiya swiftly clasped his hands together in a hand seal, instantly turning Uehara Naraku's feet into a swamp in an attempt to limit Uehara Naraku's speed.

However, when the spell ended, Jiraiya stared in surprise at Uehara Naraku's empty feet, not a speck of mud on them...

This thing has been in flight the whole time!

"An enemy capable of levitation?"

Shima the Sage frowned immediately, opened his mouth and stuck out a long, thin tongue towards Uehara Naraku, attempting to restrain his movements: "Tongue Bind!"

"Secret Technique! Dusk Blade!"

A purple chakra broadsword instantly appeared in Uehara Naraku's hand, attempting to sever the slender tongue with a single strike. However, the chakra-infused tongue was exceptionally resilient, tightly binding his purple broadsword.

"Water Release: Water Slash!"

A thin stream of high-pressure water gushed from Fukasaku's mouth, slicing horizontally towards Uehara Naraku's body, seemingly trying to split him in two with one move!

Uehara Naraku simply released the purple broadsword in his hand, instantly appeared behind Jiraiya, and punched Fukasaku Sage in the head!

"We were already on guard against this move!"

Jiraiya suddenly turned around and clenched Uehara's fist, feeling a tremendous force coming at him. If Jiraiya hadn't activated Sage Mode, he felt that he would have had a hard time landing that punch.

However, this didn't stop Jiraiya from praising, "Your Body Flicker Technique alone is faster than Hanzo of the Salamander, and even comparable to that little brat Minato!"

Yes.

Uehara Naraku's teleportation speed is extremely fast.

If Jiraiya hadn't known that Uehara Naraku hadn't left any Flying Thunder God mark, he might have even suspected that Uehara Naraku had learned the Flying Thunder God technique.

However, now that he had caught Uehara Naraku's broken formation, Jiraiya certainly wouldn't give up. He quickly opened his other hand and was about to strike Uehara Naraku with a palm: "Sage Art: Rasengan!"

Snapped!

Uehara Naraku used his other hand to grab Jiraiya's hand as well, feeling the air currents from the Rasengan as it rubbed against the ground. He slowly raised his head and looked at the tall Jiraiya, saying softly, "A ninjutsu without hand seals, huh? That's truly impressive, Jiraiya-sama!"

However, the Rasengan suddenly vanished the next moment!

An unseen attack sent Uehara Naraku flying!

The Frog Kumite, a secret martial art technique from Mount Myōboku, allows one to manipulate natural energy to attack enemies in a way that is completely undetectable.

Uehara Naraku glanced at the damage the Frog Kutatsu had inflicted on him, his brow furrowing involuntarily. His hands moved swiftly, forming hand seals, and a massive hurricane vortex appeared around him: "Wind Release: Hurricane Howling!"

The hurricane moved rapidly toward Jiraiya, engulfing him and the others within its embrace.

Jiraiya frowned, and could only attach chakra to his feet to stabilize his body, lest he be swept into the hurricane.

In this way, they would only be able to face Uehara Naraku's attacks.

as predicted.

Uehara Naraku did not let this opportunity pass. A towering wave rose from beneath his feet and instantly surged toward Jiraiya!

"not good!"

Jiraiya's expression changed drastically upon seeing the massive waves. He could only clasp his hands together in a defensive seal: "Earth Release: Earth Flow City Wall!"

A tall earthen wall appeared before him!

Jiraiya, his feet covered in chakra, climbed up the earthen wall and looked down at the towering waves that swept in, quickly engulfing the area around the wall.

A moment later.

The hurricane gradually dissipated, and the waves gradually receded.

Fukasaku, the sage, said in a deep voice, "Jiraiya, I understand you may want to spare this brat's life, but we can't just keep reacting to his moves like this; it's wasting our summoning time!"

"yes."

Master Shima, standing nearby, urged, "Use powerful Sage Techniques immediately! This brat is not easy to deal with!"

"clear!"

Jiraiya leaped to the ground, his long hair instantly spreading out and transforming into countless stiff needles, which shot towards Uehara Naraku: "Sage Art: Needle Thousand Needles!"

"Wind Release: Wind Barrier!"

Uehara Naraku immediately created a wind wall to block the attack of the needle-like senbon. The two of them began their ninjutsu duel across the wide ruins!

For Jiraiya, this was clearly in line with his rhythm!

Once the wind barrier disappeared, Jiraiya swiftly launched his attack: "Ninja Art: Lion's Mane Technique!"

A wisp of white hair instantly lengthened, tightly binding Uehara Naraku's body in mid-air. Then, Jiraiya opened his mouth and spewed out a stream of oil: "Sage Art: Goemon... Toad Oil Bomb!"

As Jiraiya moved, Fukasaku, the sage beside him, opened his mouth and spat out a wind-style ninjutsu, while Shima, the sage, spat out a fire-style ninjutsu!

The flames quickly ignited the oil!

The wind fanned the flames, and the oil fueled their intensity!

In an instant, a massive, overwhelming fire surged toward Uehara Naraku, scorching the land with its raging flames, and even causing the oil to explode!

The fire wave came too fast, leaving no chance to dodge!

Moreover, this is a technique that is completely irresistible!

There is absolutely no way to extinguish these flames except by using foam turbulence.

Uehara Naraku frowned, and a golden light shield appeared around him. At the same time, his body rose rapidly, escaping the area scorching in the flames.

It is the invincible moment of the Holy Judgment.

This is the first enemy who has forced him to use his invincible power since his life energy and chakra energy exceeded 10,000 points!

Jiraiya is definitely not to be underestimated!

If you're not careful, you could easily crash!

Jiraiya's expression suddenly changed as he stared at Uehara Naraku, who was completely unharmed in the air: "What kind of technique is that? Is it a defensive technique similar to the Water Prison Technique?"

"I'm sorry, Jiraiya-sama."

Uehara Naraku raised his palm, and golden chakra lightsabers floated around the light barrier. He looked down at Jiraiya on the ground and said in a deep voice, "I must tell you, you have lost this time."

One after another, golden lightsabers shot towards the ground!

Jiraiya hurriedly rolled to dodge, only to see golden light swords shooting into the ground, causing cracks in the earth, clearly demonstrating their considerable power.

However, two lightsabers still narrowly grazed the bodies of Fukasaku and Shima, almost killing the two toad masters!

Or rather, these chakra lightsabers were originally meant for them!

Bang!

The two toads turned into smoke and disappeared!

Jiraiya's natural energy gradually dwindled, forcing him to exit Sage Mode, making the battle quite difficult for him.

Now that Sage Mode has been cracked, Uehara Naraku no longer hesitates. He has gained the upper hand, and the reward for defeating Sage Mode Jiraiya is already in his hands!

Next, I will use the momentum I gained from fighting Might Guy to defeat Jiraiya!

Uehara Naraku flew up and landed in front of Jiraiya, clenched his fist, and threw a punch at Jiraiya!

Bang!

The punch landed, but it only hit a shadow clone!

Immediately afterwards, Uehara Naraku was kicked away by another Jiraiya who appeared!

Uehara Naraku slowly got up, dusted himself off, and started cursing inwardly, "Why am I always getting outmaneuvered by the enemy's shadow clones lately?"

Ever since Uehara saw Itachi Uchiha use his crow clone to outmaneuver Obito Uchiha, he seems to have been having a run of bad luck. Today, he himself was tricked twice by Kakashi's lightning clone and Jiraiya's shadow clone.

Jiraiya glanced at Uehara Naraku, who was getting up in the distance, a slight smile playing on his lips. He said in a low voice, "Kid, I'm a little curious. You were able to copy Guy's ability earlier, so why didn't you use that technique on me? You clearly have plenty of chakra left, right?"

Uehara Naraku patted his hand and glanced speechlessly at Jiraiya, then replied softly, "Because Lord Jiraiya's abilities are not worth wasting my precious technique on."

That's obviously nonsense.

Uehara Naraku believed that Jiraiya's strength lay entirely in his summoning beasts. What if he stole a summoning technique?

Jiraiya's expression faltered for a moment. He clenched his wrist, his expression gradually turning serious: "What a troublesome little guy..."

Even after losing Sage Mode, Jiraiya didn't feel that his strength had decreased. As a traditional ninja, his fighting style wasn't limited to any one method.

The means of fighting are far more important than brute force.

Sage Mode is indeed very powerful, but because it summoned the two toad sages, Fukasaku and Shima, it also limited Jiraiya's diverse fighting styles, preventing him from summoning other summoning beasts.

Even in physical combat, Jiraiya had to ensure that no one could harm the two sages who were helping him absorb natural energy.

Faced with an unconventional genius ninja like Uehara Naraku, who possessed many rare ninjutsu, Jiraiya believed he had to use some unorthodox fighting methods.

"Ninja Art: Summoning..."

"Lord Jiraiya!"

Just as Jiraiya was attempting to form hand seals to summon a toad, several ANBU appeared around them, interrupting their battle: "Our advisor wishes you to see him immediately; we will take over this area!"

Dozens of ANBU ninjas leaped densely around them, instantly surrounding Uehara Naraku!

Clearly, this time it was a large-scale operation by Konoha's Anbu!

The leader of the ANBU walked up to Jiraiya and explained in a low voice, "The Third Hokage has died in battle. In order to appease the people of the village, the advisors believe that the next Hokage of Konoha cannot suffer another defeat. We will take over the matter here... I'm sorry, but please consider the bigger picture and leave this to us."

This decision was just made by two senior advisors of Konoha.

Because Jiraiya was unable to defeat Uehara Naraku for a long time, Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado, the two high-ranking advisors, wanted to appease the people and prevent Konoha's top fighters from suffering another defeat.

Strictly speaking, now that Hiruzen Sarutobi has died, Konoha is left with only Jiraiya, a top-tier shinobi with both prestige and strength.

Jiraiya and Uehara Naraku have been fighting for quite some time now. If Jiraiya were to suffer an unexpected defeat, it would severely damage Konoha's prestige.

Therefore, Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado decided to interrupt the battle and prevent Jiraiya from fighting the powerful enemy alone.

It must be said that, for the sake of the entire Hidden Leaf Village, the actions of the two senior advisors were understandable, albeit somewhat cautious, but reasonable.

After the Third Hokage's death, they urgently needed a top-tier fighter to inspire confidence in the villagers and instill fear in enemy nations.

What if Jiraiya, whom they consider the Fifth Hokage, were defeated by a Rain Ninja? Wouldn't Konoha lose all its prestige?

How can the dignity of the number one ninja village be maintained under these circumstances?

In particular, Konoha is now facing other troubles.

"I will never become the Hokage!"

Jiraiya shook his head. He had never liked the position of Hokage before, and he hated it even more after today.

Jiraiya sternly rejected the Anbu's suggestion: "Go back and tell them I will help them find a suitable candidate for Hokage!"

"Feel sorry."

The captain of the Dark Guard refused Jiraiya's order and continued, "Lord Jiraiya, for the sake of Konoha, please obey the orders of the higher-ups."

"Step back!"

Jiraiya looked at Uehara Naraku, who was surrounded by a group of ANBU, and said in a deep voice, "Let me deal with this brat first. He's not someone you can handle easily. Step back!"

However, how could the arrival of the Dark Guard captain be unprepared?

The ANBU captain tossed a scroll toward Uehara Naraku and said in a deep voice, "The advisor has heard that you are willing to go to any lengths to forge an alliance between Konoha and Amegakure. Konoha has decided to agree to sign the alliance treaty with Amegakure..."

After saying that, the ANBU captain added, "If you agree, we will immediately send someone to contact Amegakure to sign a defensive alliance..."

"..."

Why would Konoha make such a concession?

Why would they make such concessions to a mere rain ninja like me?

Uehara Naraku was completely bewildered, not understanding why things had developed to this point.

He felt like he had shot himself in the foot!

Jiraiya found these concessions somewhat unbelievable: "What's going on here?"

The ANBU captain leaned close to Jiraiya's ear and whispered, "Lord Jiraiya, the sensory team has spotted two S-rank rogue ninjas around the village, one of whom is Uchiha Itachi!"

(End of this chapter)