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"Zed, do you think he can beat him?" Akali leaned against the wall, watching Konan and Jiraiya run past her one after the other, and then turned to ask the empty space next to her.

The shadow in the empty space rippled, and Jie slowly emerged. "I don't know, but be careful. Master Kennan has already captured those two Akatsuki members who entered the Sand Village. He asked us to protect Jiraiya's life."

"Why? What's so special about him?" Akali countered. As a ninja, there must be a reason for saving someone.

"Master Kennan advised that if you want to know about the past, it's best to find a creature that is still alive today. Jiraiya was a shaman from Mount Myōboku. Those toads are said to have lived for a very long time. Moreover, his partner is another shaman from Shikkotsu Forest. His junior brother is a shaman from Ryūchi Cave. It would be easier to communicate with him after you rescue him."

Jie explained, "More importantly, this person seems to be the world's number one bestselling author. This identity is quite useful. We might need to use his name to lure out the person behind him later."

"Oh, should we wait until he's half dead before rescuing him, or should we go over there now?" Akali asked, brandishing the scythe in her hand.

"Let's find a middle point. We can't let this act of kindness interfere with our subsequent work." Zed said, then re-entered the shadows and moved towards the tower.

Standing before the tower, Jiraiya watched as Konan entered the building without looking back. After hesitating for two seconds, he decided that even if it meant resorting to force, he had to bring Nagato and Konan back to Konoha and make up for the lack of instruction in the Will of Fire. He couldn't let them continue down the wrong path.

Whoosh! Jiraiya had just taken a step forward when a thick earth spike rose directly from under his feet. Using the impact, Jiraiya leaped into the air, followed by a water dragon rushing towards him.

Fire Release: Flame Bullet!

Jiraiya spun around in mid-air and spewed a mouthful of fire from his mouth.

As water and fire collided, thick steam instantly enveloped the area, creating exactly the environment Jiraiya wanted to create.

It's easier to fish in troubled waters.

Before he could even think about his next move, Jiraiya, who had just landed, felt a gust of wind blow past, making him unsteady on his feet and blowing away all the steam around him.

At this moment, Jiraiya realized that he had been surrounded, with several people dressed in Akatsuki uniforms surrounding him in the middle.

The scythe whistled as it dragged across the ground. Hidan's bloodthirsty eyes locked onto Jiraiya. What happened to the Sannin? Blood would still flow. As long as blood could flow, he could offer them up to the evil god.

Looking around, Jiraiya's heart pounded even faster. The sense of oppression he felt from the intelligence reports was completely different from the feeling he had when he actually encountered this group of S-rank rogue ninjas.

"Um... I'm Konan's teacher, could you please make way?" Jiraiya said casually, looking at the people around him.

With a whoosh, a flock of crows flew down from the middle of the tower and coalesced into Uchiha Itachi in front of Jiraiya. Seeing his own spy there, Jiraiya breathed a small sigh of relief.

"By the way, is there anyone among you who wants to go back to the village? I can help you get the bounty on the rogue ninja revoked," Jiraiya continued.

Kisame Hoshigaki ignored him completely, simply taking two steps to the side. Since Itachi Uchiha had arrived, he would definitely need to adjust the encirclement.

"Actually, we may not necessarily..."

This time, before Jiraiya could finish speaking, a hand reached out from the soil, grabbed his ankle, and tried to pull him down.

With a bang, Jiraiya, who had been captured, exploded into a cloud of mist; this was a clone.

I only said three sentences, and half of the high-ranking rogue ninjas in the ninja world jumped out to attack me. I guess that's an achievement for the protagonist.

Jiraiya, clinging to the middle of the tower, thought to himself, finding a bittersweet moment.

Suddenly, a tearing sound came from behind his ears.

Jiraiya lightly touched the tower with his toes and turned to leave, only to see sharp sheets of white paper slicing past the spot where he had just been.

Before Jiraiya could even land, Hidan leaped up, shouting, "Become a sacrifice for the Jashin!"

Shouting, Hidan swung his scythe down at Jiraiya, and with a bang, the target in front of him turned into white smoke.

This is the skill of a ninja who is proficient in the three traditional ninjutsu, achieving maximum effect with minimal effort.

Jiraiya, who had flashed behind Hidan, raised his leg and kicked Hidan away. Just as the distance between the two widened, several sharks made of water suddenly swung their tails and bit at him in mid-air, followed by a tangled, roaring water dragon.

Ninja, needle Jizo!

The white, explosive hair grew rapidly, directly scattering the shark in front of him, while simultaneously curling into a ball to protect Jiraiya's body. The ability to both attack and defend is the key to victory.

In this tower, shouldn't we be fighting our way up one level at a time? Why are the final bosses of these levels suddenly appearing in my room?

Jiraiya still had the leisure to think about other things, but after Itachi Uchiha joined, Jiraiya completely lost that leisure.

Although Itachi Uchiha held back against Jiraiya, almost unleashing a huge attack in just a few moves, Itachi's strength was undeniable, and his presence still put a lot of pressure on Jiraiya.

Rasengan! Jiraiya had just blasted away one of Kakuzu's clones with a Rasengan, and before he could even catch his breath, another Earth Grudge Fear clone rushed over. Under the overwhelming number of clones, Jiraiya became increasingly overwhelmed, looking like he was trying to defend himself against everything.

This is because Konan still cherished the teacher-student relationship, and because she didn't receive Nagato's orders, she didn't go for the kill.

Earth Release: Earth Spear! Kakuzu seized the opportunity and appeared behind Jiraiya. His right hand hardened into a completely black color, and then Kakuzu thrust forward fiercely. Under the pressure of Itachi Uchiha's close-range combat in front of Jiraiya, he only had time to dodge to the side to avoid a vital point.

With a splatter, blood gushed from Jiraiya's shoulder. Kakuzu, his hands stained with Jiraiya's blood, suddenly retreated and leaped to Hidan's side, his right hand hanging slightly.

Blood dripped from Kakuzu's right hand onto Hidan's scythe, then flowed down into Hidan's body.

Itachi Uchiha suddenly gave Jiraiya several winks, signaling him to run away quickly. As an undercover agent, Itachi Uchiha knew Hidan's abilities. If they didn't create a certain distance and Hidan got his blood, it would basically mean that he was already half dead.

"Let's go and save them," Jie said softly from a distance, seeing the situation.

In the blink of an eye, a dark figure flashed past him the instant he finished speaking, heading towards the center of the battlefield.

Chapter 260 The Three Holy Lands? No, the Three Cowards

"What's that sound?!" Kakuzu heard an unusual gust of wind and turned around abruptly, only to be hit in the face by a string of cherry blossoms. Immediately afterward, Kakuzu discovered that he had split open from the middle.

The Earth Grudge Fear quickly extended its silk threads to pull Kakuzu's upper body, preventing him from crashing headfirst to the ground.

Immediately afterwards, Kakuzu, who had been forced to bend over 180 degrees, only saw a shadow flash past his eyes, and then two white lines appeared on Hidan's body, who was preparing to curse Jiraiya.

With a whoosh, Hidan was torn into four pieces, scattered all over the ground. His blood mingled with Jiraiya's blood, making it impossible to distinguish one from the other. This was perhaps what is meant by blood and milk merging.

"Don't move, or I'll throw you out." Akali grabbed Jiraiya's belt with one hand, lifted him up, and whispered in his ear.

Jiraiya clutched his shoulder, not yet able to figure out whether the newcomer was friend or foe, or whether he should struggle, when Akali moved again.

Akali is among the best in short-range dashes, even among high-level professionals.

They directly targeted Kisame Hoshigaki from another direction and launched a frontal assault.

In those brief one or two seconds, Kisame Hoshigaki, though he hadn't yet seen the attacker's face clearly, was prepared by his ninja instincts and experience.

The moment Akali's scythe touched Kisame Hoshigaki, Kisame exploded, revealing a water clone he had left behind.

The water droplets, which had just reached their highest point, immediately swirled back against gravity – a water prison technique!

"I have no idea who you're eyeing." Akali's arrogant voice came from afar.

Akali vanished into a phantom within the water prison. Kisame Hoshigaki's reaction speed and ninjutsu casting were indeed impressive, but unfortunately, his speed was still too slow compared to Akali's. By the time the water prison was formed, Akali had already run a distance equivalent to a 100-meter sprint.

Having lost their advantageous encirclement and facing an enemy whose speed far surpassed their own, the Akatsuki's rogue ninja could only watch Akali and Jiraiya disappear into the distance.

"Is this a public toilet? You can come and go as you please?" The Earth Grudge Threads on Kakuzu's body tightened, sewing him back together.

Kakuzu himself has developed some distrust towards Konan and Nagato, or more precisely, towards the Akatsuki organization. A large group of S-rank rogue ninjas gathered together, which sounds impressive, but what have they been through these past few days?

First, he faced a calamity, having single-handedly confronted the entire Akatsuki organization head-on, but ultimately seemed to have to leave due to exhaustion.

Now another guy whose name we don't even know has come and rescued Jiraiya from his predicament. Does he even know how much money Jiraiya's head could fetch?

Does this kind of organization expect to make the entire ninja world suffer? Give me a break, all of them combined are no match for Hashirama Senju.

"So you want to defect?" Kisame Hoshigaki said coldly, his grip on Samehada tightening and loosening as if it were breathing. After fighting for so long, Samehada still hadn't had any meat. How pathetic.

"Heh." Kakuzu sneered, looking at Kisame Hoshigaki, "You know what? Your head is worth a lot at the exchange. Your generation of Mizukage has a very deep pocket."

“There used to be a rule in the ninja world,” Itachi Uchiha suddenly spoke up, “that anyone who encounters the White Fang of Konoha will not be punished for abandoning their mission.”

Itachi Uchiha's meaning was also very clear: apart from the four major nations of Konoha, none of them could stop Konoha's White Fang. Now that they had encountered someone who was equally skilled in speed, and perhaps even faster, it was normal that they couldn't stop him.

"Hey, hey, hey, you guys, sew me up already, hey!" Hidan yelled on the ground. Lately, he felt like a pig, an indestructible pig, the kind that anyone could easily chop into pieces and put on a chopping board.

"So, to deal with this kind of person, we need to use public opinion to suppress them?" Kakuzu ignored Hidan and looked at Itachi Uchiha to speak.

"Alright! Stop fighting amongst yourselves!" Xiao Nan floated down to the ground.

"Yeah, yeah, seniors, let's take it one step at a time. Deidara and Sasori have already gone to capture the One-Tailed Beast, and they should have succeeded by now. Let's focus on things going smoothly." Tobi chimed in, saying that no matter what, the Akatsuki organization couldn't fall apart, otherwise the Eye of the Moon Plan would be ruined.

Kakuzu wanted to say something more, but a force of gravity acted directly on him, pressing his feet into the ground several inches deep.

"Anyone who attempts to fool the gods will suffer divine punishment." Pain walked through the air, step by step, until he reached the ground.

The other Pains also appeared at the foot of the tower at the right time. Nagato had completed the creation of the Hell Path, and the four paths that had been cut up by Jade were revived.

Now that Pain had reappeared, Kakuzu said no more. After pulling out the leg, Kakuzu placed his hand on Hidan's body, and the Earth Grudge Fear that spread from his five fingers quickly stitched Hidan back together.

Standing to the side, Tobi had lost his usual playful and joking demeanor. Behind his mask, his eyes were fixed on the rogue ninja in front of him. He was wondering whether he should take off his disguise and reveal Madara Uchiha's name. In the current situation, Nagato alone was not enough to control these guys.

Once the title of invincible is shattered, even if the strength remains formidable, the original deterrent power has vanished.

Meanwhile, after getting far away from Amegakure, Jiraiya turned around and broke free from Akali's grasp, landing on the ground. "Who are you!"

Jiraiya looked at Akali, who had easily braked and landed on the tree trunk, and asked. As someone who had experienced it firsthand, Jiraiya understood Akali's speed better than anyone else. In his memory, he estimated that only Konoha's White Fang and Minato Namikaze could compare to her.

"I suggest you treat your wounds first." Jie appeared silently behind Jiraiya, like a ghost.

Jiraiya loosened his grip on his right shoulder, where the bleeding had stopped. As expected of one of the Legendary Sannin, he had already performed initial healing on himself in the short time it took to move so quickly.

Upon seeing Zed, Jiraiya seemed to realize something. He glanced at Akali and then at Zed, saying, "I understand. You are members of the Kinkou Order."

Jie looked at Jiraiya quietly, without denying it, after all, he had indeed taken the title of leader of the Order of Balance as his own.

"I also know someone named Shin, the leader of the Shadow Cult. Do you know him?" Jiraiya continued to probe.

Akali nearly fell off the tree upon hearing this. Glancing at Zed's expressionless face, Akali was filled with admiration. Zed and Shen were truly in sync; they could switch identities perfectly without even exchanging words. Otherwise, there would be a situation where one sect has two leaders right now.

"Let's go to Konoha. Master Kennen is waiting for you there. He has some questions for you to answer." Jie ignored Jiraiya's question without offering any reply.

Given that the other party had just rescued him from a stage filled with flags, and after encountering Akatsuki once, Jiraiya was certain that he could not bring Nagato and Konan out by himself, even if he activated Sage Mode.

With these two reasons combined, Jiraiya did not object to Zed's arrangement. After glancing back at the direction of Amegakure, Jiraiya decisively followed Zed and Akali.

The Sand Village and the Rain Village are located on opposite sides of the Land of Fire, which is why Kennen chose the Land of Fire as his gathering place. In addition, to prevent the recurrence of illegal and open intrusions into other countries' territories, Kennen chose a location in a small, lawless area that is some distance from Konoha, the Sand Village, and the Rain Village.

After traveling at full speed all night without stopping, Jiraiya barely arrived at the designated location before dawn.

Before he could even catch his breath, Tsunade came straight up to him, placing her hands on Jiraiya's shoulders without saying a word, and silently began to treat him.

Jiraiya was also a little unsure of what to say. He looked in another direction and immediately spotted a giant slug. This was the largest slug that Tsunade could summon, but it was only a part of the Slug Sage.

Master Kennen, surrounded by purple lightning, floated in the air parallel to the slug's head, seemingly engaged in conversation. To be honest, even a single tentacle on the slug's head was larger than Kennen himself.

Jiraiya was stunned. He had only one question in mind: could Kennen really communicate with the slug?

"Alright, Jiraiya, as the Fifth Hokage of Konoha, I am now imposing a house arrest punishment on you for abandoning your post and acting arbitrarily. Do you have any objections?!" Tsunade said, staring intently at Jiraiya after healing his wounds.

When Tsunade saw Jiraiya's solo attack on Akatsuki through the image transmission function of the Ouroboros mark, she almost thought she would never see Jiraiya again in her life. Fortunately, she was rescued in the end.

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