The elite Jonin from the Root, along with two other Jonin, moved at blinding speed, leaving only afterimages as they drew their katana and charged at Jiraiya.
They didn't use any ninjutsu—they aimed for close-quarters combat to suppress Jiraiya and deny him the chance to form hand signs. Once they pinned him down, Danzo would lead the other Root shinobi in long-range ninjutsu attacks.
The plan was to overwhelm Jiraiya before he could counter. If executed perfectly, Jiraiya would be eliminated in no time. This strategy had been meticulously crafted in advance, leaving no room for error.
All three Jonin wielded katana forged from special chakra-conducting metals, the blades gleaming with dangerous, icy light.
Jiraiya, however, saw through their plan. Instead of panic, a mocking smile spread across his face.
Their plan was sound—using close-quarters combat to limit his movements while the rest attacked from a distance. But they'd made one fatal miscalculation: Jiraiya's hand-seal speed was far beyond what they expected. And he wasn't fighting alone.
"Twin Flame Tigers!"
Jiraiya threw his Lightning Flame Blade forward and immediately formed hand seals at lightning speed. In the blink of an eye, the blade erupted with powerful fire and lightning chakra.
A dragon crackling with lightning and a tiger cloaked in roaring flames materialized before him. Both creatures let out deafening cries as they charged at the three Root Jonin.
This Twin Flame Tigers technique combined the Lightning Release Thunder Dragon and Fire Release Flaming Tiger into one. Jiraiya hadn't learned this from any system—it was a ninjutsu he'd developed himself after long and arduous training.
He hadn't yet perfected the fusion of fire and lightning chakra to achieve seamless synergy. Still, even in its incomplete state, the jutsu was fearsome.
The three charging Root Jonin hadn't expected Jiraiya to unleash such a powerful ninjutsu so quickly. With no time to turn or retreat, they rapidly formed hand signs to counter.
Danzo, standing in the rear, was equally stunned. He hadn't anticipated Jiraiya's swift execution of such a devastating jutsu, rendering their strategy ineffective. Worse yet, his three elite shinobi were now in grave danger.
Danzo's hands flew through hand seals. He couldn't let his men be struck down before his eyes.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere!"
Danzo exhaled a barrage of compressed wind bullets like speeding projectiles, raining down on the lightning dragon and flaming tiger.
The storm of wind bullets, dense as torrential rain, struck the creatures relentlessly. While the chakra-based entities couldn't be dispersed outright, the wind attacks managed to sap their energy and slow them down.
This brief delay bought the three Root shinobi enough time to complete their own jutsu. Each launched powerful attacks toward the dragon and tiger, halting their advance.
Jiraiya watched with a calm smile. He never intended for this jutsu to defeat Danzo's elite forces outright. Danzo's team consisted of the Root's best—capable of wiping out small and medium shinobi villages if unleashed.
Jiraiya only needed to suppress the three Jonin for a moment—long enough for Kakuzu to strike.
"Now," Jiraiya muttered softly into a communication ring.
No sooner had the words left his mouth than three beams of chakra—one crimson red, one earth-brown, and one deep blue—shot out from a nearby valley, all aimed at the Root Jonin entangled by the dragon and tiger.
These dense, terrifying chakra blasts radiated immense energy. This had been Jiraiya and Kakuzu's plan all along—Jiraiya would bait the enemy, while Kakuzu waited in hiding for the perfect moment to unleash his deadliest attacks.
If they could kill or cripple even one elite Root shinobi, taking down Danzo and the rest of his forces would become almost a certainty.
The Root's barrier was still expanding and hadn't fully sealed. The chakra beams pierced through it effortlessly, striking the three Jonin squarely.
Blinding light enveloped the area, and a massive chakra explosion shook the battlefield.
The beams had come so suddenly, and at such speed, that Danzo had no time to react. By the time he realized what had happened, it was already too late to intervene.
The area where the three Root Jonin had stood was now a massive crater, with the ground fractured and collapsing inward.
Danzo's expression darkened.
Even with their strength and defensive gear, surviving such an attack unscathed was impossible. If they were alive at all, they would be gravely injured and weakened.
In that moment, Danzo finally understood Jiraiya's composure. It wasn't arrogance—it was the confidence of a man with allies. He had walked straight into Jiraiya's trap.
When the chakra blasts subsided, only two figures remained in the crater: one elite Jonin and one regular Jonin.
The other Jonin had been completely obliterated, leaving no trace behind.
The surviving Jonin had lost an arm, while the elite Jonin, though outwardly unharmed, had sustained internal injuries.
Danzo clenched his fists. He knew the situation had taken a disastrous turn.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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