Chapter 24: The Three Sannin
White hair burst forth from the ground, shooting straight into the sky. On the clay bird, Su Xiao and Deidara both sensed something wrong and leaped down from the clay bird.
"Don't think you can escape!"
The white hair that had burst from the ground grew rapidly, coiling toward Su Xiao like steel wires.
"Explode!"
Deidara formed hand seals, and the clay bird entangled by the white hair suddenly detonated.
Boom!
Flames surged upward. The white hair wrapped around the clay bird was blasted apart as Su Xiao and Deidara landed.
"Who!"
Deidara stared at the pit not far away, where a ninja of unknown origin was hiding.
Su Xiao's brows furrowed. Considering the current timeline, he had already guessed who the newcomer was. The other party was investigating the Akatsuki. Deidara and Sasori had been staying nearby for two days, so it was only natural for their tracks to be discovered.
Whoosh.
A figure darted out from the forest not far away—it was Sasori, hidden within Hiruko.
"Is this a guard for the target?"
Sasori stared at the ground ahead. He sensed that the newcomer was no weakling, so he immediately revealed himself.
"Not sure."
Deidara reached into the pouch at his waist filled with clay and quickly crafted two large birds capable of carrying passengers.
"Sasori, hold off the enemy. Bai Ye, we'll provide support."
Deidara jumped onto one clay bird, signaling for Su Xiao to board the other.
"I'll test him first."
Although Deidara's tactic was sound, Su Xiao planned to engage the enemy up close first to gauge the strength of a powerhouse from the Naruto world.
As the three spoke, cracks appeared on the ground ahead, and a figure burst forth from the earth.
"A black cloak with red clouds—no mistake, you're members of the Akatsuki."
The man who emerged was tall, with a smile on his face. He wore a forehead protector engraved with the character "Oil," his loose white hair reaching down to his waist, and two red marks on his cheeks.
The newcomer was one of the Three Sannin of Konoha: Jiraiya.
"This is…"
Sasori immediately recognized the other party.
"Who's this?"
Deidara had never met Jiraiya, though he had heard of his exploits.
"One of the Three Sannin of Konoha, Jiraiya."
Hearing the name Jiraiya, Deidara's pupils contracted. Though he had never met the man, he had heard of his deeds.
"Trouble's here."
As Deidara spoke, he manipulated the clay bird to take flight. The enemy was one of the Three Sannin—he had heard stories of Jiraiya since childhood. Even as arrogant as he was, he would tread carefully when facing Jiraiya.
"This guy won't let us leave easily. Get ready to fight."
Sasori controlled Hiruko to crawl toward Jiraiya.
"Deidara, rogue ninja from Iwagakure; Sasori, rogue ninja from Sunagakure; and… an unknown ninja with a dog."
Su Xiao was clearly labeled as the unknown ninja.
Jiraiya glanced at the nearby corpses. He had arrived just as the battle ended, when Su Xiao and Deidara were descending in altitude. So Jiraiya acted decisively, intending to capture both alive to extract information about the Akatsuki.
As usual, Bubu Wang had gone to find a hiding spot before the fight began, trotting off into the distance.
Su Xiao moved in the opposite direction from Bubu Wang, kicking off the ground to charge at Jiraiya.
Seeing Su Xiao rush toward the enemy, Sasori manipulated Hiruko to open its massive mouth, spewing out countless senbon needles, each coated with poison.
"Earth Style: Mud Wall."
Jiraiya's hand seals were so fast they were dizzying, and almost instantly, an earthen wall rose up.
Pfft, pfft, pfft…
All the senbon needles embedded themselves into the mud wall. Deidara, flying high above, let out a cold laugh.
"Explode!"
Boom!
A clay centipede that had crawled unnoticed to Jiraiya's side detonated, engulfing Jiraiya in flames.
Su Xiao raised his left arm to shield himself, Dragon-Slashing Flash appearing in his right hand as he charged through the explosion's shockwave.
With Sasori and Deidara providing cover, Su Xiao faced little resistance as he closed in on Jiraiya.
Su Xiao charged straight into the flames. By then, the fire was beginning to dissipate, revealing a white sphere before him—Jiraiya had wrapped himself in his hair to withstand the explosion.
This was a variation of Jiraiya's "Needle Jizo" technique. His hair could extend rapidly and become as hard as steel.
Jiraiya retracted his hair, and Su Xiao, wielding a longsword, came into view.
"Skilled with a ninja sword, huh."
Jiraiya's expression remained calm. Despite being surrounded by three opponents, he appeared composed.
"Fire Style: Fireball."
Flames spewed from Jiraiya's mouth. Unlike the Great Fireball, this technique released fire in a fan shape, covering a wider area.
Su Xiao paid no heed to the fan-shaped flames rushing toward him, continuing his charge.
Just as the flames were about to scorch Su Xiao's body, a transparent shield formed around him—the skill "Sanctuary" from [Mikasa's Will].
Sanctuary (Active): Quickly generates an invisible shield to block attacks. Shield durability equals 80% of the holder's maximum health, lasting 30 seconds.
The flames scorched the shield, which absorbed the heat. Large cracks appeared on its surface, on the verge of shattering.
"Earth Style: Swamp of the Underworld."
As Su Xiao rushed through the flames, the ground beneath him softened, and his feet sank into the mud.
Su Xiao's situation was precarious, but he had already closed in on Jiraiya.
Channeling mana from within, he consumed over a thousand mana points in an instant. The Azure Steel Shadow energy enveloping Dragon-Slashing Flash vibrated at high frequency, making the blade look like an energy weapon.
"Severance."
Severance was a technique developed from Ring Break, a branch ability. It changed the 360-degree attack to a forward strike, using the blade itself to cut the enemy rather than blade aura.
Hum~
The longsword slashed down with a terrifying roar. Jiraiya's pupils contracted sharply.
"Needle Jizo."
Jiraiya's white hair stood straight up, shooting toward Su Xiao like countless steel needles.
Su Xiao didn't even glance at the incoming hair. His jaw muscles bulged as he brought the blade down toward Jiraiya's head.
If this strike hit Jiraiya's skull, not even the Three Sannin—or thirty Sannin—would survive.
Jiraiya's brow twitched. He hadn't expected Su Xiao to be so ruthless. Just as he considered retreating, a hail of senbon needles and shuriken flew from behind. If Jiraiya dared to step back, he would be riddled with holes.
Pfft.
Blood splattered. Su Xiao was pierced by over a dozen strands of white hair, a few barely missing his heart.
But blood wasn't only spilling from Su Xiao—Jiraiya was bleeding too!
Dragon-Slashing Flash carved down from Jiraiya's chest, severing a large patch of white hair. This was Su Xiao's strongest slash, and the damage to Jiraiya was severe.
A half-meter-long wound appeared on Jiraiya's chest, nearly cutting through his ribs and reaching his internal organs.
Azure Steel Shadow energy invaded Jiraiya's body. His eyes widened, and he spat out a mouthful of blood, his chakra on the verge of going berserk.
"Careless."
Jiraiya wiped blood from his lips, looking up at Su Xiao. By now, Su Xiao was suspended in the air, impaled by Jiraiya's hair, blood dripping down the strands.
A blue energy sphere formed in Jiraiya's palm—the signature technique of the Fourth Hokage, the Rasengan.
Jiraiya controlled his hair, pulling the helpless Su Xiao closer, preparing to finish him with the Rasengan.
At that moment, Jiraiya noticed a smile spreading across Su Xiao's face. This made him hesitate.
In less than 0.1 seconds, Jiraiya dismissed the Rasengan and switched to forming hand seals.
'I must not let this guy get close again. Absolutely not, or I'll die.'
Jiraiya's judgment was correct. If he had pulled Su Xiao closer, Su Xiao would have immediately activated his secondary invincibility shield and taken another swing at Jiraiya.