As the chant of the toads echoed through the ruins of Tinnan Town, every Hidden Mist shinobi froze where they stood, their bodies stiffening, expressions vacant.
Only Yuki Yoru remained unaffected—standing tall atop an icy wall, calmly listening to the resonating song in the air, his expression grave.
"Sage Art: Amphibian Harmony—Immovable Myō'ō…"
Yoru was, of course, familiar with this powerful auditory Genjutsu.
And how could he not be? Its reputation was legendary.
This technique didn't just entrap the mind—it bound the body as well. It was so fearsome that even the Rinnegan couldn't fully resist it.
In fact, Yoru felt its illusionary force surpassed even Tsukuyomi itself.
Had it not been for Hyōrinmaru, constantly circulating spiritual power to shield him, he too would've been caught in its grasp like the rest.
"So you separated from the Toad Sages, letting them maintain the Genjutsu while you handle me directly... You anticipated I'd be immune, didn't you?"
Yoru gripped Hyōrinmaru tightly, eyes narrowing at Jiraiya—still in Sage Mode, yet now standing alone. The two elder toads had dismounted from his shoulders and remained behind to sustain the illusion.
"But without them supporting your technique, just how long can you maintain that half-baked Sage Mode?"
"You sure know a lot about me," Jiraiya muttered, steadying himself. ""Seems the Mist ANBU isn't as decayed as Fuguki Suikazan's captured memories led us to believe."."
"Even a decaying force has reason to study the great Jiraiya of the Sannin," Yoru replied flatly.
"A prodigy like you really cares about a washed-up title like 'Sannin'?"
"Trying to stall for time while you recover your natural energy for Sage Chakra? Isn't that a bit too obvious?"
With the elder toads no longer assisting, Jiraiya's Sage Mode had already begun to destabilize. The markings at his eyes faded, and his pupils slowly reverted from toad-like slits to normal human irises.
Yet despite that, Jiraiya managed to re-stabilize his Sage Mode with sheer effort.
But Yoru's next words made his heart skip a beat.
"If you knew I was stalling—then why…"
"Because I was stalling too."
Yoru's grin was chilling as he raised Hyōrinmaru. A silent incantation echoed in his mind, now reaching its final line.
"Know your own weakness—Hadō #90: Kurohitsugi."
"What?!"
"Black Coffin!"
Jiraiya immediately sensed something was wrong and tried to leap away—but a crushing gravitational force locked onto his body. A suffocating blackness, like the abyss of the underworld, surged into existence and engulfed him entirely.
"L-Little Jiraiya!!"
As the dark cube faded, Jiraiya's bloodied form came crashing to the ground.
The Toad Sages cried out in horror.
"Damn you! Jiraiya, retreat now!!"
"Retreat?" Yoru's voice was icy. "Where would you even go?"
He swung down hard.
Jiraiya attempted to dodge, but in his wounded state, he was too slow. The blade slashed from his left shoulder down across his torso—almost completely cleaving through his stomach.
Strangely, the wound bled little.
But the horror on the Toad Sages' faces only deepened.
Frost crept through the wound and invaded Jiraiya's body. His muscles, his blood, his organs—everything began to freeze from the inside out.
Just a few breaths later, Jiraiya was already on the brink of collapse.
"LITTLE JIRAIYA!!!"
Fukasaku trembled with panic, his voice shaking with fury.
"You can't kill him! If you do—I'll make the Genjutsu inside—!"
"Shkk!"
Hyōrinmaru pierced Jiraiya's throat.
Blood sprayed from his mouth as Yoru drove the blade downward, impaling him fully into the ice beneath.
Jiraiya twitched once… then went still.
[Ding! S-Rank target 'Jiraiya' eliminated. Sub-Tasks 2 & 3 complete: 250,000 points awarded.]
[Ding! Kage-level enemy defeated. Bonus: 10,000 points awarded.]
"LITTLE JIRAIYA!!"
"JIRAIYA-SENSEI!!!"
The two Toad Sages—and Kushina, who had just arrived on the battlefield—stared in stunned disbelief at the fallen white-haired man.
Agonizing sorrow swallowed their sanity.
The elder toads erupted in fury. A piercing stream of water shot from Fukasaku's mouth, cutting through dozens of Mist shinobi still caught in the illusion.
"Bakudō #81: Danku!"
An invisible wall attempted to intercept it, but without incantation, it wasn't enough to stop the enraged sage.
One after another, Mist shinobi fell—bisected in an instant.
A few elite Mist jonin, their minds strong enough to resist the Genjutsu, finally broke free.
Yagura narrowly dodged, though his shoulder was pierced, blood gushing out.
The pain twisted his face—but when his gaze landed on Jiraiya's skewered corpse, his expression morphed into unrestrained glee.
"Well done, Yoru!"
The strategic value of Jiraiya was immense.
As the commander Sarutobi Hiruzen had pulled from the Iwa frontlines to anchor Konoha's forces against the Mist, Jiraiya was the Hidden Leaf's greatest asset in this war.
His death was nothing short of a massive victory for Kirigakure.
"Those two damn toads... they're not leaving here alive either!"
Yagura's doll-like face twisted with killing intent. He began forming hand seals.
The two elder toads looked at one another—then vanished in a puff of smoke, taking Jiraiya's corpse with them.
"Tch. Fast little pests."
Whrrrrr…
Suddenly, a chilling, malevolent chakra erupted from the forest.
All eyes turned in unison.
A blood-red chakra surged from Kushina's body, ominous and furious. Her once-gentle expression was now replaced by cold fury. Crimson hair whipped in the wind as tails began to sprout from her back—one after another.
Terror swept across the battlefield.
"Jinchūriki?!"
"The Nine-Tails Jinchūriki?! Damn it—has Konoha lost its mind, sending the Kyūbi to the front lines?!"
PS: Read Advance Chapters at https://www.patreon.com/c/ReadJin