Orochimaru's gaze, like a venomous snake's, swept over Jiraiya and Sasuke once more before a sickly smile reappeared on his pale face.
"Hehe..."
He let out a hoarse, light laugh, seeming immensely pleased by the tense, sword-drawn situation before him.
"Jiraiya, and Sasuke-kun."
He deliberately placed the two names side-by-side, as if announcing the birth of some new relationship, "It seems today's entertainment ends here."
He simply issued his final order to the Sound Four beside him.
"Let's go."
Without the slightest hesitation, the Sound Four immediately supported his weakened body, leaped up, and prepared to withdraw from the ravaged battlefield.
"Stop!"
Jiraiya's fury finally erupted completely at this moment.
His teacher's body wasn't even cold yet, and the murderer thought he could just swagger away right before his eyes?!
He pushed off hard with his feet, instantly covering dozens of meters as he madly chased after the retreating figures of Orochimaru and his group.
He absolutely could not let Orochimaru escape like this!
However, just as he was about to catch up to those figures…
A silent, ink-black crescent moon-like slash swept horizontally from the side without any warning.
Darkness, silent, it seemed to devour even the air wherever it passed.
Jiraiya's battle-hardened intuition screamed a strong warning the instant it sensed that aura.
Danger!
His chasing figure came to an abrupt halt mid-air. He twisted his body at an impossible angle using the strength of his core, barely managing to avoid that black crescent.
The ground behind him was silently carved open by that black flame slash, leaving a savage gully.
There was no explosion, no impact.
The edges of the gully were simply pitch black, as if devoured by nothingness.
A wisp of black flame still burned quietly at the end of the gully, emitting a heart-palpitating dead silence.
Immediately after, Jiraiya's pupils contracted sharply. Instinctively, he leaped back further, landing next to Kakashi, a trickle of cold sweat beading on his temple.
Before him, the figure of the black-haired boy had, at some point, blocked the path.
Jiraiya's brow furrowed tightly.
Looking at the twelve-year-old boy before him, there wasn't a hint of jest in his eyes.
"It seems Sarutobi-sensei's headaches were not without reason."
Jiraiya's voice became low, his tall frame slowly sinking into a ready stance.
"I appreciate kids with backbone."
He looked at Sasuke, his eyes turning sharp, "But, letting a traitor like Orochimaru leave, even going so far as to oppose Konoha's Shinobi... that kind of 'backbone' has crossed the line."
"I can't just ignore this."
Uchiha Sasuke's gaze remained calm, with Indra held pointed distantly at Jiraiya.
Boom.
The aura of Indra erupted violently from the hilt, shattering into pitch-black flames that instantly flowed upwards, enveloping Sasuke's entire body.
On him, they coalesced into a pitch-black robe resembling a Shihakusho, its edges burning with black flames.
Beneath the hood, only those crimson Sharingan were visible.
Set against the black flames, they resembled two burning crimson stars, radiating a heart-stopping pressure.
"I said…" Sasuke's voice emerged from the flickering black flames, carrying an inhuman quality, "He cannot die now."
"Just who do you think you're talking to?!"
Jiraiya's anger was ignited. He took a step forward, the imposing aura of one of the Legendary Sannin erupting from him.
"You think you can stop me?!"
"You can try."
Sasuke's reply was calm and confident.
He slowly raised his right hand, also shrouded in black flames, fingers spread open aimed at Jiraiya, "But I don't guarantee how much of this village at your feet will remain."
It was a pure threat.
The pure destructive aura contained within those black flames left Jiraiya with no doubt that once a fight broke out, the entire Konoha would be swept into the flames of war.
"You little lunatic..." Jiraiya gritted his teeth.
"Stop it!!"
At this moment of intense confrontation, a heart-wrenching roar came from between the two.
It was Naruto.
He had, at some point, rushed between the two of them, spreading his arms wide, desperately blocking the space between them.
On one side, was the teacher he had just acknowledged.
On the other, was the companion who had been with him for half his life, someone he couldn't bear to part with.
"Naruto?!" Jiraiya stopped abruptly, staring at the small figure with a hint of disbelief.
Sasuke's eyes, blazing with black flames, flickered slightly.
"Get out of the way, idiot!" Sasuke's voice emanated from the black flames.
"I won't!"
"What the hell are you doing!"
Naruto's face was covered in tears, his eyes filled with pain and confusion, "Why are you still fighting?"
He stared at Jiraiya intently, his voice trembling with emotion, "Pervy Sage, what are you doing?!"
"Grandpa Hokage just died, and the village is in turmoil now, with those giant snakes wreaking havoc everywhere!"
For the first time, his azure blue eyes shone with anger towards Jiraiya.
"Didn't you say you were here to protect the village?! Then, by fighting Sasuke here, how can that be considered protection?"
"This..." Jiraiya paused at Naruto's question.
"I know you're angry that Sasuke let that snake-faced bastard go!"
Naruto took a deep breath, as if organizing his thoughts, "But right now, the most important thing isn't chasing after someone who's already run away, or fighting amongst ourselves here!"
He pointed forcefully into the distance, at the giant snakes still wreaking havoc and the Konoha's Shinobi desperately resisting them.
"It's to protect the people who are still alive! It's to stop the village from being destroyed any further!"
Naruto's voice, at this moment, became exceptionally loud.
"That's what you wanted to teach me, isn't it?!"
Jiraiya's breath hitched sharply.
He slowly raised his head, his gaze looking past the two boys before him to survey Konoha in the aftermath of the battle.
In various parts of the village, giant snakes were still running rampant, flames shot skyward, and the sounds of screams and cries were incessant.
'Naruto was right.'
'Sensei had just fallen in battle, and the village was facing its greatest crisis.'
'Yet I had gotten angry over Sasuke's arrogance, grown wary of his dealings with Orochimaru, and instinctively wanted to eliminate this 'threat'.'
'Orochimaru was already far away, aided by his subordinates. Even if I gave chase now, catching up was uncertain.'
'Sasuke possessed unfathomable strength. If a real fight broke out, it would only cause even more severe damage to Konoha.'
'The cost was too great.'
Jiraiya let out a long sigh, the sharp aura around him gradually receding.
He looked at Sasuke shrouded in black flames, then at Naruto's tear-streaked face, the anger in his heart slowly being suppressed.
"...You've got guts, kid," he said, turning his gaze towards the figure wrapped in black flames. Jiraiya's voice returned to calm, "I'll remember what happened today."
Having said that, he didn't hesitate any longer. He turned, and his tall figure leaped up, charging towards the most chaotic battlefield in the village.
Then, Naruto turned his head again, looking at the figure enveloped in black flames, his voice almost pleading.
"Sasuke, I know you're strong! But please, stop destroying the village!"
"This is... the place Grandpa Hokage protected with his life!"
Sasuke raised his hand, gripping tightly at his lower abdomen, and pulled, seemingly extracting the black flames.
The black flames surrounding him slowly receded, withdrawing back into the pitch-black sword, Indra.
He glanced in the direction Jiraiya had left, then looked at Naruto who had slumped to the ground, and sheathed his sword.
"Naruto..."
Sasuke's expression was somewhat complex, "I'm somewhat looking forward to seeing how you'll react when you learn the truth."
"The truth?" Naruto's eyes flashed with confusion.
"Hmph."
Sasuke let out a snort of ambiguous meaning.
Without explanation, his figure flickered and likewise vanished from the rooftop.
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