The giant short blade cleaved down onto Saiken's head with a thunderous sonic crack.
Saiken only felt a sudden heavy blow, then its body was smashed into the mire of Yomi Numa.
But there wasn't a shred of delight on Gamabunta's face.
Through the hilt, he didn't feel the bite of steel into solid matter—more like the blade had sunk into something soft and yielding.
Sssss!
A corrosive hiss sounded. Gamabunta yanked the short blade back at once.
Seeing the edge, now pitted with jagged gaps, the huge toad's face twisted with very human pain.
"Jiraiya—my sword!!"
Gamabunta cried out, shooting Jiraiya a wounded look.
Jiraiya swallowed and pretended not to see.
He stomped off Gamabunta's head, leaping into the air. Chakra gathered in his palm, and in a blink a massive sphere of chakra formed.
Ōdama Rasengan (Big Ball Rasengan)!
He drove the Rasengan straight down toward Saiken below.
Thud!
A deep boom answered from below.
Saiken let out a rare sound of pain; in the next instant, torrents of acidic fluid sprayed outward from its body.
Gamabunta flicked out his long tongue, scooped Jiraiya up, and bounded backward in a hurry.
Flattened on Gamabunta's tongue, Jiraiya looked grim.
Against Saiken, both he and Gamabunta felt like they were fighting Tsunade's summon, Katsuyu: another soft-bodied monster, nearly immune to physical attacks.
Only ninjutsu and fūinjutsu could truly hurt it.
And Saiken was far stronger than Katsuyu.
Stung by the Ōdama Rasengan, Saiken was enraged.
How dare a mere human!
Of course, Yuto was an exception—in Saiken's eyes, Yuto was more terrifying than a Tailed Beast.
A violent, dense mass of chakra gathered at Saiken's maw.
"Not good—that's a Bijūdama (Tailed Beast Bomb)!"
Jiraiya's face changed at the sight of the vast, blue-violet sphere condensing.
Konoha lay behind him. If that Bijūdama landed, the consequences would be catastrophic.
"Jiraiya, don't tell me you're about to charge in right now."
Sensing what Jiraiya meant to say, Gamabunta cut him off.
Fighting a Tailed Beast was one thing—
But that was a Bijūdama. He wasn't suicidal!
Jiraiya gave him an awkward look.
He knew taking a Bijūdama head-on was the same as asking to die.
"How sure are you?"
Gamabunta gritted his teeth, voice rumbling.
"Three-tenths before—two-tenths now," Jiraiya blurted.
But before he finished, Gamabunta was already moving.
His giant body thundered straight at Saiken.
Knowing Jiraiya as he did, Gamabunta understood: even at one chance in ten, Jiraiya would still go.
"Jiraiya, those last two-tenths had better be real—or don't summon me ever again!"
He charged and swore in the same breath.
A grin tugged at Jiraiya's lips. He lifted his head, eyes blazing with resolve.
The distance between Gamabunta and Saiken wasn't far.
At this speed, Jiraiya was sure they could reach Saiken before the Bijūdama fired and break its charge.
It was dangerous—but it was the only play.
Now it was a race of speed—whose was higher.
At this moment, Jiraiya versus Saiken had reached its knife-edge.
Elsewhere, Naruto and the rookies were already in a heated clash with Temari, Kabuto, and the rest.
Though Kabuto and Baki's side was outnumbered, with Shukaku anchoring their lines, the two sides had fallen into a stalemate.
"Damn it, the One-Tail's body is too big—one casual swipe causes a disaster for us."
Asuma panted, scowling.
"If only Jiraiya-sama were here. With his giant summon, he might pin the thing down."
After clashing with a Suna shinobi and leaping back, Kakashi couldn't help saying it.
Though they'd kept their voices low, many Konoha shinobi caught it and nodded in agreement.
Behind Kakashi and the other jōnin, Naruto's eyes lit.
On this battlefield, the rookies were glorified bystanders.
That didn't sit well with Naruto and Sasuke.
But that brief exchange between Kakashi and Asuma snapped something into place in Naruto's mind.
If he summoned Gamabunta, they could flip the script—
maybe even…
A scene flashed in his head: Gamabunta summoned, Naruto cutting a path through the enemy.
He gulped, gathered his chakra—and drew on a flood of Nine-Tails' chakra too.
Chakra flared around him, drawing every eye.
Naruto bit his thumb, slapped the ground, and yelled, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Technique)! Come on out, Gamabunta!"
As of now, Naruto had only signed a contract with Gamabunta of Mount Myōboku.
At the same time—
Jiraiya and Gamabunta had already reached Saiken's face.
The Bijūdama in Saiken's mouth was all but complete!
Seeing this, Gamabunta actually left his feet, hurling himself at Saiken.
"Push through!!"
Jiraiya roared, Rasengan ready, sprinting over Gamabunta's back toward the front.
Not good.
In that instant, Gamabunta's face changed. He felt a chakra tug that could forcibly summon him—that was the Nine-Tails' power!
Under normal circumstances, he could refuse. But right now he'd gone all in.
And after the brutal fight with Saiken, his stamina was nearly spent; he couldn't muster the will to deny Naruto's pull.
Poof!
Poof!
Two thumps and twin puffs of smoke—appearing in two different places.
As the smoke thinned, Gamabunta—caught mid-dive—manifested beneath Naruto's feet.
//Check out my P@tre0n for 20 extra chapters on all my fanfics //[email protected]/Razeil0810