Chapter 288: Have You Entered Sage Mode of Mount Myōboku?

Twenty Jonin, with Jiraiya leading them—such a force could easily wipe out smaller villages, barring places like Amegakure with someone like Hanzō the Salamander.

But even with such overwhelming power, this mission was still incredibly risky.

As soon as they approached the islands controlled by Kirigakure, they could be surrounded by their forces at any moment. Not to mention, they needed to destroy military installations on those islands while under enemy encirclement.

They also had to hold their position until reinforcements arrived.

Before the reinforcements came, the pressure on them was immense—even for someone like Jiraiya, an elite Jonin.

Among all of them, the only one who seemed truly relaxed was Takuya.

Sure, if you look at it in a certain way, a lot of ants can bring down an elephant—consider how the Third Raikage was taken down by thousands of Iwagakure ninjas in the original story.

But for ants to take down an elephant, they also needed to pick their elephant carefully.

A dwarf elephant, an Asian elephant, an African elephant—or even a mammoth.

The Third Raikage was surrounded and worn down by thousands of enemy soldiers, but Takuya was confident that such a scenario wouldn't happen to him.

Even assuming Kirigakure had the opportunity, would they have enough manpower?

Sure, Iwagakure managed to deploy thousands of shinobi against the Third Raikage, but could Kirigakure do the same?

It wasn't that Takuya looked down on Kirigakure, but the fact remained that their military had been weakening year by year.

They were brothers-in-arms with Sunagakure in terms of decline. At least Sunagakure had the excuse of being weakened due to the Great Shinobi Wars. What about Kirigakure?

They were simply ruining themselves from the inside out.

At this point in time, whether Kirigakure could even mobilize ten thousand competent shinobi was uncertain.

Even for Konoha, it wasn't easy to mobilize such a large force, let alone Kirigakure.

"Alright, everyone, you can head back to rest and review the intelligence reports. I'll have everything prepared, and tomorrow we board the ship to begin the mission. I hope you're all mentally prepared," Jiraiya said.

He wasn't one for long-winded speeches, and he wasn't about to start now.

Whenever the Third Hokage gave speeches that lasted hours, Jiraiya always felt it was pure torture.

He had no intention of turning into that.

So, he kept the meeting short and to the point.

He said what needed to be said, handed out the intelligence reports, and called it a day.

Those who needed rest could rest, and those who wanted to study the intel could do that. There was no need for everyone to just sit in the command room listening to pointless talk.

"Takuya, stay for a moment."

Takuya had just stood up, ready to leave, but had no choice but to sit back down.

He gestured towards Minato and Nawaki, and they nodded before leaving with the others.

Once everyone else had gone, Jiraiya let out a sigh, rubbing his face vigorously.

"Do you think we'll be able to complete the mission tomorrow?"

You're the team leader, and you're asking me?

Takuya shot him an exasperated look.

"Who knows? It depends on how determined Kirigakure is. If things go south, even if we manage to break the island chain, we could still end up surrounded by their forces. It's best to be ready for some serious fighting."

Well, that wasn't very reassuring.

Scratching his head, Jiraiya asked, "We'll need to summon Manda for tomorrow's mission. Are you up for it? Oh, by the way, where's Snowy? I haven't seen it in a while."

Manda was just a backup; Snowy was the real powerhouse.

If push came to shove, Jiraiya would rather hand over all the credit to Takuya than risk it without Snowy.

He didn't care much about glory—what mattered to him was whether they could accomplish the mission and, more importantly, save as many of Konoha's elite as possible.

Orochimaru might be interested in becoming Hokage, but Jiraiya had no such aspirations.

If he could take it easy, why bother competing for Hokage?

Takuya shook his head. He knew Jiraiya, and Orochimaru too, had their eyes set on Snowy. They were underestimating Takuya's personal strength.

Too bad for them.

Takuya spread his hands.

"Snowy is in a special state right now, sleeping. I have no idea when it will wake up, so it won't be available for this mission. You'll need to be prepared for that."

Great.

With Snowy out of commission, the mission's difficulty just shot up a few levels.

"Let's hope for the best. At least I still have a few tricks up my sleeve," Jiraiya said, a self-satisfied grin spreading across his face.

Takuya looked at him like he was out of his mind.

No, really, he looked like a total nutcase.

One second he was all worried, and the next he was grinning like an idiot. If that's not crazy, then what is?

"Anyway, I'll do my best to lead us to complete the mission and bring everyone back safely," Jiraiya said.

"....."

This wasn't the Jiraiya Takuya knew.

While Jiraiya was known for his bragging, he wouldn't boast without reason.

To brag like this in front of Takuya meant that Jiraiya had genuinely grown stronger—and significantly so.

Among the Sannin, Jiraiya was the type who started slow but eventually surpassed Tsunade and Orochimaru by leaps and bounds in the later stages.

Most of Jiraiya's improvements came from mastering the Sage Mode of Mount Myōboku.

Even if Jiraiya's Sage Mode wasn't perfect, it was still better than Orochimaru and Tsunade, who couldn't access it at all.

Narrowing his eyes, Takuya scrutinized Jiraiya before casually saying:

"You've mastered the Sage Mode of Mount Myōboku, haven't you?"

"How did you..."

Jiraiya's eyes widened to the size of saucers, his jaw practically hitting the floor. He stammered:

"How did you know that? Was it Tsunade? No, that can't be. I haven't told anyone!"

Jiraiya felt like he'd seen a ghost. How could Takuya possibly know?

"Just a guess," Takuya shrugged, standing up to leave.

"Wait, how did you really know?" Jiraiya shouted, snapping out of his stupor.

Takuya waved a hand dismissively without turning back.

"I saw some information in Tsunade's notes. She also told me a few things about the Three Great Sage Regions. Don't forget, I can summon Manda too. Is it really that strange that I know?"

"Consider yourself lucky you didn't turn into a stone statue. Next time you decide to show off, make sure you pick the right audience, or you'll be embarrassed."

Jiraiya: "..."

I really am an idiot!!

Tsunade wouldn't hide anything from Takuya, and with Manda in the picture, of course Takuya would know.

Mount Myōboku, Shikkotsu Forest, Ryūchi Cave—these were the Three Great Sage Regions, and Manda hailed from Ryūchi Cave.

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Next Bonus: 500 Power Stones. ╰ (´꒳`) ╯

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(P)(S): If you're interested, you can read up to chapter 340+ at patreon com/ Emik01. ಥ‿ಥ

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