Although Jiraiya was powerful, if he had to distract four Kage-level enemies alone, he might not have the energy to protect the children. If another Kage-level ninja appeared, wouldn't they all be wiped out?
[Minato, tell me your location. I've finished up here. I'm coming right away.]
In just a few seconds, Minato sent the precise location to Naori. Judging by the speed of his reply, Minato must have been constantly checking his phone.
Upon receiving the location, Naori did not dare to delay for a moment, immediately beginning to sprint at full speed, supplementing her movement with the Body Flicker Technique. She planned to reach Minato as quickly as possible to protect them.
Naori's speed in the Body Flicker Technique was the second fastest in Konoha, surpassed only by her Big Brother, Uchiha Kagami. Even Torifu couldn't match her speed, though that might be because Torifu hadn't put much effort into that area. At Naori's speed, she could make a round trip to Konoha in a day if she exerted her full effort.
Thus, she arrived at the location Minato had specified very quickly.
As soon as she arrived, she heard the sounds of fighting and saw soaring firelight shining through the forest. Extremely worried about the children's safety, Naori immediately used a clone. She sent the clone to find Minato and the others to ensure the children were safe, while her original body went to aid Jiraiya. If that man were to die here due to being overwhelmed, Torifu would be very heartbroken.
Naori reached the combat zone in a few Body Flicker bursts. Jiraiya was currently riding a massive toad, fiercely battling the four Kage-level ninjas. The toad was red all over and wore a grayish-blue vest. It was also clenching a huge pipe in its mouth and was vigorously swinging a short sword at the enemies in front of it. Because its swordsmanship was so erratic, none of the four enemies dared to get close to it. Naori naturally knew that Jiraiya was a Sage, so this toad must have been summoned from Mount Myōboku.
'Fortunately, Jiraiya has this trick up his sleeve, or dealing with four Kage-level opponents would have been too much for him,' she thought. However, even with the giant toad summoned, Jiraiya was still at a disadvantage. After all, he was facing four Kage-level ninjas. The giant toad also seemed to have been summoned for a while, and after a round of wild hacking and slashing, its expression also became serious.
"Jiraiya, how did you run into these enemies! Why are all of them about as strong as you!"
Jiraiya was frustrated and didn't know who to complain to. He had intended to take the children to a suitable place for experience, planning to take care of the Kage-level opponent himself. But now that four Kage-level ninjas had appeared, he simply couldn't handle it. Furthermore, the four men were attacking in relays, giving Jiraiya no time to breathe, let alone enter Sage Mode.
"What should we do? Should we retreat? It's fine for now, but if the Summoning Jutsu is released later, you'll definitely die here."
Jiraiya wanted to escape, but the children were only a few kilometers behind him. If he fled directly, he would definitely draw the enemies toward them. That would result in a tragedy. Jiraiya was currently stuck between a rock and a hard place. Although he looked outwardly confident and even smiled, he was actually anxious inside. If necessary, he planned to go all out and fight these men desperately, then look for a chance to escape. That seemed like the best option.
Just as Jiraiya was about to make his move, a familiar voice sounded in his ear. "It looks like you've run into trouble, Jiraiya."
Jiraiya sharply turned his head! He hadn't noticed someone behind him!
But when he recognized the face, the worry in his heart immediately vanished. "Big Sister, you're here! Now I don't have to push myself too hard."
Gamabunta had never met Naori before, so he was very wary of her. But when Jiraiya told him that Naori was the Hokage's wife, Bunta immediately calmed down. He then turned his head away from Naori, seemingly somewhat fearful.
Naori didn't have time to analyze why Bunta was afraid of her. Instead, she asked Jiraiya, "Have you figured anything out about those four?"
Jiraiya nodded. "The four of them mainly use ninjutsu. I haven't seen them use any special ninja tools. They cooperate well with each other, and their ninjutsu can be combined into powerful joint attacks. Otherwise, they definitely wouldn't be my match."
Naori acknowledged this. When ninjas cooperated well, their combined strength was definitely greater than the sum of their individual parts. The synergy between Naori and Jiraiya was non-existent; they had no tacit understanding whatsoever. However, the two of them shared one thing: they were both very powerful. Working together would certainly be formidable, especially with Bunta beside them.
"If that's the case, let's finish this quickly."
Naori's eyes flared, instantly turning crimson and shedding tiny tears of blood. Immediately after, a large red skeletal figure encased Naori. Facing opponents like these, Naori didn't need to use the complete Susanoo since that technique was extremely taxing on her eyes.
Seeing Naori make her move, the four opponents also quickly formed hand signs, simultaneously unleashing a massive barrage of ninjutsu toward Naori's position. Wind Release and Fire Release merged, forming a powerful combined technique. However, it was still not enough to impress Naori. A red katana appeared in the skeletal claw and fiercely slashed at the flames. The attack was instantly cleaved in half, vanishing without a trace.
Seeing their side regain the advantage, Bunta opened his large mouth and began furiously spewing toad oil toward the enemies' direction. He managed to cover almost the entire waterlogged surface beneath them with a thick layer of toad oil. Jiraiya saw this and prepared to release his ninjutsu to complete the combined technique, but Naori beat him to the punch. Her hand signs were lightning fast. "Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!" Raging flames erupted from Naori's mouth!
The scorching flames combined with the toad oil on the ground, causing a secondary, much more violent combustion! The surrounding tree trunks were instantly incinerated into charcoal!
The overwhelming flames scared the four Kage-level ninjas out of their wits. They immediately used their strongest Water Release techniques to defend themselves, continuously employing combined techniques to amplify their ninjutsu. They did this to gain the ability to counter the towering flames. Unfortunately, the Water Release ninjutsu could only resist the flames at first. When the two elements collided, they produced large amounts of steam.
However, this only lasted for a mere two minutes. Naori's enormous chakra reserves, combined with the accelerating flames from the toad oil, successfully dissolved the enemies' Water Release. As the tidal wave of fire rushed toward them, the four Kage-level ninjas no longer possessed the composure they had shown while fighting Jiraiya. They began to flee madly.