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.
They desperately tried to escape the range of the flames, but they were all aware of how their Kage-level strength had been achieved. Thus, their methods of escape were chaotic, to say the least. One of them didn't even have enough mastery of the Body Flicker Technique and accidentally teleported mid-air. He fell directly to the ground and was swallowed by the sea of fire. The good news was that the toad oil muffled the man's agonizing screams and wails. The bad news was that he was thoroughly roasted after only a few shouts.
During this time, Jiraiya had not attacked until now, but seeing that the enemies were about to escape the range of the flames, Jiraiya leaped forward. At a position the flames could not reach, he began forming hand signs. "Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld!"
As Jiraiya pressed his hands to the ground, the earth suddenly, and without warning, turned into a swamp of mud! The trees, lacking stable ground to anchor themselves, began to tilt. This made the enemies on the trees extremely panicked, and their speed decreased considerably.
"Damn it! The ninjas from Konoha are actually this ruthless!"
"Stop wasting time, run! The fourth one is already dead!"
The flames relentlessly chased them from behind, and the trees beneath their feet were now crooked and askew. Their speed had slowed significantly, but they were still barely faster than the flames. Seeing that the situation was not going as planned, Jiraiya began forming hand signs again. "Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet!" A massive earthen dragon head emerged from the mud and opened its jaws. In the next second, countless stones shot out from its mouth, flying as fast as bullets!
The three already staggering men naturally failed to notice the new ninjutsu appearing behind them. In a moment of carelessness, they were immediately engulfed by the flames, leaving behind no final words.
It seemed only the leader remained. He roared, channeling all his chakra to unleash a huge Water Release defense. The effect was significant. The technique, infused with every last drop of chakra in his body, was his last stand. Naori's flames receded considerably, and seizing this opportunity, the man desperately increased his speed and slipped away.
Having lost her target, Naori did not immediately stop outputting flames but searched around, trying to sense his location. She only halted the Great Fire Annihilation when she realized the enemy was completely gone.
It was hard to imagine that this had originally been a B-rank ninjutsu. Due to the toad oil, the power of this technique had definitely reached A or S-rank. A solo execution certainly wouldn't have been this effective. It was also because of the toad oil's assistance that Naori had greatly reduced her chakra consumption. Her chakra reserves were still very high, despite having fought two battles. Naori felt she could still help someone else, but no new messages came through on the phone. It seemed the other clan heads must have all completed their missions.
"Whew, Big Sister, if you hadn't shown up today, I would have been in for a rough time."
Naori smiled and brushed some dirt off Jiraiya's clothes. "It's what I should do. My clone is with the children, so you don't need to worry about them."
Jiraiya looked around at the environment. What had once been a quiet, rainy forest was now filled with trees that had been burned into charcoal or snapped off at the trunk. Some trees were so thoroughly incinerated that only a blackened stump remained. Jiraiya had one thought: Big Sister's strength was truly remarkable.
"Jiraiya, since you're safe now, there's nothing left for me to do. I'll head back." Bunta waved goodbye to Jiraiya and Naori, then poofed into a cloud of white smoke and vanished.
"The toads from Mount Myōboku were a huge help today," Naori sighed. If she also had a summoning creature like that, her combat power would be greatly enhanced. Toad oil combined with Fire Release was a natural weapon of mass destruction.
Jiraiya nodded. "It's true. Without Bunta, we would have expended a lot more effort, and your ninjutsu wouldn't have been so powerful, Big Sister."
Naori smiled slightly. "Don't you use Fire Release too? How did you end up getting cornered like that?"
Jiraiya slapped his thigh in frustration. "Ugh, don't remind me. If they hadn't been continuously attacking me, I would have activated Sage Mode and dealt with them long ago. One of them still got away this time. Lucky him!"
Naori was unconcerned. Possessing the Susanoo, she never understood what it felt like to be so surrounded that one couldn't use ninjutsu. Those mere thugs couldn't even scratch the Susanoo.
"Alright, let's go find Minato and the others. Then we can either go home and rest, or you all can make your own plans," Naori suggested.
"OK, let's go." Jiraiya had no objections and immediately set off.
After walking about a kilometer, the four children came into Jiraiya's line of sight.
"Jiraiya-senpai! And Big Sister! You solved the enemy problem!" Minato had known Naori had arrived in the Rain Province yesterday but hadn't had time to meet her. He had rushed off to execute the mission first thing this morning and was almost wiped out. He never expected that the message Minato had sent at the crucial moment would save their lives.
"We took care of three, but the last one got away. But don't worry, he'll run into trouble sooner or later."
The four youngsters all gave a thumbs-up. "That's amazing, Big Sister/Mistress. Jiraiya-senpai couldn't handle it alone, and you happened to see and reply to my message."
Naori smiled and waved her hand. "Alright, stop the flattery. Are things settled here? If so, I'll head back to Central City."
Jiraiya thought for a moment. "It's all good. Next up is for Minato to train in Sage Mode. We'll find a place with abundant natural energy." He then outlined a few small details. The rest of the day was still ample. Since they had their own things to do, Naori decided not to interrupt and returned to Central City.