Yomi, a man born in a small country yet harboring ambitions of world conquest.
He knew well that the [Dark Medical Ninjutsu] he possessed was insufficient to defeat the powerhouses of the great nations, so he set his sights on the remote Land of Demons.
More precisely, he set his sights on the demon, Moryo, which had been split and sealed away.
His knowledge of Moryo came from the fact that he was originally a descendant of Moryo's former 'partner'.
With a try-it-and-see attitude, he led his followers to the sealing location of Moryo as recorded in his family's passed-down information.
Things went as smoothly as Yomi had planned… at least until he reached the Land of Demons.
In the Land of Swamps, Yomi successfully unsealed Moryo's soul and, using Dark Medical Ninjutsu, turned himself into Moryo's new host, thereby gaining the power to command the [Ghost Army].
Those indestructible, colossal stone soldiers were enough to help him destroy the weak Land of Demons and kill the Priestess, the only one capable of sealing Moryo again.
According to his plan, after killing the Priestess, he would proceed to the shrine in the Land of Demons to liberate Moryo's body, thus gaining the ultimate power to conquer the world.
Everything should have gone this way.
However, who would have expected a Pervy Sage to show up halfway!
That white-haired Ninja single-handedly held back the Ghost Army with his own strength.
That guy's Ninjutsu was incredibly powerful, easily destroying large numbers of stone soldier bodies in an instant.
But for Yomi, who had grasped a part of Moryo's power, this meant nothing. As long as Moryo wasn't sealed, he could have the soldiers reformed anytime, anywhere.
This didn't even consume much of Moryo's power.
Still, that guy was really annoying. The Ghost Army couldn't be eliminated, but they also couldn't break into the Land of Demons' territory.
He could only watch helplessly as batches of ordinary citizens were evacuated.
"Cough..."
Yomi, half-reclining in his chair, coughed. Bearing Moryo's soul in a human body placed a heavy burden on him.
But he didn't mind.
Because he knew the enemy across from him was only exhausting himself faster!
Suddenly, Yomi felt a series of intense tremors coming through the ground.
'What's happening?'
Just then, Kusuna, his subordinate dressed in white, rushed over to report.
"Yomi-sama, that Ninja used another strange technique. He..."
Kusuna recalled the scene on the battlefield: giant beasts rampaging, Ninjutsu flying everywhere. He organized his words slightly.
"He summoned several powerful Ninjas and six colossal monsters. The Ghost Army is taking heavy losses."
Hearing this, Yomi wasn't worried… instead, a smile appeared on his face.
"Cough... haha, that guy has finally reached his limit."
In his view, this sudden burst of power from Jiraiya was likely a last-ditch effort, a final attempt to repel enough stone soldiers to buy time for the Land of Demons' Priestess to escape.
Thinking this, Yomi immediately looked at Kusuna, the smartest among his subordinates, and gave him orders.
"Kusuna, take Gitai, Setsuna, and Shizuku and get ready. As soon as that Priestess leaves the city, kill her."
"Yes!"
They nodded in agreement, eager smiles on their faces.
They had been infused by Yomi with Chakra derived from Moryo, making their power incomparable to before. They could even freely switch Chakra Natures and unleash completely different Ninjutsu.
In their eyes, with such enhancement, they were already on par with the elite Ninjas of the great villages.
Truly, the world of frogs at the bottom of a well is too small… they couldn't even imagine how terrifying real powerhouses could be.
...
Boom!
A simple tail sweep from the massive ink Nine-Tails sent countless stone soldiers flying along with the ground.
Unfortunately, Jiraiya's current Inku Inku no Mi couldn't yet simulate high-density energy bodies like the [Tailed Beast Bomb], otherwise a single Nine-Tails alone could probably have wiped out the enemy entirely.
The situation was similar for the knockoff versions of Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Hiruzen.
The Inku Inku no Mi could simulate uncomplicated energy attacks like Great Fireball or Earth Dragon Bullet, or physical techniques like Hidden Shadow Snake Hands and Heavenly Foot of Pain.
But more complex Ninjutsu were out of the question.
Even so, the six imitation Tailed Beasts, possessing only powerful physiques, were enough to temporarily suppress the endless Ghost Army.
The Land of Demons' soldiers on the high walls were stunned; they couldn't fathom how one person could create such a terrifying scene.
Even Shion, the Priestess who had seen things, was dumbfounded.
In these days, this was the first time she had seen Jiraiya display such overwhelming power all at once.
But the next moment, the Jiraiya-sama, who seemed so powerful in her eyes, wobbled.
Shion quickly rushed over to support Jiraiya, who had nearly fallen on his backside, her voice anxious.
"Jiraiya-sama, are you alright?"
But Jiraiya just smiled at her. Just as he was about to say something, he saw Shion's eyes go vacant.
He knew her 'prophecy' ability had activated again.
Unlike the Great Toad Sage's ability to foresee events years or even decades ahead that could change the Ninja World's fate, Shion's prophecy only worked on individuals.
She could foresee the 'time of death' of someone she came into contact with, with almost no cost and a short interval.
This ability should have been very powerful, but unfortunately, Shion's mental fortitude was somewhat lacking.
Especially after discovering that no matter what means she employed, the predicted death would still arrive, she developed some resistance to her own prophetic ability.
If she spent another year or two under such high pressure, she might completely give up on herself.
But for now, it wasn't that bad.
"The future... changed?"
Shion muttered to herself, then her eyes regained their light. She looked at Jiraiya in disbelief.
"Jiraiya-sama, I... I can't see your future anymore! I can't see anything!"
Although her words sounded somewhat despairing, Shion's tone was actually very pleased.
This was the first time since gaining this ability that she had seen fate altered.
Hearing this, a smile appeared on Jiraiya's face.
"See, I told you the future can be changed, hahaha!"
Saying so, he tried to force himself to stand up straight. But days without sleep, coupled with the sudden use of his fruit ability, had nearly exhausted him. He had to lean on the edge of the city wall to stay upright.
"At this rate, that kid should be arriving soon."
Jiraiya looked down. One of the Ink Tailed Beasts he had created had already been defeated.
There was no helping it… with his energy depleted, his current state was really poor.
—And compared to the other Tailed Beasts, Fu's Seven-Tails, Chomei, was indeed a bit lacking in close combat.
Aside from the advantage of being able to fly, its short, thin insect limbs were indeed unsuited for such a large-scale battlefield.
Of course, if it could use its Tailed Beast powers, the effect would be different. Among the Tailed Beasts, Chomei was also a 'mage-type' long-range attack unit.
Seeing one of the giant beasts dissipate, Yomi and his subordinates across the way showed joy in their eyes.
"See, that guy can't hold on much longer."
However, their joy was short-lived.
In the distant sky, two small dots had appeared and were gradually growing larger.