Naruto: Eating Kaido's Azure Dragon Devil Fruit-Chapter 287: To the Front Line

"Sarutobi, why did you call me out?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen did not answer directly. Instead, he asked:

"Old friend, how is that young one in your clan called Tenji doing now?"

Hearing this, Enma’s rough face showed a trace of complexity.

"It is improving very fast. Its strength has already surpassed most of the old fellows in the clan. Right now, apart from me, no one is its match."

"And it seems to have mastered some kind of even more powerful form. It just is not too willing to show it."

It looked at Sarutobi Hiruzen.

"Why are you suddenly concerned about it? Have you still not given up on making Asuma..."

"Not entirely."

Sarutobi Hiruzen shook his head and said with emotion.

"It is just that I just saw that child Sora, and then thought of Tenji. Sora’s summon is Tenji, and Tenji has such potential..."

"It is a perfect match."

He paused, and said half-jokingly to Enma.

"Speaking of which, old friend, Tenji is almost stronger than you now, right? Why are you not this powerful?"

Enma snorted displeasedly.

"Hmph! The strength of our Enma Clan lies in wisdom and cooperation. It is not just about brute force."

"Besides, Tenji that kid is a special case. Its talent was originally special. Add to that it works hard enough, and also that Sora... In short, do not even think about scheming against my other clansmen."

Sarutobi Hiruzen smiled and did not continue this topic.

...

Several days later, at the main camp on the front line where Konoha and Iwagakure were facing off.

Sora’s figure appeared at the entrance of the camp. After his identity was verified, a ninja led him to the commander’s tent.

Inside the large tent, Jiraiya was looking at the map on the table with a serious expression.

And in the corner of the tent, a nimble figure stood quietly, wearing an animal mask. It was Night Owl.

Sensing someone entering, both looked up simultaneously.

"Sora? You are here."

When Jiraiya saw Sora, his face immediately showed a smile, clearly relieved.

Night Owl also nodded slightly in greeting.

"Lord Jiraiya."

Sora nodded in response. His gaze swept over the tent. "Lord Orochimaru is not here?"

"Ah, do not mention it."

Jiraiya rubbed his forehead, his face showing ’helplessness’.

"That guy Orochimaru got grazed by Onoki’s Dust Release. He was injured pretty badly and has been sent back to the village to recuperate. Now all the pressure on the front line is on me alone. It is really tough."

Looking at Jiraiya’s exaggerated performance, Sora became even more convinced that Orochimaru was pretending.

With Jiraiya and Orochimaru’s years of.., it was impossible for him to not detect anything. Right now, he was most likely also going with the flow, and incidentally trying to gain sympathy from him.

’They are all great actors...’

Sora internally complained. But on the surface, he cooperatively showed a ’grave’ expression.

"Even Lord Orochimaru... Dust Release truly lives up to its reputation."

Jiraiya sighed.

"Yeah, that old guy’s Dust Release is indeed troublesome."

"But it is good you are here. With you here, we have a bit more confidence in dealing with Onoki."

He pulled Sora to the map and briefly introduced the current situation.

"Iwagakure’s attacks have slowed down these past few days. But I received intelligence that they are gathering forces. I estimate there will be a large-scale offensive in a few days. Onoki will likely personally take action again."

"His Dust Release has a large area and great power. It is almost impossible to defend against."

"Once he finds an opportunity, it will be a devastating blow to our defense line. So..."

Sora "..."

Jiraiya looked at Sora and requested.

"In the next major battle, I hope you can join me in containing Onoki head-on. We are not seeking to defeat him. Just being able to restrict his Dust Release and buy opportunities for our troops will be enough."

Sora looked at the interlocking marks of the enemy and allies on the map, quickly calculating in his heart.

Facing Onoki, who possessed Kekkei Tota, head-on was undoubtedly risky.

But with his speed, he was not without room to maneuver against Dust Release.

Moreover, he also wanted to personally experience how this ’decomposition’ ability of Dust Release compared to the power of the Azure Dragon Fruit.

’Avoiding it is not an option. Since I am here, I have to face it anyway. This is also a good chance to see how heavy this so-called ’Two Scales’ really is.’

Thinking of this, Sora nodded.

"I understand. When the time comes, I will do my best."

"Good. With your promise, I feel much more at ease."

A smile appeared on Jiraiya’s face. The atmosphere inside the tent relaxed somewhat for a moment.

In the corner, Night Owl’s gaze flickered slightly, thinking of who knows what.

...

Several days passed in a flash.

A dark mass of Iwagakure ninja poured out like a tide.

At the forefront, floating in mid-air, was the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki.

"They are coming."

At Konoha’s front line main camp, Jiraiya’s expression turned stern as he quickly issued orders.

"Follow the predetermined plan. I and Sora will be responsible for containing Onoki head-on."

"Night Owl, you and Yamada will be responsible for the main battlefield, resisting the main assault force of Iwagakure."

"Yes."

Night Owl’s cool reply.

Just as the orders were finished, a golden flash of light appeared inside the tent.

The light receded, revealing striking golden hair and a gentle smile. It was Namikaze Minato.

"Minato. You are here."

Jiraiya’s face instantly showed great joy.

He had sent a message to his disciple, who was garrisoning the Kumo front line, right after Orochimaru was ’severely injured’.

It seemed now that the Kumo side had been properly arranged by Minato.

For this outstandingly capable and reliable disciple, Jiraiya had complete trust.

After all, this was one of the candidates he guessed might be the "Child of Prophecy".

"Teacher, I came as soon as I received your message."

Namikaze Minato smiled and nodded. Then his gaze swept over Sora and Night Owl in the tent, greeting them amiably.

"Your timing is perfect."

Jiraiya vigorously patted Minato’s shoulder. "That old guy Onoki is not easy to deal with. Sora and I will handle the front. I need you to move around the battlefield, use your speed to focus on attacking Iwagakure’s rear command and supply lines, disrupt their formation."

"Understood." Namikaze Minato nodded solemnly.

After the tasks were assigned, Konoha’s group of high-level combatants quickly moved out.

The two armies faced each other. A murderous aura permeated the air.

Onoki hovered above the Iwagakure army, arms crossed, looking down at Jiraiya below.

"Jiraiya, with just the few of you, you still think you can stop my Iwagakure army? The name Sannin sounds impressive, but Orochimaru could not even withstand one move from me. It seems it is not much after all."

Hearing this, Jiraiya immediately retorted sarcastically.

"Onoki, you old fellow, your age is increasing, and your skin is getting thicker. Bullying juniors by relying on Dust Release is not real skill. Have the guts to fight me one-on-one, see if my Sage Art can smash your turtle shell."

"Hmph. Sharp tongue."

Onoki snorted coldly. When his gaze swept over the figure wearing the Azure Dragon mask beside Jiraiya, his pupils constricted slightly, then surged with intense anger.

"And you. The brat wearing the Azure Dragon mask. It was you who captured my son Kitsuchi."

---

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

📖 Like the story? Read 120 Chapters ahead!

🔗 patreon.com/atomelectron

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━