Starting with rogue ninjas, building the insect kingdom.

Chapter 172 The Technique of the Insect Hive Barrier

Jiraiya no longer wanted to listen. He took a deep breath and slowly formed hand seals.

He knew that a direct confrontation would be futile, but he also knew that if he didn't spread the news today, Konoha would face a completely unknown threat in the future.

Therefore, it is understandable that he never forgot Konoha.

There is no right or wrong, it's just that they are on different sides now, and they are extremely firm in their positions, so there is no other way but for them to fight to the death.

"One last question: where have you been all these years?"

Jiraiya wanted to know what other hideouts Shisei Aburame had, as these hideouts could potentially pose a threat to the ninja world.

Aburame Zhicheng didn't answer him. He raised his hand, and the swarm of insects began to move rhythmically.

"As for where I've been all these years... once you're dead, you can ask the dead souls and piece together my information if they're willing to tell you."

As soon as he finished speaking, he clenched his fist, and the swarm of insects instantly surged into a frenzy.

Countless iron-aluminum insects rubbed against each other, and blue electric light leaped again in the swarm, forming electric nets that enveloped Jiraiya.

Jiraiya quickly jumped back, simultaneously forming hand seals: "Sage Art: Fire Release: Great Flame Bullet!"

Even more intense flames erupted from his mouth, colliding with the electric grid and bursting into a blinding white light. Amidst the electric shock and fire, the acrid smell of burning insects filled the air.

But there were too many insects.

As soon as one batch was charred, even more insects swarmed in from all directions.

The earth-building insects turned into mud on the ground, restricting Jiraiya's movement; the stinky insects continuously released pheromones, interfering with his perception and chakra control; and the iron-aluminum insects constantly generated electric shocks, forcing him to be distracted and defend himself.

They can even form a square formation and rotate around each other to create a defense, proving that fire escaping is not omnipotent.

"Damn it!" Jiraiya gritted his teeth, dodging as he tried to summon the spirit again in reverse.

He hadn't expected that the psychic summoning would be completely ineffective. Finally, he realized something was wrong. No matter how he tried to sense it, the contractual connection with Mount Myōboku seemed to be severed by something, barely perceptible.

"What did you do?" Jiraiya looked up, a grim expression on his face.

"You found out?"

Yu Nu Zhicheng stood in the center of the swarm of insects, and the surrounding insects automatically avoided him within a three-foot radius:

"Ever since I encountered someone who could communicate with a contracted person from a sacred site and he escaped, I've started researching how to interfere with psychic abilities."

He lifted his foot and gently stomped on the ground. The swarm of insects beneath his feet stirred, revealing countless eggs and larvae.

"I extracted the key elements from the Wind Barrier," he explained. "Let the swarms of insects cover the earth, and let their chakra interfere with each other to form a special barrier. I call it the Insect Cave Barrier."

The previous Holy Land contractor?

Could it be Orochimaru? Why didn't he tell Konoha's Shisei the information back then?

So, did Orochimaru actually betray Konoha in his heart?

Jiraiya gave a wry smile. He should have left earlier; now it seemed he couldn't leave!

Since that's the case, then let's fight with all our might. This time, he wasn't thinking about escaping, but about how to annihilate the enemy.

However, just as he was about to launch an attack, Aburame Shisei's true form flapped its wings and flew into the sky.

At this moment, he observed Jiraiya struggling in the swarm of insects below, and couldn't help but shake his head slightly, his tone tinged with regret.

"The effect is so-so the first time I used it."

This barrier technique has flaws; it can only interfere with summoning to a certain extent, and it is powerless against other space-time ninjutsu. Moreover, the strength of the interference is related to the density of the insect swarm.

This was a shortcoming he discovered quickly after his first use. He looked around and saw that the swarm covered an area of ​​at least several kilometers.

If Jiraiya had escaped to the edge of the swarm immediately, he would have had a 10% chance of leaving unharmed and a 30% chance of escaping wounded. But now, his chances of escaping are less than 50%.

So it's a sure win?

Ayumi Zhicheng dared not dwell on the matter, fearing that the enemy would discover his weakness, open the champagne bottle on the spot, and allow the enemy to escape. Instead, he intensified the swarm's attack, continuing to wear them down and harass them.

Below, Jiraiya's forehead was beaded with cold sweat.

Unexpectedly, when he launched his attack, his opponent chose to fly high into the air, using this method to deplete his stamina and chakra.

He had considered escaping again, but the swarm was moving too fast, and he hadn't initially realized the gravity of the situation. Now, it was too late to break out.

"So you consider every move carefully?" Jiraiya said slowly, "It's because you're afraid of revealing your identity and having the people of Konoha frantically search for you. So you're wary; you're not invincible, and this method of imprisoning others must have loopholes, right?"

Aburame Shisei did not deny it. He knew that facing such a strong person, the other party would definitely be able to guess, but whether he could find it was another matter.

"So what if I am? But this time... you've really messed with me."

The insect swarm surged again. Jiraiya gritted his teeth, his hands rapidly forming hand seals: "Sage Art: Goemon!"

The toad oil mixed with flames erupted, forming a fiery dragon hundreds of meters long, which then surrounded him in a wall of fire.

The swarm of insects crashed into the flames and were instantly burned to ashes, emitting a pungent, burnt smell.

But Shisei Aburame simply raised his hand slightly.

Wind Release: Sage Art: Wind Breath Technique.

A blue wind surged in from all directions, not to disperse the flames, but to compress them and force them toward Jiraiya himself.

Jiraiya was shocked and immediately stopped breathing fire, rolling around in a sorry state to avoid it.

At this moment, the mask on his face began to dissolve, clearly indicating that he was running out of Sage Chakra.

Before he could even stand up, a figure had already appeared in front of him.

Aburame Shisei's palm pressed against his chest, using the same move again, but without Sage Chakra, he couldn't even dodge it.

"Sage Art: Wind Release - Gale Palm".

There are no fancy ninjutsu techniques, only the simplest and most direct palm strikes.

Jiraiya's body flew backward like a cannonball, smashing through three broken walls before finally embedding itself in a pile of rubble.

He coughed up blood and struggled to stand up.

Just then, he finally sensed it—the connection to Mount Myōboku appeared faintly at the edge of the insect swarm!

"Gamamaru..." he murmured, struggling to get up.

"The node is there, Jiraiya, quickly use Fire Release!" The two heavily injured toad sages urged hurriedly.

They knew that Boss Toad wouldn't abandon them, after all, they still had the important mission of finding the Chosen One!

Jiraiya finally found a glimmer of hope. He used Fire Release again, instantly annihilating a large swarm of insects and burning out a clearing. The ground there was rock, so it hadn't been used to build an insect nest yet. He quickly retreated towards that area.