"I have spotted a shinobi's Chakra 400 meters ahead. There are lots of turbulence in his Chakra and it seems to be a mix of Chakras." I warned the Sannins.

The Sannins immediately raised their guards as we increased our speed by a notch. Soon, we spotted a shinobi in the beige robe with red undergarments and white hairs. ​​

'Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique'

I made some hand signs as I launched a fireball at the shinobi. The shinobi jumped and avoided the fireball as he turns around to face us. He has red eyes and white hairs that reach to his hips.

"It really is you, Hiruko." Tsunade and Jiraiya are surprised to see the person.

"So, it's true that you are experimenting on a Kinjutsu Technique to gain more power. I never expected you to follow darkness." Jiraiya sighs as he looks at Hiruko.

"Since, when Hiruko…since when. We all were good friends who knew each other since the academy. You really changed a lot, stooping so low as to use humans as guinea pigs in your experiment to gain more power." Tsunade rebukes Hiruko.

Orochimaru stays silent and looks at their interaction. He has a contemplative look, seemingly thinking on something. I draw out my blade as I get ready to fight Hiruko.

"I have always been like this, Tsunade, Jiraiya. Unlike you, I had no special abilities, talents, or an excellent teacher. I was an average talentless shinobi who can only act as fodder in the war between nations. I was powerless to decide even my own life and death and would have to rely on the mercy of the enemy during the Second Shinobi War.

You earned fame and name in the Second Shinobi War, but what I earned is shame and humiliation when even an enemy with a Kekkai Genkai laughed at me and refused to kill me to humiliate me. He left me on the verge of death, that shame and powerlessness. What do you know about it?"

Hiruko starts to whine about his miserable past and his powerlessness. This made me think about myself,

'What if I was born as a normal person in a civilian family with no special abilities in the Shinobi world. Would I be able to grow as strong as I am now by relying on luck and hard work? Probably not, I would have to follow the Dark path to gain power.'

I really couldn't understand the sentiments of Hiruko, but somehow I could relate to him as I was a powerless average person in my previous life.

"Hiruko, I am sure you would have turned into a powerful shinobi if you trained on your own. Look at me, I was similar to you when we were younger. I had no special talents and skills and could only look up to Tsunade and Orochimaru. Now, my strength is equal to them." Jiraiya tries to convince Hiruko by facts.

I shout in my mind,

'Jiraiya, you had plot armor till Naruto Shippuden. How could you be weaker?'

Hiruko makes some hand signs as he yells at us,

"You will never understand my sentiments. You are stronger than me, and that's a fact. I have finally found my way to become strong and I will follow that path. Now, no one can stop me. Not even the Third Hokage, who sent you to capture me."

'Summoning Jutsu'

Hiruko summons a giant creature to attack us. A bird-like creature with large wings appears inside the forest. There are distinctive markings on its wingspans that combine near the middle. It has an orange face, a green face, and white skin.

Screech....

The bird screeches loudly as it curls its body and shoots its large feathers towards us.

Boom…boom…

The feathers explode as they hit the ground.

'Earth style: Rock Dome'

I make some hand signs to cover myself in a rock dome. I just want the Sannins to handle the mission. Well, the enemy is their friend and they have sentiments attached to the target.

The bird flies over us as it tries to smash us with its wings.

'Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique'

I fire a fireball at the bird to shoot it down. With a sudden burst of speed, the bird dodges the fireball as it throws its explosive feathers again.

Jiraiya bit his thumb as he starts to make some rapid hand signs,

'Summoning Jutsu: Food Cart Destroyer Technique'

A giant toad drops from the sky as it lands on top of the bird, crashing the bird to the ground. The toad is dull rusty red with some bright red markings on his chest, eyes, and lips. The toad wears a large blue happi vest that has kanji 'Ebi' on the back. There is a massive 'Dosu blade' on his hip strapped to a large belt.

The toad draws out its blade as it tries to stab the head of the bird underneath him. The bird struggles as its feathers glow.

"Watch out! They are about to explode." Jiraiya shouts to warn the toad.

Boom…

"What the…" Before the toad could react, the feathers explode beneath the toad, hurling him up in the air. A part of the Toad's skin is charred as it lies on the ground.

"Jiraiya, you bastard! What kind of trouble you are in this time?" The toad stabs his blade on the ground for support.

Most of the feathers of the bird are plucked out. One of its wings is slightly damaged and smokes rises from the bird. The bird struggles for a while before it flies again.

"I am sorry, Gamabunta. I will make it up to you some other day." Jiraiya apologizes to the toad.

"Hiruko is just stalling for time to escape. We have to catch him before he leaves the border of Land of Fire." Orochimaru, Tsunade, and I chase Hiruko as Jiraiya is engaged with the bird.

We catch up to Hiruko again. He turns around and makes some hand signs,

'Summoning Jutsu'

Two dog-like giant creatures appear in front of us. Both of them possess two spear-like weapons, which they aim at us. Hiruko ignores us and continues to move towards the border.

One of the dogs fires the spear at an extremely fast speed towards us. We avoid the spear as it smashes in the ground, making an enormous crater.

"Be careful, these are the products of his experiments. These chimeras beast are very powerful. That spear-like projectile on its back is made from a very hard substance." Orochimaru warns us about the nature of beasts.

"Leave it to me," Tsunade assures Orochimaru as she deflects a spear with a punch.

Tsunade bits her thumb and made some hand,

'Summoning Jutsu'

She summons a giant slug to fight alongside her. The slug is white with three blue streaks that run vertically down the middle and side of its body from its head and tapering at its tail. Its optical tentacles have a slight tint of grey to them, and it also has two sensory tentacles on either side of its mouth.

"Katsuyu, help me deal with one of the dog chimeras while I fight with this one. Also, send one of your clones with Izuna and Orochimaru and send one back to Jiraiya." Tsunade punches another spear as she engages against the dog.

"Yes, Tsunade-Sama." Three smaller versions of Katsuyu separate from her and one of them cling to my shoulder as we follow Hiruko.

'Tongue Tooth Sticky Acid Technique'

The bigger version of Katsuyu spits out large amounts of acid at the Chimera dog. The dog dodges the spit, the acid from the spit melts down a large boulder.

Orochimaru and I follow Hiruko as I question Chibi Katsuyu.

"Lady Katsuyu, what is the size of your actual body? Is the one Tsunade-san summoned your complete body, or is it one of the many fragments of your body just like this one?"

I grab the Chibi Katsuyu and pulls it in front of my face as I curiously look at it. They never mentioned the real size of Katsuyu in anime, and I am really curious to find out the actual size of Katsuyu.

"Izuna-kun, you should never ask a lady about her age and size. It is considered rude to ask such a thing." The Chibi Katsuyu reprimands me and dodges my question.

I could only helplessly shake my head and consider the idea of exploring the Shikkotsu forest one day. I will eventually figure out her secret. Katsuyu jumps back on my shoulder as we continue to follow the trail.

We finally spotted Hiruko and Orochimaru throws a kunai with an explosive tag attached to it towards Hiruko. The kunai hits Hiruko and explodes.

Poof…

Hiruko disappears in a puff of smoke, and a log appears in his place.

'Substitution Jutsu'

Orochimaru and I search for Hiruko, and I finally find him behind a tree. Hiruko makes some hand signs as I shout in my mind.

'Not again!'