Vol.19 Chapter 166 – The Abilities of the Shinobi…!!

Towering over the battlefield on two snakes, Orochimaru and Kabuto mock Jiraiya’s inability to summon a toad of a decent size. Insulted for his mentor, Naruto tries to rectify the situation by summoning a larger toad. Orochimaru notes that the boy can use chakra, which means his five-element seal has been broken. No one but the Sannin could have done this, so he guesses it was Jiraiya’s doing. However, Naruto’s summoning was no better than his mentor’s – he only managed to summon Gamatatsu, Gamakichi’s younger brother.

Orochimaru and Kabuto attack, but Naruto fails to escape and gets caught in the jaws of Kabuto’s snake. Jiraiya tries to trap the second snake, but because of his weakness the resulting quagmire is too small for the reptile to drown in, but it is deep enough to hold it.

Shizune fights Kabuto, and at one point he manages to cut the tendons in the girl’s legs, rendering her unable to stand. Kabuto disposes of her and heads for the terrified Tsunade. In fear, she tries to swing away from her opponent, but Kabuto is only frustrated and starts kicking Tsunade.

Meanwhile, the fight between Jiraiya and Orochimaru continues. Both are not at their best, so, unable to do much damage to each other, they discuss each other’s intentions. Orochimaru says that Jiraiya’s ward is nothing and that no one can compare to Sasuke because he has the blood of the Uchiha clan in him. Jiraiya replies that the talent and knowledge of countless ninjutsu is nothing compared to the tenacity Naruto demonstrates. At that moment he shields Tsunade from another Kabuto strike.