Kinkaku-sama, You Really Are in Bad Shape

At this moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi only felt that he was about to die.

It was not as though he had never witnessed Kinkaku's strength before. Back when he had followed Tobirama to Kumogakure—

Kinkaku and Ginkaku, the Two Brothers, had launched their coup d'état right before them and killed the Second Raikage.

Yet he had never imagined that Kinkaku had still not displayed his strongest side at the time.

Later, when Senju Tobirama had gone alone to face Kinkaku and Ginkaku in order to cover their retreat, he had not witnessed that battle.

Over the past year, although he had considered revenge, deep down he knew that the Two Brothers' strength was not something he could face.

Only after truly clashing with him today did he realize that he had still underestimated Kinkaku's strength too conservatively.

Setting aside exceptional circumstances such as Bloodline Limits, a Ninja's strength was generally judged by three aspects: Chakra, taijutsu, and ninjutsu.

Comparing Hiruzen Sarutobi with Kinkaku, aside from ninjutsu, Hiruzen Sarutobi was far inferior to Kinkaku in the other two aspects.

However, Kinkaku possessed a Ninja tool left behind by the Sage of Six Paths—the Basho Fan.

It was a weapon that ignored the user's Chakra nature and could release all five major nature transformations—fire, water, lightning, wind, and earth—in a single stroke.

Although using it consumed a massive amount of Chakra, that was hardly a limitation for someone like Kinkaku, whose Chakra rivaled that of a Tailed Beast.

Because of this weapon, Hiruzen Sarutobi's sole advantage in ninjutsu had also been erased.

Moreover, Kinkaku had used an ambush by one of his students at the very beginning, causing him to suffer considerable injuries before the battle even started.

And once such a disadvantage was seized upon by an experienced Ninja like Kinkaku, it became very difficult to turn the situation around.

Even so, with his diverse array of ninjutsu, the two of them had barely managed to maintain a fragile balance.

But not long into the battle, that balance was instantly shattered when Kinkaku directly chose to enter Nine-Tails' Tailed Beast Cloak Transformation.

Looking at the red monster before him, swaying six tails like a "little Nine-Tails," Hiruzen Sarutobi sensed an unusually sinister Chakra.

Kinkaku seemed to have lost his mind. He kept muttering:

"Die...

All of you, go die!"

With a roar on that final word, he suddenly transformed into a streak of red light and charged toward Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Though he had been prepared, the increase in his opponent's speed far exceeded his estimates.

"Bang!"

The sound of physical bodies colliding rang out, and Hiruzen Sarutobi was sent flying like a black shadow.

As the dust and mist dispersed, Hiruzen Sarutobi barely rose from the wreckage.

But that red light flashed again, and Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had only just gotten up, was sent flying once more.

As collision after collision rang out, Hiruzen Sarutobi was repeatedly knocked away like a ball.

But as a Kage-level Strong Person, he was not entirely incapable of defending himself.

After gradually adapting to his opponent's speed, he used the Adamantine Staff transformed by the Monkey King, Enma, to block the next several attacks.

Although he was still constantly sent flying, the damage he actually suffered was not severe.

"Bang!"

Following the final collision, Hiruzen Sarutobi finally steadied himself after crashing through a massive tree.

Though both hands gripped the staff firmly, his faintly trembling arms revealed his exhaustion.

With a whoosh, Tailed Beast Transformation Kinkaku appeared on a tree ahead of him.

On his face, now nothing but a black shadow, were two white, pupil-less eyes.

He looked down with those emotionless eyes at the tiny human on the ground and slowly opened his mouth.

The six tails behind him rose and pointed forward, circling before him.

An enormous amount of Chakra slowly gathered, and a black orb of light gradually appeared before his mouth.

The instant he saw that black orb, a trace of fear flashed through Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes.

That was a Tailed Beast Bomb!

Without hesitating any longer, he quickly formed hand seals. A water dragon crackling with lightning suddenly appeared before him.

This was a ninjutsu that combined Water Release Ninjutsu and Lightning Release Ninjutsu, creating an electrified Water Dragon Bullet to attack the enemy.

Lightning Water Dragon Bullet.

As though by agreement, after a brief stillness, their long-charged attacks shot toward each other at the same time.

The black and blue attacks met mid-air, then deadlocked against each other.

Yet the stalemate lasted less than a few seconds. As the black Tailed Beast Bomb grew larger and larger, the blue side was slowly forced back.

Once the Tailed Beast Bomb expanded to its limit, it instantly swallowed the Lightning Water Dragon Bullet and raced toward Hiruzen Sarutobi.

A black flash streaked out, and from Kinkaku as its starting point, a line stretching a hundred meters pierced straight through the entire forest.

At the end of that line, Hiruzen Sarutobi lay on the ground, clearly unconscious.

Seeing the fallen enemy, Kinkaku finally dispersed his Tailed Beast Cloak.

He jumped down from the tree, staggered, and only managed to steady himself after swaying once.

He no longer possessed the arrogance he had displayed upon appearing. Slightly out of breath, he looked toward Hiruzen Sarutobi in the distance.

Clearly, he had not won this battle as easily as he had imagined.

He said unwillingly:

"Damn it, if not for Tobirama and that A..."

Afterward, he took several deep breaths and finally regained his composure.

He slowly walked forward, preparing to personally finish off the Third Hokage.

At that moment, a somewhat youthful voice rang out beside him:

"Just as I thought...

Kinkaku-sama, you don't look to be in as good a condition as imagined."

Hearing this, Kinkaku stopped and turned to Looked Over.

The one who entered his sight was the Uchiha brat who had previously resisted his pursuit twice.

Uchiha Kagura.

After seeing Kinkaku transform into a Tailed Beast in the distance, he hesitated for a moment before ultimately choosing to come over.

To ensure his safety earlier, he had remained several kilometers away from the battlefield.

So even though he had gone all out, Hiruzen Sarutobi had already fallen by the time he arrived.

However, after seeing Kinkaku's unsteady posture when he landed and hearing those muttered words, he knew he had gambled correctly.

Something was wrong with Kinkaku's condition!

Looking at the Youth before him, Kinkaku narrowed his eyes but did not answer his question.

Kagura paid him no attention and continued:

"I imagine the battle before Tobirama's death last year also left you with quite a few injuries.

And then there was the pursuit by the Third Raikage, known as the Strongest Spear. Your body probably has never been able to recover to its best condition, has it?"

Upon hearing the words Third Raikage, Kinkaku's eyes contracted.

Logically, the Third Raikage's pursuit of the Two Brothers should have remained secret. He did not understand why this Genin from Konohagakure knew about it.

At last, he answered frankly:

"Heh, what could you possibly know?

As for my strength, even your Third Hokage has fallen. You are not worthy of knowing."

Instead, Kagura laughed. He threw his head back and laughed loudly:

"So you aren't denying it?

Then may I ask, Kinkaku-sama, why is the Basho Fan the only one of the five tools from the Sage of Six Paths that can be seen in your hands?

And where is your younger brother, Ginkaku-sama?

Could it be..."

At this point, he gave the legendary Ninja before him an ill-intentioned look before continuing:

"Could it be that A has already taken your younger brother's head back to pay tribute to the Second Raikage?"

Hearing this, Kinkaku, already violent by nature, finally could no longer suppress the fury in his heart.

A flash of lightning passed, and he had already appeared before Kagura.

His right hand became a Hand Blade and viciously cut into Kagura's chest.

Yet no sensation of tearing flesh came from his hand. The Youth wearing that hateful smile before him slowly faded away and disappeared.

This was... genjutsu?

But before he could make another move, Hundreds of Kagura's figures suddenly appeared around him.

Kagura's slightly crazed voice came from every direction:

"Hehehe...

Hahaha...

I never thought it would happen—my guess was right!

You couldn't even see through my genjutsu. Kinkaku-sama, you really are in bad shape.

I actually have a chance to kill a legendary Ninja one day!

This is simply... wonderful!"