Dance, Youth in Thunderclap

"I never thought I'd one day have the chance to kill a legendary figure like you.

This is... simply wonderful!"

As hundreds of voices rang out from all around, their combined sound startled the small birds throughout the forest.

The echoes and the cries of hundreds of small birds gave Kinkaku a splitting headache, and he instinctively shut out all the noisy sounds.

A sinister grin appeared on his face once more as he roared,

"Uchiha Clan brat, do you think such a trivial genjutsu can scare me?

Though I'm not particularly skilled in genjutsu..."

As he spoke, he formed a One-handed Hand Seal.

"Release!"

With an angry shout, the hundreds of Kaguras around him suddenly vanished.

Yet the real scene before his eyes left him stunned once again.

Five Kaguras stood before him, but what shocked him was not the number of clones his opponent had created, but their forms.

Kagura had already entered the One-Tails Tailed Beast Cloak state.

Unlike the bloodthirsty and violent Chakra emanating from Kinkaku, Kagura's Tailed Beast Cloak was milky white.

It truly looked as though he had merely put on a translucent raincoat, with a single tail constantly wagging behind him.

The aura of the Tailed Beast Cloak was gentle and warm, without even a trace of a Tailed Beast's mad presence.

Other than that, what drew the most attention were his eyes.

The Double-Tomoe in his eyes spun rapidly, and even tears of blood appeared at the corners of his eyes.

Clearly, he had pushed Kotoamatsukami to its limits.

Seeing this situation, a serious expression appeared on Kinkaku's face for the first time.

He asked Kagura directly,

"Brat, is that a Tailed Beast Cloak?

No, there's no Tailed Beast aura.

Then why do you possess power equal to a Tailed Beast's?

And those strange Sharingan of yours..."

Kagura did not answer any of Kinkaku's questions.

His previously broken Right Hand had already recovered completely under the healing enhancement of the Tailed Beast Cloak.

The five "Kaguras" slowly drew Shuriken from their waists at the same time, then vanished in a flash and appeared simultaneously before Kinkaku.

At this moment, Kagura's taijutsu, Dōjutsu, and Chakra had all received enormous boosts from the Tailed Beast Cloak.

If he had to quantify it, he now possessed the strength of a Jonin, and one close to qualifying for the Kage level.

Facing Kagura's attack, Kinkaku smiled disdainfully.

However, just as he moved, Kagura's unique Sharingan flashed through his vision.

His hand, which was about to rise in counterattack, suddenly froze, halting for half a second.

In a Ninja battle, a delay of half a second could decide many things.

Clang!

The five Kaguras' Shuriken struck Kinkaku's chest precisely, yet a metallic collision rang out.

"Tch, of course it wouldn't be that easy!"

Kagura muttered, but his body did not stop. The five Kaguras kicked Kinkaku simultaneously.

Boom—

Kinkaku was sent flying backward by that synchronized kick, smashing through several Trees along the way and kicking up a cloud of Dust and Mist.

The "Kaguras" did not pursue. Instead, they remained where they were, staring intently at the Dust and Mist.

Slowly, Kinkaku's massive body gradually appeared from the Gray Mist.

Faint arcs of lightning flickered over his entire body. Clearly, he had used Lightning Release Enhancement on his Physical Body.

That was precisely why Kagura's Shuriken had been unable to pierce his body earlier.

Still wearing a savage grin, he looked towards Kagura and said,

"Brat, you want to kill me?

With strength like this, I'm afraid you can't do it!"

Both figures blurred as they rushed towards each other at the same time.

Unexpectedly, the battle that followed became a close-quarters brawl.

One side relied on the enhancement of Tailed Beast Transformation, Shadow Clones, and the harassment of Kotoamatsukami to fight guerrilla-style.

The other relied on a powerful Physical Body, exceptional Lightning Release Enhancement, and his seemingly bottomless Chakra to fight head-on.

Giant Trees fell from time to time in the forest, while the sounds of flesh and weapons colliding rang out repeatedly.

For a moment, the two sides fought evenly, falling into a stalemate.

Yet it was precisely this deadlock that made Kagura increasingly certain of his earlier suspicion.

There was indeed something very wrong with Kinkaku's condition!

Kagura had a clear understanding of his current strength.

Although he possessed the strength of a Jonin, he should have been nowhere near a Ninja of Kinkaku's level.

Moreover, Kinkaku's initial battle strategy against them did not match his personality.

According to the story, Kinkaku should have been arrogant and impatient.

Using students as hostages to Ambush Hiruzen Sarutobi felt more like something his Younger brother Ginkaku would do.

On the other hand, Ginkaku's absence, along with the absence of the other four famous Ninja tools, was also clearly suspicious.

Most importantly, there was the option in the system to kill Kinkaku.

That meant the system believed they had a chance of killing Kinkaku.

Conversely, that also meant Kinkaku was not as strong as he appeared to be right now, which was why he had resorted to schemes in an attempt to end the battle quickly.

At this moment, Kinkaku felt deeply frustrated as well.

After the battles with Tobirama and the Third Hokage over the past year, his body had reached a terrible state.

Especially after the Third Hokage A's pursuit.

He still remembered that battle, when his Younger brother Ginkaku had been ambushed by that Guy A and had his heart pierced through in a single strike, dying on the spot.

As for himself, he had only barely escaped after losing two Ninja tools.

This time, he had come near Konoha because he had been pursued all the way here and had no choice but to flee in this direction.

Yet he had not expected to encounter Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others here.

He knew he could not reveal his weakness, so his appearance, pursuit, and Ambush afterward had all been schemes he had planned in advance.

His goal had been to quickly kill everyone before him.

But he had not expected that after taking down Sarutobi, a Child would actually hold him back.

After knocking away Kagura, who had attacked from the right, once more, his heart sank.

No, if this dragged on any longer, A might catch up from behind.

With that thought, he pulled out the Basho Fan from his mouth.

Although he did not have much Chakra left, he should still be able to use it once more.

As he assessed the situation, veins bulged on his Right Hand again. Clearly, he intended to wipe out the five "Kaguras" in one blow.

However, just as he was about to swing the fan, those Sharingan flashed through his vision once more.

His fan-swinging motion paused, and his Right Hand holding the fan was struck by two "Kaguras" who appeared in a flash, changing the fan's direction.

"Tch, those troublesome eyes."

After regaining control of his body, Kinkaku hurriedly stopped channeling Chakra into the fan.

When he raised his head again, the five "Kaguras" had stopped their next attack and instead spread apart, vaguely surrounding him in the middle.

The five "Kaguras" opened their mouths at the same time, their tails rising high behind them.

A dazzling Light Ball, bright as the sun, gradually appeared.

Kinkaku, who could also enter the Tailed Beast Cloak state, naturally knew what it was. They were preparing to attack him with Tailed Beast Bombs!

Yet Kinkaku was not alarmed. Instead, he was delighted. He understood Tailed Beast Bombs very well, and thus knew the weakness of this technique.

Its preparation time was too Long.

Without hesitation, he immediately rushed towards one of the Kaguras.

The massive Basho Fan had been put away at some point. His Right Hand formed a Hand Blade, with a layer of lightning appearing along its outer edge, like a genuine battle blade.

The Kagura Kinkaku rushed towards showed no panic, but he immediately stopped gathering the Tailed Beast Bomb as well.

Then, rather than retreating, he advanced and opened his arms toward the charging Kinkaku, directly hugging him.

Before Kinkaku could show a puzzled expression, the other four Kaguras around him stopped their movements as well, rushing forward to grab his limbs.

The Kagura holding his body looked up at him and finally Said with a Smile,

"You didn't really think an eight-year-old Child like me could fire five Tailed Beast Bombs at once, did you?

My true killing move has been ready from the very beginning."

Upon hearing those words, Kinkaku's gaze passed through the Kagura before him and looked towards the summit of a Small Mountain in the distance.

A blinding lightning glow shone there, accompanied by sounds like Hundreds of small birds chirping.

Had he only just started preparing it?

No, judging from the momentum gathered by the distant attack, it had definitely been charging for a Long Time.

I actually never noticed it before?

As that thought flashed through his mind, Kinkaku looked at Kagura on his chest in astonishment.

Kagura Smiled Slightly and explained,

"Although my Kotoamatsukami can't alter your will too much, making you temporarily ignore the distant light and sounds is still possible."

Only then did Kinkaku suddenly recall the Hundreds of Kaguras and the Hundreds of small birds that had appeared at the beginning.

That was right. Given the Battle Scale of his earlier fight with Hiruzen Sarutobi, how could there still have been so many small birds in this forest?

Before he could Think More, the momentum of the distant lightning had already reached its peak.

Suddenly, the lightning became a bolt that rushed towards Kinkaku in a straight line!

With unstoppable force, the bolt of lightning directly destroyed every obstacle in its path.

Kinkaku inwardly cursed as he tried to Break Free from Kagura's restraints, but the aftereffects of the Long battle finally surfaced.

His once-abundant Chakra was Completely Gone, and Kinkaku Only Feel an unfamiliar weakness filling his Whole Body.

It felt as though a very Long Time had passed, yet also as though it had only been an instant.

The lightning finally arrived Before Kinkaku!

The one Hand Holding that lightning was Kagura.

His left hand pressed down on his Right Hand, while his Right Palm held a Light Ball formed from lightning.

Terrifying lightning continuously emitted from around the Light Ball, accompanied by the sound of One Thousand small birds chirping.

It was Lightning Style: Chidori!

That Right Hand had pierced through Kinkaku's Heart Position and emerged from his back!

Kinkaku had fallen!