Lightning Dragon!

The Adamantine Staff in his hand suddenly elongated and smashed toward Qingyun, but Qingyun blocked it with his hand, unhurried, while the Third Hokage leaped directly onto the staff like a monkey.

"Earth Style: Earth Flow River!" The Third Hokage spat out a large amount of mud from his mouth, looking down from his elevated position.

Although it looked a bit disgusting, this move was enough to temporarily stop Qingyun from continuing his assault.

Swish, swish, swish! The Third Hokage performed a spinning leap and landed behind Qingyun. Qingyun turned around immediately, only to find that the Third Hokage had already finished his hand seals.

"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"

Qingyun hadn't expected the Third Hokage to actually play for real, so he stopped holding back.

"30 Million Volts: Thunder Beast!" Qingyun's strongest trump card at the moment was the Goro Goro no Mi. This level of voltage was beyond human comprehension; the lightning transformed into a tangible shape, something only the Second Pillar's Kirin could achieve.

If this move were converted into a ninjutsu rank, it would be at least S-rank.

The Third Hokage was surprised once again, and the power of the Fire Dragon Flame Bullet was simply insufficient to contend with the Thunder Beast.

The Third Hokage then performed hand seals again and shouted, "Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"

This move made the Fire Dragon Flame Bullet, which was already on the verge of extinguishing, burn much more fiercely. The Third Hokage had always been an expert at composite ninjutsu, using Wind Style to increase the power of his Fire Style while also using the wind to counter Qingyun's Lightning Style.

Qingyun's Thunder Beast and the Third Hokage's Wind-Fire Dragon collided, instantly triggering an explosion.

"Earth Style: Earth Wall!" The Third Hokage used the ninjutsu to protect himself, though he didn't use it for Qingyun, as he knew Qingyun wouldn't be defeated by him so easily.

Sure enough, Qingyun was barely affected, primarily due to the protection of his Damage Reduction Robe and Armament Haki.

While the battle inside was intense and spectacular, the four Anbu outside were just chatting idly.

"Why is it so noisy inside?"

"Could it be that Lord Third Hokage is having a fierce battle with that little kid?" one Anbu guessed.

"Are you joking? That's Lord Third Hokage, and the other one is just a four-year-old apprentice. If he could fight the Hokage like that, wouldn't he be a monster?"

"That's true..."

The four Anbu never imagined that the battle inside was far more than just "intense and spectacular"...

Having used several ninjutsu in succession, the Third Hokage still didn't look flushed or out of breath.

"Teacher Hiruzen, you are truly strong. An ordinary ninja would already be exhausted by now." Qingyun sincerely acknowledged the Third Hokage's strength.

The Third Hokage replied with a wry smile, "You brat, you're gloating after getting the upper hand. Even elite jonin wouldn't necessarily be able to block these ninjutsu."

"You really are a genius. To be able to shape Lightning Style into beasts—even the Raikage probably couldn't do that, right? It seems I must get serious." The Third Hokage's eyes grew sharper.

Hearing this, Qingyun curled his lip. As expected of the Hokage; he blocked a 30 Million Volt Thunder Bird and claimed he hadn't even gotten serious yet.

Of course, Qingyun still had some energy left.

"Be careful now." This time, the Third Hokage threw shuriken directly at Qingyun, which Qingyun dodged with great ease.

Who would have thought that the Third Hokage's shuriken were wrapped in thin steel wires? The Third Hokage tugged in his direction, and the shuriken skillfully attacked Qingyun again.

At the same time, the Third Hokage performed hand seals and shouted, "Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!"

Under the influence of the Shadow Clone Technique, those shuriken were everywhere, and they came with great urgency. After all, Qingyun was only a four-year-old Genin; how could he have the combat experience of the Third Hokage?

Qingyun reacted and intended to teleport, but it was too late. He made a prompt decision to use Armament Haki to protect his body and charged out to the side.

Clang! With a loud sound, Qingyun used his body to knock away the shadow clone shuriken, only to find the Third Hokage had been waiting there for a long time.

"Composite Ninjutsu: Earth Dragon Flame Flow!" Hiruzen Sarutobi had barely stopped his output of ninjutsu. After using the Shuriken Shadow Clone, he must have immediately used a Shadow Clone, then used Earth Style and Fire Style together with it.

Because the attacks came one after another, Qingyun had no chance to teleport and was forced into a defensive position.

"30 Million Volts: Thunder Bird!" Qingyun used the power of the Goro Goro no Mi again. The Thunder Beast had more power, while the Thunder Bird had greater speed.

Almost in a single thought, the Thunder Bird rushed toward the Third Hokage's Earth Dragon Flame Flow.

The two ultimate moves collided once again. Qingyun continued his output, while the Third Hokage continued to consume chakra, wanting to see Qingyun's limit.

Lightning sparked all around, and mud mixed with fire splattered onto the ground. The battle between the two raged on.

"Hah!" Qingyun finally exerted a burst of strength and released another Thunder Bird, which finally defeated the Third Hokage's Earth Dragon Flame Flow.

"Ha! It's not over yet!" The Third Hokage and his shadow clone used the Body Flicker Technique to run to the other side and began performing hand seals: "Thunder Water Dragon Bullet!"

The shadow clone used Lightning Style, while the Third Hokage's main body used Water Style, thus executing a composite ninjutsu once again.

Although it lacked the chakra nature transformation of a Kekkei Genkai, the Third Hokage's composite ninjutsu far exceeded the level of 1+1=2.

The synergy between the attributes was once again on full display.

"60 Million Volts: Lightning Dragon!" Qingyun was nearing his limit. He realized that when he used the power of the Devil Fruit, it actually consumed his physical stamina.

The amount of stamina naturally depended on a person's height and physical strength. As a four-year-old child, no matter how heaven-defying Qingyun was, his strength would eventually run out.

The 60 Million Volt Lightning Dragon's voltage far exceeded that of the previous Thunder Beast and Thunder Bird.

The speed and power of the Lightning Dragon seemed even greater than the fusion of the Thunder Beast and the Thunder Bird.

Qingyun was refreshing the Third Hokage's worldview time and time again. The Third Hokage had originally just wanted to see Qingyun's limit, but now he felt that he himself was reaching his own.

"Is this guy really just a child? It's truly hard to believe."

"To be able to shape Lightning Style into a dragon—and a Lightning Dragon of this magnitude—even I couldn't do it."

"I wonder how this guy's Lightning Release compares to the Raikage?"

"It seems this fellow has forced me to use my full strength." Hiruzen Sarutobi no longer hid his true power; while blocking Qingyun's Lightning Dragon, he once again utilized the Shadow Clone Technique.

The Third Hokage felt his body becoming paralyzed by the Lightning Dragon, yet he forced his body to move regardless.

"Five Elements: Great Combo Barrage Technique!" Hiruzen Sarutobi shouted.

"What!?" Even Qingyun had not expected the Third Hokage to unleash such a lethal technique against him.