Who Could Be His Mentor?

What Hiruzen didn't know was that Yeyu hadn't gone all out.

He didn't know how strong Hiruzen was, either, and worried that if he used too much force, he might kill him.

Even without going all out, that punch had already made Hiruzen spit blood.

Yeyu didn't follow up with a second punch.

He leaped backward and landed on the surface of the water.

He'd mastered Water Walking, such a basic application of chakra, the moment he gained Akainu's powers.

A genius like Akainu couldn't possibly lack control over his strength.

Yeyu had inherited more than Akainu's power. He'd also inherited his talent for learning.

Drawing on Akainu's experience and Yeyu's understanding of chakra in this world,

he'd mastered the basics of chakra control in an instant.

Standing in the middle of the lake, he calmly watched Hiruzen, who was now panting as he struggled out of a crater more than ten meters across.

Blood still clung to the corner of Hiruzen's mouth.

Hiruzen was utterly astonished. "This kid's strength is terrifying. He's several times stronger than Tsunade."

"He's fast, too. I wonder if he's faster than the Fourth Raikage."

The Fourth Raikage had also reached the peak of speed through nothing but physical strength and Lightning Release, second only to the Fourth Hokage, who had mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique.

After Minato Namikaze's death, he was the fastest shinobi alive.

Yeyu felt even faster than the Fourth Raikage.

"Lord Hokage, you don't have to test me in Taijutsu. Use ninjutsu instead."

Yeyu called from the middle of the lake.

Hiruzen was no match for him in Taijutsu.

Not even with Enma's help.

Hiruzen knew that well enough.

He climbed out of the crater, stood on the grass, and looked at Yeyu.

"I'd meant to test his strength. Now it's turned into a test of my own."

"He held back just now, didn't he?"

"One punch was enough to make me spit blood, and he's so fast. He's made up for Tsunade's one weakness."

"Other than not knowing ninjutsu, he's definitely stronger than Tsunade."

Tsunade's strength even surpassed that of the Fourth Raikage, whose body was terrifyingly powerful.

But Yeyu was many times stronger than Tsunade.

And he was so fast. Yeyu was unquestionably stronger than Tsunade.

"If he'd followed up with another punch, I'd be dead."

When Yeyu's fist came down, Hiruzen had even seen his life flash before his eyes.

In that instant, Yeyu could have killed him if he'd truly wanted to.

Enma couldn't help saying, "Hiruzen, if he throws another punch, even I won't be able to take it. That guy's punches are far too powerful."

Hiruzen was startled. "Even your body can't withstand it?"

"You're indestructible—harder than steel."

Enma's body could even withstand a stab from the Kusanagi Sword.

That showed just how hard it was.

Enma still felt shaken. "That punch didn't feel like a fist hitting me. It felt like a mountain had landed on top of me."

"His fist was harder than steel. It might even be harder than my body."

Hiruzen stared in shock. "What? Harder than your body?"

"You've got to be kidding!"

Hiruzen couldn't believe anyone could have a body tougher than Enma's.

But Enma had taken Yeyu's punch, so he knew better than anyone what it had felt like.

"No wonder he's so fast without his body suffering at all."

"His body must be as tough as a Raikage's by now."

The Raikage of Kumogakure was universally recognized in the Ninja World as the pinnacle of physical conditioning.

The Third Raikage had even fought the Eight-Tails hand to hand until the beast was exhausted.

Their physical strength stood at the pinnacle of the Ninja World.

Aside from someone like Tsunade, who had inherited the First's traits and could measure up, no one had a body as powerful as theirs.

And yet Yeyu's body seemed to have reached the Raikage's level.

"This kid's potential—no, his strength is already beyond that of a Jonin."

"His speed and strength alone put him on par with Tsunade, or even the Third Raikage."

"I fought the Third Raikage many times back then, and even he never left me this battered."

Enma corrected him. "No. His fist is much harder than the Third Raikage's, and his strength is far greater. The Third Raikage's punches can't even shake my body."

"But I absolutely don't want to take another punch from that guy."

Yeyu had left Enma traumatized.

He had no desire to be hit by a fist like that again.

Hiruzen's expression grew grave. "Then I'll attack with ninjutsu."

Watching Yeyu standing in the middle of the lake, Hiruzen began forming Hand Seals.

"Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!"

"Roar!"

The still lake suddenly surged, and a water dragon rushed toward Yeyu.

It was an enormous spectacle. The dragon was dozens of meters long, and its impact was immense.

Yeyu raised his head.

He clenched his fist.

"Crack!"

A mechanical sound came from his fist.

Heat shimmered above it.

A terrifying wave of heat rolled off Yeyu.

His gaze was firm as he punched toward the water dragon.

"Boom!"

"Bang!"

The tremendous pressure from his punch instantly vaporized the dozens-of-meters-long water dragon.

The force of the punch destroyed every tree in the forest hundreds of meters ahead of him.

A fan-shaped crater hundreds of meters long tore through the ground.

The gust whipped Hiruzen's beard.

Hiruzen stared blankly.

Behind him stretched the enormous fan-shaped crater.

Yeyu lowered his fist after throwing the punch.

"Looks like the Magma-Magma Fruit gives me a huge boost."

He hadn't turned his fist into magma. He'd only used the fruit's power to amplify the heat in it.

That was why his fist had been steaming beforehand.

Boosted by the Magma-Magma Fruit, that punch could have blasted through a mountain.

But they were in the village, so Yeyu had held back considerably.

Even so, he'd left a fan-shaped crater hundreds of meters long.

Hiruzen felt despair.

He stood there, unable to come back to himself.

That punch had made him feel as if he'd seen the summons of the Death God.

"Th-that was incredible!"

Hiruzen was so shocked that he didn't know what to say.

At some point, Enma had ended the Summoning Technique and gone back.

Yeyu walked up to Hiruzen and said calmly, "Lord Hokage, I don't care who my mentor is."

With that, Yeyu went back.

Hiruzen remained rooted to the spot for a long while.

Only after Yeyu had disappeared did he come back to himself.

He turned around stiffly.

In the moonlight, the crater stretching out before him was proof of how terrifying that punch had been.

Hiruzen's mouth twitched. "Does this kid really need a mentor?"

"Who could possibly teach him?"

Who in all of Konoha could teach Yeyu now?

That guy could cause destruction on par with an S-rank ninjutsu with a single punch—maybe even worse.

And that was just his raw physical strength.

"He'd be a good fit for Guy's team, but even Guy wouldn't be able to beat him."

Hiruzen had no idea how many of the Eight Inner Gates Guy could open at this point.

Until Guy opened the Eighth Gate, Hiruzen couldn't imagine him having any chance against Yeyu.