On the training ground, Team 7's atmosphere reached an eerie harmony after Sasuke's mosquito-like "Hmph."
As the instigator behind all this, Kakashi Hatake had felt his worldview and dignity shatter into QR codes the moment Naruto crushed the bells.
He had no face left to stay.
This legendary elite jonin, Hidden Leaf's number one technician, practically fled after announcing, "All of you pass." Without another word, he vanished from the spot in a puff of smoke using the Body Flicker Technique.
He needed to calm down. He needed some quiet time. As for who Quiet was, none of your business.
Most importantly, he needed to report this earth-shattering event, something capable of overturning the entire Shinobi World's understanding, to the Hokage immediately!
Meanwhile, atop the canopy of a giant tree several hundred meters outside the Third Training Ground, an ANBU wearing a "Tobi" mask gripped a pair of high-powered binoculars so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
His eyes beneath the mask were filled with uncontrollable horror.
Just moments ago, he had witnessed that utterly incomprehensible scene firsthand.
Naruto Uzumaki had opened three Gates at once and, through sheer brute force, hammered elite jonin Kakashi into the ground like a nail.
Then, when those flawless white eyes lit up, Naruto had used a single fist to forcibly blow apart Kakashi's signature A-rank ninjutsu—the Water Dragon Bullet!
"Gulp..."
Tobi swallowed hard, his throat so dry it felt as though it might catch fire.
He had served in the ANBU for twelve years and lived through the final stages of the Third Shinobi World War. He had even been fortunate enough to glimpse part of the legendary Yellow Flash's battles from afar.
But he swore he had never seen anything so absurd!
That was not power a genin should possess... no!
That was not even power a jonin—or any "human"—should possess!
That pure, world-destroying violence was more like a Tailed Beast wearing human skin!
"Monitor the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki"... This S-rank mission, which had continued for twelve years, had undergone a complete change in nature today!
He abruptly turned and met the gaze of his partner on another tree, an ANBU wearing an "En" mask who was assigned to assist with the surveillance.
No words were needed. The same bone-deep shock in their eyes said it all.
Tobi took a deep breath, forcibly steadied his trembling hands, and rapidly formed a series of precise ANBU hand signals.
[S-rank emergency intelligence!] [The situation is beyond control!] [You, return to the office immediately and report to the Third Hokage in person! I will remain here and continue monitoring the target's movements!]
The eyes beneath En's mask narrowed sharply. Without the slightest hesitation, he nodded heavily.
The next instant, his figure became an afterimage and vanished into the forest, racing toward the Hokage Building!
Tobi slowly turned back around, raised his binoculars again, and locked his gaze firmly onto Naruto Uzumaki, who was leisurely winning over his "underlings."
The expression beneath his mask gradually shifted from horror to utmost solemnity and reverence.
This child... was no longer a "container" who needed to be monitored.
He was a true dragon... one that had broken free of every shackle!
Inside the Hokage's Office.
The atmosphere was so heavy it seemed ready to drip water.
Hiruzen Sarutobi puffed away at his old pipe. Behind the curling smoke was an aged face lined with wrinkles, deep as the sea.
Just then, two figures appeared outside the office door almost simultaneously!
One was Kakashi Hatake, disheveled and with his hair in a mess.
The other was an ANBU ninja wearing a monkey mask, radiating an intense sense of urgency!
The two exchanged a glance at the door, each seeing extreme shock and gravity in the other's eyes.
Without hesitation, they pushed open the heavy wooden door at the same time.
Bang!
Accompanied by a puff of white smoke from the Body Flicker Technique and the urgent sound of the door opening, Kakashi Hatake and the ANBU rushed in one after the other.
At this moment, Kakashi was nothing like his usual lazy, perpetually late, dead-fish-eyed self.
He stood ramrod straight like a spear. His exposed eye was bloodshot and still filled with lingering terror. He looked as if he had just returned from the gates of hell, his sanity plummeting.
"Third Hokage..."
"Third Hokage!"
Two equally dry, hoarse, faintly trembling voices rang out at once.
Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly lowered his pipe. His cloudy old eyes lifted slightly as he looked at the two men who had burst in together, his brows furrowing almost imperceptibly. "The training is over? En, weren't you on surveillance duty? What happened to leave the two of you so rattled?"
"The result..." Kakashi tugged at the corner of his mouth, forcing out a smile uglier than crying. "The result is that your desk may have to retire early."
"Hm?"
The Third Hokage did not understand that nonsensical statement.
Kakashi took a deep breath and poured out everything that had happened at the training ground today in one breath, speaking as fast as he could.
"...Using nothing but pure taijutsu, without using even a trace of chakra, he beat me... beat me until I had no ability to fight back!"
"Then, right in front of me, he opened the Eight Gates!"
The moment he finished speaking, the Third Hokage's hand holding the pipe jerked sharply, scattering ash across the desk.
"The Eight Gates?!"
He abruptly looked up, his eyes becoming sharp as an eagle's. "How many Gates did he open?!"
Kakashi's Adam's apple bobbed as he struggled to force out several words. "The Opening Gate, the Gate of Healing, the Gate of Life... the Third Gate. All fully opened."
"What?!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi shot up from his chair, his face filled with disbelief!
A twelve-year-old child had opened the Third Gate of the Eight Gates?!
How was that possible!
Even Might Guy, that taijutsu fanatic, had only mastered that forbidden technique after undergoing hellish training as an adult!
Yet Kakashi's next words were an even heavier bomb, directly burning out the Third Hokage's CPU.
"That isn't even the most terrifying part."
Kakashi's voice drifted unsteadily. "To withstand my Water Dragon Bullet, he even..."
"He even used... the Byakugan!"
Crack!
The Third Hokage's treasured pipe snapped in his hand.
His eyes widened, his mouth hanging open wide enough to fit a fist inside. He was completely dumbfounded, as though he had heard some absurd fantasy.
"The... Byakugan?! Are you sure you saw it clearly? It wasn't Sharingan genjutsu?!"
"Absolutely!"
Kakashi said with absolute certainty, "Those eyes were flawless white, purer than any Byakugan of the Hyuga Clan! He could even see the weak point in the chakra of my A-rank ninjutsu at a glance, and then... he blew it apart with one punch!"
"One punch... destroyed an A-rank ninjutsu?"
The Third Hokage felt like his brain was no longer enough.
Kakashi smiled bitterly and pointed toward the training ground outside the window. "Third Hokage, you'd better send someone to take a look. The Third Training Ground has basically... become a ruin. Just the crater from his intimate contact with the ground will take several days to fill."
Before you continue