Don't let it happen again

"Some people will fear another Nine-Tails' Attack. No one will believe Naruto is certain to side with the village. Once his power becomes uncontrollable, the only choice will be... to destroy him."

The Third Hokage silently added another thought. Just like the Uchiha Clan. But he would not, and could not, say that aloud.

The Third Hokage's words finally helped Kakashi understand the problem. "Surely you're joking. You're the Hokage."

"The Hokage? Even the Hokage cannot act beyond what people will accept. Otherwise, peace will be gone for good, and authority will crumble." The Third Hokage gazed out the window at the village, nostalgia and sorrow in his eyes. "That was why I chose Minato back then. He would become Hokage, and I would support him from behind the scenes. That would give the village a better chance to develop in peace!"

Watching the Third Hokage, Kakashi suddenly remembered something. He had once heard that his teacher, Minato Namikaze, had become the Fourth Hokage precisely because the old man before him had stood firm against every objection, forcefully silencing the others—even those of his own student, Orochimaru. His hopes for the Fourth Hokage might have been higher than anyone had imagined.

"Minato was the most suitable person to become Hokage I have ever met. When he sacrificed himself, I couldn't help feeling it wasn't worth it. He should never have died so young... If I could have, I would have traded places with him. So, Kakashi, when I learned that Minato might have left a contingency within Naruto, my thinking changed. I felt that Minato might have made other arrangements for Naruto's life. Though I don't know what they are, I believe he would never do anything that endangered Konoha!"

"As I said, although I don't know where Naruto's power comes from, I already intended to enroll him in the Ninja Academy. Only once he can protect himself can I give him enough freedom." The Third Hokage patted Kakashi's shoulder, then spoke with deliberate emphasis. "And as for proving Naruto possesses that power, Kakashi, I will give you a stage where absolutely no one will interfere. When the time comes, you will give me that answer!"

"You, Kakashi Hatake, must prove that even a ninja as powerful as you cannot kill the six-year-old Naruto Uzumaki. Only with that proof, only once everyone knows it cannot be done, will they abandon their attempts to kill Naruto. And then..." Something like fire burned in the Third Hokage's eyes. "If it's Minato's Flying Thunder God Technique, it can certainly do it!"

As those memories flashed through Kakashi's mind, his Sharingan was already spinning. Naruto heard an excruciatingly shrill chorus of birds beside his ears, while chakra so immense it was visible to the naked eye gathered in the man's hand, flashing with dazzling light.

Kakashi's gaze was resolute. The lightning bursting from his palm shone so brightly that Naruto could not even make out his face. He spoke quietly. "Dodge this. Only then can you have your freedom, Naruto. Otherwise...

"You'll die!"

It sounded as though a thousand birds were crying out at once. This was the only ninjutsu created by Kakashi Hatake, Konoha's Genius Ninja—a technique whose power even the Fourth Hokage, Minato, had praised back then. With the Sharingan enhancing it, it could cut through lightning itself—

S-Rank Ninjutsu, Lightning Blade!

Chakra stimulated his body, accelerating it. Kakashi became a Lightning Flash and vanished from his spot in an instant.

Boom!

The tremendous thunder produced by Lightning Release could split mountains and shatter stone. The ground cracked beneath the dragging chakra in Kakashi's hand, and countless fragments of rock tumbled into the air.

Naruto stared in shock at the Lightning Flash hurtling toward him. His eyes, his brain, and his body all screamed a warning at this attack!

I can't block it, I can't block it, I can't block it!

I have to dodge!

Only when the Lightning Blade Technique was mere inches from him did Naruto finally activate Flying Thunder God.

Whoosh!

Flying Thunder God activated without any warning whatsoever. That was precisely what made Space-Time Ninjutsu so impossible to guard against. Even before the Lightning Flash, Naruto still dodged with ease.

But he had made a mistake. It was only a result of his lack of experience in real combat, so he could hardly be blamed for it. Once he had fought others, he naturally would not make that mistake again.

But how could Kakashi, a veteran of countless battles, fail to notice?

Just as Kakashi had noticed while tracking him earlier, Naruto had not left Flying Thunder God Marks along his route. He had left only one mark during their brief fight. For a six-year-old child who had never been on a battlefield, his response had already been excellent.

But as Minato Namikaze's student, Kakashi was one of the few people in the Shinobi World who understood the Flying Thunder God Technique. To truly appear and disappear without a trace, its user had to keep the enemy from knowing where he would emerge. Once the enemy knew where he would appear, the Flying Thunder God Technique was no different from an ordinary Body Flicker Technique—

And the only mark Naruto had left during their fight was at the spot where he had first used the Body Flicker Technique!

Almost the instant Naruto vanished to evade him, Kakashi turned toward the place where Naruto had appeared. The Three Tomoe in his eye began to spin.

The moment Naruto landed, he also looked up to locate Kakashi. Naturally, their eyes met—and that was Naruto's second mistake.

The Sharingan's other power was genjutsu!

Is this as far as he can go? He's already performed remarkably well, but a lack of experience can still be fatal. In the end, I still can't reveal Naruto's abilities as Lord Hokage wished. As his genjutsu took hold, Kakashi watched Naruto lower his head and sighed inwardly.

If Naruto had used Flying Thunder God to escape far away, he would effectively have passed the test. But inexperienced as he was, perhaps without even realizing the severity of the danger, Naruto had chosen to teleport behind him instead. That decision had ultimately made him... fail?

Kakashi suddenly froze. He realized the scenery around him had changed completely. The cracks blasted into the ground by the residual force of Lightning Blade had vanished without a trace. Not just the cracks—even the ground itself was gone.

Darkness and chaos surrounded him. Even the Sharingan could not see through them.

"I... I'm under a genjutsu?" Kakashi's first instinct was to disrupt the chakra within his body and try to break free. But before he could begin, an incomparably vast pressure surged toward him from the front!

A terror and shock unlike anything Kakashi had ever felt flooded through him. Before that overwhelming pressure, he felt as though he had returned to the past, to that cave at Kannabi Bridge...

"You... you're..." His pupils shook violently. Barely able to stay on his feet, Kakashi stared in disbelief at the enormous fox silhouette that appeared before him.

Fox Tailed Beast, Nine-Tails!

Nine-Tails' presence filled everything around him, and Kakashi suffered another devastating mental assault!

"Urgh—" Kakashi spat blood and collapsed to the ground. His left eye throbbed, and the palm he pressed against it felt warm and wet. Blood dripped steadily from the corner of his eye.

Nine-Tails had actually awakened!

No, it should still be in Sealing...

"Just a slight punishment. And one more thing." Nine-Tails withdrew his oppressive presence and cast an indifferent glance at Kakashi lying on the ground. Nine Fox Tails swayed behind him, and he vanished as silently as he had appeared. "Don't let it happen again, Kakashi."

Before Kakashi could understand what Nine-Tails meant, the world spun around him, and unbearable pain tore through him.

"Ugh!"

Kakashi jolted awake, drenched in sweat and gasping for breath. He hurriedly reached for his left eye. It was completely unharmed.

What exactly had just...

Only then did Kakashi think to look around. Naruto was long gone.

But that did not disappoint Kakashi. Instead, it filled him with the relief of having survived a disaster.

"Third Hokage, this may be even more... than you imagined..." Kakashi gave a bitter chuckle. Yet merely recalling the imposing, terrifying figure he had just seen left him unable to entertain any other thoughts. And whether it was his imagination or not, he kept feeling that there had been another figure beside the fox's silhouette.

Meanwhile, Naruto, who had escaped, was staring at Sasuke, who had been secretly training in the woods. The two looked at each other in blank astonishment.

The kunai bearing the Flying Thunder God Mark was clutched in Sasuke's hand.