Main World.
Summer, year thirty of Konoha.
Outside the Elite School, Konohagakure.
The situation on the street had been stable for some time.
Hiruzen Sarutobi still stood at the edge of the encirclement, the Golden Cudgel held horizontally before him, neither lowered nor raised, as though waiting for an opportunity that required no initiative to attack. Orochimaru had already withdrawn behind the rear defensive line, and his snakes were gathering back together. The heads of the Nara, Yamanaka, and Akimichi clans each stood in their own formation positions, having yet to organize another attack.
On the rooftops on either side of the street, the three hundred Toyotomi warriors still held the high ground, their formation intact.
Toyotomi Chengkong stood at the edge of the street, having taken no part in Jin Zhiyin's last round of combat. His Strength of a Hundred Technique had long since been activated, the black markings on his forehead extending to either side across his skin-he had maintained this state for a while. He had not made a move, merely waiting for the right opportunity.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was readjusting his grip on the staff.
Chengkong moved.
"Time Stop."
Hiruzen Sarutobi froze midway through the adjustment. The Golden Cudgel hung in midair, neither pressing down nor lifting up. The rubble on either side of the street stopped as well. The wind halted in that second.
Chengkong appeared directly in front of Hiruzen Sarutobi, close enough to make out the wear along the edge of his hat. When he spoke, his tone was as flat as if he were confirming a fact, without any embellishment. "Next, it won't take me even one second to knock you down."
His fist had already shot out.
The first punch landed on Hiruzen Sarutobi's ribs, the second struck his jaw, and the