"Idiot! Hokage-sama is injured and you're still standing there admiring the enemy?!"
Hearing her husband's remark, Sarutobi Sachiko couldn't help but shove Sarutobi Shinnosuke.
Shinnosuke snapped back to his senses and immediately flashed forward, positioning himself in front of Hiruzen Sarutobi.
He had simply been too shocked.
He had never seen anyone who could surpass his father in Five Nature Transformations, so for a moment he had completely lost focus.
Hiruzen patted Shinnosuke on the shoulder and gently pulled him behind himself.
"That's enough. You and the others focus on the remaining enemies."
"This man isn't someone you can handle."
Although Hiruzen had lost half a move earlier because he was eager to test his opponent's strength, there was no denying that the enemy's power was extraordinary.
His son simply wasn't on that level.
At that moment, a hoarse voice echoed across the battlefield.
"Heh… So this is the strength of the so-called 'Hero of the Shinobi World'—the strongest Hokage in Konoha's history?"
"What a disappointment."
A strange figure stepped forward.
He wore a rogue ninja forehead protector from Takigakure, the symbol scratched through, and most of his face was hidden behind a mask.
The man was none other than the number one bounty hunter of the black market—
Kakuzu.
A masked ninja with no village insignia also stepped forward.
Judging by the voice, the speaker seemed quite young.
"We're only doing this for the money," he said calmly.
"And the price on your head is something you'd never imagine."
Another masked shinobi added impatiently,
"Enough talk. This is still the Land of Fire. Finish the job quickly!"
With a wave of his hand, dozens of elite shinobi surrounding the area rushed toward the ANBU.
"Kill them. Leave no survivors!"
Seeing this, Hiruzen instantly understood the situation.
"Multiple factions working together…"
"All units, spread out and break through!"
As he leapt into the air, Hiruzen issued orders to the ANBU around him.
Clearly, the enemy had come prepared.
Meanwhile, Shinnosuke stepped forward and shouted at Kakuzu.
"Who are you to dare attack the Hokage of Konoha?!"
"You'll face Konoha's endless pursuit!"
Kakuzu sneered.
"Attack the Hokage?"
"Heh… Your Sarutobi Hiruzen is already a Hokage of the past."
"And even if you weren't—what difference would it make?"
"The Hokage isn't someone I haven't tried to assassinate before."
"I attacked the First Hokage back then and still lived to tell the tale."
Hearing this, Hiruzen frowned slightly.
"…Assassinate the First Hokage?"
Suddenly, realization struck him.
"You're… Kakuzu of Takigakure?!"
Although many people mocked Kakuzu for supposedly throwing a single shuriken at Hashirama Senju from hundreds of meters away, the truth was that Kakuzu had actually confronted the First Hokage directly and survived.
Even though Hashirama had shown mercy, it still proved Kakuzu's terrifying strength.
Someone who had fought the God of Shinobi and lived for decades afterward—
What kind of monster was that?
Hiruzen's expression grew solemn.
"Kakuzu… Lord Hashirama spared your life back then out of goodwill."
"Yet now you come to assassinate me?"
"What grudge do you have against me?"
Kakuzu chuckled coldly.
"There's no grudge."
"Someone simply paid for your head."
"Since Konoha's shinobi are so noble and selfless…"
"Why not fulfill that reputation once again?"
Hiruzen didn't respond to the mockery.
Instead, he glanced at the surrounding masked figures.
"So you're all mercenaries as well?"
The masked ninja nodded.
"That's right."
At that moment, another masked ninja suddenly slammed both hands onto the ground.
"Earth Release: Earth Core!"
The ground beneath Hiruzen's group suddenly collapsed downward.
Before Hiruzen could react further—
Kakuzu attacked.
Two grotesque mask-like creatures burst out from his back, hovering beside him.
At the same time, Kakuzu himself opened his mouth.
"Fire Release: Searing Migraine!"
"Wind Release: Pressure Damage!"
"Combination Ninjutsu: Flame Wind Chaos Wave!"
The fire and wind merged into a massive torrent of blazing destruction that swept toward Hiruzen.
At the same moment, lightning chakra gathered in Kakuzu's mouth.
"Lightning—Wind—Fire!"
"Final Shot!"
The three elements fused together, forming a terrifying chakra cannon that blasted toward Hiruzen at extreme speed.
The moment Hiruzen saw the attack, a thought flashed through his mind.
This power…
It's almost comparable to a Tailed Beast Bomb!
Hiruzen reacted instantly.
His body transformed into a wooden log.
Substitution Technique!
At the same time, he bit his finger and slammed his hand onto the ground.
"Summoning Technique!"
A puff of smoke erupted.
A large monkey wearing a Konoha forehead protector appeared.
"Summoning: Monkey King Enma!"
Enma quickly scanned the battlefield and immediately realized the gravity of the situation.
"Hiruzen… you've got quite a mess on your hands this time."
"There's no time for complaints."
"Transform into the Adamantine Staff!"
Enma nodded and formed a seal.
In an instant, he transformed into a thick black staff—the Adamantine Staff (Kongō Nyoi).
Hiruzen grabbed the staff and planted it firmly into the ground.
"Adamantine Staff: Gale!"
He vaulted onto the extending staff, narrowly dodging Kakuzu's devastating chakra cannon as the weapon rapidly extended upward.
Meanwhile, the inferno from Flame Wind Chaos Wave surged toward him.
Hiruzen spun the Adamantine Staff rapidly, generating powerful gusts of wind.
Not only did it block the attack—it redirected the flames outward toward the masked ninja currently slaughtering the ANBU, buying them precious time.
Even Kakuzu couldn't help but admire it.
Such combat experience…
Turning my own attack against my allies.
Impressive.
However, Hiruzen knew the battle was becoming extremely dangerous.
He immediately formed hand seals.
"Shadow Clone Technique!"
Four shadow clones appeared beside him.
Each clone began forming hand seals simultaneously.
Then—
Hiruzen and the clones unleashed different elemental techniques at the same time.
"Five Release: Great Combo Technique!"
Five elemental ninjutsu erupted together, their destructive power shaking the battlefield.
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