"Five Releases: Grand Combo Technique? Heh… I can do that too!"
Kakuzu slammed his hands together. Black threads surged from both of his shoulders, and two grotesque masks emerged once more.
Kakuzu opened his mouth, and together with the four masks, unleashed ninjutsu of **five different chakra natures—Wind, Lightning, Water, Fire, and Earth—**to meet Hiruzen Sarutobi's Five Releases: Grand Combo Technique head-on.
Boom!!!
The ninjutsu imbued with five different chakra nature transformations collided violently, annihilating one another as a terrifying shockwave burst outward in all directions.
"Enma, something about this guy is strange," Hiruzen said grimly.
"What he's using doesn't feel like ordinary ninjutsu—it's more like pure applications of chakra nature transformation."
"We should withdraw first," Enma warned. "Your subordinates are almost wiped out. If they surround you after finishing them off, even you won't escape unscathed."
The Adamantine Staff, formed from the Monkey King Enma, automatically flew back into Hiruzen's hand as it spoke.
Hearing this, Hiruzen glanced around.
The two ANBU squads he had brought with him had been overwhelmed by dozens of enemies. Only Sarutobi Shinnosuke, Sarutobi Sachiko, and two ANBU shinobi were still barely holding on.
Their situation was extremely dire.
Kakuzu was briefly stunned. The arm that suddenly appeared had extended from the Adamantine Staff behind Hiruzen.
That punch had been reinforced with Earth Release: Earth Spear. If it had struck an ordinary jonin, they might not have survived even a single blow.
"Shinnosuke, leave now!" Hiruzen shouted.
"I'm no longer the Hokage. There's no place for an old man like me in the new era!"
"You are the future of Konoha!"
His aged face was suddenly struck by a fist as big as a sandbag. His entire face twisted violently from the impact.
At that moment, a gust of wind rushed toward him. Hiruzen quickly turned his head aside, barely dodging as another fist grazed past his cheek.
"Shinnosuke!!!"
Kakuzu's eyes flashed with delight after landing the hit. His arm shot up again, swinging another crushing blow toward Hiruzen's head before the old Hokage could recover.
"Shinnosuke, go! Don't waste the chance Lord Hokage created for us!" one of the ANBU shouted.
But just as Kakuzu's punch came down, an arm shot out from an impossible angle and gripped his wrist tightly.
"Thanks, Enma!" Hiruzen said.
Taking advantage of the brief opening, Hiruzen's body suddenly turned into a mass of mud, slipping free from Kakuzu's control.
Earth Release: Earth Clone Technique.
Even Kakuzu couldn't help but feel impressed.
Hiruzen Sarutobi truly deserved the title "The Professor." His experience and combat ability were impeccable.
If Shinnosuke and the others hadn't distracted so much of Hiruzen's attention, preventing him from fighting at full strength, Kakuzu wasn't entirely sure he could defeat him.
But at that moment—
A figure crackling with lightning suddenly burst from the flank.
A kunai wrapped in Lightning Release chakra shot forward and pierced straight through Sarutobi Shinnosuke's chest.
"Shinnosuke!!"
Hiruzen's eyes widened in shock.
Despite everything, Shinnosuke was not only a Konoha ANBU captain—
He was Hiruzen's son.
Rage flickered in Kakuzu's eyes as he seized the moment and smashed another punch into Hiruzen's shoulder, forcing the Third Hokage to stagger backward repeatedly.
"Hmph. Fighting me and you still dare to lose focus?"
Kakuzu sneered.
Hiruzen's body was sent flying into the air. Blood and several broken teeth sprayed from his mouth.
This time, Kakuzu's fist was coated in a layer of black chakra threads, the blow clearly intended to smash Hiruzen's skull apart.
Hiruzen barely managed to raise his arms in defense, but the hurried block couldn't stop Kakuzu's prepared strike. The defense shattered instantly as the punch slammed heavily into his head.
Kakuzu pressed forward relentlessly, not giving Hiruzen the slightest chance to breathe.
He closed the distance and rained down punch after punch onto Hiruzen's thin, aging body.
Meanwhile, Shinnosuke—who had just broken free from his attackers—saw the scene and his eyes nearly split with rage.
He rushed forward to help.
"Father!"
But Sarutobi Sachiko grabbed him firmly.
"Shinnosuke, leave now! Don't waste the opportunity Lord Hokage created!"
"But—"
Shinnosuke struggled.
"We're the Hokage's direct ANBU guards! How can we let the Hokage cover our retreat while we run for our lives?!"
Hiruzen glanced at his son and daughter-in-law battling in the distance, unable to make up his mind.
With his strength, there was still a chance he could break out alone.
But if he stayed—
Everyone here might die.
At that moment, Hiruzen's expression hardened with resolve.
He suddenly appeared more than ten meters away with a giant shuriken nearly half a man tall in his hand.
"Hmph! Fighting me and still getting distracted?" Kakuzu scoffed.
Hiruzen ignored him.
He hurled the giant shuriken and rapidly formed hand seals.
"Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!"
The giant shuriken spun rapidly through the air. In an instant it split into dozens of shadow clones, howling through the air as they shot toward the masked shinobi surrounding Shinnosuke and the others.
The attack wasn't aimed at Kakuzu—
It targeted the enemies besieging Hiruzen's subordinates.
The sudden large-scale assault forced the masked shinobi to scatter and evade the incoming barrage of giant shuriken.
For the first time in a long while, Shinnosuke and the others gained a moment to breathe.
At the same time, Hiruzen flung the Adamantine Staff forward.
Ignoring the rapid depletion of his chakra, his hands formed another series of seals.
"Adamantine Prison Wall!"
The Adamantine Staff split into dozens of clones midair, rapidly expanding and extending to form a massive cage that trapped most of the enemies inside, forcibly dividing the battlefield.
"Go!" Hiruzen roared.
"I'll hold them off!"
But the moment the Adamantine Prison Wall was completed—
Kakuzu's figure appeared beside Hiruzen like a phantom.
"Trying to run? Too late!"
A heavy punch shot straight toward Hiruzen's head.
Hiruzen hurriedly planted the Adamantine Staff in front of him to block.
But his pupils suddenly shrank.
The fist flying toward him was not attached to Kakuzu's body.
Instead, it was trailing behind countless writhing black threads.
"Damn it!"
The fist suddenly curved mid-air and wrapped around him.
In the next instant, the thread-linked punch bound Hiruzen tightly, dragging him forward.
"Too slow!"
Kakuzu's voice rang out coldly.
◇ BONUS & SUPPORT ◇
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 70 + chapters ahead on P@treon → patreon.com/Sagamaster789