Seeing the familiar scenery before her, Tsunade didn't know why tears welled up in her eyes.
The incoming figure was none other than Uchiha Kagura, who had been rushing toward this location nonstop.
After dispelling the clone in front of him, he instantly realized Kinkaku's intention. Without hesitation, he charged straight toward the three individuals.
But even Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't arrive in time. How could his speed possibly surpass that of the former?
Thus, he watched helplessly as the three figures were struck like cannonballs and smashed into the ground. When those three clones then rushed toward Tsunade, he could do nothing but watch in despair.
Fortunately, Tsunade was saved by Hiruzen's ninjutsu. He finally arrived beside her at the very last moment.
Electric sparks wrapped around Kinkaku's raised right hand. Obviously, he had already enhanced his physical body with some Lightning Release technique.
Seeing Uchiha Kagura suddenly appear before him, Kinkaku's cruel smirk spread even wider. Without hesitation, he threw another punch.
That massive fist descended like a god descending from heaven, accompanied by crackling lightning and piercing whistling sounds, directly targeting the two of them.
Facing this lightning-fast strike, Kagura gritted his teeth and gathered all his chakra into his right arm.
In an equally fearless manner, he swung a straight punch toward the incoming attack.
It was precisely the [Strength of a Hundred Seal] technique he had learned from Tsunade!
Strictly speaking, Tsunade's Strength of a Hundred Seal wasn't actually a ninjutsu.
She simply combined the flow and application of her own chakra with her innate physical strength to generate that overwhelming force.
With his Sharingan, Kagura naturally picked up this technique quite easily.
Under Hiruzen's astonished gaze, the two fists—one large, one small—finally collided.
At the moment of impact, everything suddenly became silent.
Then, a huge surge of energy burst forth from their fists, unleashing an invisible shockwave that radiated outward from the two fighters as its epicenter.
However, the gap between their powers was simply too vast.
They held firm for just a second before Kagura's expression abruptly changed. His body rocketed backward like a cannonball, slamming straight into Tsunade behind him.
The tremendous impact sent the two flying along a straight line, knocking down dozens of meters worth of trees before they finally stopped after crashing into a solid boulder.
The rock shattered into a massive crater, revealing the two figures within.
Tsunade behind him had already lost consciousness, but judging from the steady rise and fall of her chest, she was still alive.
Compared to Tsunade, Kagura's condition looked far worse.
His right arm twisted unnaturally outward—clearly broken.
Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth as he collapsed onto one knee, trembling.
Although it appeared to be a crushing defeat, he had nevertheless endured Kinkaku's fatal strike.
Seeing that the little Uchiha brat had once again withstood his attack, Kinkaku didn't seem angry at all; instead, he burst into wild laughter.
Yet before he could proceed further, Hiruzen finally reached him.
A cold gleam flashed in Hiruzen's eyes as he completed the final mudra.
The ground trembled slightly. Suddenly, an earth dragon erupted from the ground before him, charging straight at Kinkaku.
But it wasn't over yet. As the Earth Dragon surged forward, Hiruzen Sarutobi puffed his cheeks and spat out a stream of flames.
The fire merged with the earth dragon, forming a flaming earthen dragon.
This was the combined ninjutsu: Earth Dragon Flame Current.
Yet even in the face of such an attack, Kinkaku still wore a sinister grin, standing rooted in place without moving an inch.
The fiery dragon engulfed Kinkaku's body entirely.
Yet instead of showing any sign of triumph, Hiruzen's expression only grew more serious.
It turned out to be just a Clone!
Just as this thought flashed through his mind, Kinkaku's hoarse voice rang out again from high above and behind him.
"You're still too careless, young Sarutobi!
Have you forgotten that anger is a ninja's greatest mistake?"
At that moment, the real Kinkaku had already leapt high into the air.
His right hand gripped the Bashosen tightly, veins bulging as he slammed the fan viciously down toward Hiruzen's back!
From the tip of the fan shot five energy spheres, each glowing with a different color.
After hesitating for a moment, the orbs exploded into five mighty dragons, roaring toward Hiruzen.
"Boom!"
With a deafening explosion, the spot where Hiruzen had stood erupted violently.
The blast instantly vaporized trees within a hundred-meter radius and sent shockwaves roaring through the forest.
Even Orochimaru and others lying on the ground were hurled far away by the force.
Slowly descending from the sky, Kinkaku stared in the direction where Hiruzen had been.
As the dust gradually settled, a half-circular earth wall reinforced by twisted tree trunks came into view.
But this wall had suffered severe damage. Looking through its remains revealed a cage formed by dozens of summoned Ruyi Bang sticks.
Inside that cage—you guessed it—was Hiruzen himself.
Right before the five attacks hit, he had instantly used the Adamantine Prison Wall, created together with his summoned Monkey King—Enma—to withstand the onslaught.
Yet judging from his labored breathing and blood-soaked upper torso, he hadn't completely blocked all the impacts.
Seeing Hiruzen trapped inside the cage, Kinkaku still showed no disappointment.
Fixing his gaze on Hiruzen, he slowly raised his right hand gripping the Bashosen once more.
Though a flicker of exhaustion crossed his face, he firmly swung the fan downward again.
Faced with those familiar five energy streams rushing toward him, Hiruzen refused to wait passively for defeat.
His eyes narrowed sharply, and he quickly dissolved the Adamantine Prison Wall.
"Puff~puff~puff~puff~"
After rapidly forming seals, four Shadow Clones appeared around him with four muffled popping sounds.
Living up to his title as the "Professor of Ninjutsu,"
Five Hiruzens each formed different hand seals, simultaneously launching attacks of fire, lightning, water, earth, and wind ahead.
[Five Elements Great Combination Art]
"Boom!"
Another tremendous roar erupted, and an even more devastating explosion tore across the battlefield,
Like a terrifying natural disaster, flattening vast stretches of dense forest into barren land.
Several kilometers from the battlefield, after enduring intense pain, he gently set Jiraiya down before letting go completely.
Kagura collapsed weakly onto the ground.
Before him lay Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya, all neatly lined up.
As the only one still conscious, he had quickly pulled Tsunade away from behind and fled the battlefield even before the first explosion hit.
After safely setting down Tsunade, he returned to look for Orochimaru and Jiraiya nearby, carrying them both to a hillside far from the battlefield.
In truth, when the system presented the two-choice mission earlier, he had already suspected how formidable Kinkaku must be.
After all, if killing Kinkaku wasn't extremely difficult, the system wouldn't have offered an alternative task.
However, it wasn't until he personally heard the continuous explosions from afar and watched entire patches of forest being flattened that Kagura truly grasped the might of a Kage-level expert.
Gazing into the distance at those two tiny figures locked in battle—mere specks to his eyes yet constantly causing earth-shattering explosions—Kagura fell into deep thought.
First and foremost, Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't die.
At least not here.
Given Konoha's current structure, should Hiruzen actually die, the only possible successor as Third Hokage would be Danzo.
If Danzo were to become Hokage, then aside from defecting from Konoha, Kagura feared he'd have no other path to choose.
But something didn't fit—according to the original storyline, there was no way Hiruzen should've died at this point.
Ultimately, why had Kinkaku even appeared here?
Shouldn't he and Ginkaku already have been killed while being hunted by the Third Raikage?
Had his own reincarnation triggered a butterfly effect?
Come to think of it, where had Ginkaku gone?
Suddenly, Kagura felt like he had grasped a crucial point.
Carefully recalling the entire process of encountering Kinkaku, an idea surfaced in his mind.
"Could it really be... this?"
Just as he muttered under his breath, the distant battle abruptly underwent a change.
A surge of chakra erupted within the fight—one so intense that Kagura felt his heart lurch.
He looked up sharply, squinting through the haze to see a blazing orange-red figure with several whipping tails roaring fiercely.
"This is..."
Kagura's eyes narrowed sharply, having already reached a conclusion in his heart.
Familiar with the plot, he naturally recognized this as the [Nine-Tails Chakra Cloak] form.
Seeing Kinkaku directly entering such a state mid-battle, the danger for Hiruzen—who had never held the advantage to begin with—was about to skyrocket!
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