At this moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi was convinced he was about to die.
He had witnessed Kinkaku's strength before, during the journey to Kirigakure under the guidance of Lord Tobirama.
Back then, the Kinkaku and Ginkaku brothers staged a coup right in front of them, killing the Second Raikage.
Yet he hadn't expected that even then, Kinkaku had not yet revealed his strongest form.
Later, when Tobirama Senju stayed behind to confront Kinkaku and Ginkaku alone so they could escape, Hiruzen himself hadn't witnessed how that battle unfolded.
Throughout the past year, though he'd considered seeking vengeance, he inwardly knew clearly that not even he could match the two brothers' strength.
After engaging directly today, he realized he had still underestimated Kinkaku's power.
Generally speaking, leaving aside special bloodline abilities, there are three main factors in evaluating a ninja's strength: chakra, taijutsu, and ninjutsu.
Comparing Hiruzen with Kinkaku, except for ninjutsu, Hiruzen was far inferior in the other two categories.
But what really tipped the scales was that Kinkaku possessed one of the legendary ninja tools left by the Sage of Six Paths — the Bashosen fan.
This weapon could unleash all five chakra natures—fire, water, lightning, wind, and earth—at once, no matter the user's own affinity.
Though it consumed massive amounts of chakra, for someone like Kinkaku whose reserves rivaled those of a Tailed Beast, this limitation was negligible.
Because of this weapon, even Hiruzen's edge in ninjutsu was erased.
Moreover, an ambush from one of his own students had inflicted serious injuries upon him right at the beginning of the battle.
Once such disadvantage was seized by a seasoned veteran like Kinkaku, the odds of turning things around became extremely slim.
Even so, under a variety of different jutsu techniques, a fragile balance still managed to be maintained between them.
However, soon after the battle began, when Kinkaku suddenly transformed into his Six-Tailed Beast Cloak form with six tails waving behind him, that balance shattered instantly.
Looking at the red monstrous creature in front of him — resembling a "mini Nine-Tails" — Sarutobi sensed an unusually sinister chakra.
Kinkaku appeared to have completely lost his sanity, mumbling continuously:
"Die...
You shall all perish!"
Roaring the last word, he suddenly surged forward like a crimson streak straight at Hiruzen.
Though prepared, he hadn't expected the sudden burst of speed.
"Puff!"
The sound of flesh colliding rang out, and Hiruzen flew backward through the air like a dark shadow.
As the dust settled, he struggled up from the wreckage.
But before he could recover, the red blur flashed again, sending him flying once more.
After a series of crashing sounds, it was like Hiruzen was a pinball—being slammed around again and again.
Still, being a Kage-level expert, he wasn't completely defenseless.
Gradually adapting to his opponent's speed, he managed to block several subsequent attacks using the magical staff transformed by Monkey King: Enma.
Even though he kept getting thrown back, the damage wasn't that bad.
Crash!
With one final impact, Hiruzen Sarutobi finally steadied himself on the ground after crashing through a huge tree.
Though his hands firmly gripped the Adamantine Staff, his arms trembled slightly from exhaustion.
Shua!
The Tailed Beast Form of Kinkaku suddenly appeared on a tree in front of him.
His face had turned into a shadowy silhouette, with two hollow white eyes.
He looked down emotionlessly at the tiny human below, slowly opening his mouth.
Behind him, his six tails rose forward and gathered in front.
A massive surge of chakra began to gather, slowly forming a black Tailed Beast Ball in front of his mouth.
At the sight of this black orb, a flash of fear passed through Hiruzen's eyes.
This was the Tailed Beast Ball!
Without hesitation, he quickly formed hand seals. A dragon made of water illuminated by lightning abruptly appeared before him.
This technique combined Water Release with Lightning Release, creating an electrified Water Dragon Bullet to attack enemies.
[Lightning-Water Dragon Bullet]
As if prearranged, in a brief moment of stillness, both fully-charged attacks simultaneously rushed toward each other.
One black and one blue met midair, then locked in a stalemate.
But this deadlock lasted less than a few seconds. As the black Tailed Beast Ball grew increasingly larger, the blue attack gradually started retreating.
When the Tailed Beast Ball expanded to its limit, it instantly engulfed the Lightning-Water Dragon Bullet, rushing straight toward Hiruzen Sarutobi.
A flash of dark light pierced through the forest in a hundred-meter-long straight line starting from Kinkaku.
And at the end of that line, Hiruzen lay on the ground, unconscious.
Seeing the fallen enemy, Kinkaku finally released the state of the Tailed Beast Cloak.
Jumping down from the tree, he staggered slightly before finally steadying himself.
He no longer carried the smug confidence from when he first appeared, instead looking toward the distant Hiruzen while slightly out of breath.
Obviously, this battle hadn't been as easy as he'd imagined.
Muttering discontentedly:
"Darn it... If it weren't for Tobirama and A..."
Then, after a few deep breaths, he finally steadied himself.
Slowly walking forward, he prepared to personally finish off this Third Hokage.
Just then, a somewhat youthful voice sounded beside him:
"Indeed...
Master Kinkaku, your condition doesn't seem as good as you expected."
Hearing this, Kinkaku halted and turned to look.
What came into view was that Uchiha brat who had resisted his pursuit twice earlier.
Uchiha Kagura.
After seeing Kinkaku transform into his Tailed Beast Form from afar, he hesitated briefly before deciding to come over.
Earlier, to ensure his own safety, he had stayed several kilometers away from the battlefield.
So even though he exerted himself fully, by the time he arrived on scene, Hiruzen had already fallen.
However, when he saw Kinkaku's unsteady posture upon landing and heard those muttered words, he knew his gamble had paid off.
Something was definitely off with Kinkaku!
Kinkaku narrowed his eyes at the young Kagura before him but didn't immediately respond to his question.
Kagura ignored him and continued speaking:
"Last year's fight before Tobirama's death must've hurt you pretty badly too. And not to mention the relentless pursuit afterward by the so-called 'Strongest Spear'—Third Raikage. Your body must have never fully recovered to its prime state."
At the mention of Third Raikage, Kinkaku's eyes slightly contracted.
This particular detail—the involvement of the Third Raikage in hunting down himself and his brother—should still have been classified. He couldn't figure out how this mere Konoha Genin had come across such information.
Finally, he responded calmly:
"Hmph, what do you even understand? As for my strength, even your own Third Hokage has fallen already. You're nowhere near worthy enough to know anything about me."
Upon hearing that, Kagura instead burst into laughter.
He chuckled heartily,
"So, you're not denying it then?
Now tell me, Kinkaku, why does the five treasures bestowed by Sage of Six Paths only show up as [Bashosen] in your possession?
Also, where exactly is your younger brother, Ginkaku?
Could it be..."
Here, he shot a malicious glance toward the legendary ninja standing before him and continued,
"...that your dear younger brother's head has already become a trophy for A to commemorate Second Raikage?"
At this point, Kinkaku—who already bore a violent temperament—could no longer suppress the fury bubbling inside.
A flash of lightning crackled as he instantly teleported right in front of Kagura.
His right hand formed into a knife-hand strike, savagely driving straight into Kagura's chest.
Yet, unlike expected, there came no sensation of tearing flesh. The grinning Kagura before him slowly faded away into nothingness.
This... was an illusion?
Before he could react further, hundreds of Kagura clones suddenly emerged all around him.
Kagura's voice, tinged with madness, echoed from every direction:
"Hehehe...
Hahahaha...
Never thought I'd actually pull this off—nailing it like that! And not even seeing through my genjutsu? Kinkaku, clearly something's amiss with your condition today.
I, of all people, would one day get the chance to kill a legendary ninja!
This moment feels... absolutely legendary!"
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