The Third Hokage's thoughts raced as he watched, his gaze on Naruto growing brighter and brighter.
But Naruto suddenly tilted his head and said,
"That look in your eyes is disgusting. Are we fighting or not?"
"..."
The Third Hokage fell silent, but his hands didn't stop moving. In the blink of an eye, he completed a set of hand signs.
Earlier, to avoid injuring Naruto, he had deliberately chosen a less destructive Water Release.
But after witnessing the terrifying power of Naruto's Dark Release, he decided it was time to truly test it.
After all, the Third Hokage was known as the Professor of the ninja world.
He had mastered all five elemental chakra natures.
In an instant, Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet, Earth Release: Earth Flow River, Wind Release: Vacuum Wave, and Lightning Release: Thunderclap—four dazzling, high-level jutsu were unleashed one after another, leaving the onlookers stunned.
But even these spectacular jutsu failed to break through Naruto's Dark Release.
The rolling tide of darkness seemed capable of swallowing everything whole.
Wind, lightning, water, fire, earth—no matter the jutsu, before that darkness, they vanished into nothingness.
...
In the medical ward, Sasuke had just regained consciousness.
Still weak, he forced himself to his feet and made his way over—just in time to see Naruto and the Third Hokage locked in their fierce clash.
He froze in disbelief, wondering if he was dreaming.
The Third Hokage unleashed five jutsu in a row without even breaking a sweat.
Even though every single one was neutralized by Naruto's Dark Release, not once did his expression darken.
On the contrary, his eyes burned even brighter with excitement.
Too strong!
The Dark Release Naruto had developed was far stronger than he had expected!
In a battle between ninja, intelligence was everything.
And as an experienced veteran, the Third Hokage had already deduced one crucial fact about the Dark Release—
It could nullify all five elemental jutsu.
As long as Naruto had enough chakra, no ninjutsu could harm him!
And this was only the defensive aspect.
The Third Hokage didn't believe for a second that the Dark Release lacked offensive power.
If it could absorb ninjutsu… could it also absorb people?
...
The Third Hokage's instincts were as sharp as ever.
Moments later, Naruto raised his palm toward him.
The black vortex began to spin violently, and a tremendous gravitational force burst forth, locking directly onto the Hokage.
"Universal Pull."
Even though he had guessed this might happen, facing that inescapable pull firsthand still shocked the Third Hokage.
His body was completely out of his control, dragged straight toward Naruto.
With a snap, Naruto's hand clamped down on his shoulder.
The Third barely managed to twist his neck aside at the last moment—otherwise, Naruto would have grabbed his throat instead.
The Hokage stared into Naruto's eyes, and a faint, approving smile appeared on his weathered face.
"Naurto, you truly—"
Buzz!
Before he could finish, under everyone's stunned gaze, the Hokage's entire body was sucked into Naruto's palm and vanished.
"Lord Hokage!!!"
Two ANBU reacted instantly, shouting in fury as they drew their swords and charged toward Naruto.
Naruto didn't even look at them.
He stood there calmly, completely unconcerned.
...
Suddenly, a figure appeared in front of the ANBU—
The Third Hokage himself.
The ANBU froze, dumbfounded.
The Third Hokage wore the same kind, grandfatherly smile as always.
In truth, his mood was quite good.
"I'm fine. That was just a shadow clone."
He turned toward Naruto, whose face showed no surprise at all—as though he had known from the start that it was only a clone.
The Third Hokage wasn't surprised either.
In certain ways, a Jinchūriki's sensory abilities surpassed even those of the tailed beasts themselves.
Even if Naruto wasn't yet a perfect Jinchūriki—in fact, even though his body was still partially controlled by the Nine-Tails—
The Hokage knew this couldn't go on.
He had to bring Naruto's consciousness back to the surface quickly before something irreversible happened.
After all, Naruto wasn't just the Fourth Hokage's son or the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki anymore.
If he was also recognized as the developer of a Kekkei Genkai like Dark Release…
Naruto's status would rise to a level directly tied to Konoha's future strength.
...
But sealing techniques weren't the Third Hokage's specialty.
In fact, in this area, his skill didn't come close to the Fourth Hokage's.
He knew techniques like the Dead Demon Consuming Seal—but obviously, those weren't something he could use on Naruto.
The best option now… was to knock Naruto unconscious.
This was probably the most effective method outside of sealing techniques.
Decision made, the Hokage narrowed his eyes.
Dark Release was simply too troublesome—
Ninjutsu was useless against it, and trying to exhaust Naruto's chakra with more ninjutsu was pointless.
Even with Kage-level reserves, he couldn't hope to outlast the Nine-Tails' near-infinite chakra.
The only way… was taijutsu.
But with the Nine-Tails' chakra empowering him, Naruto's physical strength was formidable.
The Hokage couldn't overpower him alone—not quickly, anyway.
He needed help.
Of course, as Hokage, he wasn't about to summon allies to gang up on a single student.
If word got out, other villages might think the Hokage was too old to handle things himself, which would shake Konoha's standing in the world.
No, the best choice now… was summoning.
...
The Third Hokage bit his finger, pressed his hand to the ground, and shouted:
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Boom!
A huge cloud of smoke erupted.
When it cleared, a mighty, muscular monkey wearing a tiger-skin vest and a Konoha headband appeared.
Enma, the Third Hokage's personal summoning beast, exclusive to the Sarutobi Clan.
The ANBU were shocked—they hadn't seen the Hokage summon Enma in years.
To think he would bring him out today… against a student from the academy?
Enma folded his arms, frowning at the young-looking Naruto.
"Hiruzen, who is the enemy?"
The Hokage gave a wry smile and pointed.
"Him. His situation is… complicated. Knock him out first. I'll explain later."
Enma, calm and composed as always, nodded without further words.
At the Hokage's shout of "Adamantine Staff!" Enma transformed into a thick, black staff, landing firmly in the Hokage's hands.
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+100 chapters on p@treon/tambeerg