"Boom!!"
Even Ichidai Kiyomu hadn't expected Kakashi's slashes to completely rip through his flames.
The torn fire scattered into strands of blue natural energy and faded away in the air.
Heatwaves spread out in the sky, while the people down at the port stared up at the scene above.
"Th-that guy… is he a Devil Fruit user?"
"Was he just trying to attack the port?"
"Hurry, evacuate!!"
At that moment, the Marines at the port quickly snapped into action.
Out of the Five Great Nations, the Land of Water's Marines were by far the most experienced—East Blue had way too many pirates, and Devil Fruit users showed up there from time to time.
But they had never seen a Devil Fruit user this powerful before.
"He's got a Logia-type fruit! Get everyone away from the port—now!"
The Marine officer leading the team made the call as soon as he saw the flames in the sky.
Normally, pirates wouldn't pull something this crazy. But this guy was clearly aiming right at the port.
Logia users—normal people couldn't handle someone like that.
"Captain, we're Marines."
"This has nothing to do with us anymore. Let's go. This kind of fight is way beyond what we can handle."
The Marine officer spoke up. The sky was filled with blinding white slashes—it was impossible to ignore.
Kakashi had been operating in East Blue for the past few months. While it's true that big-name pirates don't usually show up there, there are still plenty of Devil Fruit users.
Almost every month, some strange new Devil Fruit powers appear. No one knows how those ninjas are even figuring them out.
So things in East Blue aren't as simple as they seem. Compared to the New World, the pirates here may not be as strong, but calling them weak would be a mistake.
And as for Kakashi—no one has ever seen him go all out.
Right now, in the sky, the flames of First Sage Ichidai Kiyomu were once again cut down by Kakashi.
His sword was unbelievably fast—so fast that it felt like there was no space left between the strikes.
The burning flames were shredded by the white light of the blade. Kakashi suddenly appeared behind Ichidai Kiyomu, and cold sweat started dripping down Ichidai Kiyomu's back.
"How is this possible?!"
Ichidai Kiyomu's right arm exploded. His right hand turned into blue flames—not just energy flames, but something strange and liquid-like.
A wave of heat and power burst from his arm as he threw a punch behind him.
The twisted shape of his arm even lit the air on fire, but that white blade didn't slow down at all.
"Shhh!!!"
Kakashi's sword sliced through Ichidai Kiyomu's arm. The force tore it apart, and Ichidai Kiyomu's whole body was sent crashing down toward the ground.
"Impossible?"
Kakashi looked calm, not bothered at all by Ichidai Kiyomu's rage.
Why would it be impossible?
He was Kakashi.
He was one of the first to touch the power of the new era.
After being defeated by Zabuza, he faced this new era head-on, going through a complete transformation.
He was a genius, but that wasn't enough. Kakashi still lacked a solid foundation.
So he didn't try to grab the spotlight like other strong fighters. He quietly took on the role of a team leader, guiding Naruto and Sasuke in the background.
Kakashi understood his own flaws.
The biggest weakness of geniuses is that they rely too much on shortcuts.
When it came to learning the Six Powers of the pirates, Kakashi didn't train for long—he didn't have the time.
He also didn't fully rebuild his body's foundation for the same reason—time.
So Kakashi took another shortcut.
He turned the power of the Sharingan directly into a Devil Fruit ability. As long as it gave him strength, he was willing to take that path—even knowing the risks, he would still go for it.
He also knew his sword style didn't suit the kind of raw power Shanks had, or the brute strength of someone like Zabuza.
His biggest edge was speed.
If one slash isn't enough, then land more.
The first two sword masters Kakashi had ever faced were Zabuza and Shanks.
And after all this time, there's no way he hasn't gotten stronger.
"You say it's impossible because you haven't really faced this new era yet!"
"White Blade: Heavy Suppression!!"
Kakashi used his Devil Fruit power again. Countless slashes burst out of the air, and in an instant, the huge force tore through Ichidai Kiyomu's body.
The next moment, space twisted and held his ripped body in midair. The white sword light pinned him there, locking him in place.
It was a terrifying suppressing move—one of Kakashi's secret techniques designed to counter Logia-type Devil Fruit users.
Of course, Ichidai Kiyomu wasn't a Devil Fruit user. But his body was similar to a Logia user's, able to ignore most attacks.
"A strange power… must be a space-time ninjutsu-based Devil Fruit."
Ichidai Kiyomu raised his head. The fire in his eyes hadn't gone out. He had clearly underestimated Kakashi.
As the next Hokage of Konohagakure, Kakashi was more than qualified. In fact, Kakashi was someone worth keeping an eye on.
"But do you really think someone like me, a sage, doesn't have a backup plan?"
"Flame Substitution!"
Ichidai Kiyomu looked up at the sun as the fire around him slowly faded. Then, following his gaze, another Ichidai Kiyomu appeared in the sky.
*Boom!*
The body pinned in midair vanished—just like that. It reappeared a short distance behind Kakashi.
"I've studied space-time ninjutsu too."
A ball of fire appeared in Ichidai Kiyomu's hand. Then it split apart, forming clone after clone.
Soon, nearly a hundred clones had surrounded Kakashi.
Ichidai Kiyomu stared at him.
And Kakashi's eyes were cold.
He could feel Ichidai Kiyomu's killing intent—and his own toward Ichidai Kiyomu wasn't any less.
The only problem was, Kakashi didn't have a way to fully restrain him. And Ichidai Kiyomu… was wary.
As a sage stationed in the Fire Capital, Ichidai Kiyomu had access to a lot of information. Kakashi's strength and the records about him didn't match at all.
Adding in Kakashi's history, Ichidai Kiyomu couldn't figure him out.
Right now, his plan was to wear Kakashi down—but something deep inside was warning him: if he wasn't careful, Kakashi might kill him.
"My only goal is to stop you. That's it."
"I don't know what kind of contact you had with Shanks, but if you're going to be the next Hokage of Konohagakure, then you should stand with the World Government."
Ichidai Kiyomu didn't make the first move. He wasn't willing to take that risk.
"Ninja villages and nobles were never on the same side. This era has nothing to do with sages.
If you've gotten used to hiding behind history, then you should just stay quiet."
Kakashi spoke calmly. That's how he felt. He knew many in the ninja world didn't agree with him.
But Kakashi didn't bother hiding what he thought. The Hatake clan only had him left.
Did he care about playing politics?
Not at all.
To put it simply, Kakashi was sick of these sages.
To him, they were just people jumping out now because they finally saw a chance to gain something.
Why didn't anyone notice this before? The so-called agreements between ninjas and nobles never had any hold on Kakashi.
And Kakashi's blunt words once again lit a fire in Ichidai Kiyomu's heart.
Just as Ichidai Kiyomu was about to act, that terrifying feeling came over him again.
His flames weren't actually that deadly — they just looked scary. In reality, his fire carried endless life energy.
Ichidai Kiyomu himself was a sage with incredible survival abilities, very hard to deal with.
If it came down to a long fight, Ichidai Kiyomu might be able to trap Kakashi here forever.
But at the same time, Kakashi might also be able to trap him.
After helping the other sages use a secret technique to build the pillars of the world government, Ichidai Kiyomu's senses had grown much sharper.
He was almost at the level of Observation Haki — able to sense the future.
That was exactly how Kakashi felt to him right now.
"I hope when you become Hokage, you'll still be able to speak to me like that so casually."
Ichidai Kiyomu waved his hand, and all his clones disappeared.
Two minutes. If that guy couldn't take down Mishima Gekkou in two minutes against a few genin, then tough luck.
Ichidai Kiyomu turned and left the port.
Kakashi also headed back toward Naruto and the others.
Ichidai Kiyomu didn't relax until he saw Kakashi leave.
"That guy… feels like he's right at the edge of breaking through. If he does it during a fight, the one who dies will be me."
"Looks like we need to seriously look into the first group of people who made contact with Shanks."
Ichidai Kiyomu frowned. He realized something.
He didn't have a move that could take Kakashi out instantly. All he could do was wear him down.
But Kakashi was already at the limit. Dragging things out might actually push him over the edge.
And if that happened… who knows what kind of power he'd reach.
"Well, if Kakashi makes it there in time, that guy should be able to push him to his limit."
A harmless-looking smile appeared on Ichidai Kiyomu's face. To him, it didn't matter who died.
"I wonder if the power of the New World can match up to the power of the Immortal Kingdom."
"Those old geezers… sure know how to stay hidden."
Ichidai Kiyomu let out a long sigh and disappeared into the sky.
Meanwhile, out on the sea, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were floating above the water, held up by water orbs so they wouldn't sink.
Kisame stood on the surface and tossed the three of them onto Mishima Gekkou's ship. Then, he looked out toward the battlefield in the distance.
An orange-red Susano'o covered the battlefield, and now and then, terrifying flashes of lightning burst from within.
But the lightning was getting weaker.
"These three kids are yours now."
The fight was basically over. Kisame turned to leave — but in the next moment, a hand grabbed onto his robe tightly.
Sasuke, covered in blood and burns, badly hurt all over, still stared at the battlefield with burning eyes.
"I want to…"
"Kill him!!"
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