Without his weapon, the Third resembled a freshly shelled egg—exposed and somewhat vulnerable.
He hadn't expected Saitama Uchiha, despite his youth, to possess such rich combat experience. A brief skirmish had left him completely disarmed.
His expression shifting between gloom and fury, the Third straightened his posture, tightening every muscle in his body.
"Zzz—" Saitama's cold gaze didn't naively believe that disarming the Third would guarantee dominance over him.
With a "Pa!" sound, he planted both feet on the wooden dragon. Under his control, the dragon steadily sank until it finally landed on the ground, transforming into ordinary timber, motionless.
During the descent, the Third's side had always been at the bottom. So before the wooden dragon touched down, the Third leapt upward and landed nearby.
He wouldn't recklessly expose himself to an uncertain environment—that would be irresponsible of him.
This was a hard-won lesson learned through decades of ninja experience.
"Tap!"
Saitama stamped down hard on the wooden surface with both feet. His body arched midair like a powerful eagle unfurling its wings, then shot toward the Third like a bolt of lightning.
[Fire Release - Great Dragon Fire Technique (Goryuka no Jutsu)!]
Crossing his hands in a seal, the Third was illuminated by flames, revealing his firm, aged face.
"Roar!"
A blazing fire dragon rose with scorching heat, kicking up endless dust from the ground as it roared toward Saitama.
"Zzz—" He raised his right hand, holding it before his chest. Bright white lightning slowly shaped itself into a weapon in his palm.
[Sage Art - Chidori Light Spear (Chidori Lightning Spear)!]
This ninjutsu, condensed from Sage Chakra, carried extraordinary momentum.
Firmly gripping the chakra-infused weapon, Saitama kept his footsteps steady and even, showing no sign of panic as the fire dragon surged toward him.
The Third's technique was strong!
But Saitama didn't flinch—he charged straight into the fire dragon's path.
Within his Sharingan, the dragon's fierce snarling head grew clearer and clearer.
Soon, he spotted a fleeting moment to strike back.
"Pa!" He bent his knees, instantly halting his forward movement.
A powerful gust kicked up by his sudden stop blew forward, scattering loose pebbles along the ground.
"Shsh!"
His bent legs snapped straight again, the brief muscular tension propelling him upward.
Instantly airborne, the spot where he stood caved slightly, releasing ripples of wind outward in all directions.
"Roar!"
As Saitama launched skyward, the fire dragon bit down hard, its searing flame colliding precisely where he'd just stood.
Flipping midair once, Saitama neatly avoided the direct attack.
Now above the fire dragon's head, the crackling Chidori Light Sword in his hand began radiating brilliant light.
"Crackle!"
Without hesitation, Saitama dove downward with blinding speed.
In the blink of an eye, the technique pierced the fire dragon's head, pinning it to the ground.
"Boom!"
On the ground, flames instantly surged outward as the Fire Dragon disintegrated and scattered.
"Hiss!"
Saitama stood where the head of the Fire Dragon once was. A surge of lightning encircled him, pushing the flames away and shielding him from harm.
"Lightning Release - Thunder Crash!"
Shifting his focus, Saitama crouched down while a bolt of lightning extended directly toward his feet from The Third's position, arriving in an instant. It looked like a silver snake crawling along the ground.
"Zap!" Chakra surged throughout his body fearlessly.
[Chidori Current!]
Stepping forward, Saitama concentrated a large ball of lightning at his foot and crushed it down onto the incoming lightning.
"Hiss!"
The two electric forces collided, continuously eroding one another.
The Third's Elemental Release Jutsu were powerful. Though he used regular chakra, its strength rivaled Saitama's Chidori Current powered by Sage Chakra.
"Hmph!"
Saitama glared fiercely at The Third, whose mouth hung open, spitting lightning nonstop. He prepared for his next move.
"Crackle!"
Dodging The Third's ninjutsu with a quick sidestep, Saitama charged forward—an action completed in the blink of an eye.
Meanwhile, those lightning bolts continued sweeping rapidly behind Saitama, leaving behind a deep, pitch-black scorched trail across the earth.
"Clack! Clack! Clack!"
Crouching down, Saitama vanished in a blur and reappeared right in front of The Third.
"Whoosh!"
A flash of lightning passed by his hand, twisting around his arm to form an extended blade.
"Zzzt," the blade crackled intensely, appearing incredibly solid—as sturdy as a real weapon.
Closing the gap, Saitama arrived right in front of The Third in no time, standing less than a meter apart.
It seemed The Third was still channeling his previous technique, unable to halt it promptly enough to defend himself from Saitama's attack.
Everything had happened so fast—within less than two seconds total.
Without hesitation, Saitama locked onto The Third with his Sharingan, completely controlling him and giving him no chance to react.
"Crackle!"
Locking eyes with The Third, Saitama slashed his throat—lethal and decisive.
But on The Third's aged face, an eerie smile slowly surfaced—one that almost felt mocking?
Saitama shifted his attention back to The Third's throat. The wound wasn't deep, only a shallow cut.
Yet in such a critical area, even a shallow injury could be deadly.
Confusion flickered within Saitama's Sharingan. He felt certain there was something he'd overlooked!
The Fire Dragon dissipating, his own dash, and the strike against The Third...
These moments flashed through Saitama's mind as he analyzed every detail repeatedly.
Soon enough, he sensed something wrong—the old man might have aged, but there was no way he couldn't predict or evade such a straightforward attack.
"Fire Dragon Dispersed..."
Saitama recalled the moment the Fire Dragon shattered, its flames momentarily blinding him.
Then in the very next second, The Third unleashed a Ninjutsu attack without giving him even a moment to recover. Clearly, that Fire Dragon had been just a distraction, part of a larger plan!
"That's when it happened..."
Saitama's gaze locked onto The Third's throat as his Sharingan began to spin.
From that split wound, a faint light gradually emerged—it was chakra he recognized all too well.
Lightning Release — Electric Shock. A highly destructive yet inherently unstable type of Chakra.
"A Lightning Release Clone?"
A slight smirk played on Saitama's lips as understanding dawned.
He had taken The Third far too lightly. For a moment, he'd romanticized the battle, thinking he could easily overpower an experienced veteran like this!
*BOOM!*
The Third—or rather, his clone—exploded instantly. Blue lightning surged outward, and Saitama stood merely a meter away. The full force of the blast struck him head-on.
"During the explosion of the Fire Dragon, using the flames as cover, he created a Lightning Release Clone to draw my attention and pull me in close!"
"And that Lightning Clone had always been prepared to explode—to set up this very moment..."
Saitama unraveled the sequence of events from the battle. His interpretation might still have minor differences compared to The Third's original plan, but it was mostly correct.
He narrowed his eyes; the Mangekyou pattern within his irises began to emit an eerie, sinister glow. The crimson hue deepened in his eyes as the Mangekyou pattern swirled more intensely within them.
As the Lightning Clone exploded, Saitama immediately sensed this wasn't just a regular detonation—he stayed alert.
The Third wouldn't invest this much thought into something trivial. And knowing Saitama specialized in Lightning Release, he still dared to believe such a technique could injure or even kill him—that alone told Saitama everything.
Sparks of electricity prickled and tingled across his skin as the Lightning Clone shattered further.
Blinding light swallowed him whole as his silhouette seemed to vanish into the wreckage, like ash scattered by the wind!
*BOOM!*
A massive crater now scarred the ground, while a small plume of smoke slowly rose into the sky.
Dust billowed into the air, shrouding the area around the explosion for dozens of meters.
*POOF!*
Elsewhere, far from the explosion site, the ground cracked open, revealing another pit.
*Huff! Huff!*
The Third emerged first with his head, then wriggled his body out like a worm, lifting both arms upward.
With both hands braced against the earth, he effortlessly pushed himself up and sprang free from beneath the surface.
"This should've taken him down..."
He turned his eyes toward where the Lightning Clone had exploded. That clone had been infused with almost half of his own Chakra reserves before detonating at full power.
The power was immense, and at such close range, there was practically no defense. Although Saitama Uchiha was extraordinary, he was still a living human being, and no human flesh could possibly withstand the damage from an explosion like that!
Even if he didn't die instantly, he should have been severely injured!
Thinking this, The Third took a step forward.
Beside him, Enma returned to his monkey form and stood once again at The Third's side.
On Enma's left thigh, you could clearly see something was off.
Although due to his special physiology allowing partial healing during transformations, the injury caused by Saitama just now wasn't easy to recover completely.
"That's..."
Not having walked far, Enma's body suddenly shuddered, his eyes widening as though seeing something unbelievable.
"Enma, what's wrong?"
The Third's vision wasn't as sharp as Enma's—being a Boss Summon meant he couldn't see clearly through all the dust and smoke.
"An ominous aura... and an ominous presence!"
Enma narrowed his eyes. In his vision appeared a skeleton radiating white-colored ominous chakra energy.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
Frowning, The Third knew what he feared had probably happened.
So, after forming a few hand seals, he parted his lips and blew toward the explosion site.
Then, a visible gust of wind rushed out like a jet stream, sweeping across the surrounding dust and smoke cloud created by the blast.
"Hoooh! Hoooh!"
The wind rushed forward, swiftly clearing the smoke to reveal the center of the explosion.
Yet surprisingly, Saitama—who should've been at least seriously wounded—seemed mostly unharmed.
A towering rib cage completely encased him, glowing with streams of white chakra that seemed to absorb most of the blast's force.
"Drip!"
From Saitama's left arm, one drop of blood fell down, landing on the ground and breaking the silence with its soft sound.
"Damn it!"
Cursing inwardly, The Third's face turned grim. His hands clenched tightly at his sides before slowly rising again.
"Heh... that blast really exceeded my expectations! No wonder you're the Third Hokage, huh?"
Saitama lifted his head up, [Susanoo] shifting with him, the sound of bones grinding together echoing through the air. His tone carried some admiration.
The Third remained silent but noticed blood trickling from Saitama's right eye corner. It seemed even performing Susanoo carried quite a burden.
This must be one of those powerful dojutsu abilities only possible with a fully matured Sharingan!
The Third recognized this skeletal figure—not from personal experience, but from records left behind by The Second in ancient scrolls.
"Is that... Susanoo?"
With some uncertainty, The Third muttered under his breath.
Beside him, Enma looked at Saitama warily.
As a Boss Summon with superior sensory perception, he could sense something unusual about those bones.
Looks like the great Third knows about it too, huh?
Saitama timely expressed some surprise, slightly shrugging his shoulders.
At this, The Third's expression darkened further.
"Enma, prepare to fight with everything we've got!"
The Third slowly raised both hands as chakra began circulating through his body.
Only one of them would leave this place today—this idea had already taken root and solidified in both their hearts.
"Understood!"
As Sarutobi's boss summon, Enma would never retreat when his contractor faced danger or when circumstances turned unfavorable.
They had fought side by side for decades—a bond no ordinary summoner and summoned beast could rival.
"Heh!"
Standing inside the deep crater, Saitama smiled, then bent his legs and pushed off powerfully.
[Susanoo] sprang upward alongside him, soaring clear of the crater's edge before landing with a heavy thud.
As it leapt, the bare rib skeleton burst with white energy radiating from its core, rapidly forming a complete humanoid shape.
"Peng!"
Both feet struck the ground firmly. [Susanoo] had transformed into a fully-formed skeletal figure, fleshless and bone-exposing.
"Roar!"
Upon landing, Susanoo—under Saitama's control—let out a deafening roar aimed at The Third and Enma standing nearby.
The shockwave pressed The Third's long white beard tightly against his face.
Meanwhile, Enma raised one hand to shield his eyes and steady himself.
Reflecting in The Third's eyes was Susanoo's massive form—and the Saitama Uchiha positioned at its chest.
This tremendous size difference stirred feelings of helplessness in The Third.
"Clang!"
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