A sharp whistle cut through the air.
Whoosh!
An oversized shuriken spun violently toward Kakashi, slicing through the sky with murderous intent.
"Ninjutsu—Shuriken Shadow Clone!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen's hands flashed through seals, and in an instant, that single weapon split into a thousand. They multiplied endlessly, blotting out the sky. The swarm of steel poured down like a rainstorm, every escape route sealed off, leaving Kakashi seemingly with nowhere to run.
But Kakashi did not panic. His eyes were calm, cold, like a predator in the middle of the hunt. He raised the demonic sword in his hands, his body shifting into an elegant stance. The blade flickered with deadly precision, cutting through the barrage.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Every shuriken that came within reach was knocked aside, his movements precise yet fluid, almost like a dancer twirling across a stage. It was as if an elf was dancing on the edge of a blade—graceful, light, yet deadly.
Even as the rain of shuriken scattered harmlessly around Kakashi, Hiruzen did not look disappointed. He had lived too long and fought too many battles to believe a mere opening gambit would succeed against Kakashi Hatake.
Without hesitation, the Third Hokage formed another series of hand seals. His body flickered, and in a flash, four Shadow Clones materialized, spreading out on all sides to encircle Kakashi.
"This is…!"
Kakashi's pupils contracted sharply. He had been studying Hiruzen's moves for a long time, and the instant he saw the prelude, he understood what was coming.
A dangerous, devastating technique.
Without hesitation, Kakashi reached into his pouch and pulled out a specially marked kunai. The Flying Thunder God seal gleamed faintly upon it. With a flick of his wrist, he hurled it straight up into the sky.
At the same moment, the five Hiruzen—including the clones—completed their hand seals. Their voices overlapped in perfect unison, resonating like thunder across the battlefield.
"Gotoku: Great Linked Technique!"
From the mouths of the five Sarutobi came a devastating display of chakra mastery. Fire, water, lightning, earth, and wind—five elemental spheres of destructive energy surged forth at once. The sky itself seemed to warp under the overwhelming power of the combined elements.
The five streams of chakra collided at the center, converging into a single, colossal storm of raw destruction.
The Five-Elements Dalian Bomb.
The moment it touched the ground where Kakashi stood, the world exploded.
BOOOOOOM!
A pillar of energy shot skyward. The impact churned the earth itself, ripping apart soil and stone. Trees disintegrated in the shockwave, splinters scattering like arrows. The explosion shook the heavens, and a thunderous roar reverberated across the battlefield.
The storm raged violently, a swirling inferno of elements feeding into one another. Flames roared, lightning crackled, torrents of water evaporated into steam that burned the lungs, while gusts of cutting wind shredded anything in its path. The ground split open, forming a crater that spread outward like a spiderweb.
Then came the smoke—dense, suffocating, and towering upward into a mushroom cloud.
The sheer power forced even the onlookers, hardened clan leaders and Anbu alike, to retreat a full thousand meters just to avoid being caught in the aftershock.
When the chaos finally began to subside, all that remained was silence, broken earth, and a pit so deep and wide it looked as though a meteor had struck.
And of Kakashi Hatake… there was no trace.
Hiruzen's eyes narrowed. His expression was calm, but in his chest, unease stirred. Kakashi was many things, but reckless was not one of them. Could it truly have ended so easily?
"Did it work?"
The question hung unspoken in the minds of the crowd.
---
High above, far from the devastation, Kakashi stood quietly.
Eight hundred meters above the battlefield, a lone figure balanced on a hovering sword. The demonic blade beneath his feet was magnetized with chakra, allowing him to float effortlessly.
Kakashi gazed down at the mushroom cloud that marked the battlefield. His silver hair swayed in the wind, his single visible eye reflecting the light of the dying explosion.
"…Unbelievable," he whispered to himself.
That attack—it wasn't just powerful, it was terrifying. The perfect fusion of five elemental natures, executed with flawless coordination, unleashed by none other than the man known as the Professor of Ninjutsu.
"He really deserves his title," Kakashi thought. "Sarutobi Hiruzen… Grandmaster of the Five Elements. That attack alone nearly killed me."
If not for his foresight, if not for Minato's gift… he might have been nothing more than ash.
The instant he recognized the setup, Kakashi had acted. The Flying Thunder God kunai he had thrown skyward earlier became his salvation. Just before the Five-Element Bomb consumed him, he teleported upward, avoiding the attack entirely. But even at five hundred meters, the heat and pressure threatened to engulf him.
So he threw another kunai higher, another seal prepared, and shifted again. Only after rising to eight hundred meters did he finally feel safe enough to pause.
Now, from his lofty perch, he observed calmly as Hiruzen searched for him below.
The irony wasn't lost on him. Hiruzen, the legendary Hokage, revered across the world, stood proud in his belief that he had struck down his opponent. Yet Kakashi, unnoticed, was alive, watching him from above like a hawk eyeing its prey.
---
Back on the battlefield, murmurs spread among the crowd.
"Hahaha! Did you see that? That is the strength of Lord Hiruzen—the greatest Hokage in Konoha's history!"
It was Utatane Koharu who broke the silence first. Her face, usually composed, now lit with triumph.
"Yes," Mitokado Homura added with a smirk. "Kakashi was just a Jōnin who forgot his place. To challenge the Hokage? He brought this fate upon himself."
Koharu sneered, her sharp words aimed squarely at Minato. "Ignorant youths will always seek to test authority. But in the end, their arrogance only wastes the lives of those who could have served the village longer. Pathetic."
Several Anbu standing nearby stiffened, anger flashing in their eyes. Kakashi's reputation among them was undeniable—an elite, a comrade, a man who had saved countless lives. To hear his death mocked so casually cut deep. Were it not for Koharu's status, blades might already have been drawn.
The clan leaders exchanged glances, their silence heavy. Though none spoke out openly, their hearts grew colder toward Hiruzen. This was not the behavior of a leader who cherished his people.
Even among Hiruzen's own Anbu, there was sorrow. Unlike Root, Anbu did not force its members into mindless loyalty. They still had hearts, still had the ability to think for themselves. And in those hearts, regret grew.
The brightest light of his generation had just been extinguished—or so they believed.
Beside Minato, Uchiha Shisui trembled. The normally gentle, good-natured young man was consumed by fury. His fists clenched, his Sharingan spinning violently. The thought blazed in his mind: If not for the crowd, if not for the danger of exposure, I would use Kotoamatsukami this very instant! I would make Hiruzen fall to his knees before Kakashi's grave, and live the rest of his life drowning in guilt.
Only Minato remained outwardly calm. His golden hair stirred in the breeze as he gazed at the battlefield. To others, he looked like a man resigned to loss. But inside, his heart was steady.
Because he knew.
Kakashi was not dead.
He could feel it—the Flying Thunder God mark he had carved into Kakashi's kunai resonated faintly in the distance, high above. He dared not look upward, for fear of alerting Hiruzen, but his senses reassured him: Kakashi still lived.
The question was how long they could keep that fact hidden.
---
"Snort!"
Akamichi, who had been silent until now, finally stepped forward, glaring at Hiruzen.
"Monkey! Kakashi was a hero of Konoha, a veteran of three wars. And yet you—you killed him, not for the village, but to avenge that snake Danzo. Have you no shame?"
Gasps rippled through the crowd at his bluntness.
But Hiruzen only sighed, wearing the weary expression of a man burdened by duty. "Akamichi-dono… Kakashi's death was not my intention. In a duel between warriors of equal strength, accidents are inevitable."
His words were smooth, practiced. "All of you saw it—Kakashi's power had already reached the level of a Kage. Against such strength, should I have held back? In a true fight, there is no mercy. I believed he would evade. With his mastery of the Flying Thunder God, of stealth and lightning speed, it seemed certain he could."
Hiruzen shook his head slowly, as though in mourning. "But he did not. And thus, tragedy."
The justification was flawless, impossible to refute directly. Akamichi faltered, frustration boiling in his chest.
Hiruzen turned his gaze to Minato. His eyes, though calm, gleamed with calculation.
"Minato," he said, "Kakashi's passing is unfortunate. But life and death on the battlefield cannot be avoided. According to our agreement, I will now take custody of Danzo's body. As his lifelong comrade, I shall oversee his legacy. Let the debts of the dead die with him."
He paused, softening his tone. "As for Kakashi, he will be honored as a hero of Konoha, his name forever remembered. That much, I can promise."
The Third Hokage's words were elegant, his demeanor dignified. To the casual ear, it sounded like wisdom. But everyone with sense knew what was happening. He was consolidating power, seizing Root's remnants, and painting himself as both just and merciful.
It was a masterstroke of politics.
And yet—
"Elder Hiruzen!"
A sharp voice cut through the air.
Shisui stepped forward, eyes blazing. His voice trembled with fury, but it carried to every ear present.
"I, Uchiha Shisui, member of Kakashi-senpai's squad… can no longer stand by."
The ground itself seemed to quiver under the weight of his intent.
He had sworn to Kakashi that he would protect his secrets, hold back his ultimate power until the right time. But now, faced with the Third Hokage's arrogance, with the death of his senior being used as a stepping stone for politics—he could endure no longer.
If it meant exposing his most forbidden technique, so be it.
Even if it meant sacrificing himself.
Kakashi-senpai would be avenged.
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