A light breeze blew.
Under the lights, two faces, one serious and one leisurely, reflected each other.
Lexon, holding his Nichirin sword, had a gentle smile.
Sarutobi Hiruzen, holding his long staff, had a solemn expression, ready for battle.
On the rooftops of other buildings outside this one, Konoha ninja stared intently at the figure on the windowsill.
The atmosphere was tense, suffocating.
The next moment, Sarutobi Hiruzen moved.
In a flash, he violently threw the long staff in his hand, sending it smashing toward Lexon with immense force.
'Full Concentration.'
Breathing technique activated.
Lexon raised his Nichirin sword, blocking the staff's trajectory.
But just as the staff was about to touch the blade, it instantly transformed into a large monkey.
Facing the Nichirin sword, the monkey's body twisted elegantly. Its sharp claws swiveled, bypassing the Nichirin sword to slash at Lexon.
'I knew it.'
'The staff can turn into a monkey.'
Lexon was already well aware of this attack.
'I have all of Sarutobi Hiruzen's intel.'
"Mist Breathing, Third Form: Great Mist Spray."
Extremely compressed mist spewed from the blade's tip, instantly filling the entire Hokage's office. Lexon used the thrust from the spray to leave the windowsill, dodging the monkey's claws and leaping into mid-air.
"Swoosh swoosh swoosh..."
A continuous sound of breaking air came from behind.
The Konoha Jonin had made their move. They seized the opportunity to throw a large number of shuriken and kunai. The cluster of hidden weapons sped toward him, seemingly intending to turn Lexon into a pincushion.
Lexon, in mid-air, didn't react to the weapons coming from behind, letting them all pierce his body.
In an instant, Lexon's body became a pincushion.
'Did we get him?'
This thought flashed through the minds of the Konoha Jonin.
'Hm?'
Suddenly, they realized something was wrong.
'No blood!'
Sure enough, the next second, Lexon's body, which had been turned into a pincushion, exploded with a "poof." After the white smoke cleared, it was a log.
'Substitution Jutsu? When?'
The Konoha Jonin were puzzled.
'Wait! Where is he!'
"Aoba! At your position!" a Hyuga clan ninja with his Byakugan active suddenly shouted to his teammate.
"What?"
The ninja named Aoba was startled.
But before he could react, a calm voice came from behind him.
"Mist Breathing, Seventh Form: Obscuring..."
'Behind me!'
Aoba was horrified.
'It's too late!'
"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet!"
But just as Lexon was about to swing his Nichirin sword, Sarutobi Hiruzen's figure flashed to Aoba's side, his aged voice sounding out.
A dragon made of condensed water immediately rushed at Lexon with immense power.
"Mist Breathing, Fifth Form: Encircling Mist."
Lexon's reaction was extremely fast. He changed his blade's momentum in an instant, switching from the offensive, oppressive Seventh Form to the defensive Fifth Form.
Dense mist followed the arc of his Nichirin sword, leaving a curved mist shield.
The water dragon plunged into the mist shield, lost its direction in the fog, and charged toward the building below.
Instantly, a large hole was blasted in the building's ceiling.
Fortunately, the Konoha villagers living nearby had already been quietly evacuated, so there were no casualties.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
The Jonin, Aoba, seemed to feel he had lost face. The moment he recovered, he immediately formed seals, gathered his chakra, and spat out a massive, burning fireball at Lexon.
"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen, seeing his subordinate's jutsu take shape, immediately formed seals.
His seal speed was ridiculously fast, completing the Great Breakthrough seals in the blink of an eye.
The seals were set, the jutsu complete.
In an instant, a violent wind raged, immediately empowering the Great Fireball Jutsu. The fireball's flames burned even more fiercely, its size grew, and its power became even more astonishing!
Although it was just a C-rank jutsu, the Great Fireball, when used by a Jonin and enhanced by a Kage-level expert, emitted an aura and contained power completely above that of an A-rank jutsu, approaching S-rank!
'A bit dangerous.'
Lexon looked at the fiery-hot fireball that was burning and distorting the air, his mind working.
'How should I handle this...'
The next moment, he returned his Nichirin sword to his space ring.
'If it's ninjutsu, I should respond with ninjutsu...'
A smile gradually appeared on his lips.
This was the first time he would use an elemental ninjutsu in a fight in the Naruto world.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu."
Lexon used the same jutsu. But what was astonishing was that he performed no hand seals at all. It was a completely instant-cast ninjutsu.
The terrifying chakra in his body was rapidly mobilized, and he even injected a certain amount of Tailed Beast chakra as a boost.
He blew out, and an intensely burning fireball erupted from his mouth.
Its size, its power, was not the least bit inferior to the Great Fireball produced by the combination of the Jonin and the Hokage!
This was natural. As a jutsu the Uchiha specialized in, the Great Fireball was a frequent reward from Lexon's check-ins.
A C-rank jutsu, stacked from dozens of check-ins, was no longer a simple C-rank jutsu. Its power was fully comparable to an S-rank jutsu!
Not to mention Lexon had also enhanced it with Tailed Beast chakra.
"BOOM!!!!"
The two massive, intensely burning fireballs collided violently, creating an explosion that echoed through half of Konoha.
The air itself was distorted and scorched by the blazing flames, and the temperature rose sharply.
It was impossible to see the scene of the battlefield after the fireballs exploded.
"Water Style: Water Shockwave!"
"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"
The Jonin who knew Water and Wind Style quickly formed seals, using basic jutsu to spit out water and wind, slightly lowering the scorching temperature and blowing away the distorting, rising hot air.
Soon, the scene became clear.
Sarutobi Hiruzen, his jumpsuit burned with several holes, was holding the unconscious Aoba, whose shirt had been completely incinerated. He stood atop another building, looking at Lexon with a grave expression. Lexon, meanwhile, stood in his original spot, completely unharmed.
The place they had been standing before—except for the precarious section under Lexon's feet—had been almost completely destroyed, leaving only charred black rubble.
'Lord Hokage...'
The other Jonin were shocked. It had been a long time since they had seen Lord Hokage at a disadvantage in an engagement.
The last time was during the "Nine-Tails Rampage" seven years ago, when he had looked a bit disheveled facing the Nine-Tails.
'Is that man... that terrifying...'
Their gazes fell on Lexon, their minds in turmoil.
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