[…Very well.]
"Thank you," Hiruzen Sarutobi said softly.
He turned toward the Konoha shinobi standing behind him.
"There are several things you must do. Listen carefully."
"First—we've already signed the ceasefire agreement with Sunagakure. If Lord Hanzō is willing to leave my body intact, you'll find the original treaty on me."
He looked up toward the Kazekage in the sky.
"And Lord Kazekage also has a copy. You can request an imprint from him to take back. I believe the Kazekage has no desire to create further conflict."
The Third Kazekage nodded lightly.
"Of course."
"Second—do not seekrevenge against Amegakure. The higher-ups understand what led to this situation. Continuing the war would exact too great a cost. Konoha cannot afford more losses."
He turned back to Hanzō.
"Lord Hanzō, I doubt Amegakure wants to prolong this any further either. A drawn-out conflict would only harm you."
Hanzō shook his head.
[Wrong. Dragging this out only harms Konoha.]
[Your other fronts will collapse.]
[Amegakure, meanwhile, grows stronger by plundering—war sustains us.]
[And with me on the front lines of Fire Country, no matter how many troops you send, they'll be destroyed. Konoha no longer has a Kage-level shinobi who can match me.]
[If you send large battalions, they'll die to my large-scale explosive techniques.]
[If you send small squads, they'll be wiped out piecemeal.]
[And most importantly—this battlefield is in your territory.]
[I can afford to wait. You cannot.]
Hiruzen's eyes dimmed further.
He slowly turned to the Konoha shinobi.
"…Once you return, tell the higher-ups—continue negotiations with Amegakure."
"Lord Hanzō, I believe Konoha's leadership will provide compensation that satisfies Amegakure."
"Third… appoint… Nara… or Akimichi Torifu… as acting Hokage. After the war ends, elect a Fourth Hokage."
The Konoha shinobi trembled, tears forming.
"Yes, Lord Hokage… we will deliver your message."
Hiruzen nodded in satisfaction.
"I entrust the Will of Fire to all of you…"
In that instant, it was as if he had dropped a heavy cloak from his shoulders.
A sense of liberation washed over him.
Even his voice grew lighter.
He looked back at Hanzō and grinned crookedly.
"To think you'd let me speak this much… I'm grateful."
"Lord Hanzō, even as the loser here, I want to fight you again.
At least let me die with dignity.
Our last battle—left me unsatisfied."
[…You're not planning to use some self-destructive forbidden technique, are you? I know Konoha has plenty.]
Hiruzen fell silent. Perhaps pondering.
[But fine.]
Hanzō narrowed his eyes.
[Do you want to try?]
"What does Lord Hanzō mean?" Hiruzen asked.
[Three minutes.]
[If you can survive three minutes against me—you win.]
[I won't use poison for this.]
Hanzō took out a single vial of antidote and jammed it into Hiruzen's hand.
[This antidote will grant you immunity to my poison for three minutes.]
Chiyo, the Kazekage, and Hiruzen stared in shock.
"Lord Hanzō, you're underestimating me," Hiruzen snapped.
"I may be cornered, but I am still the Hokage. I do not need your pity."
Inside, Hanzō was cursing violently:
I'm trying to spare your sorry ass—why is this so damn difficult!?
[Feel the ground beneath your feet before you talk.]
Hiruzen let his chakra sink into the earth—
and his expression froze.
[Did you really think that while you negotiated with the Kazekage, I was doing NOTHING?]
[The entire underground of this battlefield—I've already transformed it into a water domain.]
[But don't worry. You most likely won't even need to see its full extent.]
Hanzō finally lowered the scythe from Hiruzen's neck and stepped back.
The Konoha shinobi immediately surrounded their Hokage.
"Lord Hokage! Retreat!"
"We'll hold Hanzō back!"
Hiruzen shoved them aside.
He stepped forward, smiling apologetically at Hanzō.
"My apologies. They didn't mean to embarrass me."
"They won't interfere."
"You all, fall back. As far as possible."
"But, Lord Hokage—"
The anger on his face silenced them instantly.
"…Understood, Lord Hokage."
"We'll withdraw. You won't lose."
When the Konoha shinobi retreated and even Chiyo and the Kazekage drifted further away, they held their breath.
A battle like this was rare even for them.
Would Hanzō truly defeat the Hokage in only three minutes?
Was this confidence—or arrogance?
Hiruzen lifted the antidote and stabbed it in.
[You're not afraid I gave you poison instead?]
"There's no need."
"If Lord Hanzō wished to kill me, I'd already be dead."
"Are you ready? I'll take the first move."
Hanzō raised his scythe across his chest, eyes narrowing.
[Come.]
"Summoning Jutsu: Enma!"
Hiruzen slammed his hand to the ground.
White smoke burst upward—Enma the Monkey King appeared.
At the same instant Enma arrived, Hanzō pressed his hands to the ground—
The earth beneath Hiruzen and Enma collapsed.
A massive lake lay beneath them.
"Damn—Hiruzen!"
The instant their feet touched the water, the entire lake began spinning like a whirlpool.
Both were dragged toward the center.
Water droplets the size of fists shot upward, gathering above into a forming sphere.
Its density was enormous—even they couldn't avoid every hit.
The impacts weren't lethal, but the stinging blows accumulated.
Hiruzen's face twisted.
"This is… Lord Tobirama's jutsu. This is bad!"
He looked upward—
The massive sphere twisted violently and reshaped itself—
Into a colossal, fanged Water Dragon.
It lunged downward.
Enma instantly transformed into the Adamantine Staff, growing in Hiruzen's grip.
"Ruyi Staff: Gale Breaker!"
"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Bomb!"
Wind chakra coated the expanding staff.
Hiruzen hurled it—The staff spun into a raging vortex.
At the same time, he gathered chakra in his lungs and expelled a torrent of flames.
Wind fed the fire.
The vortex drew the flames in—
A long, scorching pillar of fire shot toward the Water Dragon.
Water and fire clashed—a massive cloud of white steam exploded outward.
Even from afar, Hanzō felt the heat.
[Do NOT touch that steam.]
[Water and fire collision—similar to Boil Release. Anyone touched will be horribly burned.]
Hiruzen felt that heat tenfold.
"Cannot let it get close!"
The Water Dragon shrank dramatically but forced its way through, turning into a column of water stabbing downward.
But Hiruzen had achieved his goal—the column hit the lake with nowhere near its original power.
"Water Style: Water Wall!"
A water wall surged up, blocking the wave.
Hanzō charged forward.
Hiruzen quickly formed a clone.
Hanzō narrowed his eyes.
[That hand sign—]
"Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!"
"Lightning Style: Thunderclap!"
A water column surged upward—lightning coating it—forming a dragon of water and lightning.
Combined Jutsu: Lightning Water Dragon
[Can't let that hit.]
[Lightning limits my movement underwater… then—]
Hanzō whispered:
[Sage Art: Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu.]
The entire lake convulsed, surging behind him.
A titanic Water Dragon rose from the water—several times larger than Hiruzen's.
Even the Kazekage and Chiyo stared wide-eyed.
"What is that?!"
"This is insane… this is a Kage-class battle?!"
Hiruzen bit down until blood filled his mouth.
"Damn it…"
He had no earth to stand on—only water.
He couldn't use Earth Style here.
The two dragons collided—and Hiruzen's lightning dragon was swallowed whole without even a splash.
The enormous water dragon barreled toward him.
Only he felt the crushing pressure.
Water filled his vision.
"Don't underestimate… the Will of Fire!!!"
"AAAAAAAHHH!!!"
Enma's staff expanded—growing into a colossal pillar—nearly equal in size to the water dragon.
The blue aura from Hiruzen's chakra coated his entire body.
He swung the massive staff—
BOOOOOM—!
ROAR—!
The first sound: the Water Dragon smashed apart.
The second: the fallout wave exploding across the lake.
[The Will of Fire… huh.]
Hanzō thought to himself.
[Hiruzen Sarutobi lives up to the title of Professor.]
A towering wave rose more than ten meters high—
The Konoha shinobi cheered wildly.
"Lord Hokage! He shattered the Water Dragon!"
But the wave did nothing to slow Hanzō.
A flash of steel split the tidal wave—a narrow path opening through it.
Hanzō walked through.
Hiruzen, retreating atop the receding wave, shrank the staff back down—
But Hanzō's blade was already in front of him.
"This speed… completely different from before!"
He abandoned the half-contracted staff, leaping backward—
But he was too slow.
Blood burst across his chest.
Hiruzen felt no pain.
He grabbed a kunai, wind chakra crackling around it, and slashed back.
Steel clashed—sparks flying across the water.
Enma returned to his true form, joining the fray.
His fists turned black under Earth Style Hardening.
But even he felt the sting in his knuckles whenever he blocked Hanzō's scythe.
[Enough holding back.]
[Time to end this.]
Hanzō's chakra surged—and his speed multiplied again.
"No…"
Both Hiruzen and Enma felt the killing intent.
As Enma blocked one strike, a chain whipped out—binding him completely.
Hanzō dodged Hiruzen's kunai, spun, and kicked him under the chin, launching him skyward.
Hiruzen barely regained balance—only for the cold tip of a scythe to touch his forehead.
The battlefield froze.
Cold sweat drenched Hiruzen's back.
Enma also froze—unable to break the chains.
The Konoha shinobi stopped breathing.
Even Chiyo and the Kazekage felt their hearts clench.
Hanzō withdrew the scythe.
[Congratulations.]
Three minutes had passed.
------------------------------///
1600 P.S – Bonus
2000 P.S – Bonus
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