Gulp.
Gulp.
"I must be insane… to be seeing this."
"T-This… Lord Danzō… he's the high-ranking leader I admired the most…"
"When did Kai—this kid—gain power like that?"
"Sorry, I only knew he could talk people to death…"
In front of the Hokage Tower, nearly a hundred ANBU swallowed hard.
No one had imagined it—
That the lofty, untouchable Danzō in their eyes…
Would be so easily pinned under the foot of a boy barely in his teens.
Especially the ANBU who had once been assigned to monitor Kai.
Their eyes nearly bulged out of their skulls.
Mouths hanging open.
This is Kai?
That long-winded Kai?
Wasn't he supposed to be all talk and… sunbathing?
When did he ever train?
They couldn't understand.
Compared to them, Root was far calmer.
They didn't speak.
They just kept moving—again and again—trying to pull Danzō back.
It was useless.
Any attack that reached within three feet of Kai simply vanished without reason.
And Danzō, forced into desperation, began forming seals again.
Faster.
With heavier chakra.
He sucked in a huge breath—
Then expelled it with full force.
Wind Release: Vacuum Great Bullets!
From "bullets" to something closer to a mortar shell.
But even a "shell" disappeared the instant it touched Kai.
It didn't raise so much as a ripple.
Gone.
Light as a breeze.
Like Danzō had really just… exhaled.
"Is it that normal ninjutsu just doesn't work?"
Danzō was a veteran for a reason.
After several failed attempts, he finally realized where the problem lay.
"If simple ninjutsu is useless…"
"Then I'll try tools."
He muttered, rolling away from the ground in one smooth motion.
Three zhang away.
Shua!
A shuriken appeared in his hand.
He lowered his head and breathed out—
Dense chakra immediately coated the shuriken's edge, forming a pale yellow-white glow like fireflies.
Wind Release: Vacuum Blade!
And with lightning speed, he stabbed straight toward Kai.
If ninjutsu couldn't break it—
Then weapons would.
"So you're still obsessed with stabbing people with shuriken?"
Kai nearly laughed out loud.
As expected of Danzō—
The number one man in history when it came to "stabbing Susanoo with a shuriken."
When in doubt… poke it with a shuriken.
And so Kai simply smiled and watched.
Three zhang.
One zhang.
Half a zhang.
As the shuriken drew closer, Danzō's stern face suddenly burst into joy.
"No reaction at all?"
"Don't tell me… this brat was bluffing the whole time?"
"Hahaha! Of course—shuriken are the strongest!"
Excited, he sped up even more.
But the moment he finally reached Kai—
He caught a flicker of expression.
Disdain.
No… mockery.
Why?
Crack.
Danzō froze.
Then he saw it—
The shuriken in front of him…
Breaking apart, inch by inch.
A soft wind blew—
And it scattered like ash, vanishing into nothing.
Danzō went blank.
His body was still in the stabbing posture, too late to change.
And then—
Kai's left eye flickered slightly.
RIIIIIP—!!!
Within those three feet of space…
The bandaged arm was torn clean off.
"AAAAAH—!!"
"Damn it—damn it!!"
The howl of an old man echoed through Konoha's night, raising goosebumps on every spine.
Even the red-eyed Uchiha shuddered instinctively.
Shinobi didn't fear death.
But…
Having an arm ripped off by force—
With ragged muscle and blood still hanging from the tear—
That kind of pain felt nauseating just to witness.
"Damn it! Monkey, what are you waiting for?! Kill this brat!"
"Are you really going to sit there and watch the Uchiha stick their hands into Konoha's power?!"
Danzō finally cracked.
He shouted desperately.
He was truly afraid.
A moment slower, and the eyes in that arm could be crushed—
The consequences didn't bear thinking about.
So he could only throw his hope onto the Third Hokage.
His words were urgent. Earnest. Panicked.
And unfortunately—
That one sentence struck straight into the softest part of Hiruzen's heart.
It snapped the tilted scale right back into place.
People grew older…
And they grew muddier.
After countless wars and a hard-won peace, the Third Hokage had long since lost any hope for the future.
All he wanted was to keep a tight grip on what he still had.
And now—
Someone was trying to take that grip away?
Unforgivable.
Absolutely unforgivable.
With that thought, he stopped hesitating.
His hands flew through seals as he spoke:
"Come out, old friend—Enma!"
Summoning Jutsu: Monkey King Enma!
Bang!
A white-furred monkey appeared.
He looked half-asleep, rubbing his eyes as he yawned.
"Eh? Long time no see, Hiruzen."
"No time to explain, Enma—help me deal with the enemy!"
"Oy. Got it!"
Enma thumped his chest, then looked toward the direction Hiruzen was rushing—
And froze after a single glance.
He was certain he'd never met this young boy.
But…
The moment he saw him, an overwhelming sense of familiarity surged in his chest.
And beneath that—
A strange, instinctive fear.
Don't attack.
You can't attack.
At the same time, the Third Hokage was already forming seals again.
"Enma! Transform—Adamantine Staff!"
Bang!
Enma instantly turned into a staff.
"Today, I'll show you what it means to be the Third Hokage!"
Hiruzen drew a deep breath.
His presence surged as if waking from a long sleep.
Even in his aged body, power erupted—rising, rising, rising.
"Yes! The Third Hokage at full strength—we're saved!"
"It's been ages since we've seen Lord Third like this…"
"Hah! Uchiha brat—tremble! Hahahaha!"
The ANBU elites all exhaled in relief, faces burning with excitement.
The Third Hokage didn't move often—
But when he did, he went all out.
Even the clan heads behind them brightened.
Many of them had once followed Hiruzen into battle, charging into war after war.
Seeing him like this again after so many years—
Some almost felt like crying.
Except a very few.
Hyūga Hiashi lowered his gaze slightly, chakra unconsciously gathering in his palm.
"With Hiruzen and Enma together… you need at least two Kage-level fighters to handle them."
"This kid might—"
"And what is Fugaku doing, standing there like an idiot? Useless."
As for the Uchiha—
Though worry flickered in their eyes…
Not one of them spoke.
Even Fugaku remained still, watching carefully.
Scarlet light shimmered faintly in his pupils.
He trusted Kai—but couldn't stop the doubt from rising.
"Hiruzen is old… but still."
"Kai should be fine… right?"
But as the thought formed—
He saw something that made his mind go blank.
The Adamantine Staff in the Third Hokage's hands…
The moment it touched Kai—
It went soft.
Yes.
Soft in the most literal, humiliating way.
Without warning, it drooped like a noodle.
Fugaku was stunned.
ANBU went slack-jawed.
The clan heads' mouths fell open.
Only Hiashi let out the faintest breath, as if relieved.
What… was this?
Even the Third Hokage faltered for a split second, then immediately retreated.
"Enma—what's going on?!"
Enma didn't answer.
He only screamed, over and over—
"It hurts! It hurts too much!"
"Sorry, old friend… I have to—"
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