"That numbing sensation... Lightning Release?!" The Hokage reacted instantly. The moment he was pushed back, he countered.
The Diamond Staff in his hand suddenly extended toward Satoru. The boy leisurely raised a hand, blocking. Meanwhile, Hiruzen, nimble as a monkey, leaped onto his own staff.
"Earth Release: Great Mud Flow!" From above, the village head spewed massive mud.
Though grotesque, this technique sufficed to halt Satoru's assault temporarily.
*Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!*
Hiruzen pirouetted in air, landing behind the transmigrator. The boy spun around, but his mentor had finished seals.
"Fire Release: Flame of the Fire Dragon!"
Satoru hadn't expected the Third to fight seriously, so he held back no more.
"Thirty Million Volts: Thunder Beast!" Currently, Satoru's strongest ace was Goro Goro no Mi. Such voltage exceeded human limits. Lightning forming a beast—only Sasuke's Kirin could match. As ninjutsu, it was at least S-rank.
Konoha's head was stunned again. Fire Dragon Flame's power was insufficient against Thunder Beast.
Hiruzen formed seals anew:
"Wind Release: Greatest Breakthrough!"
This amplified the nearly extinguished Fire Dragon Flame, making it fiercer. The Third Hokage was always a combined ninjutsu expert: he boosted Fire with Wind and countered the genin's Lightning.
The boy's Thunder Beast clashed with his teacher's fire-wind dragon, instantly exploding powerfully.
"Earth Release: Mud Wall!" Tobirama's protege used ninjutsu to shield himself. But not for Satoru—he knew the boy wouldn't fall easily.
Indeed, the transmigrator was mostly unscathed, thanks to Sage's Cloak and Armament Haki defense.
Inside the barrier, the fight raged; outside, the four ANBU chatted idly.
"Why all the noise inside?"
"Is Third-sama seriously fighting that kid?" one ANBU guessed.
"You're joking? That's Third-sama; the kid's just his four-year-old disciple. If he could fight Hokage like that, he'd be a monster genius!"
"True..."
The four ANBU couldn't imagine the barrier's ferocity...
After chaining several ninjutsu, Hiruzen showed no fatigue: no flushed face, no ragged breath.
"Teacher Sarutobi, you're truly strong. A normal ninja would be spent by now," Sakumo's disciple sincerely acknowledged his mentor's prowess.
The Third Hokage smirked crookedly:
"You brat, boasting after gaining an edge! Even an elite jonin might not withstand those ninjutsu.
"You're a real genius. Your Lightning Release forms a beast—even Raikage might not manage that. Guess I need to get serious," the village head's gaze sharpened.
Hearing this, Satoru smirked. No wonder he was Hokage: he endured a thirty-million-volt Thunder Bird and claimed not full power yet.
Of course, Satoru had reserves too.
"Now be careful." This time, Sarutobi hurled shuriken at the boy. Satoru dodged effortlessly.
Who'd guess the Third's shuriken had ultra-thin steel wires attached. He yanked them, and the shuriken artfully curved back at Satoru.
Simultaneously, Hiruzen formed seals and shouted:
"Shadow Clone Shuriken Technique!"
Myriad shuriken, enhanced by shadow clones, swarmed from everywhere at blinding speed. Satoru was just a four-year-old genin; how could he match the Third Hokage's battle experience?
As Satoru reacted to teleport, he realized it was too late. He armored with Armament Haki and charged aside.
*Bang!*
Satoru body-slammed the shadow clone shuriken. Who'd think his mentor awaited there.
"Combined Ninjutsu: Fire Earth Dragon Stream!" Hiruzen barely paused techniques. Right after Shadow Clone Shuriken Technique, he'd likely used a shadow clone to combine Earth and Fire Release.
With relentless attacks, Satoru had no teleport window, forced to defend.
"Thirty Million Volts: Thunder Bird!" Satoru unleashed Goro Goro no Mi again. Thunder Beast was stronger, but Thunder Bird faster.
Near-instantly, Thunder Bird met the Third's Fire Earth Dragon Stream. The powerhouses clashed. Satoru poured energy; Hiruzen spent chakra to test his disciple's limit.
Lightning flashed; burning mud chunks rained. Their battle intensified.
"Hah!" The transmigrator finally unleashed another Thunder Bird with great effort, overpowering his teacher's Fire Earth Dragon Stream.
"Hah! Not over yet!" The Third and his shadow clone Body Flickered aside, forming seals anew. "Combined Ninjutsu: Thunder Water Dragon!"
The clone used Lightning Release; Hiruzen, Water Release. Thus, combined ninjutsu struck again. Though not Kekkei Genkai-level nature change, the village head's combos far exceeded "one plus one equals two." Elemental synergy shone brilliantly.
"Sixty Million Volts: Thunder Dragon!" the boy was already at his limit. He discovered that using the energy of the Devil Fruit actually consumed his physical endurance. And the amount of endurance naturally depended on a person's growth and physical strength. Being a four-year-old child, no matter how much of an unbelievable genius Satoru was, his power was still not limitless.
The Thunder Dragon at sixty million volts directly surpassed the previous Thunder Beast and Thunder Bird in intensity. The speed and power of the Thunder Dragon seemed even greater than the combination of the Beast and the Bird.
Satoru shattered the Hokage's conceptions of the possible time and again. Hiruzen had initially only wanted to see the boy's limit, but now he felt that he himself was nearing his own.
"This guy... is he really a child? It's simply impossible to believe."
"To make Lightning Release take the form of a dragon, and at such a level... even I can't do that."
"I wonder how his Lightning Release compares to the Raikage's techniques?"
"It seems this kid is forcing me to use my full strength," the Third no longer held back. While repelling Satoru's Thunder Dragon, he simultaneously used the Shadow Clone Technique again.
Hiruzen felt the Thunder Dragon paralyzing his body, but he forced himself to move through sheer willpower.
"Great Five Elements Squall Technique!" the teacher of the Sannin roared.
"What?!" Satoru hadn't expected his mentor to use his signature technique against him.
***
Read the story months ahead of the public release — early chapters are available on my Patreon: Granulan