"Earth Style: Heart Decapitation Technique!"
The ground beneath the Third Hokage suddenly churned. Before the old man had time to even process the danger, a pair of young, pale hands burst up from the soil and seized his ankles. In the blink of an eye, Sarutobi Hiruzen was yanked down into the earth until only his head remained exposed.
The onlookers gasped, stunned at the sudden turn.
And then—
"Raikiri!"
There were no hand seals. No warning. Only a blinding flash of lightning.
The soundless technique was born in Kakashi's right hand, condensed into a needle-fine cone of pure lightning chakra. It shone like polished crystal, sharper than steel and smoother than glass. The violent energy hummed with destructive force.
This was no ordinary technique.
Over the past six months, Kakashi had used every spare moment between missions to refine his skills. He had studied the principles of the Rasengan, a jutsu that needed no seals, and fused those concepts with the ferocious piercing power of the Chidori. By compressing and refining his chakra to its very limit, he had transcended the limitations of his old technique.
The result was the perfected evolution of Chidori—an ultimate, seal-less, instant-kill jutsu.
Raikiri. The Lightning Cutter.
Unlike the Chidori, which always betrayed its user with the screeching cry of a thousand birds, Raikiri was utterly silent. No wasted sound. No wasted motion. Only death in an instant.
Its difficulty far surpassed A-rank techniques. This was an S-rank jutsu, a blade of lightning only a genius could master.
Kakashi's right hand blazed as he thrust it toward the trapped Third Hokage's exposed head.
But Sarutobi Hiruzen was not the "Professor of Ninjutsu" for nothing.
"Earth Style: Earth Dragon Concealment!"
At the last possible moment, Hiruzen's head suddenly sank into the ground like a turtle pulling into its shell. The Raikiri cut only empty air.
Kakashi's single visible eye narrowed in disdain. "Hmph. Trying to burrow and hide from me? What a cheap trick. Do you think this is some Madara-style performance?"
Without hesitation, Kakashi slammed his own body into the soil. His form melted into the ground using the Mayfly Technique, a forbidden jutsu that allowed him to phase seamlessly through earth as though it were water.
The audience could only gape.
Moments later, muffled booms echoed from underground. The earth bulged and shook violently, as if a violent brawl was taking place beneath everyone's feet.
Then—
A disheveled figure burst out of the ground, his robes tattered, his face swollen like a pig's head. His eyes were blackened, lips split, and bruises covered him from temple to jaw.
It was none other than the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen.
The crowd was speechless.
The Professor… beaten into a pulp underground?!
Hiruzen's face twisted as he felt dozens of gazes boring into him.
Kakashi… that brat. He's supposed to be a lightning specialist! Since when did he master Earth Style better than me, the so-called grandmaster?
He seethed. And that technique… what was that forbidden ninjutsu? Moving through the ground as if it were air itself! Unheard of! Even I was completely suppressed underground!
Humiliation burned his pride raw.
Hiruzen's anger erupted. He didn't care anymore about fairness, age, or reputation. Hands flashing through seals, he slammed a palm onto the earth.
"Summoning Jutsu: Monkey King, Enma!"
Smoke exploded. From within it emerged a towering, burly figure—an ape with piercing golden eyes and muscle-packed arms.
The Monkey King, Enma.
"Sarutobi!" Enma exclaimed in shock as he took in Hiruzen's battered, swollen face. "You—why do you look like this?! What happened to your face?!"
"Ahem." Hiruzen coughed, embarrassed. "Not the time for chatter. Quickly, Enma—transform into the Vajra Ruyi Staff!"
Enma's expression darkened, but he obeyed. His massive body twisted and condensed, transforming into a gleaming golden cudgel of indestructible might.
Kakashi burst from the soil with his sword drawn. When his gaze fell on Enma's towering frame, his lips curled in a cold smile.
"Doesn't matter what beast you summon." He slashed without hesitation. "Hatake Sword Technique: Sealing Thunder Slash!"
The blade cut through the air with lethal precision, crackling with lightning.
Clang!
Sparks scattered as steel met flesh.
To Kakashi's surprise, the cut left only a faint white line on Enma's neck before vanishing. Not even a drop of blood was spilled.
What? Kakashi's eye narrowed. His body… it's indestructible.
In that instant, Enma shifted fully, transforming into the legendary weapon of the Sarutobi clan—the Ruyi Jingu Bang.
The sight made Kakashi click his tongue. "Oh, I see. So even the Ruyi Jingu Bang has shown up. What's next? You going to tell me this stick weighs exactly thirteen thousand five hundred jin?"
Hiruzen, holding the staff, blinked in confusion. "What was that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing," Kakashi said smoothly, waving it off. "Just a little complaint about cheap imitations. Let's continue, Elder Hiruzen."
Hiruzen's rage reignited. Being mocked by this silver-haired brat after the humiliation underground was too much. He swung the golden staff with furious strength, smashing it down like a falling mountain.
Kakashi's blade met it head-on.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
The air trembled with each clash. Sparks erupted as thunder met iron.
Again and again, the staff struck like a storm, and again and again, Kakashi's blade parried with lightning precision.
In the blink of an eye, they exchanged more than a dozen blows, neither yielding.
Hiruzen's face twisted with frustration. His family's treasured staff techniques—moves passed down for generations—were being casually blocked by a boy barely half his age.
His pride roared within him.
"Monster!" he spat. "I can tell at a glance you're no ordinary man. Today, I'll expose your true colors!"
Kakashi smirked. "Great and Mighty Heavenly Dragon!" he suddenly shouted with mock righteousness.
The old man froze, stunned at the bizarre outburst.
His blood surged. This brat is mocking me! A mouthful of blood nearly rose to his throat.
"Damn you!" Hiruzen bellowed, his fury overflowing. He spun the golden cudgel wildly, countless shadows weaving into a net of strikes that blotted out the sky.
"King Kong Sweep!"
With a roar, he planted his feet and spun, swinging the staff in a full circle. The colossal weapon became a hurricane, sweeping outward with a diameter of fifty meters.
Kakashi's Sharingan spun, reading every trajectory. At the last second, he leapt lightly, planting a single foot atop the spinning staff. Like a swallow treading on water, he vaulted into the air.
But Hiruzen was ready. With a twist of his arms, he hurled the Ruyi Jingu Bang upward.
The staff expanded, its diameter thickening to nearly fifty meters, and it shot skyward like a rising pillar.
"Vajra Ruyi Drop!"
The staff descended like a falling mountain, aiming to crush Kakashi midair.
BOOM!
The ground quaked as the staff struck, carving a crater more than a hundred meters deep. The shockwave blasted trees flat, sending debris and dust into the air like a storm.
When the dust finally settled, the forest had been erased, replaced by a barren, open field.
Hiruzen panted, sweat dripping from his brow. "Huff… huff… Did I get him?"
He peered into the smoking crater.
Empty.
"Over here."
Hiruzen's eyes widened at the voice behind him.
"Sage Art: Great Fire Annihilation!"
Kakashi's hands blurred as he unleashed a wall of flame that stretched for hundreds of meters, roaring like a tsunami of fire. The air warped with heat. Trees vaporized into ash before the flames even touched them.
The Third Hokage's pupils shrank. "Such heat… this is no ordinary Fire Style!"
He slammed his hands together.
"Water Style: Water Formation Wall! Earth Style: Earth Wall!"
Water surged. Earth rose. The two elements fused into a hybrid defensive technique—Cement Flow Wall.
Hissssss!
The blazing inferno struck. Steam exploded as water evaporated instantly. The wall cracked, scorched black. Within seconds, the cement wall crumbled, unable to withstand the godlike flames.
Smoke blanketed the battlefield once more.
When it cleared, rubble lay everywhere. Hiruzen's defense was shattered.
And Kakashi stood tall, lightning crackling faintly along his blade, eyes cold as the storm.
The duel was far from over.
---patreon (Obito_uchiha)