Fuuuuuu—
A heavy breath escaped Hiruzen Sarutobi's blood-stained lips as his hands flew into a blur of hand seals, leaving behind faint afterimages in the dusty air.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
POOF! POOF! POOF!
In a split second, three identical copies of the Third Hokage materialized beside him. Without missing a beat, all four ninja began weaving entirely different sets of hand signs at breakneck speed.
"Multiple Element Release: Quadruple Grand Combo!"
Fire, wind, lightning, and earth erupted simultaneously. A roaring vortex of flames rushed forward, amplified to terrifying proportions by a massive gale, while jagged arcs of lightning coiled around a massive mud dragon. The combined chakra pressure tore up the surrounding training ground, reducing rocks to fine dust.
Yet, despite the grand display, Hiruzen looked utterly haggard.
Blood trickled down from a gash on his forehead, staining his wrinkled cheek, and his breath hitched with every ragged inhale. His body was aching from top to bottom, but his mind was racing even faster.
Adaptation...
The idea had crossed his mind moments ago, but Hiruzen still found it almost impossible to believe.
How could an absurd power like that even exist in this world? A power that practically guaranteed invincibility as long as the user wasn't eliminated in a single, absolute strike? It broke every fundamental law of chakra and combat he had mastered over his long life.
Refusing to accept such an unbelievable reality, Hiruzen decided to test his theory. Maybe this white monster just happens to have an insanely high fire resistance, he reasoned. There's no way it can adapt to every single element thrown at it all at once!
Driven by that stubborn refusal to yield, he had unleashed his signature multi-element assault.
Now, it all came down to this.
The terrifying compound ninjutsu roared across the field, colliding squarely with the massive, ivory-skinned monster standing in the center of the crater. The blinding blast of light and elemental energy swallowed the creature whole, shaking the very bedrock of Konoha.
Then, just like before, the giant white beast casually raised one of its massive, muscle-bound arms.
SWIPE.
With a single, effortless wave of its hand, the hurricane of elemental destruction simply vanished. No explosion, no lingering smoke, no dramatic struggle. The high-tier jutsu just dispersed into thin air, as if it had been nothing more than a harmless autumn breeze.
Above the monster's head, the eight-handled wheel creaked, giving off a heavy, sinister CLICK.
Seeing this, Hiruzen's mouth twitched violently. A cold sweat drenched his back.
Well... it seems I fucked up.
Before he could even attempt to fall back, the monster vanished.
In the very next fraction of a second, the creature essentially teleported directly in front of him. The sheer air pressure displaced by its sudden movement knocked the breath straight out of Hiruzen's chest.
Driven purely by decades of hard-earned battle instincts, Hiruzen subconsciously raised his arms to form a defense. But as his eyes focused, his heart sank into a dark, bottomless pit.
Approaching his face wasn't a standard fist. It was the heavy, double-edged blade attached to the creature's arm, gleaming with lethal intent as it sliced through the air.
Am I really going to die here?! Hiruzen thought frantically, his life flashing before his eyes. Fighting a five-year-old's summoned creature... in a freaking sparring match?! Won't the entire ninja world laugh at me for generations?! 'Here lies the Hoakge, slaughtered by a toddler's pet!'
Just as the cold steel brushed against his skin, a voice rang out across the torn-up field. To Hiruzen's ears, it sounded like a literal angel descending from heaven to spare his soul.
"Stop!" Rei called out.
Hiruzen let out a long, ragged sigh of relief, his knees nearly buckling beneath him. Sure, getting pushed to the brink of death by a summon was deeply embarrassing, but at this point, there was nothing he could do about his ruined pride. At least he was alive.
However, the "angelic" voice didn't stop there.
Rei tilted his head, pouting slightly as he scolded his summon, "Mahoraga, what are you doing? I already told you not to use lethal force! It's just a sparring match! Use only your fists!"
Silence fell over the training field.
Every single spectator watching from the sidelines felt their mouth twitch in sheerdisbelief.
Dude... can't you see that Hokage-sama is already in a completely miserable state?! He was just too damn embarrassed to admit defeat! Can't you just call the match off here?!
But as everyone turned their eyes toward the boy, another collective realization hit them like a sack of bricks.
Fuck... he's literally five years old.
The kid might genuinely not understand the current situation! He probably still thinks Hokage-sama is an invincible god holding back his true power and can keep going!
Hearing Rei's updated instruction, Mahoraga immediately halted its deadly swing.
Then, right before Hiruzen's wide, disbelieving eyes, the massive white monster raised its other hand, grabbed the thick blade attached to its right arm, and applied pressure.
CRACK!
With a sickening crunch, Mahoraga snapped the deadly, unbreakable blade right off its own arm. Without a second thought, it tossed the shattered metal onto the dirt like a piece of useless trash.
Hiruzen stared up at the creature's face, his heart dropping once more.
Was... was that damn thing smiling at him?
"Ok, Rei, sto—"
Hiruzen opened his mouth to scream at the boy, waving his hands frantically to surrender, but his voice was brutally cut short by a sudden, incredibly fast punch from Mahoraga.
BOOM!
The heavy bare fist slammed straight into the Third Hokage's face, sending him skidding across the dirt. Before he could even recover his footing, the giant monster closed the gap like a spectral nightmare.
BOOM!
A ruthless kick to the ribs.
Punch. Kick. Punch. Kick.
The beatdown was relentless, brutal, and thoroughly unrefined. The ground quaked with every blunt impact, kicking up dust clouds while Hiruzen was ragdolled across the field like a human punching bag.
"Rei, stop it! Stop!" Tsunade screamed, grabbing five-year-old Rei by the shoulders and shaking him crazily. "If this continues, he's actually going to die!"
Although most of the spectators desperately wanted to voice the exact same plea, they looked at Hiruzen's miserable state and wisely kept their mouths shut.
If this monster could beat the Hokage into a pulp using only its bare hands, what would it do to them? They were just little Chunin and Jonin!
Several prominent clans had sent scouts to monitor today's spar, but all of them were minor members who lacked the status to intervene. So, until Tsunade spoke up, not a single person dared to take a breath, let alone step onto the field.
"Oh, really?" Rei blinked his big, round eyes, looking at Tsunade with total innocence. "I thought Mr. Hokage still had some powerful secret ninjutsu left to show me..."
Hearing Rei's words, Tsunade's forehead swelled with popping veins, her mouth twitching frantically. You little bastard, stop pretending to be innocent and end this quick!
"Ok, ok," Rei relented, raising his hands in defeat. "Mahoraga, come back."
With Rei's command, Mahoraga froze instantly, its raised fist stopping mere inches from Hiruzen's thoroughly swollen nose. Without a single sound, the divine general melted directly into the boy's shadow, leaving behind zero trace of its presence.
The dust slowly settled.
In the middle of the ruined crater lay Hiruzen Sarutobi, flat on his back, his face now a vibrant collage of black, blue, and purple bruises. He let out a weak, agonizing groan, staring up at the sky with hollow eyes.
"What the hell are you guys standing around for?!" Tsunade turned around, yelling at the squad of Anbu who were watching the scene like absolute idiots. "Go take him to the hospital!"
Hearing Tsunade's barked instruction, the Anbu mask-wearers had their faces twitch under their porcelain covers.
WTF? Aren't YOU the greatest medical ninja in the entire world?! And didn't this kid awaken a heaven-defying bloodline that can heal people instantly?! Why do we have to carry him all the way to the ER?!
Although they complained wildly in their heads, the Anbu still obediently swooped down, picked up their battered, barely conscious Hokage, and sprinted toward Konoha Hospital at top speed.
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