"Mangekyō Sharingan… the enemy this time is actually..."
Enma, the Monkey King, spoke with a rare tremor in his voice.
"Not an enemy," Hiruzen corrected him calmly, "an opponent. We're not fighting to the death."
His tone was steady, but his eyes were sharp as he watched the man standing across from him, Uchiha Gen.
"Where are your other two summoning beasts?" Hiruzen asked.
In truth, part of him wanted this fight to end in Gen's death. Killing him now could solve countless problems once and for all. But Gen had mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique, which made him almost impossible to kill. Even if Hiruzen somehow succeeded, Konoha would face retaliation from both the Uchiha Clan and Orochimaru's faction. The village wasn't prepared for such chaos.
So he chose restraint.
If they were "opponents," it didn't have to end in blood.
Gen's lips curved slightly. "They're not needed."
The casual answer made Hiruzen's brow twitch. "Underestimating me, are you?" he said, feigning irritation.
"Enma!"
With a burst of white smoke, Enma transformed into the Adamantine Staff, spinning through the air before landing squarely in Hiruzen's hand. Without hesitation, Hiruzen lunged forward, thrusting it toward Gen's chest.
Gen didn't dodge or parry. He gripped his sword, Shizukamaru in both hands and met the attack head-on.
Clang!
Sparks exploded as metal struck metal. Both men dug their heels into the earth, refusing to give an inch.
Hiruzen's raw physical power was still monstrous despite his age, he once sent the Nine-Tails flying and cracked the Divine Tree's branches with Enma's aid.
But Gen's body had been honed through relentless training and Sage-level chakra refinement. His strength was no less.
A crackling hum filled the air—lightning surged along Enma's length, only to be met halfway by wind chakra, locking the currents in place.
Then, all at once, five natures flared from Gen's blade, Fire, Wind, Earth, Water, and Lightning, each one intertwining violently.
Hiruzen responded instantly, his own chakra shifting through the five elements. The point of impact became a whirling storm of light and sound as the opposing elements collided.
In mastery, Hiruzen held the edge in Earth and Water, especially the latter. But Gen's Fire, Wind, and Lightning natures were far superior and his chakra reserves dwarfed Hiruzen's entirely.
Gradually, Gen pushed him back.
"Enma!"
At Hiruzen's call, the staff grew an arm that reached for Gen. But a black chakra arm erupted from Gen's back, seizing Enma's limb and flinging him skyward.
If not for Hiruzen's reflexes, he'd have been hurled along with it.
"Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!"
Hiruzen leapt back, hurling a shuriken that multiplied midair—two, four, eight—until a hundred glittering blades filled the sky.
The black arm unfolded before Gen, shielding him as Shizukamaru elongated in his grip, wreathed in lightning, fire, and slicing wind. He swung upward
Clang!
striking the falling staff, then spun, deflecting the rain of steel.
"Tch… hurts, Sarutobi!" Enma's pained growl echoed from the weapon.
"That's Shizukamaru," Hiruzen replied, landing beside him. "And it's carrying three elemental layers. Enduring that much is already impressive."
He hardened Enma with Earth Release armor, reinforcing his defense beyond the adamantine form itself.
"Susanoo… troublesome as ever." Enma's tone carried both awe and weariness.
"Let's go, Enma!"
"Got it!"
Hiruzen spun the staff and swung down. The adamantine pole extended like a mountain pillar, slamming into the earth
Boom!
The ground quaked, dust surging upward.
Gen flickered aside, his chakra cloak flaring, black armor etched with silver patterns, flickering like a phantom. He darted left and right, movements too fast to trace, each step trailing arcs of lightning and wind.
From every direction, sword flashes, thunder lances, and slicing wind nets struck at Hiruzen like a storm.
"Adamantine Staff: Eight-Directional Gale!"
Knowing pure defense would only end in defeat, Hiruzen changed tactics. Spinning Enma above his head, he unleashed a wind vortex, not blowing outward, but drawing inward, a secret technique that mimicked a weaker version of Universal Pull.
The gale seized Gen, dragging him in.
Gen could've easily escaped with Flying Thunder God, but he didn't. Instead, the black giant form of Susanoo materialized behind him, its massive fists overlapping and hammering down on Hiruzen like thunderbolts.
"Such a ridiculous counterattack…" Hiruzen muttered, leaping aside as the ground exploded beneath him.
Through the rising smoke, Gen's sword streaked forward like a lightning bolt...
Clang! Clang! Clang!
each clash ringing through the valley. Hiruzen blocked the blade with Enma, but the weapon curved back like a serpent, attacking again and again.
Seizing the brief opening, Gen burst from the haze, closed in, and unleashed a brutal combination, two fists, one kick, bang, bang, bang! Hiruzen's body flew backward, crashing to the earth.
Catching Shizukamaru as it spun back, Gen smiled faintly. "See, Hokage-sama? I told you I didn't need Shuryu and the others."
Hiruzen wiped the blood from his mouth, his face cold. Without replying, he formed seals...
Shadow Clone Technique!
Fire Release: Great Flame Technique!
Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!
Two elements erupted together, merging into a roaring torrent that scorched the mountainside black.
"Comparing Fire Release?" Gen's voice echoed through the flames. "Your clan's fire will always burn second to mine."
Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!
White flames burst from Gen's mouth, so hot that the very air twisted. The twin infernos clashed midair, forming a blazing battlefield where both refused to yield.
After several breaths, the flames died. The ground between them was nothing but scorched, smoking ruin.
Though it looked like a draw, both men knew—Gen's fire had won.
Hiruzen didn't falter. He clapped his hands, two more clones appeared.
Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!
Lightning Release: Thunderclap!
Combined Jutsu: Lightning Water Dragon Bullet!
A vast water dragon surged forward, its scales crackling with lightning.
Another clone unleashed Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet, followed by Fire Release: Fire Dragon Bullet—together forming a barrage of molten, flaming stone.
The combined assault was spectacular, enough to flatten most Kage-level foes.
Gen, however, only smiled. "Interesting… but that's all."
He raised both hands. Two swirling spheres of chakra appeared, Rasengan, their edges sharpening with wind until they became shrieking blades of pure energy.
Twin Rasenshuriken!
With a flick of his wrists, both whirled forward, carving perfect arcs through the air—
BOOM! BOOM!
The explosions ripped the battlefield apart. Even from afar, Homura and Koharu had to shield their faces, eyes squeezed shut as shockwaves rolled across the mountains.
When the smoke cleared, the Water Dragon and Fire Bullets were gone, reduced to nothing. In their place were two vast craters, the ground cracked like shattered glass.
Hiruzen's expression tightened. "What… what kind of ninjutsu is that?"
"Wind Release: Rasenshuriken," Gen replied calmly. "An evolution of the Fourth Hokage's Rasengan. I simply… perfected it."
Hiruzen grit his teeth. He suddenly vanished, appearing behind Gen in a silent blur, only for the younger man to murmur, "Too obvious."
Gen's hands touched the ground. Earth Release: Earth Rising Excavation!
The earth split open, a pillar shooting upward like a miniature volcano. A clone burst from the ground, only to be pierced through the heart by Shizukamaru. It popped in a puff of smoke.
In the next instant, three Hiruzen clones surrounded him, hand seals flashing.
Three-Way Seal!
A transparent green pyramid barrier rose, locking Gen at its center.
"Huh," Gen said, amused. "A sealing jutsu. Not bad."
He pressed one hand to the ground. Uchiha Flame Formation!
Blue chakra flared from his palm, morphing into blood-red flames that erupted skyward, forming a burning barrier.
The two fields collided, their chakra grinding against each other like opposing oceans.
Crack!
The green barrier shattered under the pressure, scattering as motes of light. The red flames flickered, then dispersed as Gen released the jutsu himself.
"Hokage-sama," Gen said softly, "do you have anything else? Use it now. Once I start taking this seriously… you won't have a chance."
Hiruzen's jaw tightened. "Don't get arrogant. If this were a death battle, you might not survive."
"Oh?" Gen smiled faintly. "You mean your forbidden techniques, like the Dead Demon Consuming Seal?" He chuckled. "That won't work on me. I've already prepared counters for it."
"Hmph." Hiruzen's expression hardened. "Then take this, if you can."
Shadow Clone Technique!
Four clones surrounded Gen, forming a perfect pentagon. All five, original and clones, completed their seals simultaneously.
Five Elements Great Bullet Technique!
Five torrents roared forth: fire, wind, water, lightning, and stone each one massive enough to devastate the landscape.
The combined detonation lit up the entire valley. BOOOOOOM!
The shockwave hurled debris for hundreds of meters. Smoke billowed, blotting out the sky.
"Did it work?" Hiruzen whispered, panting lightly as he stared into the murk.
Then...
Two enormous crimson eyes pierced the smoke.
The next moment, the haze exploded outward, and a towering black figure rose, its sheer presence crushing the air.
It was Susanoo, but unlike any before, fully formed, armored, and colossal. A dark titan with sleek obsidian plating, a black mirror in one hand, and a double-edged blade in the other.
Its aura was suffocating, its killing intent so dense that even distant onlookers felt their hearts seize.
Hiruzen, Homura, and Koharu stood frozen, eyes wide in disbelief.
They had hoped, however faintly, that the young Uchiha's power had limits.
But as that black giant loomed over the battlefield like a mountain, they realized the truth.
Uchiha Gen had given them hope… only to drown them in despair.