"It's useless," Satoru sneered. "All of your attacks are useless!"
Its mocking voice echoed across the battlefield.
Just as the words fell, Satoru spread its massive wings. A dense rain of sharp, black quills burst forth, tearing through the air like a storm of arrows.
The shinobi of Konoha reacted instantly.
Each of them was an elite jōnin, veterans who had survived countless life-and-death battles. Some leapt aside, others raised chakra barriers, and a few deflected the quills directly with precise ninjutsu. Not a single one of them was struck.
Seeing its first attack fail, Satoru did not hesitate.
Its mouth opened wide, and several crimson energy spheres condensed before being spat out at terrifying speed.
These attacks were on a completely different level compared to the black quills.
"Earth Release—defensive formation!"
Several jōnin moved together, slamming their palms to the ground. A massive earthen wall surged upward, thick and solid, forming a barrier between the village and the incoming blasts.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
The red energy spheres exploded on impact, shattering the earthen wall almost instantly. Chunks of rock flew everywhere, and the shockwave rippled through the battlefield, forcing many shinobi to retreat several steps.
"Everyone, scatter!" someone shouted.
Satoru hovered in the air, its wings beating powerfully as it continued firing energy blasts one after another, showing no sign of chakra exhaustion.
At that moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi seized an opening.
"Now!"
He extended the Adamantine Nyoi staff, the weapon lengthening with terrifying speed as it shot toward Satoru like a golden spear.
Yet once again, just before it could land—
Satoru abruptly halted its attack, twisted its body in midair, and narrowly avoided the staff.
The blow missed by a hair's breadth.
Hiruzen's expression darkened.
They had tried everything.
Long-range ninjutsu.
Close combat.
Wide-area suppression.
Not a single attack had managed to land cleanly.
Satoru's ability to evade was beyond unreasonable—it was as though it could foresee every move before they even made it.
"Barrier Ninjutsu!" Hiruzen commanded.
At once, four jōnin stepped forward and formed hand seals in unison.
"Four Violet Flames Formation!"
A massive rectangular barrier engulfed the battlefield, purple flames roaring to life along its edges. Satoru was completely sealed inside, its space for movement drastically reduced.
Even so, the creature continued to evade attacks with uncanny precision.
Only when it truly could not dodge did it choose to endure the blow head-on.
And even then, the results were discouraging.
Its defense was absurdly strong.
Ordinary attacks barely left a mark.
Just as Hiruzen was preparing to unleash a more destructive ninjutsu, two figures rushed onto the battlefield through a temporary opening in the barrier.
Tsunade.
And Seisui.
"Kushina?" Tsunade asked quickly.
"She returned to the village with Teroi's corpse," Hiruzen replied without looking away. "She's assisting with Konoha's defenses."
Tsunade's gaze immediately locked onto Satoru.
"Old man," she said sharply, "what exactly is that thing?"
"The creature calls itself Satoru," Hiruzen answered grimly. "From what we've gathered, its goal is to destroy Konoha."
"And its ability?" Tsunade pressed.
"It dodges attacks," Hiruzen said. "No matter what we do, it evades them as if it can see the future."
Tsunade frowned.
"That doesn't make sense."
"I know," Hiruzen replied. "But it's exactly what's happening. Even attacks it can't dodge, it simply ignores."
Tsunade clenched her fists.
She had never heard of such a ridiculous ability.
Unwilling to accept it, she acted immediately.
Using the chaos of the ongoing assault as cover, Tsunade leapt high into the air, her chakra surging as she aimed a devastating punch at Satoru's back.
Just as she was about to connect—
Satoru twisted unnaturally, evading the strike as if it had eyes behind its head.
"What?!" Tsunade gasped.
For the first time, doubt crept into her mind.
Worse still, she was now suspended in midair, with no surface to leap from and no time to adjust her position.
Satoru seized the opportunity.
Its massive claws snapped shut as it lunged toward Tsunade at terrifying speed.
If those claws hit—
The current Tsunade had not yet mastered the Yin Seal.
She did not possess Creation Rebirth.
A direct hit would mean instant death.
"Tsunade!"
"Lady Tsunade!"
Cries of alarm rang out across the battlefield.
Seisui reacted without hesitation.
He formed hand seals in a blur.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!"
A roaring torrent of water surged forward, forming into a massive dragon that slammed directly into Satoru's side.
Against all expectations—
It hit.
Satoru was blasted backward, forced away from Tsunade.
Hiruzen's eyes widened.
"That attack… landed?"
Even Tsunade stared in disbelief as she safely landed on the ground.
"Seisui," Hiruzen asked sharply, "why wasn't your attack dodged?"
Seisui shook his head, appearing just as confused.
"I don't know," he said honestly. "I just thought… I had to save Lady Tsunade. So I moved without thinking."
It was a lie.
Seisui knew the truth.
Satoru's ability did not predict attacks.
It read fear.
It sensed negative emotions—panic, terror, hesitation—and moved accordingly.
In that moment, Seisui felt none of those things.
Only clarity.
That was why Satoru failed to react.
But Seisui could not explain this.
There was no way to justify how he knew.
Hiruzen did not press the matter further. Instead, he turned to Tsunade, his expression stern.
"Tsunade," he said, "you were reckless."
For once, Tsunade did not argue.
She lowered her head slightly.
She knew he was right.
The frustration from earlier—watching the Cloud shinobi escape—had been building inside her. When she learned that Satoru intended to destroy Konoha, her anger finally exploded.
After calming down, Tsunade looked at Seisui.
"…Thank you," she said quietly.
This was not a small favor.
He had saved her life.
Only three months ago, this boy had been learning Medical Ninjutsu under her guidance.
Now, he had rescued her on the battlefield.
Time truly flew.
"Lady Tsunade is my idol," Seisui said with a gentle smile. "How could I stand by and watch you die?"
Tsunade froze.
A faint blush crept onto her cheeks.
"…Idol?" she repeated awkwardly.
She felt wholly unworthy of such praise.
Seisui, watching her reaction, could only shake his head inwardly.
Tsunade was strong—exceptionally so—but impulsive to a fault.
In the future, that same impulsiveness would nearly doom Konoha.
He pushed those thoughts aside and looked back at Satoru.
The creature was staring at him now, its rage unmistakable.
"Impossible!" Satoru roared. "How could I fail to read your mind?!"
This had never happened before.
It was Satoru—the ultimate weapon of war from the era of the Sage of Six Paths.
How could fragile humans not fear it?
Seisui ignored its rage and formed hand seals.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
A clone appeared beside him.
Together, they began shaping chakra.
Wind Release chakra screamed as it condensed into a violently spinning sphere.
Hiruzen's expression changed instantly.
Even he felt a sense of danger from the technique.
"Seisui," he asked carefully, "did you create this ninjutsu yourself?"
Seisui nodded.
"It's an advanced form of the Rasengan," he said calmly. "Wind Release: Rasenshuriken."
The admission confirmed what Hiruzen already suspected.
Not only had Seisui created the Rasengan—
He had evolved it.
And in an incredibly short amount of time.
Such talent was terrifying.
Hiruzen's gaze deepened.
It truly had been the correct decision to have Tsunade guide him early.
A genius like this should enter the Hokage faction as soon as possible.
With his talent and strength—
Seisui was more than qualified to inherit the title of Hokage one day.
Advance Chapters avilable on patreon (Obito_uchiha)