Under the joint bombardment of the five nature transformations, the entire earth had become completely ravaged. If Hiruzen Sarutobi had not ordered the other ninjas to evacuate in advance, it was impossible to tell how many people would have died by now.
"To be able to fuse five different natures of chakra and perform such a complex combined ninjutsu, you truly live up to your reputation as the legendary Professor of Shinobi."
Simu once again clapped his hands in praise of Hiruzen Sarutobi's exquisite ninjutsu. After all, the man possessed no Kekkei Genkai; relying solely on his own talent to fuse five attributes of chakra was truly astonishing. Even Simu had never reached such an achievement in the field of ninjutsu.
"Unfortunately, ninjutsu is merely ninjutsu. No matter how well those five styles are fused, they can never be as strong as my Wood Style."
Standing opposite Simu, Danzo maintained this viewpoint. In his eyes, only Wood Style was the true power capable of leading the Leaf forward indefinitely.
"You certainly are full of self-confidence, Mr. Danzo."
Simu and Danzo had stopped their battle at some point, silently watching the battlefield between the Third Hokage and the Nine-Tails. Suddenly, Simu's brow twitched. "The Third Hokage's ninjutsu is indeed exquisite, but the Nine-Tails, known as the strongest Tailed Beast, doesn't seem that easy to deal with."
As his voice fell, everyone's gaze refocused on the center of the battlefield. Specifically, the center of the giant crater blasted out by Hiruzen Sarutobi's Five Style: Great Combo Jutsu.
Beneath the heavy dust, an arm flowing with dark red chakra suddenly thrust out. In the next second, the arm began to expand. It then pressed heavily against the ground, erupting with terrifying strength!
Crack!
The ground, which had been compressed into an arc by the explosion, shattered once more.
"Roar!"
A terrifying screech echoed from the giant pit. As the sound wave expanded, the entire ground turned to powder in an instant. The sound wave produced by the Nine-Tails' roar mixed with Tailed Beast chakra to form a fearsome airwave, instantly leveling the surrounding houses. Even the ninjas on standby at the edge of the battlefield were swept up in it.
This tragic battlefield doubled in size in a single moment! The intense airflow made it impossible for anyone to open their eyes.
In the center, the Nine-Tails reappeared after crushing the surrounding ground, its surging chakra shooting straight into the sky. Its body expanded tenfold, and countless dark red masses of flesh grew frantically between its grim skeletal frame. The tails behind it grew to seven.
Clearly, Hiruzen Sarutobi's super combined ninjutsu had failed to kill the Nine-Tails in one go. Instead, it had made the beast even stronger due to its rage! Of course, this was also an inevitable result of the seal gradually unraveling.
Staring at the towering pillar of chakra radiating from the Nine-Tails, Hiruzen Sarutobi said resolutely, "Let's go, Enma."
He bit his lip and leaped into the air.
I must re-seal the Nine-Tails before the seal left by Minato is completely undone, even if it costs me my life!
At this moment, the aged Hokage erupted with terrifying courage.
"Roar!"
Seeing the Third Hokage dare to take the initiative, the Nine-Tails let out an angry howl. Bursting forth with the roar was a terrifying flame comparable to lava! The ground along the path of the flames melted rapidly under the extreme temperature.
Without any hesitation, Hiruzen Sarutobi used the Water Style: Giant Waterfall Jutsu. The surging currents collided violently with the flames spat by the Nine-Tails, causing a massive explosion of steam.
In the moment the water mist obscured the Nine-Tails' vision, Hiruzen Sarutobi's figure appeared in mid-air. He pulled a shuriken from his tool pouch and performed hand signs the moment he threw it.
"Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
The single shuriken flying from Hiruzen's hand transformed into tens of thousands in an instant, blanketing the Nine-Tails like a violent rain of iron. Facing such an attack, the Nine-Tails simply looked up. Seeing they were only shuriken, it ignored them and let them fall onto its body.
The hardness of the bones on its body surface far exceeded steel; these shuriken were completely harmless. Even if some landed on parts not covered by bone, they were instantly evaporated and melted by the flowing Tailed Beast chakra before vanishing into smoke. Such ninjutsu could not cause any damage to the Nine-Tails.
A flicker of human-like disdain passed through the Nine-Tails' violent eyes. It opened its mouth again, and crimson chakra began to condense within its fanged maw once more. It intended to take advantage of Hiruzen Sarutobi being mid-air to finish him off with a powerful long-range strike.
Just then, the shuriken that had fallen around the Nine-Tails suddenly exploded into clouds of white smoke. Three identical versions of Hiruzen Sarutobi appeared, surrounding the Nine-Tails in an equilateral triangle.
Indeed, Hiruzen Sarutobi had not simply used the Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu. He had interspersed it with the Shadow Clone Jutsu and Transformation Jutsu, disguising his clones as shuriken to appear unexpectedly beside the Nine-Tails and complete a surprise attack.
Snarling, the Nine-Tails swung its sky-blotting tails downward, intending to crush these three sudden pests into pieces. However, before the tails could land, the three Hiruzens completed their hand signs at maximum speed.
A green light surged from the three of them, forming lines that connected them to one another. Then, another line extended diagonally upward, converging above the Nine-Tails' head. A massive amount of chakra filled the space between each green light ray, forming a green triangular pyramid barrier that firmly enclosed the Nine-Tails.
"Three-Way Seal!"
Since ninjutsu couldn't subdue the Nine-Tails, he had to use Sealing Jutsu to restrict its movements!
The Nine-Tails swung its tails, slamming them heavily against the green walls composed of chakra and sealing formulas. Although there was a violent tremor, the green pyramid did not suffer any serious breakage.
Dissatisfied with this result, the Nine-Tails prepared to blast the seal open with the energy ball in its mouth. Unexpectedly, Hiruzen Sarutobi's figure dropped from above at that exact moment. Ripples spread across the wall of the Three-Way Seal as Hiruzen passed through it easily. Above the Nine-Tails' head, he threw the Adamantine Staff with all his might.
"I'm leaving it to you, Enma!"
"Leave it to me!"
Enma's confident and determined voice came from the staff.
"Adamantine: Gracious Deity Gate!"
The high-speed spinning Adamantine Staff suddenly erupted in smoke, instantly transforming into a massive vermilion deity gate that fell from the sky, slamming heavily onto the Nine-Tails.
Boom!
The massive gate smashed the Nine-Tails flat against the ground. The powerful impact caused the earth to crack once more, and the energy ball that had been condensing for so long dissipated into the air. Immediately, the three clones outside continued to form signs as they walked toward the center, using Sealing Jutsu to compress the space the Nine-Tails could move in while strongly suppressing its Tailed Beast chakra.
Hiruzen Sarutobi appeared in front of the Nine-Tails.
"Roar!"
The beast let out a terrifying roar, the fiercest killing intent erupting from between its sharp teeth! But the restraint of the deity gate combined with the pressure of the Three-Way Seal meant the Nine-Tails could not break free for the time being.
Although it isn't the Sage Art of the First Hokage, it can still produce unexpected results against an incomplete state.
This technique was invented by his teacher, who had mimicked Hashirama Senju's Sage Art: Gate of the Great God. The purpose was to continue restraining Tailed Beasts, especially the Nine-Tails, after the First Hokage passed away. Now, it seemed the effect was indeed good.
However, he still needed to hurry!
Hiruzen Sarutobi stared at the increasingly furious Nine-Tails. The Tailed Beast chakra filling the air left stings across his aged skin. The chakra on the Nine-Tails was boiling, constantly battering the suppression of the deity gate and the Three-Way Seal.
Under the Nine-Tails' murderous gaze, Hiruzen Sarutobi walked toward it step by step. As he drew closer, the concentration of Tailed Beast chakra in the air gradually increased. Moreover, the Nine-Tails was currently accelerating its chakra output to break the seal. Thus, the chakra inside the seal had reached a terrifying level.
Anger, resentment, hatred...
An endless darkness, like a surging tide, constantly battered Hiruzen Sarutobi's soul.
Why?
Why should Tailed Beasts be sealed away?
Why should Tailed Beasts be discriminated against?
Why can't Tailed Beasts have freedom?
Why!!!
The resentment and anger accumulated by the Nine-Tails over many years constantly eroded Hiruzen's heart. In addition to the mental assault, his physical body was undergoing terrible torture. The crimson chakra lashed his body; the heat was so intense it scorched and corroded his shinobi outfit. Then his skin began to turn bright red. After the skin festered, there was the flesh...
In this state of extreme agony, Hiruzen Sarutobi struggled against the terrifying pressure and gaze of the Nine-Tails, coming directly before it. His body was bleeding, his chest heaved like a bellows, and his palms were trembling.
But his eyes were incredibly firm! Although he was old and worn, he was the Third Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village!
"Sleep for me!"
"Nine-Tails!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi pressed his palm heavily against the Nine-Tails' abdomen. The boiling chakra on the surface caused blood to spray from his arm instantly, but he did not retreat. He let the chakra destroy his arm and the airflow scatter his hair; he did not back down.
"Five Elements Seal, activate!"
A sealing array composed of five types of chakra erupted from his palm. With the help of the remaining Eight Trigrams Seal and the external Three-Way Seal, he staked his title as Hokage and gave his all to force the Nine-Tails' chakra back into Naruto's body, bit by bit!
"Hiruzen Sarutobi, you just wait! One day, I will destroy the entire Leaf!"
The Nine-Tails let out an unwilling howl. But under the full-power sealing of the Hokage, the massive amount of chakra wrapped around Naruto was forced back inside.
As the Nine-Tails returned to the shape of Naruto, the deity gate suppressing him reverted to Enma, and the Three-Way Seal vanished. On the vast battlefield, only Hiruzen Sarutobi and Naruto remained. Naruto was covered in burns from the chakra, looking charred black. Hiruzen Sarutobi was in no better shape; the arm used to seal the beast was nearly ruined.
After the Hyuga ninjas at the edge of the battlefield confirmed this with their Byakugan, every ninja erupted in joyful shouts.
"We did it! The Hokage succeeded!"
"Long live the Hokage!"
"This is the power of our Leaf!"
In the distance, Simu, who was still confronting Danzo, slowly pushed up his glasses and praised, "As expected of the Hokage, even the Nine-Tails is no match for him."
Admittedly, this battle had changed some of Simu's views on Hiruzen Sarutobi. He had originally thought the man was just an old politician, but he truly possessed courage at critical moments.
"Presumably, after this battle, Hiruzen Sarutobi's prestige as Hokage will grow even stronger," Simu pointedly reminded him.
Hearing the cheers around them, Danzo frowned and then cold-snorted, looking at Simu. "Brat from the Jashin Religion, now that the Nine-Tails matter is resolved, you are next."
Simu gave a mysterious smile. "Don't be in such a hurry, Lord Danzo. Now is not a good time to kill me. Perhaps I can bring you an unexpected surprise. After all, the Hokage's current condition isn't looking too good."
Hearing this, Danzo's eyes narrowed instantly. A dangerous light flickered within them. As the Darkness of the Shinobi, a schemer like Danzo could not fail to understand the implication behind Simu's words.
Now was the time to make a choice.
Should he strike immediately and arrest this mastermind from the Jashin Religion who had stirred up the Leaf? Or should he allow him to leave and go assassinate his old friend—and the Third Hokage—Hiruzen Sarutobi?
As Simu said, after this battle, Hiruzen's already unshakable prestige would reach a new height. Danzo's dream of becoming Hokage would be further away than ever. Furthermore, would a powerful Hiruzen use the murder of Anbu ninjas as a reason to officially move against Root? To limit Root's growth, or even... absorb it?
But what if he chose the latter path? Given Hiruzen's current state, if something were to happen to him, would Danzo finally be able to reach that position?
In that instant, the dream that had always haunted his mind resurfaced. He, who had fused Wood Style and the Sharingan, was the best candidate to lead the Leaf to glory!
After waiting two seconds, Simu smiled faintly. "Then, Lord Danzo, I wish you success."
With that, he vanished into thin air right before the eyes of the Leaf Elder.