Blue walls of light rose around them.
Sakumo Hatake looked toward the floating Arin in the sky.
"So this is your ninjutsu."
"It's remarkable."
He had never seen anyone create such a sealed barrier before.
"You're the first Konoha ninja this place has ever treated as an enemy."
Flaming wings spread behind Arin as he looked down at Sakumo below.
The Game Instance had not fully expanded yet—
But tonight, only one outcome would leave this place alive.
Sakumo rested a hand on the sword at his back.
"To be honest, I still don't understand."
"Why are you so determined to attack me?"
"Or perhaps…"
"It wouldn't matter who the target was?"
His sharp gaze locked onto Arin like drawn blades.
Just being stared at made one feel as though swords were pressing against their skin.
"Exactly."
Arin nodded casually.
"Whether it's fellow village ninja…"
"Or even the Hokage himself."
He raised one hand.
Countless flaming arrows appeared across the sky.
"All of them are within my hunting range."
A twisted smile spread across his face.
"I just… haven't found the right opportunity yet."
SWISH!
A razor-sharp slash brushed past Arin's cheek.
Arin's pupils shifted sideways as he looked behind him.
Sakumo had suddenly appeared at his back, body curled in midair.
"You've become stronger too, White Fang-senpai."
Blue-black flames erupted from the wound on Arin's face, rapidly healing the injury.
Sakumo said nothing.
His body transformed into a massive white crescent slash, aiming to cut Arin down completely.
Arin vanished first.
The endless flaming arrows rained down toward Sakumo.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Violent explosions merged into an enormous fireball in the sky.
Massive shockwaves spread in every direction.
"But White Fang-senpai…"
Arin looked toward another tree in the distance.
"I've become even stronger."
The Game Instance had not fully unfolded yet, so the entire area remained filled with trees from the Shadow World.
Standing atop one of those trees was Sakumo Hatake, who should have been swallowed by the explosions.
Arin had absolutely no idea how the man moved.
He only noticed him because of his Byakugan detecting Sakumo's chakra.
Sakumo gripped his short blade tightly while staring at Arin.
"You will become Konoha's darkness."
"I must kill you here."
The current Hyuga Arin was the source of chaos itself.
If he continued existing within Konoha—
He would undoubtedly bring destruction to the village.
At least, that was the side Arin had revealed to him.
"Not just Konoha, White Fang-senpai."
Arin wiped a hand across his face.
The appearance of the Fire Daimyo appeared.
He looked at Sakumo with a half-smiling expression.
Spreading his arms wide as though embracing the world, he said:
"But the entire Land of Fire."
Sakumo instantly turned around.
His short blade blocked empty air—
Yet a sharp metallic clang echoed out.
"Genjutsu!!"
Arin held a blade in both hands.
The transparent sword edge had been stopped by Sakumo at the final moment.
In that instant, Sakumo understood everything that happened at the Daimyo's residence.
His expression changed drastically.
"You replaced the Daimyo?!"
"How perceptive."
Arin smiled slightly.
"But that's not all."
Violent winds wrapped around the transparent blade.
Then flames ignited within the winds.
And finally—
A massive explosion.
BOOM!!
Amid the explosion's smoke, Sakumo's body tumbled through the air before crashing to the ground, scorch marks covering him.
The smoke gradually dispersed.
Arin frowned while looking down at his own chest.
His clothes had been torn slightly.
A shallow sword wound had appeared there.
At the final instant, Sakumo chose to attack directly.
Arin's transformation technique had been just slightly too slow.
As a result—
He had been injured instead.
"So fast…"
Arin sighed in admiration.
That swordsmanship had reached the absolute extreme of speed.
He had not even reacted properly.
"As expected of the feared White Fang of Konoha."
"Sakumo Hatake."
Half-kneeling on the ground, Sakumo asked coldly:
"The person in the Land of Wind back then…"
"That was also you?"
"That's right."
Arin admitted it openly.
"White Fang-senpai, everything that's happened to you now was caused by me."
"Though technically, I was just following someone else's orders."
"And honestly?"
"I still haven't even been paid."
He sighed helplessly.
After returning from that mission, he had been tossed straight to the anti-Mist front only days later.
He simply forgot about collecting afterward.
"Those were fellow Konoha ninja!"
Sakumo roared furiously through gritted teeth.
"They were our comrades!!"
His body transformed into another white crescent slash and charged directly toward Arin once more.
"No."
Arin raised his blade to block.
The enormous force behind the white slash pushed him backward continuously.
"They weren't."
Holding the sword with one hand, Arin raised the other.
A fireball rapidly formed in his palm while violent winds rotated within it.
"They were Root ninja!!"
Gaia Energy Cannon!!
The gigantic fireball erupted instantly, swallowing both the white slash and countless surrounding trees.
Far away, Arin suddenly appeared while clutching his severed arm.
Blood evaporated instantly beneath blue-black flames.
Suddenly, two hands burst from underground and grabbed Arin's legs.
Sakumo emerged from the earth covered in blood, glaring coldly upward.
"Even Root members are still Konoha comrades!!!"
"Earth Release: Headhunter Jutsu!"
SWISH!
Arin vanished just before being dragged underground.
Then he looked downward at his own feet.
The corners of his mouth twitched.
"I didn't react at all…"
An explosive tag attached beneath him began glowing.
BOOM!!!
Flames swallowed Arin completely.
Sakumo half-knelt in the distance.
Burn marks covered his face and his breathing had become slightly uneven.
"Did I finish him?"
He stared toward the smoke cloud caused by the explosion.
Arin's figure had vanished completely within it.
Then—
Arin walked out unharmed.
Even his previously severed arm had fully regenerated.
Leveling up restored everything.
Arin looked toward Sakumo in genuine amazement.
"Seriously…"
"I knew you were strong."
"But I didn't realize you were THIS strong."
Sakumo's reaction speed far surpassed even Minato Namikaze's.
His tactical planning was immediate.
His single-combat capability was overwhelming.
Arin seriously suspected Sakumo could also master Flying Thunder God.
Unfortunately, Sakumo was not part of the Hokage lineage and would need battlefield achievements to obtain it.
And because he relied entirely on his own swordsmanship, he probably never considered Flying Thunder God necessary to improve himself.
Yet even without Flying Thunder God—
This man still stood among the strongest of all Kage-level fighters.
The slightest mistake would immediately become an opening Sakumo could exploit.
And genjutsu simply did not work against him.
Whether distortion, confusion, or memory tampering—
Sakumo always locked onto the real target immediately and attacked without hesitation.
Among all the Kage Arin had encountered so far—
Not one possessed Sakumo's reaction speed.
Combined with his terrifying movement speed, hitting him with ninjutsu became extraordinarily difficult.
Arin slowly raised a hand toward his forehead.
Flames ignited across his palm and slowly spread downward.
A flame mask formed across his face.
Hollowfication.
"Round two."
A doubled voice echoed from Arin's mouth simultaneously.
✨ Bonus Chapter Goals ✨
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100 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter
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