The sun had now crossed the meridian and was shifting towards the western horizon.
Under the setting sun, the once-prosperous village was burning everywhere, columns of smoke rising with the continuous rumbling and explosions.
A short, elderly man stood on the ruined main street, staring at the youth rising from the wreckage of a building.
"Hiruzen, why are you here?"
A frail voice came from behind.
Hiruzen did not reply, nor did he turn to look at his old friend. The youth ahead was no ordinary opponent; the slightest opening would be exploited.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!!!!
Four figures in white cloaks landed around Hiruzen.
They were the Third Hokage's personal Anbu guards: Elephant, Clear, Spring, and Vermilion.
"Danzo-sama, this is no longer the time to worry about face or the plan," The guard captain, Elephant, said, his eyes fixed on the youth ahead. "Given the current situation, clinging to those things could result in the village turning to ruins in this disaster."
Hearing this, Danzo, clutching his severed arm, looked around.
Fires raged, smoke filled the air. As far as the eye could see, there was rubble. Only a building wrapped in sand several hundred meters away still stood.
"The situation has become this bad!"
Danzo lowered his head, falling into silence.
This time, they truly tried to steal a chicken only to lose the rice. Even if the plan ultimately succeeded, the gains wouldn't outweigh the losses.
"Talking about protecting Konoha..."
A scornful voice came from the youth's mouth. As he spoke, he walked towards them. "Didn't you cause this situation yourselves?"
Finishing his words, the youth stopped precisely about ten meters away from the group.
Hiruzen's brow furrowed deeply.
Indeed, Konoha's current predicament was entirely self-inflicted.
But he had never intended to start a war.
He merely wanted to imitate how Sunagakure had pressured Konoha before, using their position of strength to reclaim what was lost.
Unfortunately, they had gravely underestimated Ryuji's preparations. Konoha's current 'position of strength' wasn't strong enough to pressure him.
"Arguing about causes is meaningless now. The only thing this old man must do is eliminate the source of this turmoil!" Hiruzen stated solemnly.
In truth, he wanted to say: Maybe we should just call it quits; let's end this here.
Because continuing the fight served no purpose.
Even if he ultimately won, the compensation extracted from Sunagakure couldn't make up for the losses incurred by continuing the battle.
The best course now was to cut their losses.
By reconciling with the Sunagakure's delegation, then winning the war against Iwagakure, they could seize benefits from Iwagakure and Kusagakure to compensate for current losses.
However,
With nearly half of Konoha reduced to ruins, reconciliation was impossible now. The situation no longer allowed for a rational choice.
If he, the Third Hokage, reconciled with the enemy at such a time, it might even cause a mutiny.
Therefore, no matter the further losses, he had no choice but to continue the fight and secure victory for the village.
"You're absolutely right!" Ryuji voiced strong agreement. "Things have gone too far to stop now. Debating right and wrong is useless. Now, only the victor is king."
"Then, this old man is coming at you!"
Hiruzen swiftly formed hand seals. "Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet! Fire Release: Fire Dragon Bullet!"
The ground rumbled, turning into a muddy mire. An earthen dragon raised its head from the mire, spewing bowl-sized mud bullets like a machine gun.
Then, his hand seals changed. His chest rapidly swelled as he spat a torrent of blazing flames ahead.
The flames intertwined with the mud bullets mid-air, instantly flaring up and covering an area of dozens of meters ahead, like a roaring fire dragon lunging at Ryuji.
—Earth Dragon Flame Projectile!
It was an A-Rank Combination Ninjutsu of earth and fire nature, simultaneously possessing physical attack from solid projectiles and elemental burning from fire, preventing Ryuji from neutralizing it with a Chakra-Absorbing Technique.
Moreover, this Ninjutsu had a wide area, was difficult to dodge, and was extremely powerful. Combining high temperature and the impact force of the mud bullets, it could instantly smash and incinerate a person.
Merely an opening probe, yet such a powerful Ninjutsu. The title 'Professor' was well-deserved.
But in terms of Ninjutsu, the current Ryuji was second to none.
Perhaps his timing and application weren't as seasoned as this veteran Shinobi's, but purely in terms of elemental combination and raw power, he was undoubtedly stronger.
Why?
Because he possessed the Sage Body, possessing Chakra surpassing that of the Third Hokage.
"Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet!"
"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Bullet!"
The same seals, the same Combination Ninjutsu. Though used a beat later, empowered by far more formidable Chakra, the roaring fire dragon was more massive and imposing.
The moment it was born, it roared at the sky, devouring the enemy's fire dragon in one gulp, then surged forward with overwhelming force to bite at the Third Hokage, his four Anbu guards beside and behind him, and Danzo and the others.
"Scatter!"
The Third Hokage shouted a warning, leaping away first.
The four Anbu were slightly slower but managed to evacuate Danzo from the area in time.
The dozens-of-meters-long fire dragon roared as it crashed down, instantly turning the entire street into an inferno.
Watching this astonishing display, the men still in mid-air were all shocked.
This youth's Ninjutsu possessed such terrifying power.
Just as they were stunned, a beam of light pierced through a ruined building from behind, shooting through the Third Hokage.
Iron Fortress, engaged in battle with Konoha's Shinobi on another street, received Ryuji's information and fired a long-range Railgun.
The four Anbu and Danzo instantly widened their eyes, mouths agape, about to cry out in alarm. But the body pierced by a bowl-sized hole dissolved into mud and fell.
"Earth Clone!"
Their cries of concern turned into exclamations of surprise.
They had been together the whole time, yet never noticed when the Third Hokage had used an Earth Clone.
Moreover, where was the real body?
"Over here!"
On a pile of debris, the Third Hokage stood tall, a giant shuriken slung over his shoulder.
As everyone looked over, the giant shuriken, over a meter in diameter, was already hurled at Ryuji.
Simultaneously, his hands swiftly formed seals.
[Ninja Art: Shadow Shuriken Technique!]
The giant shuriken split into two, then four, then eight... multiplying exponentially. In the blink of an eye, the sky was filled with the shadows of giant shuriken.
Shuriken of this size weighed several dozen pounds each, hurled at such high speed... Even if not struck by the sharp edges, the kinetic energy alone rivaled that of large-caliber artillery shells.
Factoring in the shuriken's sharpness, the lethality increased severalfold.
Such numbers falling simultaneously were like dozens of modern advanced artillery pieces firing at the same small area for a saturation bombardment.
Furthermore, the Shadow Shuriken Technique was the Third Hokage's original creation, so there was no worry about Ryuji using the same Ninjutsu with stronger Chakra to counter it.
"Just one exchange, and he's already found a way to counter 'a taste of their own medicine'. Worthy of the title Professor. And..." Facing this onslaught, Ryuji remained exceptionally calm. While extending his right hand to gather chakra, he calmly assessed, 'The Third Hokage in his prime is indeed much stronger than his elderly self.'
In the future Fourth Shinobi World War, the Third Hokage, revived by Impure World Reincarnation, also used this move against the Six Paths Obito.
Though the purpose was to probe Obito's attacks to analyze the nature of his Ninjutsu, splitting into three shuriken versus this sky-filling shuriken rain was a world of difference, utterly incomparable.
'The Third Hokage now might not have infinite regeneration, but his Chakra Reserve and physical capabilities far surpass those of that old man in Impure World Reincarnation state. As expected, only Aka stands a chance of winning.'
Ryuji thought to himself as the Ninjutsu in his hand completed.
It was a Rasengan.
The size of an adult's open palm, dark purple in color, covered in violet patterns.
[Magnet Release: Rasengan!]
Ryuji hurled this Rasengan infused with Shukaku's Chakra.
With a burst of dazzling light, a terrifying magnetic pulse erupted. The incoming giant shuriken, passing by this Chakra Sphere covered in violet patterns, were violently pulled in by immense magnetic force. Then, with a series of 'poof' sounds, they vanished into white smoke, leaving only the original shuriken adsorbed on.
"Rasengan can have this kind of variation too?"
The four Anbu were inwardly shocked. The Third Hokage and Danzo, being far more experienced, recognized at a glance that this Rasengan contained Tailed Beast Chakra. They couldn't help but show expressions of astonishment.
Minato gained inspiration from the Bijudama to develop the Rasengan.
But further forms remained elusive until the mission to Roran half a year ago, where he saw the Rasenshuriken and Blazing Rasengan variations, allowing him to develop one of them.
They thought subsequent Rasengan forms could at most incorporate the other three basic Chakra Natures for different effects.
They never imagined Rasengan could also be combined with Tailed Beast Chakra.
But upon reflection, it seemed unsurprising.
The principles of Rasengan and Bijudama were the same. So, Tailed Beasts incorporating their own Chakra Nature into their attacks was quite normal.
It's just that neither the developer, Minato, nor he, the 'Professor', had thought of it.
"I never imagined he'd be this troublesome." Hiruzen gazed at the red-haired youth, his expression growing graver.
By now, he somewhat understood why Danzo had lost to this youth.
Using ordinary Ninjutsu would be absorbed by him; using Ninjutsu with physical attacks would be countered by him using the same Ninjutsu with stronger Chakra; using unique secret techniques, he also possessed super-powerful Ninjutsu to violently break through.
As for using Genjutsu...
Although the exact principle was unknown, the bloody lesson of Setsuna using Sharingan's Genjutsu on him and suffering backlash was still fresh in his memory.
Until the principle was deciphered, recklessly using Genjutsu on him would only yield the same result.
To defeat this youth, it seemed victory could only come through Taijutsu.
However,
This youth's Taijutsu skill had also reached the pinnacle. Those unskilled in Taijutsu charging into close combat with him would be akin to seeking death.
'While I am confident in having an edge in Taijutsu against him, but relying solely on Taijutsu for victory is somewhat difficult. Add to that his youthful vigor, stamina far exceeding mine, this battle is probably... No, there is still a way.' A sharp gleam flashed in Hiruzen's cloudy eyes, his expression filled with confidence.
He bit his thumb, forming hand seals. "Summoning Technique!"
Poof!
Amid thick smoke, a powerfully built old ape wearing a tiger-skin skirt and a Konoha's forehead protector was summoned.