After a brief moment, the battlefield settled into an uneasy calm.
The scarred earth was littered with patches of cooling lava, scattered by the force of the wind. At the center stood a massive protective dome, still intact despite the devastation around it.
With a low creak, a fissure split open down the middle, and Yuyi Kurotsuki stepped out—completely unharmed.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Serial Waves!"
Without hesitation, the First Kazekage, Reto, formed a rapid series of hand seals. Dozens of rotating wind blades, each as tall as a man, shot toward Yuyi from all directions.
Yuyi didn't even bother looking. Activating Swift Release, he dodged effortlessly, leaving the wind blades slicing through empty air.
But the First Tsuchikage, Ishikawa, was already prepared.
"Earth Release: Hiding in Swamp Technique!"
With a single slam of his palms against the ground, the earth within a hundred-meter radius turned into a vast, sucking quagmire.
Yuyi's movements slowed, his speed forcibly reduced.
"Already adapting?" He smirked, halting mid-step before suddenly twisting and delivering a devastating punch behind him—
SPLASH!
The head of the First Mizukage, Byakuren, burst like a watermelon, his body collapsing into a puddle of water.
"Water Clone."
Yuyi barely had time to react before the "defeated" clone reformed, its liquid body twisting into whip-like tendrils that lashed around his limbs.
"Got you!"
Byakuren's real body emerged from the muddied waters, gripping the other end of the water whips with a cold glare.
Yuyi glanced down at the restraints—tight as sealing tags—then back up at Byakuren with a faint smirk.
"Oh? Really?"
Byakuren's eyes widened. He yanked the whips taut—
POOF!
Yuyi's body dissolved into white smoke.
"A Shadow Clone?! When—?!"
"Shadow Clone?"
On the sidelines, Mu shot a sharp look at Tobirama Senju.
"That's his technique. Since when did Konoha start leaking jutsu?"
Tobirama's face remained stoic, but inwardly, he was seething.
"That's MY invention! MY Shadow Clone!"
For the first time, the man who pioneered countless jutsu experienced the frustration of having his work stolen without credit.
(And it wouldn't be the last.)
Yuyi hadn't paid for the "official" version of the technique. He'd simply seen a Konoha shinobi use it once and—thanks to his freakish talent—replicated it after a few tries.
A damn useful clone, too. Even the Sharingan and Byakugan couldn't distinguish it from the real thing.
But the advantage was short-lived.
"The earth is my domain," Ishikawa growled, hands still pressed to the ground. "You can't hide forever."
The ground trembled. Massive earthen hands erupted from below, clawing at empty space—until Yuyi flickered into visibility, shaking his head in disappointment.
"Well, so much for the glory of the Hidden Mist's Stealth Release."
Clapping his hands together, he roared:
"Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!"
A tsunami-sized wave erupted behind him, smashing the earthen hands apart and transforming the battlefield into a flooded wasteland.
Ishikawa leaped back, but Byakuren—a true master of water—merely smirked and slammed his palms against the new ocean's surface.
"Water Release: Water Fang Bullet!"
Dozens of whirlpools formed around him, spiraling into high-speed water spears that shot toward Yuyi.
But Yuyi had planned for this.
With a single-handed seal, he countered:
"Ice Release: Ice Fang Bullet."
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
The water spears froze mid-air, transforming into jagged ice lances before reversing direction—hurtling straight toward Byakuren, Reto, Ishikawa, and even the recovered A.
BOOM!
The ice columns smashed into the water, sending towering waves crashing outward.
Byakuren barely dodged, his face darkening.
"The Yuki Clan's Ice Release… Just how many Kekkei Genkai does this bastard have?!"
The same thought echoed through the minds of every Kage present.
Five.
In this battle alone, Yuyi had displayed:
Steel Release
Swift Release
Lava Release
Stealth Release
Ice Release
Most shinobi would kill for just one of these. Entire clans had built their legacies on less.
Yet Yuyi wielded them like they were basic elemental jutsu.
"This… This is beyond comprehension," muttered the future Second Mizukage, Gengetsu Hōzuki, scratching his head in disbelief.
The five future Kage had initially questioned why all five current Kage were needed to fight one man.
Now they understood.
"Without teamwork… only Hashirama Senju could stand against him alone."
Tobirama, breaking his usual silence, nodded grimly.
"Precisely why he must die."
As a shinobi, he respected Yuyi's genius.
As a strategist, he recognized the threat.
Yuyi Kurotsuki was too young, too powerful, and too uncontrollable.
Left unchecked, he'd outlive this generation of Kage—and then no one could stop him.
"Blame the era you were born in," Tobirama muttered, glancing at his brother.
Because standing just beyond the battlefield, Hashirama Senju watched with eyes alight—not with fear, but with excitement.
And against that monster…
Even Yuyi's brilliance might pale.