Naruto: By lying low and hiding, he eventually became the leader of the Legendary Sannin.

A surge of chakra that startled Kagura appeared during the battle.

He quickly looked up and vaguely saw an orange-red figure with several tails waving as it roared.

"This is..."

Kagura's eyes narrowed, and she already had a guess in her mind.

Knowing the plot, he naturally recognized that this was the Nine-Tails' tailed beast cloak form.

Seeing that Kinkaku had transformed into this fighting state, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was already at a disadvantage, was probably in danger!

Chapter 21 Lord Golden Horn, something's definitely not right with you.

At this moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt that he was about to die.

He had witnessed Kinkaku's strength before, back when he accompanied Lord Tobirama to Kumogakure.

The Gold and Silver Brothers launched a coup right in front of them and killed the Second Raikage.

However, he did not expect that at that time, Golden Horn had not yet shown his strongest side.

Later, when Tobirama Senju went to fight Kinkaku and Ginkaku alone to cover for them, he did not witness the battle.

Throughout the year, although he had thought about revenge, he knew in his heart that the two brothers were not someone he could face.

Only after actually fighting him today did he realize that he had underestimated Golden Horn's strength.

If we leave aside the special case of bloodline limits, the strength of a ninja is actually mainly evaluated from three aspects: chakra, taijutsu, and ninjutsu.

If we compare Hiruzen Sarutobi and Kinkaku, apart from ninjutsu, Hiruzen Sarutobi is far weaker than Kinkaku in the other two aspects.

However, Kinkaku possesses a ninja tool left behind by the Sage of Six Paths—the Banana Fan.

This is a weapon that ignores the nature of one's own chakra and can unleash the five nature transformations of fire, water, lightning, wind, and earth all at once.

Although using it requires a lot of chakra, for someone like Kinkaku whose chakra is comparable to that of a tailed beast, this is not a limitation at all.

Because of this weapon, Hiruzen Sarutobi's only advantage in ninjutsu was also neutralized.

Moreover, because of an ambush set up by his own students at the beginning of the battle, Jinjiao suffered considerable damage at the start of the war.

Once this disadvantage is exploited by a highly experienced ninja like Kinkaku, it becomes very difficult to turn the tide.

Even so, thanks to his diverse range of ninjutsu, the two were still able to maintain a fragile balance.

However, this balance was instantly broken shortly after the battle began when Kinkaku directly chose to transform into the Nine-Tails' tailed beast cloak form.

Looking at the red monster with six tails swaying in front of him, resembling a "mini Nine-Tails," Hiruzen Sarutobi sensed an unusually sinister chakra.

The Golden Horn before them seemed to have lost his mind, muttering to himself incessantly:

"die...

You all should die!

With the final roar of the word "death," he suddenly transformed into a streak of red light and charged towards Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Although he was prepared, the opponent's speed increased far beyond his expectations.

"boom!"

A sound of flesh colliding rang out, and Hiruzen Sarutobi was sent flying as a black shadow.

As the dust settled, Hiruzen Sarutobi managed to stand up from the wreckage.

But the red light flashed again, and Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had just stood up, was knocked away once more.

With each impact, Hiruzen Sarutobi was repeatedly knocked away like a ball.

However, as a Kage-level powerhouse, he was not entirely without the ability to defend himself.

After gradually adapting to his opponent's speed, he blocked several subsequent attacks with the Ruyi Jingu Bang, which was transformed from the Monkey King and the Monkey Demon.

Although he was still being knocked back repeatedly, the damage he actually received was not significant.

"boom!"

With a final impact, Hiruzen Sarutobi finally regained his footing after crashing through a massive tree.

Although his hands were firmly gripping the Vajra Cudgel, his trembling arms revealed his exhaustion.

With a "whoosh," the tailed beast-transformed Golden Horn appeared on the tree in front of him.

Above the face, which had turned into a black shadow, were two white eyes without pupils.

He looked down at the tiny human on the ground with his emotionless eyes, and slowly opened his mouth.

Its six tails stood upright and circled around the front.

A massive amount of chakra slowly gathered, and a black orb of light gradually appeared in front of the mouth.

Upon seeing the black orb of light, a flicker of fear flashed in Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes.

This is a Tailed Beast Ball!

Without further hesitation, he quickly formed a hand seal, and a water dragon crackling with lightning suddenly appeared in front of him.

This is a ninjutsu that combines water-style ninjutsu and lightning-style ninjutsu to create an electrified water dragon bullet to attack the enemy.

Thunderwater Dragon Bullet.

As if by prior agreement, after a brief silence, both launched their long-prepared attacks at the same time.

Two attacks, one black and one blue, met in mid-air and then became locked in a stalemate.

However, this stalemate lasted less than a few seconds. As the black Tailed Beast Ball grew larger and larger, the blue side slowly retreated.

As the Tailed Beast Ball grew to its maximum size, it instantly swallowed the lightning and water dragon bullet and rushed towards Hiruzen Sarutobi's direction.

A flash of black light, starting from the golden horn, and a straight line a hundred meters long ran through the entire forest.

At the end of the straight line, Hiruzen Sarutobi was lying on the ground, clearly unconscious.

Seeing the fallen enemy, Kinkaku finally dispelled his Tailed Beast Cloak state.

He jumped down from the tree, stumbled, and swayed before finally regaining his balance.

At this moment, he no longer possessed the arrogance he displayed upon his entrance, and was now slightly out of breath, gazing at Hiruzen Sarutobi in the distance.

Clearly, he didn't win this battle as easily as he had imagined.

He muttered something resentfully:

"Damn it, if it weren't for Tobirama and Aina..."

He then took several deep breaths, finally calming himself down.

He slowly walked forward, preparing to personally eliminate the Third Hokage.

Just then, a slightly childish voice rang out beside him:

"really...

"Lord Golden Horn, you don't seem to be in as good a condition as I expected."

Upon hearing this, Jinjiao stopped and turned around to look.

What came into view was the Uchiha brat who had resisted his pursuit twice before.

Uchiha Kagura.

After seeing Kinkaku transform into his tailed beast form from afar, he hesitated for a moment before deciding to come over.

To ensure his safety, he had previously stayed several kilometers away from the battlefield.

So even though he used all his strength, by the time he arrived at the scene, Hiruzen Sarutobi had already fallen.

However, when he saw Jinjiao's swaying figure as he landed and heard his self-talk, he knew he had made the right bet.

Something's wrong with Jinjiao!

Looking at the boy in front of him, Jin Jiao narrowed his eyes but did not answer his question.

Kagura ignored him and continued speaking:

"I imagine you suffered quite a bit of damage in the battle last year before Lord Tobirama's death."

Moreover, with the Third Raikage, known as the strongest spear, chasing after you, your body probably hasn't been able to return to its best condition.

Upon hearing the Third Raikage's words, Kinkaku's eyes narrowed.

Logically speaking, the fact that he had hunted down his brother, the Third Raikage, should have been kept secret. He didn't understand why this genin from Konoha knew about it.

He finally answered frankly:

"Ha, what do you know?"

As for my strength, even your Third Hokage fell before me; you are not worthy to know.

Upon hearing this, Kagura burst into laughter, saying:

"No denial, right?"

Then, Lord Golden Horn, why is it that of the five items originating from the Sage of Six Paths, I only saw the Banana Leaf Fan?

Also, where is your younger brother, Lord Silver Horn?

Could it be...?

Having said that, he gave the legendary ninja before him a malicious look and continued:

"Could it be that Lord Ai has already taken your younger brother's head back to offer as a sacrifice to the Second Raikage?"

Upon hearing this, Golden Horn, who was already violent, could no longer suppress his anger.

A flash of lightning, and he was already in front of Kagura.

His right hand transformed into a katana, slashing viciously into Kagura's chest.

However, the imagined feeling of flesh and blood did not come from his hands, and the boy with the hateful smile in front of him slowly faded away and disappeared.

Is this... an illusion?

Before he could make any further move, hundreds of Kagura figures suddenly appeared around him.

Kagura's slightly manic voice came from all directions: