Naruto: Starting as the Third Hokage with Tears in His Eyes

"The tea has just been brewed, but unfortunately, you probably won't have a chance to drink it."

The moment his words fell, a terrifying aura, as vast as a mountain and as powerful as the sea, seemingly capable of crushing the entire world, erupted from his seemingly calm body!

Under the cover of night, the cleanup operation at the manor is nearing its end.

With a single hand seal, Tobirama Senju conjured streams of water into runic chains, completely sealing off the writhing, fragmented flesh still attempting to reassemble on the ground. He gazed at these twisted creations, his red eyes filled with pure analysis and inquiry, devoid of any superfluous emotion.

After dealing with these small fry, he turned his attention to the depths of the manor, where the two evil chakras that had been hidden but felt like thorns in his side finally began to move.

However, at that moment, an aura far more vast and primal than that evil chakra slowly rose up.

It wasn't the warm and expansive life force of the First Hokage, like the sun, nor the cold and sharp killing intent of the Second Hokage, like the deep sea.

It's like the world itself.

The wind stopped at that moment, and the air became viscous, as if it had solidified into amber.

In everyone's senses, all surrounding sounds blurred and faded away, leaving only a sense of awe for a higher being, stemming from a life instinct.

Tobirama Senju paused, turned around abruptly, and looked towards the source of that aura.

There, Hiruzen Sarutobi stood quietly, his entire demeanor transformed. He was no longer the strategist and mastermind of the Hokage, but rather a deity breathing in harmony with nature, as deep and unfathomable as the sea.

"This aura..." Tobirama murmured to himself, a hint of surprise in his voice that he himself was unaware of.

Hiruzen Sarutobi ignored everyone's gaze and calmly extended his right hand.

Behind him, a hairy ape appeared out of thin air; it was the spirit beast, the Ape Demon.

It made no sound, but simply nodded at Hiruzen. Then, its whole body burst forth with dazzling golden light, and with a series of sounds of bones changing, it transformed into a long staff that was entirely black and inlaid with ancient golden hoops at both ends.

The long staff whistled as it flew into Hiruzen Sarutobi's hand.

With a flick of his wrist, the heavy Vajra Ruyi Cudgel spun lightly twice in his palm, emitting a hum that seemed to tear through the air.

"blow--"

A seemingly ordinary flower stick, yet it possesses the supreme power to suppress mountains and rivers.

This pure and powerful aura, perfectly blended with natural energy, caused Sasori of the Red Sand, who had just appeared in the distance, and the Third Kazekage Retsumon beside him to feel a tremor in their very souls.

"Sage Mode?"

Within Retsumon's body, Black Zetsu's consciousness emitted a fluctuation; it had never sensed this power in Hiruzen Sarutobi before.

An ominous premonition first surfaced in its long life.

But it did not hesitate at all; the plan had already been launched, and there was no reason to turn back.

"Let's do it!"

Black Zetsu's will issued commands through Retsumon's body.

The Third Kazekage clasped his hands together, and the ground beneath him instantly turned to sand, with countless black iron sands gushing out like a spring.

"Magnetic Release: Iron Sand Rain!"

In an instant, a black ocean seemed to appear upside down in the sky, and thousands of iron sand needles emitted sharp shrieks, transforming into an overwhelming rain of death that enveloped Hiruzen Sarutobi from all directions.

Each needle carries a deadly magnetic force and potent poison, enough to wipe out an army in an instant.

At the same time, Sasori of the Red Sand also moved.

Several arms extended from behind the puppet Hiruko, from which he was hiding, instantly releasing seven or eight human puppets of various shapes from the scroll.

These puppets, their eyes flashing with an ominous red light, wielded poisoned blades and hidden weapons, and, accompanied by a hail of iron sand, flanked the ground from an eerie angle.

This was a deadly trap, like a net cast from heaven and earth.

However, faced with this devastating attack, Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't even lift an eyelid.

He neither dodged nor avoided, but simply tapped the Vajra Ruyi Cudgel in his hand lightly against the roof beneath his feet.

"Thump."

A soft sound, disproportionately soft.

The next second, an invisible ripple of power spread outwards from him in all directions.

That was a shockwave, an explosion of chakra, and more like the unfolding of a domain.

Within this realm, time seems to slow down.

All the overwhelming iron sand needles and all the ferocious puppets that roared and pounced upon them suddenly stopped three meters away from Hiruzen Sarutobi.

They hovered in mid-air, maintaining their attack posture, motionless, creating an eerie and still scene.

Immediately afterwards, an even more terrifying force descended.

It was a pure, unreasonable crushing.

"Click...click..."

A faint cracking sound rang out, then quickly merged into one.

Whether it's hard iron sand or specially treated human puppets, they all begin to disintegrate and shatter from the inside under this invisible force.

In the end, it turned into dust that filled the sky and vanished without a trace when blown away by the night wind.

"hehe."

Hiruzen Sarutobi chuckled lightly, took a step, and his figure disappeared from the spot.

His speed surpassed the limits of vision, even beyond the limits of perception.

When Sasori's consciousness caught his movement, a chilling sensation came from his forehead.

He suddenly looked up.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had appeared before him without him noticing, and with a single finger, he was quietly and calmly pointing at Hiruko, the puppet shell he was so proud of.

The scorpion's pupils instantly shrank to the size of pinheads.

He didn't even have time to react; all his fighting instincts and puppet manipulation skills seemed so pale and powerless at this moment.

He could only watch helplessly as that finger lightly touched the indestructible shell of the Scarlet Amber, a shell strong enough to withstand the full force of a Kage-level expert.

"Click—"

The sound was crisp and clear.

Centered on the finger, spiderweb-like cracks quickly spread out.

The once absolute defense crumbled like the most fragile paper under the touch of that seemingly ordinary finger, disintegrating with a deafening roar.

Sasori saw Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes.

There was no murderous intent, no anger, and not even the slightest emotional fluctuation in those eyes.

Yes, there is only an extreme tranquility.

It's a kind of calmness, like looking at an ant on the roadside or a speck of dust.

This calmness instilled a deeper, more profound fear and trembling than any murderous gaze.

Because that means that in the eyes of the other party, you don't even qualify to be an enemy.

However, the finger that could have decided his life or death stopped less than a centimeter from his forehead.

Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't look at him again, as if he were just a speck of dust that could be easily brushed away.

He turned his head slightly, his gaze passing over the dazed scorpion and landing on the man in the Wind Shadow Cloak who was not far away, preparing to launch a sneak attack from behind.

A mocking smile curled at the corners of his lips.

"Haven't you gotten tired of playing hide-and-seek for over a thousand years?"

His voice wasn't loud, but it was like a thunderclap, clearly reaching the ears of everyone present.

"Black Zetsu, the third son of Kaguya Otsutsuki, who is parasitic in the body of the Third Kazekage."

"You must have turned Sunagakure into a complete mess by now, right?"

"Black Zetsu".

The moment those two words were uttered, they seemed to possess a kind of magical power that made words come true.

Retsumon's body trembled violently, and his golden eyes, which originally belonged to the Third Kazekage and were filled with scrutiny and coldness, began to fluctuate violently at this moment.

An instinctive and uncontrollable sense of horror and panic erupted from the dark shadow within him, like a flood bursting its banks.

"How...how did you know!?"

"Hiruzen Sarutobi, who exactly are you?!"

A sharp, hoarse, and completely distorted voice squeezed out of Liemen's mouth.

This is not the voice of Liemen.

That's Black Zetsu's voice.

This is the first time, in the thousands of years since it was born into this world and began plotting its conspiracy, that it has truly lost control of its emotions.