“Meteors?!” The Third Hokage nearly choked on his smoke.
Since ancient times, he’d never heard of a shinobi capable of controlling meteors.
If someone truly possessed such an ability, they would qualify as a genuine strategic-level weapon.
“That’s right.
I can’t control anything too large with my current power, but small meteors are still within my capabilities.
If one isn’t enough, I’ll send several.
Worst case, I’ll drop one on Kumogakure every day.
Even if I can’t kill them, I can at least annoy them to death!” Sakura’s thinking was actually quite simple.
She didn’t want another Shinobi World War to happen, and as the village that might become the source of such a war, Kumogakure would simply have to make a sacrifice.
“If you don’t believe me, Lord Third, you can fight me and see for yourself!” Afraid that the Third Hokage wouldn’t believe her, Sakura took the initiative to challenge him.
She also wanted to test exactly how much power she could currently wield.
“You’re sure?” The Third Hokage looked at her in surprise.
“Fighting can easily result in injuries.
Besides, at your age, you probably haven’t even been exposed to chakra yet, have you?” “I don’t use chakra!” Sakura shook her head.
She didn’t even have a proper understanding of what chakra was.
“And don’t worry about me getting hurt.
I’m very strong!” “All right, then.
This old man will spar with you.” Perhaps because he had become considerably younger, the Third Hokage also felt a sudden urge to fight.
He immediately stood up and led Sakura toward the training ground.
Once they arrived, the Third Hokage removed his Hokage’s haori, revealing his battle attire and the bearing of the former God of Shinobi.
“Sakura, you make the first move.
Let this old man see what the future of Konoha is capable of!” The Third Hokage was filled with anticipation.
Sakura and the others would undoubtedly become the pillars of Konoha’s next generation.
He simply wondered how far they would ultimately grow.
“All right…” Sakura answered and stepped onto her Demon Sword.
Under the watchful eyes of the Third Hokage and a group of ANBU shinobi, she leisurely rose into the air.
She continued ascending until she was several dozen meters above the ground before finally stopping.
“Lord Third, let’s begin…” The Third Hokage looked up at the sky without saying a word.
Among the Five Great Shinobi Villages, only Ōnoki, the Third Tsuchikage, was known to possess the ability to fly.
At Sakura’s current altitude, none of the Third Hokage’s ninjutsu could reach her.
As for Enma, his summon, he could transform into the Adamantine Staff and extend himself to cover the distance.
But trying to fight someone flying dozens of meters overhead while holding a gigantic staff from the ground would obviously leave him at a huge disadvantage in mobility.
“All right, I’m not going to bully you with that.
Lord Third, watch out…” Sakura gave an awkward laugh.
Her strategy really was a little too unfair.
Seeing the Third Hokage’s speechless expression, she quickly lowered her altitude.
A red gleam flashed through her eyes.
“Reality…” Dozens of kunai that looked as though they had been carved from red crystal materialized around Sakura.
Under her control, they shot toward the Third Hokage.
“Hmm?
Good attack!
Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!” The Third Hokage’s eyes sharpened, his fighting spirit soaring.
He rapidly formed hand seals, and a thick earthen wall rose from the ground, blocking his path.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
The kunai slammed violently into the Earth-Style Wall.
Despite their small size, the kunai riddled the wall with holes.
But by the time the dust cleared, the Third Hokage was already gone.
[Image] “Behind me.
Space…” Sakura instantly sensed the Third Hokage suddenly appearing behind her.
Without hesitation, she activated the power of the Space Stone.
A brilliant blue radiance enveloped Sakura.
The Third Hokage’s hand, reaching for her shoulder, passed strangely through her body.
“Not physical… Is it a genjutsu?
No.
My chakra flow is completely normal!” The Third Hokage’s pupils contracted.
He planted both feet firmly against the ground and forcibly changed the direction of his momentum before making several leaps to retreat from Sakura.
“Fire Release: Fire Bullet!” The Third Hokage couldn’t quite determine what ability Sakura had used just now, so he decided to test her first.
Crimson flames erupted forward.
The Third Hokage had once been respectfully called the Professor of Ninjutsu, having mastered all five basic nature transformations.
Even a simple Fire Bullet Technique became considerably more powerful in his hands.
“Power…” Sakura murmured softly.
The flames rushing toward her instantly transformed into pure energy, which she gathered into the palm of her hand.
She then thrust her palm forward.
Purple energy mixed with blue chakra and shot toward the Third Hokage like a bolt of lightning.
“Not good!
Shadow Clone Technique!
Water Release: Water Formation Wall!
Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!” The Third Hokage’s pupils contracted.
He sensed danger from the lightning-like shockwave and immediately responded.
He created a Shadow Clone.
His main body performed Water Formation Wall, while the Shadow Clone formed the hand seals for Earth-Style Wall.
A wall of earth and a curtain of water rose simultaneously, blocking the Third Hokage.
The purple lightning tore through them like nothing.
Both the Earth-Style Wall and Water Formation Wall were destroyed in an instant, and the attack continued forward, piercing straight through the Third Hokage’s body.
“Come on, Lord Third.
You don’t have to hide anymore.
I can see you…” Sakura completely ignored the fact that her attack had apparently pierced through the Third Hokage.
Instead, she looked helplessly toward the corner of the training ground.
“Hahaha!
That attack was quite powerful!” The Third Hokage emerged from the corner, his pipe clenched between his teeth and a smile on his face.
“I only caught you off guard.
If you’d been prepared, I wouldn’t have been able to defeat your Earth Clone!” Sakura helplessly sat down cross-legged.
Direct combat wasn’t her specialty.
More importantly, her body couldn’t withstand prolonged use of the Infinity Stones’ power.
Otherwise, there really wouldn’t be many people in this world capable of fighting her.
The power to destroy the world was no joke.
“It’s already quite impressive.
I never imagined that someone could possess this level of strength at only four years old.” A sharp glint flashed through the Third Hokage’s eyes.
“With all of you representing Konoha’s future, I can rest easy.
Even if I eventually go to the Pure Land, I’ll be able to face my teachers with pride.” “Looks like you’ve made up your mind, Lord Third.” Sakura could hear the resolve in the Third Hokage’s voice.
“These old bones of mine can still hold out for several more years.
That’s more than enough time to support you children until you’ve grown up.” The Third Hokage took a puff from his pipe, killing intent radiating from his body.
“Until then, I absolutely will not allow anyone to destroy Konoha’s peace.
Konoha may no longer be at its peak, but we still have enough strength to fight Kumogakure!” [Image] “This is the Third Hokage I remember—the former God of Shinobi.” Sakura couldn’t help sighing in admiration.
Although the Third Hokage often appeared to compromise in the original story, he could still be extremely firm when necessary.
The problem was that he was too easily swayed by those around him and repeatedly allowed Danzo to influence his decisions.