"Kagami!"
Hiruzen
shouted
toward his teammate, rapidly forming hand seals. Uchiha Kagami
immediately understood
—Hiruzen wanted them to launch
a combined Fire Release attack
to stall the two giant beasts. Meanwhile, Danzo and Homura would
rush in to rescue Kazekaze and Koharu.
After all,
Kazekaze was Lord Hashirama's grandson.
At
only seven years old
, his body was still developing. If he got hit by
either the rhino or the centipede
, the outcome would be—
Death or permanent injury.
"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Bullet!"
Hiruzen
gathered chakra into his throat
and spewed out
a stream of flames
, aiming to
scorch the centipede
and drive it away. But...
The centipede's exoskeleton easily withstood the heat,
completely unscathed.
Kagami didn't fare any better. As an
Uchiha
, he unleashed a
Great Fireball Jutsu
— Gathering
chakra into his throat
, he
expelled a two-meter-wide fireball
straight at the rhinoceros.
FWOOM!
The
flames collided with the rhino's face—
Only for its
horn to slice through the fireball, dispersing it instantly.
Not only did it
fail to cause any harm, It completely enraged the beast!
"ROOOOAAAARR!!"
The
one-horned rhino went berserk,
its bloodshot eyes radiating pure rage.
Faced with the
uncontrollable fury of the massive beast,
Koharu stood
frozen in terror.
The sheer
pressure of its presence
had
paralyzed her body.
Kazekaze, on the other hand,
remained eerily calm.
His eyes
narrowed slightly
as he watched the rhino charge toward him.
"Don't move,"
he warned Koharu.
Her emotions
turned complicated.
'Does he think I don't want to move? I physically CAN'T! The sheer pressure from these two rampaging beasts has completely locked my body in place!'
'I was hoping for the right moment... But it looks like I have no choice but to get serious now.'
Kazekaze never expected
to land right between two rampaging behemoths.
Hiruzen and the others were
too slow to assist.
And from Kazekaze's perspective, their strength seemed...
Only around Chūnin level.
Especially
Uchiha Kagami's Great Fireball Jutsu.
Compared to
Uchiha Itachi at the same age,
it was
utterly pathetic.
At that moment, Kazekaze
lost all hope in them.
The
rhinoceros charged closer— Six meters. Five meters.
With
each step
, the pressure
intensified.
"ROOOAAARR!!"
The rhino's deafening roar
shook the air itself,
Causing Kazekaze's
clothes to ripple from the force.
At the same time, Tobirama
focused all his chakra into his sensory abilities,
rapidly teleporting toward the scene using
Flying Thunder God.
Regret filled him. He
shouldn't have let Kazekaze participate this early.
Hiruzen and Kagami had
Jōnin-level combat skills
, and the others were
elite Chūnin.
Yet, even
they needed teamwork
to take down creatures like this. That was
the entire purpose of this training—to build teamwork.
But...
Each beast had its own territory.
They
shouldn't have crossed paths.
Yet,
somehow, both beasts ended up in the same area.
And
Kazekaze had landed right between them.
"Kazekaze...!"
Tobirama
gritted his teeth
, A painful memory of
his late brother Kawarama's smile flashing through his mind
— A smile that had
vanished forever
when he became
a lifeless corpse.
Even though Kazekaze was
Hashirama's grandson
,
He was still one of Tobirama's most cherished family members.
But when Tobirama
finally arrived on the scene and laid eyes on Kazekaze— He froze.
Because
Kazekaze wasn't crying in fear.
He
wasn't frozen in terror.
He
hadn't lost control of his bowels.
Instead...Tobirama saw
something completely different. Confidence. Unshakable, overwhelming confidence.
The kind of
calm certainty
that
should never belong to a seven-year-old.
And yet— That's
exactly what he saw.
For the
first time
, Tobirama
halted his movement.
His pupils
dilated
as an
unexpected thought crept into his mind.
'Could it be... Kazekaze actually has a plan?'
The two massive creatures were now
less than three meters away from Kazekaze.
But
Tobirama was confident
that he could
teleport in at the last second and snatch Kazekaze away.
That's why
he hesitated.
Because
he believed in his own speed.
"We're screwed..."
Koharu's eyes
widened in horror.
She wanted to
shove Kazekaze out of the way.
But
her body refused to move.
Meanwhile, Hiruzen and Danzo
felt a deep sense of regret.
When Lord Tobirama first
proposed this training exercise,
They should have
strongly objected.
They
should have insisted that Kazekaze stay out of it.
"Lord Tobirama!"
Suddenly, Hiruzen
shouted his master's name.
In his mind, the
only way to save Kazekaze now
was
for Tobirama to use Flying Thunder God.
Or... Hiruzen
clenched his teeth.
'Maybe I can't carry Kazekaze out in time... But if I throw myself over him, I might be able to shield him from some of the damage.'
Danzo
thought the exact same thing.
But his
forehead was drenched in cold sweat,
And
his body refused to act.
In this
split second of chaos, Everyone's minds were racing.
'So this is what people mean by 'a hair's breadth from death.'
But
Kazekaze?
His response was
the most casual of all.
A
grin spread across his face.
'I originally wanted to blend in and act normal. But at this point... I have no choice but to reveal my true power.'
'Sorry, everyone. I'm actually a cheater.'
Koharu
noticed the grin on Kazekaze's face
and
shuddered.
'He's smiling?!'
Faced with
two monstrous beasts charging at him—
He could still
smile?!
Was he
so scared that he lost his mind?!
The
rhino and centipede
were now
just two meters away!
A
split second from impact.
"No choice!"
Hidden in the shadows, Tobirama
prepared to use Flying Thunder God.
But at that moment—
Kazekaze's eyes sharpened. Chakra surged through his entire body. THIS
was the
ultimate trump card
that allowed him to
brave the Forest of Death.
Hashirama-level Chakra!
But it wasn't just
raw power.
He had also
inherited the muscle memory
of
how to wield it instinctively.
As
natural as breathing.
Kazekaze
stood firm
, Then
unleashed his chakra outward in an explosive wave.
BOOM!
A
violent surge of chakra burst forth, forming a powerful shockwave.
The two
massive creatures
— The
six-meter-tall rhino.
The
ten-meter-long centipede.
Both were
blown away instantly.