Chapter 54: Chapter 54
"Sensei, how was my performance?" Naruto asked as he made his way up after the fight. He had just helped Shikamaru down and exchanged a few words with Shino Aburame.
"You could have finished it quicker," I shrugged.
"How?!" Naruto exclaimed, his eyes wide with disbelief.
"You could have sped up the creation of the Rasengan."
Naruto's speed in forming the Rasengan and his reaction time still needed improvement. His eyes narrowed suspiciously.
"Sensei..." he began, looking at me with suspicion.
"Yes, Naruto?" I responded with a smile.
"Didn't you tell me to rest before the battle?"
"I did."
"Then what do you mean by speeding it up?"
"If you had pushed yourself even more during the fight, you might have finished it sooner," I explained. "A battle is the best way to test your limits and discover what needs improvement."
Naruto pondered this for a moment, then nodded, acknowledging the truth in my words.
"Alright, Sensei. I get it. I'll work on that."
"That's what I wanted to hear," I replied, watching the resolve on his face. "Every fight is an opportunity to grow. You did well, but there's always room for improvement."
Naruto nodded and glanced at the arena, where the heir of the Nara clan was already preparing to forfeit. In his mind, it was simpler to showcase his strengths and then surrender.
"However," I added, "you did a great job."
The satisfied smile on the blonde's face showed that my words had reached him.
—= Some Time Later =—
"Where is that bastard?!" Naruto shouted, his voice filled with frustration.
The blonde couldn't hide his anger; he had been eager to face Sasuke in the final. He wanted to prove to the entire village that he, Naruto, was destined to become Hokage.
"He's already here," I said as I sensed not only Hatake Kakashi with Uchiha Sasuke but also Maito Gai and Rock Lee approaching.
The silver-haired man in a mask, concealing his Sharingan, appeared in a flash of Shunshin with his student dressed in a new outfit.
"We didn't miss the match, did we?" Kakashi said with a slight smirk, conveyed through his single visible eye.
All eyes turned to Sasuke, and his arrival sparked a wave of relief and curiosity among the spectators. The battle everyone had been waiting for was about to begin.
"Just a little longer, and I would have had to disqualify Sasuke," the proctor muttered.
Kakashi chuckled and replied, "Then it's good we made it just in time."
Sasuke quickly found Naruto in the crowd and noticed that the blonde had advanced to the next stage. The dark-haired boy nodded at Naruto before Kakashi vanished from the arena in another Shunshin, reappearing beside Gai, who had climbed the stands with Lee.
"The match between Uchiha Sasuke and Sabaku no Gaara is about to begin," the proctor announced.
This meant that the invasion would begin soon. In a short time, I would be witnessing not only the battles of genin but also those of jonin and even Kage.
I leaned back in my seat, relishing the moment. There was so much in this world to study and understand. But for now, I was simply a spectator, ready to observe the battles and trials the genin would face. My telepathy continued to work passively, allowing me to sense the mood of the crowd, the tension, and the excitement that hung in the air.
Sasuke and Gaara stepped into the arena, their eyes locking onto each other.
"Let's see what you can do," I muttered, watching the beginning of the fight.
—= Kakashi Hatake =—
"My Eternal Rival, have you taught your bad habit of being late to young Sasuke?!" Gai exclaimed with his usual energy.
"N-No..." Kakashi replied awkwardly, crossing his arms.
The jonin's gaze found his student in the company of a strangely dressed man whom Kakashi couldn't sense at all. Judging by Naruto's satisfied expression and the absence of Neji Hyuga, it seemed the blonde had won his match.
"Yes, young Naruto defeated my student," Gai nodded. Rock Lee still looked dejected.
"That sounds great," Kakashi said calmly, though curiosity flickered in his eyes.
At that moment, the remaining jonin, Kurenai and Asuma, approached them.
"Yo," Asuma greeted, lighting a cigarette. "I was starting to worry that Konoha would have to wait until the next Chunin Exams to boost our missions."
"Everything was under control," Kakashi stated, though even he didn't fully believe his own words.
Kurenai glanced at the man standing beside Naruto.
"Kakashi, do you know who that man is?"
"No," Kakashi shook his head, though his interest was piqued.
Kakashi's answer caused Kurenai and Asuma to become even more cautious.
"Then it's even stranger..."
"What do you mean?"
"Naruto defeated Neji using the Rasengan," Asuma explained, exhaling smoke.
At this, Kakashi became serious.
"Rasengan?" he repeated, looking at Asuma with disbelief.
All the jonin present knew that very few could master that technique. In fact, only Kakashi and Jiraiya were known to possess it.
"Yes," Asuma confirmed. "And he did it with remarkable confidence."
"Who is that man?" Kurenai muttered, continuing to study the figure seated beside Naruto.
Kakashi was about to move towards Naruto, but at that moment, everyone's attention was drawn to Sasuke, or more specifically, to the lightning crackling in Sasuke's hand.
"Did you teach him that technique?" Gai asked, eyeing Kakashi with suspicion.
"I don't want to hear that from someone who taught his student to open the Gates."
—= Reed Richards =—
The moment Sasuke pierced Gaara's shield with his Chidori, things got interesting. Yakushi Kabuto initiated a mass genjutsu, putting nearly everyone in the stadium to sleep.
The jonin, along with a few genin, immediately recognized the genjutsu and used the release technique to free themselves from its effects.
"And you thought you could kill me with this?" I asked a shinobi from the Village of Sound, part of the team that launched the attack.
The katana in his hand froze three meters away from me, as if it had struck an invisible wall.
"W-What the... KHRGHH!"
His head exploded under the pressure of my power, his body collapsing lifelessly to the ground.
"Naruto," I called out to the blonde, who had significantly improved his chakra control and patched up the gaps in his training during our sessions. "Go to Kakashi."
"Naruto, Sakura, Shikamaru, Shino—your task now is to help Sasuke," Kakashi ordered before summoning his dog.
Naruto nodded, his eyes blazing with determination. He vanished in an instant, rushing towards Sasuke and Gaara. I turned to the remaining enemies.
"How do you want to proceed?" I asked them. "Will you surrender, or would you prefer a different outcome?"
The Sound ninja, who were soon to be reinforced by Suna shinobi, tightened their grip on their weapons in response.
"Understood."
SNAP
Each of them was killed by their own weapons. With this action, I also aided the Konoha jonin who were fighting these shinobi.
I could see the open surprise in their eyes at how easily I had dealt with the enemies.
"I suggest you go after your students," I said, looking at Kurenai and Asuma. "Chunin and a few skilled jonin are headed for Naruto, Shikamaru, and Shino."
"Damn," Asuma cursed, before rushing off after his student.
Kurenai nodded and quickly followed Asuma. I remained where I was.
"The Four Violet Flames Formation..." Gai whispered, staring at the purple barrier that had enclosed Sarutobi.
In the minds of Gai and Kakashi, I clearly heard the thought, "That barrier is impossible to break from the outside."
An ANBU who attempted to breach the barrier was incinerated by the purple flames.
"Impossible to break, huh?" I murmured as Orochimaru began his Impure World Reincarnation.
This was my signal. With a single leap, I was beside the barrier's edge.
"Who are you?!" one of the ANBU shouted.
"Stay away from the barrier!" another said with concern.
I simply smirked and gathered an immense amount of energy.
BOOM
A pillar of energy pierced through the barrier.
—\\—
I gathered a considerable amount of energy, but not enough to completely annihilate Orochimaru and Sarutobi. I controlled my power carefully, creating a breach in the barrier at just the right angle to enter.
As I stepped inside, the hole in the barrier began to widen rapidly. The ANBU, caught off guard by my actions, didn't have time to follow me in.
"What the hell?!" flashed through the minds of Orochimaru's Four.
The snake Sannin himself quickly overcame his surprise and pressed on with his attack.
Kusanagi, which was poised to deliver a fatal blow to the old man's back, suddenly halted as if it had hit an invisible wall.
"You..." Orochimaru growled, immediately realizing that this was my doing. His eyes flashed with fury. "Who are you?!"
His body was caught in the grip of my telekinesis, and his mind was subjected to a telepathic invasion.
"Thank you, Reed-san," Hiruzen said, acknowledging my intervention.
The resurrected Hokage before him were blank in the telepathic field—likely because they had no real brains to read.
"Do you know him, Saru?" Tobirama asked, his speech still intact, though his control over his body was absent as Hiruzen fought them off with his staff, which was, in truth, Enma.
"Hm," Hashirama Senju mused. "You feel quite strange, young man..."
Tobirama frowned, his hands forming a water-style jutsu. With a single seal, a Water Dragon appeared.
"He has no chakra," Tobirama declared. "How is that possible?"
I smirked, binding the two reanimated Hokage in telekinetic restraints.
"That's not what matters. What's more important, Hiruzen, is whether you want me to handle your student myself?"
The Third Hokage shook his head. He didn't dismiss the words of his teachers, but all his focus was now on Orochimaru.
"I must deal with him... I must atone for the sins of my weakness..."
In the old man's thoughts, I could clearly see the scene of Orochimaru's escape from Konoha. Hiruzen had let his student go back then, unable to summon the strength to kill him. The old man was filled with regret over that day. The guilt for what Orochimaru had done weighed heavily on him. The summoning of the dead Hokage and the attack on Konoha only deepened that guilt.
"In that case," I said, turning my gaze to Hashirama and Tobirama, "I'll handle these two."
Hiruzen nodded and, using Shunshin, appeared before Orochimaru. At that moment, I released everyone from the telekinetic cage.
"Shall we begin?" I asked with a grin.
Tobirama didn't respond, but his older brother mirrored my grin and said, "You're quite confident, young man! Wood Style: Deep Forest Creation!"
There were several ways to defeat reanimated corpses summoned by Edo Tensei: sealing them, placing them under a powerful genjutsu like Kotoamatsukami, damaging the soul of the summoned, or forcing the summoner to cancel the jutsu.
"I can back up that confidence with my power," I replied, as the Water Bullet from Tobirama collided with my shield, failing to break through.
Trees sprouted around me, trying to entangle and restrain me, but my telekinetic force tore them apart. Tobirama attacked from another angle, hoping to catch me off guard. His Water Dragon crashed down on me, but I deflected it again with a telekinetic blast, shattering the watery creature into sprays of droplets.
"Quite impressive," Tobirama admitted, his eyes gleaming with interest.
Energy pulsed around me, forming a protective barrier. When Hashirama sent another wave of wooden tendrils my way, I unleashed a powerful telekinetic burst, scattering the trees and pushing both Hokage back.
"You stand no chance," I declared, stepping forward. "Maybe if you were at full strength, you might show me something, but as it is, this will be a one-sided battle."
With these words, I propelled myself into close combat with Hashirama. The main reason I wanted to be part of this fight was Hashirama himself—or more specifically, his cells, which Orochimaru had used to summon the Senju to this world.
If I wanted to harness the power of this world, I needed to acquire the best it had to offer. And at this moment, Hashirama was the best candidate by all measures.
Hashirama's body moved with surprising grace and power, despite the limitations of Edo Tensei. Each of his attacks was executed with masterful precision. If not for my enhanced body and telekinetic shields, I would have lost twice already.
"You are strong, young man, but do not underestimate me," Hashirama said, his voice filled with amusement.
I dodged his strikes, each one charged with incredible force. Every movement was calculated, every attack aimed at my weak points.
BAM
Tobirama's Water Ninjutsu struck my shield.
At that moment, Hashirama attacked with Taijutsu. As his foot connected with my shield, a satisfied grin spread across my face, knowing that the samples had been successfully obtained.
This meant it was time to end this charade. The psi-energy that I had in abundance was immediately channeled into an energy attack.
"You are indeed powerful..." Hashirama remarked as his body was obliterated by my counterattack in the form of an energy beam.
"I'd say that even if we were alive, you'd still pose a significant threat," Tobirama added as he too was caught in the blast.
Their bodies began to regenerate. The ashen material that composed their forms started to coalesce, restoring their original appearances.
"Most likely," I replied.
At that moment, the battle between Hiruzen and Orochimaru reached its climax. Judging by the situation, I had dealt with my business just in time, as even without the two Hokage, Orochimaru was still pushing his former master back.
Hiruzen was now missing his left arm, and his torso bore several fresh wounds.
"It seems this is the end," I said, glancing at the two Hokage.
Orochimaru paused. Hiruzen's staff broke the snake Sannin's leg.
"W-What the...?" Orochimaru's serpentine eyes found me. His hands began forming the seals to cancel Edo Tensei.
"How?..."
"Simply because I'm stronger," I calmly replied as he finished the hand signs.
In the next second, Hiruzen Sarutobi's staff decapitated Orochimaru.
The Hokage's bodies rapidly crumbled into piles of ash, sealing the two Sound ninjas within.
"Sarutobi," Tobirama's soul said as it began returning to the afterlife. "You need to find a successor. You're too old for this hat."
"I agree with him," Hashirama added. "But I must say, you did well."
Hiruzen nodded, breathing heavily. He watched as the bodies of the first two Hokage vanished, leaving only the memory of their power. Silence enveloped the area, broken only by the faint groans of the injured and the distant sounds of battle.
"You saved me, Reed-san," Hiruzen said, his voice weak but filled with gratitude.
At the same time, his thoughts were filled with questions about my powers and origins.
"Thank me after you've dealt with this invasion," I replied, pointing to Orochimaru's Four, who had dispelled the barrier the moment their master fell.
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