Naruto: I Confronted the Five Kage Before the System Arrived

Chapter 317: I Acknowledge You as the Strongest in Swordsmanship "Universal Pull!"

Hagoromo Gengetsu aimed his right hand at Hanzō, pulling him in while simultaneously hurling a black rod from his prepared left hand.

Under the immense suction force, Hanzō, unable to execute his Water Instantaneous Body Technique, had his chest pierced by the black rod.

After dispersing Hanzō's final resistance, Hagoromo Gengetsu was about to grab Hanzō's neck, which had flown right up to him.

Suddenly!

Several Flying Thunder God kunai shot out from within the white mist.

Hagoromo Gengetsu was about to look over.

Namikaze Minato, moving at lightning speed, rushed at him from behind.

Already in Sage Mode, Minato raised a Sage Art: Massive Rasengan, attacking him once more.

"Didn't you learn your lesson? Or do you have some other scheme?"

Without turning his head, Hagoromo Gengetsu reached out and grabbed Hanzō's neck, planting a cursed seal on him, rendering him immobile for a short period.

At the same time, the Sage Art: Massive Rasengan slammed into his back.

Just like before, the massive Rasengan was rapidly absorbed by Hagoromo Gengetsu without causing any disturbance.

It was at this moment.

Next to one of the Flying Thunder God kunai that had just been thrown, Tobirama Senju, along with Hashirama Senju, instantly appeared.

Hagoromo Gengetsu's eyes narrowed, his attention largely focused on Hashirama.

Without a word, Hashirama launched a full-force attack.

While still absorbing the Massive Rasengan behind him, Hagoromo Gengetsu didn't move at all. His steel-colored left hand punched out as well.

Boom!

A fierce blast of air erupted from where their fists collided, quickly spreading in all directions.

Hashirama was forced back.

Hagoromo Gengetsu, along with the Namikaze Minato behind him, was also pushed back.

Seizing the opportunity, Tobirama stepped forward and swung his blade.

Hagoromo Gengetsu calmly glanced at him.

The ninja blade in Tobirama's hand suddenly turned against him, unexpectedly stabbing its former master and instantly succeeding.

Hagoromo Gengetsu frowned.

In the next instant.

Tobirama vanished in a puff of white smoke.

Hagoromo Gengetsu's pupils contracted. Instinctively, he looked at the remaining Flying Thunder God kunai passing by his side.

Meanwhile, in the outside world.

The real Tobirama watched as a silver figure, moving faster than himself or the Fourth Hokage, flashed through like an aurora. The figure carried the extremely sharp White Fang blade with it, cutting through the air silently.

As the blade sliced through his neck, Tobirama murmured in admiration:

"So fast!"

He reached out his hand, and in an instant, he, the blade, and its wielder all disappeared.

In their place was the Sage Art: Massive Rasengan and the last small portion of Namikaze Minato.

As for the position where Namikaze Minato originally stood.

In that instant of exchange, Tobirama's neck was nearly severed.

He didn't mind, but rather looked forward expectantly at the White Fang blade that, despite passing through his neck, had not weakened. Instead, it grew even sharper, even faster, revealing its true fangs as it aimed for the vital spot on Hagoromo Gengetsu's neck, filled with life.

Hagoromo Gengetsu was still pondering whether Tobirama would emerge from the Flying Thunder God kunai passing by his side.

He hadn't expected such a fierce and deadly strike from behind, one that made him feel an intense sense of danger.

Who was it?

Hagoromo Gengetsu didn't have time to turn around.

The attack behind him was so swift that even his Shinra Tensei would be too late to activate.

In this split second, as life hung in the balance, Hagoromo Gengetsu's eyes were filled with surprise.

"I didn't expect to have to use this technique so soon."

Clang.

The sound of metal clashing rang out.

Just as the wielder of the White Fang blade, and Tobirama himself, believed they had succeeded.

To their surprise, a small pitch-black sphere suddenly appeared on Hagoromo Gengetsu's neck, stopping the White Fang blade just shy of cutting his neck, without the sphere showing the slightest dent. Then, with a simple impact from the black sphere.

The White Fang blade, which was an extremely expensive chakra short sword, was instantly shattered into fragments.

The expression of the blade's wielder remained unchanged, but the sharp aura emanating from him was no less potent than his weapon. He transformed his hand into a blade, preparing to continue the strike.

However, when Tobirama saw the black sphere, which had just shattered the White Fang blade, flying toward them.

Sensing something ominous and realizing that the opportunity had passed, he grabbed his companion without hesitation and teleported away with the Flying Thunder God technique.

The Truth-Seeking Ball, finding no target, returned to hover behind Hagoromo Gengetsu, remaining motionless.

The once fierce battlefield suddenly fell silent.

Drip.

A drop of blood slowly fell.

Hagoromo Gengetsu reached up and touched his neck, where a long bloodstain had appeared.

The White Fang blade hadn't even touched it.

The mere presence of that sharp aura had caused it.

"What a fast blade! What a sharp blade!"

Hagoromo Gengetsu now knew who the swordsman was.

Konoha's White Fang, Sakumo Hatake.

This man, who in the original story only had a brief appearance and never truly demonstrated his combat power, was indeed someone feared by both enemy and allied villages alike.

A man and his sword, like an assassin's full-force strike, even someone like him couldn't help but take notice.

Even the Steel Release, known for its physical defense, would have been cut in two by that blade's sharpness.

Purely in terms of swordsmanship, of all the people he knew, Hagoromo Gengetsu was willing to acknowledge Sakumo Hatake as the strongest.

"What a pity that such swordsmanship wasn't passed down."

Hagoromo Gengetsu thought of Sakumo's useless son.

Letting the blood on his neck continue to flow, Hagoromo Gengetsu looked around, his gaze sweeping over the previous battleground and the Flying Thunder God kunai embedded nearby.

Now that he had calmed down, he understood the entire setup.

Using Namikaze Minato's Sage Art: Massive Rasengan as bait, they lured him into using the sealing technique to absorb it.

This way, they could focus his attention, knowing that his Rinnegan could only activate one technique at a time. They planned to strike while he was absorbing the Rasengan.

And indeed, that's how it went.

Tobirama brought Hashirama with him.

Using the latter to draw his attention.

When he realized that the Tobirama in front of him was a shadow clone, he instinctively thought that everything Namikaze Minato and Hashirama had done was to set the stage for Tobirama's real killing blow.

So, he immediately looked at the Flying Thunder God kunai passing by his side, assuming that the real killing move was likely there.

However, things turned out slightly different from what he had guessed.

Tobirama did indeed appear, but he swapped places with Namikaze Minato.

From the very beginning, this group had never truly intended to limit his Rinnegan techniques.

The real killing blow had never been Tobirama or any of the other famous Kage.

It was Sakumo Hatake, brought by Tobirama, who had already activated, at his peak in terms of aura, speed, and swordsmanship, who caught him off guard with a flash strike, slashing at him from point-blank range—a strike so fast that not even the Rinnegan could block it.

"Well played."

Hagoromo Gengetsu praised.

Since they had put so much thought into it.

It seemed he would have to fully focus now.

Hagoromo Gengetsu looked at the Truth-Seeking Ball hovering behind him.

In an instant!

An overwhelming and oppressive aura surged, causing every Allied Shinobi present to feel an immense weight on their shoulders.