Naruto: Path towards Godhood

When the explosion died down, the figure inside the explosion was revealed to be none other than Earth Clone.

"Humph! Do you think I will fall into such an obvious trap? You are underestimating a Jonin."

A chilling voice rang behind Mito, which made her freeze in fear.

It was a good plan. If Jonin didn't have Earth Clone, he would've been forced to utilize Body Flicker Jutsu to teleport away.

But Body Flicker Jutsu wasn't a Flying Thunder God Jutsu. By the time he would've used this Jutsu, at least his legs would've caught in the explosion.

Unfortunately, any Jonin has mastery over at least two elements. And, Hotoshi was a master at using Wind and Earth Release.

That's how he was able to teach Jiro and Kenji as a part of his team.

Unfortunately, among them, only Jiro had some level of talent that could rival the puppeteer.

Hotoshi didn't say anything more.

He simply moved his hand and stabbed Mito, but just before he could finish it, he felt some movement underneath the ground.

"Tsk! You guys are so annoying."

He could kill her with a single strike, but it wouldn't be worth getting hurt by Ken's Fire Release.

That's right. That's what worried him and caused him to jump away.

Crack!

Underneath the ground, Jenzi raised his hand and tried to pull Hotoshi, only to fail.

But this gave Ken more than enough time to reach in front of Hotoshi.

His hands were constantly weaving hand signs.

[Fire Style- Phoenix Sage Fire Jutsu]

While running, Ken continued spitting out several small-scale fireballs toward Hotoshi, each moving at a speed faster than the previous one.

[Earth Style- Stone Pistol Jutsu]

Just like Ken, Hotoshi also released several small pea-sized rocks from his mouth. But upon leaving his mouth, they expanded into a large rock.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The fireballs and stone pistols began to collide. Each strike caused a small shockwave.

As soon as he saw his Jutsu being countered, he didn't care about wasting his Chakra and continued weaving hand signs.

[Fire Style- Great Fireball Jutsu]

This time, he released his fireball, which was able to push away those stone pistols with excessive force.

This prompted Hotoshi to use another Jutsu. He quickly weaved hand signs and slapped his hand on the ground.

[Earth Style- Moving Earth Core]

A large section of the ground rose below the fireball and struck it with a massive force. Unable to contain its shape, the fireball disappeared.

Upon dispersing the fireball, Hotoshi quickly went underground and rushed toward Ken.

[Earth Style- Hidden Mole Jutsu]

Because of the presence of a large rock in the middle, Ken was unaware of him entering the underground.

But that wasn't completely true.

Ken was indeed unaware of his position since he couldn't sense him, but Ken still had one trick up his sleeve.

That was the memory of the entire Naruto Series.

Although there were many scenes that he forgot about, he had been trying to remember every single Jutsu used in that series and their usages.

Among them, one Jutsu Iwagakure people were famous for using it, and any Earth Release user could use it as well.

That was none other than Hidden Mole Jutsu, the same Jutsu used by Deidara.

This information appeared in his mind when he felt a deep silence behind the rock. He immediately raised his awareness with the help of his Sharingan.

Ken couldn't sense inside the earth, and he knew that as well.

While it might look cool when Madara kicked the person hiding under the ground, that was only because Madara was the master of all elemental nature.

That meant even if he wasn't using Earth Release, he could use Earth to sense his surroundings.

In less than three seconds, Ken concluded a plan and jumped. While in mid-air, he started weaving hand signs.

[Fire Style- Great Fireball Jutsu]

This time, he gathered Chakra equal to three normal fireballs and released all of them at once.

His Fire Chakra generated a massive fireball that was the size of ten elephants and came crashing down like a mini-sun, burning and melting the ground.

Boom!

The explosion, set by the impact, shreds the ground into pieces. Even the trees and the rocks were pushed several hundred meters away from the explosion.

"This brat!"

At this moment, Hotoshi came out of the ground, nearly a hundred meters away, with some minor scratches on his body.

This was a problem with Fireball Jutsu. Because it was hot, Hotoshi was able to feel the heat and understand Ken's plan.

So, he quickly rushed away from the center of the explosion as fast as he could, causing him to crash against a few stubborn rocks.

After all, Hidden Mole Jutsu allowed him to turn earth into fine sand, but if his Control wavered, the transformation or change wouldn't be good or fast enough.

Ken also landed fifty meters away from him. He was also hit by the flame, but thanks to his control over the flame, it didn't burn him.

Instead, only a few rocks scratched his body. Even so, he still had a few wounds caused by Hotoshi's tanto.

As soon as Ken landed, he quickly began weaving hand signs once again.

[Fire Style- Great Fireball Jutsu]

"Damn it! Why does a brat like him possess so much Chakra? Shouldn't he be running out of Chakra? Could it be he is a Jinchuriki?"

That last thought alerted him, but the next moment, he came to realize he was thinking too much.

After all, even as a neighboring village soldier, he knew about the ongoing conflict between Uchiha and Konoha.

Although it wasn't as intense as it would be in the future, many Jonin still knew about it.

Especially since in every single war, Uchiha was sent to fight Mist Village.

Only an idiot would send a Uchiha to fight a Mist ninja.

Fire was weak against water, and Hidden Mist Jutsu could easily counter the usage of Sharingan.

So, this created a lot of debate about whether Konoha and Uchiha were enemies or friends.

That being, only people above the Chunin would know about these things.

So, Ken couldn't be a Jinchuriki. Because there was only one Tailed Beast in Konoha, and they would never let a Uchiha become its Jinchuriki.

Hotoshi quickly dodged this fireball and decided not to use any Jutsu. Unlike Ken, who wasn't worried about emptying his Reserve, he was very much worried about it.

So, instead, he rushed toward Ken with his tanto to engage himself in a sword fight.

Naturally, Ken would be happy to do that. So, once again, they engaged in a sword fight where Ken and Hotoshi were equal at first, but this time, Hotoshi managed to press Ken faster.

Prompting Mito to utilize her Water Release.

[Water Style- Water Bullet Jutsu]

Once again, Ken used the same tactics to run away since he could see the Water Bullet coming his way.

"Damn it!"

Since it was coming from behind, Hotoshi had to use Body Flicker Jutsu at the last minute to dodge the Water Bullet Jutsu.

Once again, he was forced to stop by people he didn't even consider a threat.

This made him angry. Unlike before, this time, he planned to kill these two, and only then would he fight Ken.

Without any hesitation, he rushed toward Mito at full speed. This time, they didn't dare to use the same tactics.

So Mito tried using Hidden Mist Jutsu.

As the mist emerged around them, Ken's eyes shrunk.

"No!"

Ken screamed and rushed toward the mist.

Mito wasn't foolish, but she certainly was not a genius. Hidden Mist Jutsu could prevent blocked sight, but it couldn't block senses.

Especially those who could enter underground and use Earth to sense their surroundings.

She forgot that even Kenji could sense her, but he was limited by distance.

Hotoshi didn't have that problem. The moment he went underground and released his Senses, he immediately got the position of Mito.

[Clone Jutsu]

Mito tried using clones to distract Hotoshi, but she forgot that these clones did not exist.

But these clones did save her life. The moment she used them, her Chakra began fluctuating. Since she had already used two Water Bullets and one large-scale Hidden Mist Jutsu.

Her Chakra was already running low. Now, with the effect of clone Jutsu, her Chakra Reserve became extremely, almost similar to the Chakra in the mist.

"Ahhh!"

Although Hotoshi struck the clone instead of her, his tanto passed through the clone's body and managed to slash her right shoulder.

At this moment, Ken heard that scream, and his mind almost went blank.

The fear in his heart rose rapidly, causing his Chakra to fluctuate. The magatama on his Sharingan began spinning extremely fast.

And a new magatama appeared in each eye. That improved his vision and reaction speed by a large margin.

In an instant, he saw two people's temperatures and rushed toward them at full speed.

Bang!