Naruto: The Nine-Tails' Legacy Chapter 35: No Second Time

"There are people who fear the Nine-Tails disaster happening again. Nobody will simply assu Naruto will always stand on the village's side. Once his strength becos uncontrollable, the only choice left will inevitably be…"

The Third Hokage silently completed the sentence in his heart.

Destroy him.

Just like the Uchiha Clan.

But that was sothing he could neither say nor allow himself to say.

The Third's words finally made Kakashi Hatake understand the true issue.

"You joke too much, Lord Hokage. You're the Hokage."

"The Hokage?" Hiruzen Sarutobi looked out through the window toward the village below.

"The Hokage's actions also cannot exceed what the people are willing to accept. Otherwise, peace will disappear, and authority itself will collapse."

His gaze carried both nostalgia and sorrow.

"That is why, back then, I chose Minato."

"He beca Hokage, while I supported him from behind."

"Only then could the village truly have a chance at a more peaceful future."

Kakashi stared silently at the elderly man before him.

Only now did he recall sothing he had once heard.

Back then, when his teacher Minato Namikaze beca the Fourth Hokage, it was this very old man who had forcibly suppressed all opposition.

That included even his own disciple, Orochimaru.

No one had realized just how high the Third's expectations for Minato truly were.

"Minato was the person most suited to becoming Hokage I had ever seen."

"When he died, I even felt sothing close to resentnt."

"He shouldn't have sacrificed himself so young…"

"If possible, I truly wished I could have traded places with him."

The Third slowly turned toward Kakashi.

"So, Kakashi… when I learned Naruto might possess a contingency Minato left behind, my thoughts changed."

"I don't know what Minato planned for Naruto's future."

"But I trust him."

"I know he would never leave behind sothing dangerous to Konoha."

"Just as I said before, although I still don't know where Naruto's power cos from, I already intended to enroll him into the Ninja Academy."

"As long as he possesses the ability to protect himself, I can finally give him enough freedom."

The Third placed a hand on Kakashi's shoulder.

Then spoke each word slowly and clearly.

"And how to prove Naruto possesses that power…"

"Kakashi."

"I will give you a stage where nobody can interfere."

"At that ti…"

"You, Hatake Kakashi, will give the answer."

"You will prove…"

"That even a powerful ninja like you…"

"…cannot kill six-year-old Uzumaki Naruto."

"Only with proof like that…"

"Only after everyone confirms it cannot be done…"

"…will they abandon the idea of killing Naruto."

"At that point…"

A fire seed to burn in the old Hokage's eyes.

"If it's Minato's Flying Thunder God…"

"…then it can absolutely accomplish that."

—

Rembering all of this, Kakashi's Sharingan spun rapidly.

anwhile, Naruto only heard an unbearably sharp chirping sound ringing beside his ears.

The enormous chakra gathering in the masked man's hand shone with blinding brilliance.

Kakashi's gaze hardened.

The lightning in his palm illuminated his face so brightly Naruto could barely see him clearly.

Then Kakashi quietly said:

"Dodge this."

"Only then can you obtain freedom, Naruto."

"Otherwise…"

"You will die."

Like a thousand birds screaming at once—

The only original technique ever created by Konoha's genius ninja, Kakashi Hatake.

A technique even Minato once praised for its terrifying power.

Enhanced further by the Sharingan—

An S-Rank Ninjutsu capable of severing lightning itself—

Lightning Blade.

Raikiri!

Lightning chakra stimulated Kakashi's body to explosive speed.

He transford into a streak of thunder and vanished instantly.

BOOM!

The deafening roar of Lightning Release tore through the surroundings.

The ground shattered beneath Kakashi's advance as cracks spread wildly outward.

Countless stones exploded into the air.

Naruto stared in horror at the streak of lightning rushing toward him.

Every instinct within his eyes, mind, and body scread at him—

Can't block it.

Can't block it.

Can't block it!

Must dodge!

At the very instant Raikiri closed within inches of him—

Naruto finally activated Flying Thunder God.

Whoosh!

There was absolutely no warning.

That was the most terrifying aspect of space-ti ninjutsu.

Even against lightning-speed attacks—

Naruto still escaped effortlessly.

However…

He made a mistake.

It wasn't truly his fault.

He simply lacked real combat experience.

Once he fought more enemies, he naturally would not repeat such an error.

But how could a battle-hardened veteran like Kakashi fail to notice it?

Just as Kakashi had observed earlier while tracking him—

Naruto had not left Flying Thunder God markers along the route.

aning the only marker he possessed during this battle…

…was the location from his earlier teleportation.

For a six-year-old child who had never stepped onto a battlefield, his reaction had already been nearly perfect.

But Kakashi was Minato's disciple.

One of the few people in the ninja world who truly understood Flying Thunder God.

The true terror of Flying Thunder God lay in making it impossible for enemies to predict where you would appear.

The mont your opponent could predict your destination—

Flying Thunder God beca little different from an ordinary Body Flicker Technique.

And Naruto…

Had only left a single marker behind.

The instant Naruto vanished—

Kakashi had already turned toward the exact place Naruto would reappear.

The three tomoe in his eye spun rapidly.

anwhile, the mont Naruto landed, he instinctively raised his head to locate Kakashi.

Their eyes t.

And that…

…was Naruto's second mistake.

The Sharingan's other terrifying power—

Genjutsu.

"So this is as far as he can go…"

"Although he already perford brilliantly…"

"His lack of experience is still fatal."

"As expected, I still couldn't fulfill Lord Hokage's wish of forcing Naruto to reveal everything…"

The mont the illusion succeeded, Kakashi looked at Naruto lowering his head and sighed internally.

Truthfully, if Naruto had simply used Flying Thunder God to flee farther away, the test would already have been considered passed.

But because of his inexperience—and perhaps because he still didn't fully understand how dangerous the situation truly was—

Naruto had instead teleported directly behind him.

That decision ultimately caused him to fai—

Kakashi suddenly froze.

The surrounding scenery had completely changed.

The cracked battlefield destroyed by Raikiri's aftermath had vanished entirely.

Not only the destruction—

Even the ground itself no longer existed.

All around him was endless darkness and chaos.

Even the Sharingan could not see through it.

"…I've been caught in a genjutsu?"

Kakashi's first instinct was to disrupt his chakra flow and break the illusion.

But before he could—

An unimaginably vast pressure descended upon him from the front!

A terror and horror unlike anything Kakashi had ever experienced flooded his body.

Before this pressure, he felt as though he had returned to the past…

Back to the cave beneath Kannabi Bridge…

"Y-you…"

"You are…"

Kakashi's pupils trembled violently.

His body nearly gave out as he stared at the colossal fox silhouette appearing before him.

The fox demon.

The Nine-Tails!

The Nine-Tails' aura swallowed the heavens and earth.

Kakashi suffered another overwhelming ntal assault.

PUH!

Kakashi coughed blood and collapsed onto the ground.

His left eye throbbed painfully.

The hand covering it could feel warmth spreading across his fingers.

Blood dripped steadily from the corner of his eye.

The Nine-Tails…

…had awakened?!

No.

That shouldn't be possible while it remained sealed—

"This is rely a small punishnt."

At that mont, however, the Nine-Tails suddenly withdrew its pressure.

It rely glanced coldly at the fallen Kakashi.

Its nine tails swayed behind it as its enormous figure slowly faded away.

"Also…"

"No second ti, Kakashi."

Before Kakashi could even understand what the Nine-Tails ant—

The world spun violently around him.

Pain overwheld his senses.

"UGH!"

Kakashi jolted awake, drenched in sweat and gasping heavily.

His hand imdiately grabbed his left eye.

Completely unhard.

No injuries whatsoever.

What exactly had that been just now…?

Only then did Kakashi realize Naruto had already disappeared without a trace.

Yet strangely—

Rather than disappointnt—

What filled him instead was relief at having survived.

"Lord Third…"

"This situation may be even more dangerous than you imagined…"

Kakashi laughed bitterly.

But rely recalling that imnse and terrifying fox silhouette made it impossible for him to entertain any other thoughts.

And sohow—

Perhaps it was only his imagination—

But beside the Nine-Tails…

He vaguely felt as though there had been another figure standing there.

—

anwhile, Naruto—who had escaped—was currently staring blankly at soone in the middle of the forest.

And that person was staring right back at him.

Big eyes versus big eyes.

The Flying Thunder God-marked kunai…

…was currently being held in Sasuke Uchiha's hand.

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