A colossal fox-like beast appeared on the outskirts of the Hidden Leaf Vilge—Konohagakure. Perched atop its head was a man dressed in bck, wearing a swirling-patterned mask. No one knew how he had bypassed the vilge's security or where he had come from. But there he stood, unmoving, high above on the Nine-Tails' head, looking down arrogantly upon the anxious vilgers—and the shinobi below.

  A raspy voice came from beneath the mask. No one could quite make out what he was saying, but the Nine-Tails heard it loud and clear.

  It roared, shing its nine tails and shaking its massive body—but it couldn't dislodge the bck-cloaked man standing on its head. The beast writhed in pain, yet its wild defiance remained unbroken. Then it opened its eyes—eyes no fox should have.

  A ring formed by a bck line encircled three evenly spaced tomoe...

  The Sharingan.

  The vilgers and shinobi of Konoha might not understand everything, but they knew what those eyes meant.

  The eyes of the Uchiha. The eyes of power.

  A handsome but stern-faced man stepped forward. Cd in the ceremonial cloak of the Hokage and holding a maple-leaf shaped kunai, his golden hair shone under the moonlight.

  It was the Fourth Hokage—Minato Namikaze, the "Yellow Fsh" of the Hidden Leaf. Renowned across the shinobi world, and yet now, facing the Nine-Tails, even he seemed at a loss.

  Suddenly, he moved!

  A kunai flew past the Nine-Tails, embedding itself in the ground behind it. In a blink, Minato teleported to the kunai's location, leaving a Flying Thunder God seal in his wake. He grabbed the Nine-Tails and, with another teleport, transported the beast to a marked area outside the vilge.

  In a single move, the Nine-Tails was removed from Konoha.

  The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, immediately followed after. The vilge's shinobi breathed a momentary sigh of relief, and emergency evacuations began in an orderly fashion.

  "Eh? You're just gonna leave me here?" the masked man's mocking voice echoed as he fell through the air—apparently caught off guard by the sudden disappearance of the Nine-Tails.

  But it was only for a moment.

  His lone eye quickly tracked the tailed beast's new location. As relief washed over him, he shifted into a cocky tone once more.

  "Wait—someone else!" Minato's eyes widened. Realization struck—but it was already too te.

  Anyone capable of controlling the Nine-Tails couldn't possibly be ordinary.

  Minato hurled a kunai straight at the masked man, even though they were three to four hundred meters apart. For a battle-hardened Kage, that was nothing.

  The kunai flew.

  And passed through the man's body.

  "Let it fly a little longer—hahaha!" the masked man ughed as he nded and adjusted his mask.

  Minato froze.

  Even he had never seen such a thing—the kunai passed through him as if he were nothing but smoke.

  No trace was left behind. The masked man was unharmed.

  "What the hell..." muttered the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, grim-faced behind him.

  Even he—the so-called "Professor of Ninjutsu"—had never seen such a technique in his sixty-plus years of life.

  "You never know what hidden abilities your enemy may possess," Hiruzen recalled the warning of his teacher, the Second Hokage.

  The masked man raised an iron fan and pointed it arrogantly at Hiruzen. "Old man! This Nine-Tails is mine now. That Fourth Hokage of yours? Not bad. You? You're useless! Hahahaha!"

  "Useless?" Hiruzen's eyes hardened. He had aged, yes—but not to the point of powerlessness.

  He moved—with the speed unbefitting an old man.

  Summoning Jutsu!

  Biting his thumb, he formed four quick hand seals. A glowing seal lit up in the air—then with a puff of smoke—

  Enma the Monkey King appeared!

  "Transform!" Hiruzen shouted.

  Enma instantly turned into an iron staff—the Adamantine Staff, capable of changing length and size, forged from the unbreakable body of the Monkey King himself. It had once helped Hiruzen sweep across the battlefield, earning him the title "The Professor."

  In recent years, he'd stepped back, acting more like a kind grandfather, helping Minato govern the vilge behind the scenes.

  But Konoha was his home. Everything he had done, he did for it—for peace, for the vilgers.

  The masked man's taunts had awakened his passion once more.

  Shadow Clone Jutsu!

  Five Hiruzen Sarutobi clones, each wielding the Adamantine Staff, charged at the masked man.

  Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!

  The original made the first move—he had to push back this dangerous, unpredictable enemy.

  The clones joined in, surrounding the masked man and unching a coordinated assault:

  Water Style: Water Surge!Earth Style: Earth Flow River!Lightning Style: Electromagnetic Earth Bst!Wind Style: Air Sshing Wave!

  Five Nature Style Great Combo Jutsu!

  "AHHHH—Old man, how do you still have so much chakra?! Why aren't you dead yet?!" the masked man compined, pretending to cough and groan from the attacks—but remained completely unharmed.

  "Can't touch me, can you? Hahahaha! And you think you can protect the vilge? Dream on!"

  "No way…" Hiruzen was stunned.

  Most enemies hit by this five-element combo either died or were crippled. But this one?

  He was perfectly fine—and had the energy to joke about it.

  That attack had drained half of Hiruzen's chakra.

  He tried to gather more but felt a wave of fatigue wash over him.

  "…I really am getting old…" he muttered, just loud enough for the masked man to hear.

  "See? Told you! You're finished, old man! Just give up! You'll never beat me—hahahaha! As long as my master isn't around—no, as long as the Fourth Hokage's gone, you can't stop me!"

  He slipped up. But no one noticed—they were still too stunned by his mysterious abilities.

  Only one defiant young ninja shouted, "No way! The Third Hokage is the strongest! Who the hell do you think you are?!"

  "Yeah! That's right!""You tell him!"

  Their shouts reignited the spirits of the surrounding shinobi. They began cheering for Hiruzen—and rushed toward the Nine-Tails.

  They had just remembered—it was still raging outside the vilge.

  Hiruzen turned and called, "Go help Minato! This no-name ninja is no match for me—the Professor!"

  Encouraged, the ninja picked up speed and raced toward the Nine-Tails.

  "Hey! Don't run off! At least leave me a few to py with—hello?! Rude much?!"

  "You listen well!" Hiruzen's voice boomed. "I, Hiruzen Sarutobi, shall end you here and now! The peace of Konoha will be protected by me!"

  The Third Hokage… exploded into action.

  Reaching a height he had not in his entire life, he radiated a newfound fighting spirit—

  And a will to kill.

  Shadow Clone Jutsu!

  Once again, four shadow clones charged the masked man—but this time, the real Hiruzen stayed behind.

  He was exhausted.

  No… there was more to it.

  He began forming hand seals—slowly, deliberately. Chakra began to build and compress. An oppressive aura filled the air.

  "Third Hokage!" a medical-nin cried out, clearly worried. To the vilgers, Hiruzen was a pilr of strength, a mentor, a symbol of hope.

  He could not die.

  He continued forming seals. Though slow, there was a change—the chakra now emitted warmth.

  Tears welled up in Hiruzen's eyes.

  Behind him stood the vilge he had protected his whole life.

  This would be his final jutsu.

  He was old now.

  No longer fit for the world of the young.

  Perhaps, his final mission... was to bring peace to Konoha once more.

  His shadow clones fought on, bombarding the masked man with elemental ninjutsu. Yet the enemy remained untouchable, still ughing, still cocky.

  "Hahahaha! You can't touch me! You can't—"

  For the first time, a flicker of tension crossed his hidden face.

  Though none could see, behind the mask, his expression twisted—into fear.

  Hiruzen's tears flowed freely—He formed the final hand seal.

  Forbidden Jutsu: Reaper Death Seal!

  Behind Hiruzen, a terrifying figure manifested—a grim Reaper formed of chakra. A spectral cross appeared, and upon it, an old man's body was bound.

  Hiruzen's soul.

  "So… my soul has long since grown old," he whispered.

  With a shake of his head, he controlled the Reaper's hand—it struck toward the masked man.

  But once again, his body phased out. The Reaper missed.

  Hiruzen roared, unleashing his st reserves of chakra.

  This was his final surge—his death wish.

  The Reaper accelerated—

  And grabbed the masked man.

  "You crazy old fool! What are you doing?!" the man panicked.

  His fwless pn—his fwless technique—undone by one elderly Hokage.

  "Konoha... is the home that raised me. The pce I swore my life to protect. You're right... My life should've ended long ago. But now—"