Naruto: Starting as the Third Hokage with Tears in His Eyes

Chapter 448 A golden flash, and... the color of despair!

"Kakashi, I..."

Obito coughed violently, a metallic, sweet taste rising in his throat.

He wanted to say something, but couldn't utter a single word.

The relief of being saved, and the shame that almost burned through his soul, gripped his vocal cords tightly.

He, Obito Uchiha, the future Hokage, was almost killed by an unknown nobody with the crudest punch in his first decent battle.

The one who saved him was the genius he most wanted to surpass.

Those dark eyes, which were always as languid as an ancient well, now burned with an unmistakable cold light.

Kakashi kept his body extremely low, like a silver wolf locking onto its prey, his breath blending into the rain.

With each swing of his white fang dagger, he displayed an almost obsessive precision.

There were no flashy ninjutsu techniques.

It's just the most basic stabbing, chopping, slashing, and cutting.

But every movement is extremely simple, and every tremor of the muscles serves the sole purpose of killing.

The air was sliced ​​through by the blade, producing a faint, sharp hiss.

This is the swordsmanship of the Hatake family.

It was that man, known as the White Fang of Konoha, who, in the backyard of a peaceful era, branded the instinct for killing into his very bones with each slash.

A rock ninja roared, his arms turning to stone as he crossed them in front of him, managing to block Kakashi's slash.

"Clang!"

A piercing clang of metal rang out, and the mud beneath the Iwa ninja's feet instantly cracked.

A sinister smile had just appeared on his face, as he thought he had blocked it.

However, Kakashi used the recoil to spin at an incredible angle, and his short sword, like a venomous snake emerging from its hole, slashed through the blind spot of his defenses from below.

The savage grin on the Iwa ninja's face froze, and a line of blood slowly bloomed.

He didn't even understand why the conversion of power and speed was so bizarre.

"Lightning Release: Earth Walk!"

Kakashi didn't even glance at the fallen corpse. He formed a hand seal with one hand and slammed it onto the slippery ground.

The crackling silver-blue electric snakes spread wildly along the puddles, instantly wrapping around the legs of the three Iwa ninja in front.

The numbing sensation of the electric current penetrating their muscles caused them to stiffen for only a second.

But for Kakashi, and for the Hatake family's swordsmanship, a second is eternity.

His figure transformed into a silver streak that tore through the air, flashing past the three of them.

The glint of the blade was as cold and clear as moonlight, appearing and disappearing in an instant.

Three streaks of blood quietly bloomed in the dim forest.

When he stood up again, the three Iwa ninjas, clutching their bleeding throats, their eyes still filled with the last vestiges of fear and confusion, collapsed helplessly to their knees in the mud.

The whole process was so smooth and fast it was breathtaking.

"..."

Obito watched this scene with his mouth slightly open, temporarily forgetting even the excruciating pain in his chest.

Is this... genius?

Is this Kakashi's true strength beyond what's in textbooks?

A deeper sense of powerlessness, mixed with a wildfire of resentment, gnawed at his heart.

However, there are too many Iwa ninja.

Kakashi was ultimately all alone, with only one sword.

As he dealt with three enemies, five or six more Iwa ninjas flanked him from the side. They abandoned their one-on-one combat and their heavy earth-style chakra aura wove together into a large net, locking him firmly in place.

"Lin, take Ohbito and back off!!"

For the first time, Kakashi's voice became sharp and urgent.

Nohara Rin gritted her teeth and used her thin shoulders to support Obito's arm, trying to drag him away from this vortex of death.

But at that moment...

The golden light returned from the other side of the battlefield.

"Thank you for your hard work, Kakashi."

Minato Namikaze's voice remained as gentle as ever, as if he were not on a battlefield strewn with corpses, but rather in the training grounds of the ninja academy on a quiet afternoon.

The moment he landed, he didn't even glance at the horrified Iwa ninjas.

Instead, he casually, in an almost freehand manner, tossed out several specially made trident-shaped kunai in all directions.

"Ding! Ding! Ding!—"

The crisp sound of metal clashing echoed through the forest.

The kunai either embedded themselves in the slippery tree trunks, or were driven diagonally into the soil, or were deflected by the Iwa ninjas' instinctive use of their weapons, scattering across every corner of the battlefield.

It's as if a painter, before putting brush to paper, inadvertently sprinkled countless ink dots on the canvas.

"Making a big fuss!"

An experienced Iwa ninja roared, having seen through Minato's intentions. It was a space-time ninjutsu that relied on special markings for movement, originating from the Second Hokage of Konoha.

"Everyone, destroy those kunai! Don't let him..."

He didn't finish his sentence.

A golden light exploded before his eyes without warning.

Minato Namikaze appeared like a ghost less than a meter in front of him, a polite smile on his handsome face.

"Sorry, this distance is a bit too close."

The pupils of the Iwa ninja shrank to pinpoints in an instant.

He saw it.

In the palm of that blond youth, a blue chakra ball, spinning at high speed and condensed to the extreme, was emitting a tooth-grinding buzzing sound, like a thousand birds singing in unison.

It was pure, chaotic, and violent destructive power, forcibly confined within a perfect sphere.

"Rasengan!"

boom--!!

There were no earth-shattering explosions.

There was only one dull, heart-stopping bang.

The violent spinning force tore and crushed the chest of the Iwa ninja, turning his sturdy ninja vest into a piece of waste paper that had been gnawed by a giant beast.

His body was thrown backward by the force, crashing through three large trees before finally sliding softly to the ground. In his chest, there was only a hideous, bloody, and mangled hole that was constantly turning outward.

Another Jonin.

This attack completely shattered the fighting spirit of all the Iwa ninja.

"A monster..."

"How did he even get through that?!"

"Run! Run! We can't win!"

Panic spread like wildfire through the Iwa ninja forces.

The formation crumbled.

The once well-trained ninjas now scattered like ants whose nest had been disturbed, fleeing frantically in all directions.

And this was the beginning of a one-sided massacre.

Minato Namikaze's figure transformed into a golden crack that flickered and tore through space amidst the forest.

Each flash signifies that he has teleported to the coordinates of another kunai.

Each pause was accompanied by the desperate cry of an Iwa ninja.

Or a clean and swift kunai slits the throat, the blood tracing a poignant arc in the air.

Or it could be a kick with terrifying explosive power, the sound of bones shattering clearly audible.

Or perhaps, it's a blue ball that the roots can't comprehend.

They couldn't even see the water gate's movements clearly; they could only see the golden light weaving through the crowd, each flash signifying the passing of life.

A ninja from Iwa, thinking himself clever, saw a kunai fall nearby and immediately used Earth Release to create a thick earthen wall between himself and the kunai.

However, the next second, golden light shone behind him.

Minato's figure appeared next to another kunai further away, and the Rasengan in his hand easily crushed his back.

"...It's not just the most recent ones..."

This was the last thought of that Iwa ninja.

He died without understanding why this man could choose any place to place his piece on this chessboard paved with death.

Obito was completely stunned.

His mouth was open, and his eyes behind his goggles reflected the constantly flashing golden light.

"Wow...that's amazing..."

This wasn't a gasp of amazement, but rather a murmur that bordered on absentmindedness.

This is his teacher, the Yellow Flash of Konoha, on whom the Third Hokage placed his hopes.

On the other side of the battlefield, Kakashi began the pursuit.

His mission is no longer defense, but to become the Grim Reaper who reaps lives.

Any Iwa ninja who tried to escape from his direction were cut down one by one by him with his most swift and efficient swordsmanship.

In Kakashi's hands, the White Fang Dagger seemed to come alive.

Where the blade flashed, blood spurted out.

His thin figure exuded a chilling sense of oppression, just like his father's.

He was another unmissable sight on the battlefield.

A silver Grim Reaper chasing after a golden flash.