[Kakuzu, who took a direct hit from a Rasenshuriken, was only a hair away from dying on the spot.]
[But our ruthless Kakashi delivered the finishing blow with a Lightning Release, killing Kakuzu and bringing his body back to Konoha for research.]
"Kakuzu died just like that?"
A ninja as strong as him, one who had been around since the First Hokage's time, was killed so easily by Uzumaki Naruto. It was definitely a bit hard to believe.
What?
You're saying Kakashi killed him?
Nonsense.
Kakuzu obviously died because of Naruto's main character aura! (Confident face)
"Naruto being the Child of Prophecy is pretty much certain now. With such a strong main character aura surrounding him, if I still doubted it, I wouldn't be the great author of the ninja world, Jiraiya."
Looking at Naruto's silly grin, it's hard to believe that this guy is the Child of Prophecy.
But facts have proven that Naruto likely is the Child of Prophecy.
The screen already confirmed it—he's the protagonist of *Naruto*.
And the earlier scene also showed that Naruto indeed has a main character aura.
Otherwise, there's no way to explain how Kakuzu, who had been dominating Kakashi in the fight, suddenly collapsed.
He got distracted in the middle of battle and even reacted slowly.
This is clearly the work of the main character aura.
Even Jiraiya, with his knowledge of writing, had to admit after watching Naruto's performance on the screen, "That's terrifying."
"It's decided. When we fight the Akatsuki, we'll let Naruto wear down Kakuzu. After Kakuzu takes a hit from Naruto's Rasenshuriken, you can finish him off, old man."
The Third Hokage shot a glance at Jiraiya, now the Fifth Hokage. His meaning was clear.
Sure, his strength had weakened, but he wasn't about to snatch such an easy win like that.
By then, he'd only need to take out two or three of Kakuzu's hearts and leave him with just one.
In Kakuzu's prime, he might've been tough to beat, but a Kakuzu with only one heart? That's child's play.
There's no way he could lose.
"Uzumaki Naruto is terrifying. I think he has the potential to become Hokage."
Maybe because they share the Uzumaki name, Uzumaki Mito had a very good impression of Naruto.
She even ignored his goofy antics on the screen.
As long as the end result was good, nothing else mattered.
"Tobirama, I want to go with you on this time-travel mission."
"You want to meet Uzumaki Naruto?"
"Yes."
"I'll think about it."
Tobirama didn't outright reject Uzumaki Mito's suggestion. He needed to carefully consider it.
Since Uzumaki Mito was the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki, would the presence of the Nine-Tails be similar to that of White Zetsu? If there were no chance to travel, would it break free from the jinchūriki's hold and stay in the office?
If that were the case, it would be a serious problem.
Moreover, if the Nine-Tails did cross over, what would happen when two jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails met?
Would the presence of two Nine-Tails cause any issues?
These were all matters that Senju Tobirama needed to think through carefully.
[During the Fourth Great Ninja War, Kakuzu was resurrected through Edo Tensei by Kabuto Yakushi.]
Tobirama, still deep in thought, immediately refocused when he saw the screen once again mention the Fourth Great Ninja War. He stared at the screen intently.
[Earth Grudge Fear made him one of the fastest and most efficient to regain strength among the resurrected.]
[But unfortunately, one of his split hearts was destroyed by Tenten using the Bashōsen.]
[The original body was subdued by Chōji in his Butterfly Mode, and everyone knows the final outcome.]
"Tenten's ninja tools… do they include this fan?"
Naruto looked at the screen, showing Tenten holding the Bashōsen, with a look of great confusion in his small eyes.
During the second round of the Chūnin Exams' preliminary matches, Tenten had faced Temari, who was her natural counter.
Naruto remembered that battle vividly.
Tenten had leaped into the air, summoning a variety of ninja tools from a scroll.
She brought out all kinds of weapons—kunai, shuriken, scythes, double-headed dragons, even comfort sticks—yet there was no fan.
On the other hand, it was Temari, who defeated Tenten, who actually used a fan as a weapon.
"If I'm not mistaken, this fan should be something from Kumogakure."
The Third Hokage, the oldest and most knowledgeable among them, offered an answer, though he seemed a bit uncertain.
At this moment, Orochimaru, who had once invaded Kumogakure, added, "The Bashōsen is a very mysterious weapon, and it was wielded by Kinkaku of Kumogakure."
"Kinkaku?"
Upon hearing the name, the Third Hokage immediately recalled the scene from years ago when they were pursued by the ninja forces led by the Kinkaku and Ginkaku brothers.
If it weren't for the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, sacrificing himself to hold them off, he and the other five companions might have died in that battle.
"If Orochimaru is right, then during the Fourth Great Ninja War, the Kinkaku and Ginkaku brothers were also likely resurrected through Edo Tensei."
At this point, Jiraiya, the Fifth Hokage, felt a slight headache.
"Kabuto Yakushi sure had some skills. Not only did he dig up the graves of the Kinkaku and Ginkaku brothers in Kumogakure, but he also equipped them with Six Paths weapons like the Bashōsen. Wouldn't Kumogakure have kept them somewhere secure rather than just leaving them lying around?"
In the ninja world, the vast majority of shinobi used kunai as their weapons.
Those who were slightly better off would custom-make a ninja sword, a long blade, or similar weapons.
An even higher tier would be the weapons used by the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
Each of these seven weapons had its own unique abilities.
For example, Zabuza's Kubikiribōchō, a sword that, if broken, didn't need to be repaired by a blacksmith; it could absorb blood to automatically repair itself.
Although this ability doesn't offer much help in combat, when you're short on money, you can sell the metal, then find work at a slaughterhouse, earning money while waiting for the sword to repair itself.
As for the most powerful weapons, they would be the ninja tools left behind by the Sage of Six Paths.
These tools are the Golden Canopy Rope, the Seven Stars Sword, the Crimson Gourd, and the Banana Palm Fan.
Knowing this, the Fifth Hokage, Jiraiya, said that there was no way the Hidden Cloud Village would just ignore such powerful tools.
"Orochimaru, I'm still going to say this: keep a close watch on Kabuto. If I find out he's up to something suspicious, you can prepare to collect his corpse."
"Relax, Jiraiya. I'm keeping an eye on Kabuto. Nothing will happen."
"That's the best I can hope for."
In Tobirama's office, Akimichi Torifu felt deeply gratified watching Chōji, in his butterfly transformation, give Kakuzu a good beating.
Earlier, when he saw Chōji using the Multi-Size Technique and still getting beaten up by Kakuzu, he thought this chubby kid wouldn't have much of a future.
But in the end, the chubby kid gave him a pleasant surprise.
This was the butterfly transformation.
Without special pills, hardly anyone in the entire Akimichi clan could activate this form.
The fact that Chōji managed to activate the butterfly mode on his own shows that he's a true genius.
"The chubby kid's father is Akimichi Chōza, right? I can't do much about the younger generation, but this older one... heh heh heh, I'm going to give him some proper training."
Akimichi Chōza: ???
*********
Support me on my ko-fi account and read upto 15 early chapters,
https://ko-fi.com/aayume