Personal Grudge (2)

The Third Hokage's complexion was quite ugly as he stared at Araki. Perhaps he had a faint idea that he might lose this battle.

Meanwhile, a sword appeared in Araki's hand… The sword was quite long, nearly a meter of so long, and quite thin in terms of breadth. Its sharp side was reflecting the sun's faint rays…

"I never thought you would choose such a time to fight me. You should know that with these actions, you are literally destroying Konoha yourself." The Hokage said while staring at Araki.

"I am simply returning the favour, monkey. Don't act as if you didn't play a hand in Uzushio's destruction. I wanted your death… But I wanted your death at such an occasion where you would feel the greatest regret and pain." Araki said with a cold smile on his face.

Without hesitating any further, he rushed at the Third Hokage with his top speed.

To this, the Third Hokage sneered in his heart and thought 'Rushing towards your enemy without even observing him first… You really are a kid, Senju Araki.'

Their weapons clashed against each other and produced a huge shockwave. Even the Shinobis of Sunagakure and Konohagakure were shocked and unconsciously turned their eyes to Araki and the Hokage's fight.

Araki was the one on the offensive as he kept on attacking the Third Hokage with his quick strikes, while the Third Hokage was hardpressed to defend them all.

The main reason why Araki was on the offensive was that his weapon was lighter than Hokage's weapon. And it could be used for quick successive strikes.

However, this wasn't the main reason why Hokage was on the defensive. He was waiting… Waiting for an opportunity.

And his eyes flashed with a strange glint when he found it.

At that moment, he swung the great adamantine staff with his entire strength and hit Araki. Araki was a little surprised by the sudden strength. He was flung away.

Araki crashed into some trees in that side, and his eyes widened slightly when he saw the Hokage going through hand seals. He was well aware of what the jutsu would be…

"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Bomb!"

The Third Hokage let out a breath of Fire which transformed into Fire Dragon and hits Araki's body. The Flames were so massive that even the Suna Shinobi broke out a sweat… This man was truly dangerous. Without their Kazekage to protect them from these flames, they didn't feel assured about their chances of surviving it.

The Third Hokage seemed to have let out a breath of relief after having used this Jutsu. Just when he turned his head towards the Suna Shinobi, he heard another voice from his right side, "Hmm… You really burnt my Wood Clone to a crisp. I guess I was underestimating you a bit too much."

Hearing this voice, the Third Hokage had an urge to slap himself. Just how could he think that this would be over so quickly.

He turned towards the direction and saw Araki seated on a tree, quite similar to how he had been seated on the tree when he declared his presence here.

The Third Hokage didn't hesitate and charged at him with his top speed. In turn, Araki said, "Let me return the favour from earlier."

"Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!"

A huge water dragon was made out of the air, and it rushed towards the Third Hokage with a quick speed.

The Third Hokage immediately stopped before using, "Earth Style: Mud Wall Jutsu!"

With this, he somehow managed to protect himself from the Water Dragon Jutsu. Still, he didn't realise that Araki had already closed the distance between them.

By the time he noticed Araki, Araki was too close to the Third Hokage's position. Before the Third Hokage could even raise his staff, his face was punched so strongly that the Third Hokage felt his bones shake… In fact, a few cracks might have appeared in his skull.

He was thrown back far away.

Araki stared at the hand which had punched the Third Hokage, "Damn… That was a lot more satisfying than I expected. Hey monkey, get up! I won't allow you to go down with just this." Araki was saying it with a crazy smile on his face.

This was exactly how he hoped his fight against the Third Hokage would be.

The Third Hokage's hold over Enma, the adamantine staff tightened…

But contrary to these actions, he suddenly threw tens of Shuriken. He made a hand seal, "Ninja Art: Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

These tens of Shuriken were multiplied to hundreds of Shuriken. Even if Araki wanted to dodge, it would be impossible to dodge this wide-ranged attack.

Araki though didn't care about this Jutsu. The Wind Pressure around him changed…Whenever the shuriken was about to touch his body, it would be slightly redirected from its course.

Not a single shuriken managed to hit Araki.

Naturally, even the Hokage didn't think that these Shurikens would hit Araki. He was counting on Araki to use some sort of wall to defend against these Shurikens though. If Araki had done that, he could have used that moment to charge and return the favour from earlier.

He created 3 Shadow Clones and charged at Araki.

Araki let out a sigh, wondering just why the Hokage had bothered to create Clones. Did he forget that Araki was a sensor?

The chakra in the Hokage's real body and his clone was apparent. No matter what he did, he wouldn't be able to fool Araki.

Araki let the four of them come and surrounding him. Hokage kept on attacking Araki from four directions, but Araki dodged it rather casually.

Suddenly, the Hokage charged forward as he found an opening. And… This was exactly what Araki had been waiting for.

Just when the Third Hokage was about to strike Araki with his staff, a Wood Clone was created right behind Araki which grabbed the Third Hokage by his head.

The creation of this Wood Clone was so sudden that the Third Hokage couldn't even defend against it.

But his Shadow Clones didn't stay idle. They immediately went through a couple of hand seals and used respective Jutsus.

"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough Jutsu!"

"Earth Style: Earth Dragon Bullet!"

"Lightning Style: Lightning Panther!"

These three attacks were thrown at Araki and his Wood Clone. They were thrown at them with such precision that these attacks wouldn't hurt the Third Hokage's real body.

But… just when these three attacks were about to heart Araki, they heard him speak calmly.

"Wood Style: Tree Wall Barrier!"

A wall of countless wooden branches was raised. All these attacks struck the tree wall but were unable to break past it.

Meanwhile, Araki had increased his hold over the Third Hokage's head. The bones in his head were breaking apart.

Worried about his summoner, the staff held in the Third Hokage's hand puffed out and transformed into Monkey King Enma again.

Just when the Monkey King was about to strike at Araki's wood clone to free the Third Hokage, Araki appeared and punched the Monkey King far away.

"I don't need another monkey here. If you value your life, then return to your realm." And then, Araki turned his head towards the Third Hokage whose head hand started bleeding.

Blood was running down his nose, and currently, he was losing the strength to stand erect on his legs.

"Now then, time to give you a farewell, monkey!" Araki said while running at the Third Hokage, kicking his head so strongly that it split from the rest of his body.

The Third Hokage's head went flying in the sky, until it landed in the middle of the battlefield between Suna and Konoha, crushed by the footsteps of hundreds of Shinobi.