"Since you've already made your decision, then let's stop with the pretenses! Don't insult me by dragging this out."
Hearing Sarutobi Hiruzen's declaration, Uchiha Yue suddenly laughed—an almost manic, contemptuous sound, as if the Third Hokage had just told the most absurd joke he'd ever heard.
Still chuckling, Yue's mouth curled in disdain. His Mangekyō Sharingan spun slowly as his gaze landed on Hiruzen, now laced with open scorn.
Everything had reached a breaking point. Hiruzen, despite knowing the truth and all that had transpired, still dared to speak so self-righteously. Under such circumstances, Uchiha Yue didn't even know how to assess him anymore.
He could only think: this was truly the Sarutobi Hiruzen who had ruled for decades—the quintessential politician. Ever-changing, full of duplicity, and an instinctual master of veiling motives with noble-sounding rhetoric.
"Very well! It seems I've been naive," Hiruzen said grimly, standing tall with renewed resolve. "Then let me test you, Uchiha Yue, to see whether you truly have the strength—and the right—to bear the mantle of Hokage!"
At that moment, faced with Yue's laughter and contempt, Hiruzen understood he had misjudged things again. Still, his decades of experience didn't allow him to falter. Drawing from his reserves, Hiruzen's aged frame tensed, and a powerful, oppressive aura surged around him, a reminder that he was once hailed as "The Professor" for mastering every jutsu in Konoha.
"Hmph. Then come!" Uchiha Yue's grin faded, and he snorted coldly. His chakra flared like a storm, meeting Hiruzen's head-on.
No more words. At this point, ideology, legacy, and all the justifications meant nothing. Only battle would determine who would prevail.
"Summoning Technique: Monkey King Enma!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't hesitate. Biting his thumb, he smeared blood on his palm and slammed it down.
Bang!
With a burst of white smoke, a muscular white-furred ape in shinobi attire appeared—forehead protector bearing Konoha's symbol, eyes sharp and ready for combat.
"Hiruzen, what's going on?" Enma asked immediately, surveying the battlefield with tension in his voice.
"This time, Enma, I'm asking for your strength once more. The opponent is Uchiha Yue, the newly appointed patriarch of the Uchiha Clan. He wields the Mangekyō Sharingan, is proficient in advanced space-time ninjutsu, and has overwhelming chakra reserves."
As Hiruzen spoke, Enma narrowed his eyes, his instincts instantly alert. The sheer pressure emanating from Uchiha Yue was enough to trigger every warning bell in his battle-hardened mind.
"He's dangerous. I can sense it."
"Then let's go, Enma!" Hiruzen roared.
The monkey king instantly transformed into the adamantine staff, his body elongating into the iconic Kongō Nyoi, famed for its indestructibility and weight-shifting properties—once used to fight against Orochimaru himself.
"Take this—Uchiha Yue!"
With that cry, Hiruzen launched forward. The staff cracked through the air with a shriek, backed by killing intent and years of honed strength. It descended toward Yue's head like a judgment from the heavens.
Clang!!!
The deafening sound of metal colliding filled the air, followed by a violent gust that tore at the surroundings.
Yet despite the sheer might behind it, the strike was halted midair—caught between Yue's fingers.
A kunai, somehow summoned just in time, had blocked the adamantine staff without his stance breaking, his feet unmoved. It was as if Hiruzen's full-power assault had been nothing but a breeze.
"Such terrifying arm strength…"
Hiruzen's eyes widened, stunned by the raw physical resistance. But his instincts didn't fail him. Without pause, he followed with a flying kick toward Yue's chest.
Boom!
The impact resounded dully—but Yue's other hand flashed up and absorbed the strike cleanly.
"Tch. Fast reactions. But let's see if your body can match my decades of physical training."
Gritting his teeth, Hiruzen intensified his assault. With Kongō Nyoi twirling in seamless combinations, he unleashed a barrage of taijutsu techniques. The same style that had once made even the Sannin tremble was now being brought to bear again.
It was a return to form—a reminder that even in his old age, the Third Hokage was no pushover.
Each blow targeted Yue's weak spots, aiming for vital meridians, blind angles, and structural destabilization. Every movement was efficient, calculated, and merciless.
For the first time in this battle, Yue's position began to shift. He retreated half a step, then another.
Although his strength had surged with the infusion of Hashirama's cells—making him physically superior to most shinobi—he still had limits of the human body. And against a master of hand-to-hand combat like Hiruzen, brute strength alone wasn't enough.
"As expected of the man once called the 'God of Shinobi'… Your taijutsu is almost art."
But Yue's Sharingan—now Eternal Mangekyō—remained ever spinning. Though he had yet to unleash its devastating ocular powers, he continued to defend with precision, calculating and analyzing.
After all, one of the most notorious traits of the Sharingan was its ability to predict and copy movements.
Just as Sasuke had mimicked Rock Lee's taijutsu after only one brief encounter in the Chūnin Exams, Yue was now rapidly internalizing every motion Hiruzen displayed.
Though he was on the defensive, Yue wasn't being pushed back blindly—he was learning.
In fact, every strike blocked was a data point recorded. Every stance reversed was a technique understood.
"It's no wonder Sarutobi became Hokage. But sadly…" Yue thought calmly, even amid the storm of combat.
"If you cannot defeat me outright, then your strength, like all else, will become nourishment for my evolution."
Unseen to Hiruzen, the Eternal Mangekyō had already begun interpreting and simulating counter-techniques. Though it looked like he was struggling, Yue had never been more composed.
When this battle concluded, win or lose, Uchiha Yue would no longer be the same shinobi. Sarutobi's most honed techniques—decades in the making—were now being absorbed into a new, monstrous legacy.