Soon, the Anbu brought a set of games, which were the three already released.
Sarutobi Hiruzen glanced at them and immediately tossed "Return Home" aside. He knew what kind of game it was and had no interest in such terrifying games—mostly because he was getting old and just couldn't connect with them.
Next, he tossed "Left 4 Dead" aside. While he thought "Left 4 Dead" was pretty good, it was more fun with a team. Playing alone wasn't that enjoyable.
Finally, Sarutobi Hiruzen found that only "Fruit Ninja" seemed worth trying.
Though the name of the game made him want to complain, there was no doubt that the game itself was excellent.
It had become a must-have for every ninja, especially for those who were serious about improving their skills.
Many had bought it and played it every day, using the quick games to sharpen their techniques and improve their real combat experience.
At that moment, Sarutobi Hiruzen entered the genjutsu game.
Instantly, the incredibly realistic experience made his eyes light up, and he nodded. "So this is what everyone means by incredibly realistic? It really is a genjutsu world that's incredibly realistic. Though there are some slight differences from reality, as long as you don't dig too deep, there's not much of a difference."
Rubbing his beard, Sarutobi Hiruzen took a moment to appreciate the experience.
The game didn't trigger any protection mechanisms for the elderly. First, Sarutobi Hiruzen wasn't too old to move around. This 50-year-old Third Hokage was still in his prime, without any injuries or ailments that would affect his movements. So, he simply acted as he would in the real world.
As someone who had long known about the game as a "cloud player," Sarutobi Hiruzen, though it was his first time playing, wasn't at all unfamiliar with it.
He immediately launched a quick attack on the cherry tree used to select difficulty and activated the highest difficulty mode.
At the same time, Sarutobi Hiruzen immediately tried summoning his partner, Enma, and found that he had successfully summoned him.
However, it was just a simulation from the game, not the real Enma. It didn't have its own intelligence and was merely a tool.
After a quick look, Sarutobi Hiruzen turned Enma into the Adamantine Staff, and he himself took on a combat-ready stance.
The appearance was almost identical to how Sarutobi Hiruzen looked during the Nine-Tails' attack in the original series.
Facing an overwhelming attack from plant-based enemies on the highest difficulty, Sarutobi Hiruzen, who couldn't use the Flying Thunder God Technique like Minato, didn't flash around like him. Instead, he first used Earth Style – Earth Dome to defend, then split into four Shadow Clones and unleashed his custom technique: Five Nature Techniques – Grand Barrage Jutsu.
The combination of five powerful ninjutsu with different elemental attributes—Fire, Lightning, Water, Earth, and Wind—formed a massive AoE (Area of Effect) that destroyed everything in its path.
In an instant, a safety zone nearly the size of a soccer field was cleared, drastically reducing Sarutobi Hiruzen's pressure—the main thing was that the area for movement had expanded.
Afterward, Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't cancel the Shadow Clones but sent them forward as explosive decoys. The clones spread out a bunch of explosive tags, and the clones themselves detonated them, destroying a group of fruit plants.
After doing this, Sarutobi Hiruzen followed up, wielding his big staff to engage in a battle of "musou" style among the plants.
The powerful swings of the staff were fully displayed, strong enough to sever the roots of the Ten-Tails God Tree, effortlessly sweeping through the fruit plants like a big stick clearing out grass.
Then, various ninjutsu were unleashed one after another, and he seemed to be enjoying it immensely.
This was only natural. As a master of ninjutsu, Sarutobi Hiruzen knew a vast number of techniques, including many forbidden jutsu.
However, in the real world, he rarely had the chance to fight, and even when sparring with others, he couldn't go all out—mainly because there were very few people in the ninja world capable of fighting him at full strength.
The Legendary Sannins are strong, right?
But now, if they encounter Sarutobi Hiruzen, unless all three of them team up, they wouldn't be able to withstand even a few of his full-strength moves.
In the original story, when Sarutobi Hiruzen was a few years younger, he encountered the young, strong Orochimaru in his thirties who had just defected.
If Hiruzen had been a little harsher, he could have easily knocked Orochimaru down, unable to get up.
If Hiruzen hadn't shown mercy and let him go, Orochimaru wouldn't have had the chance to carry out his plan to destroy Konoha in the future.
Given this situation, how many chances in the real world would there be for Sarutobi Hiruzen to fight at full strength?
After all, age is a factor. Although he was still at the tail end of his prime, his chakra couldn't compare to his younger years.
If he really had to fight with everything he had, his black hair would probably turn white in no time, just like how he looked fine during the Kyuubi Incident, but after it, he quickly turned into an old man with a white beard.
Being a ninja was never about longevity. On the contrary, chakra, which is a combination of physical and mental energy, actually consumes one's life force.
That's why ninjas naturally have strong life forces, with far more cells than humans on Earth. Otherwise, if regular humans used chakra, they would probably die from old age in no time.
Now, with the battle fully underway, Sarutobi Hiruzen had let go. Without any concerns and knowing that death didn't matter, he completely unleashed his potential.
He used every jutsu that he had once been hesitant to use, no longer worried about chakra consumption.
He continuously used techniques from all five elemental natures and even some forbidden jutsus that were once sealed away.
This feeling of freedom made Sarutobi Hiruzen unknowingly become immersed in it.
It was as though he had suddenly returned to his younger days, back when he served as the Second Hokage's guard.
At that moment, Sarutobi Hiruzen felt as if he had returned to his youth. His emotional response was intense, even giving him the illusion that the ambition he had in his younger years had returned as well.
Everything could be summed up in a simple word—
Battle, it feels great!
Then, Uchiha Kai received a surge of emotional energy and two points of golden spirit.
After checking the location through the system, a smile appeared on his face.
"Finally willing to play the game, huh? Old man Sarutobi, although your title of 'strongest Hokage' is just for show, your ability to explode gold is still impressive. You managed to explode so much in one go. Only Madara, that old man, can explode more than you."
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