Talent Entry Ninja of Konoha

"Kaido, what kind of reward did you get?"

As Kaido returned to the towering Stone Pillar, Chopper trotted up beside him, curiosity sparkling in his eyes.

Kaido tilted his head, glanced down at the small reindeer, then burst into laughter. "Nothing much, just 10,000 points."

"Oh! 10,000 points?! That's amazing!"

Chopper's eyes lit up instantly. A reward that hefty from a match that easy? It was practically free!

"If I'm lucky, maybe I'll get a turn next match… Hopefully another one of those 'Third Hokage' guys will show up." Chopper mumbled under his breath.

At this point in the Pirate King camp, the term "Third Hokage" had practically become a synonym for "free win."

After all, both previous Third Hokages had fallen like dominoes.

They weren't just weak. They were unlucky enough to face monsters from the Pirate side.

"Match 4: Pirate World — Second Pirate King Ace VS Hokage World —Second Hokage Tobirama!"

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Two figures appeared on the vast arena stage in a burst of light.

"Hahaha~! It's finally my turn!" Ace laughed with uncontainable excitement, waving at his comrades. "Luffy, watch closely. I'm not going to lose!"

"Ace! Good luck!" Luffy leapt up and cheered, fists pumping in the air.

On the opposite side, Tobirama stood in composed silence, sharp eyes analyzing every detail of his new opponent.

Unlike Kaido, this Ace didn't exude raw, overwhelming force. He didn't look like a beast or a monster.

But Tobirama had learned his lesson after watching Luffy's match.

Appearances could be deceiving. An average look meant nothing if it masked terrifying power. He couldn't afford to take this lightly.

"So you're my opponent? You don't look too strong." Ace said from across the field, scanning Tobirama up and down with a grin.

Clearly, Ace was confident. And why wouldn't he be?

Though his strength rating in the chat group only ranked in the middle of second tier, that still placed him higher than most Hokages they'd seen so far.

The two "Third Hokages" that fought before? Both were jokes.

And Tobirama?

Just a stern face and cold stare.

So what if his eyes were sharp? That didn't mean he was strong.

"I'm going in!"

Ace suddenly shouted and launched forward, leaping high into the air, flames swirling around his fist as he hurled a barrage of fire down at Tobirama.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Fiery fists rained like meteors across the arena until Ace realized something strange.

Tobirama was gone.

"Behind!"

Ace's Observation Haki screamed a warning, allowing him to narrowly evade a shadowy strike from behind.

"That ability again… Observation Haki, huh?"

Tobirama's sharp gaze followed the agile Ace.

He remembered seeing that skill during Roger's match. Back when the Wood Dragon Barrage was raining down, Roger had dodged almost effortlessly.

That wasn't ordinary reflex. That was a technique—this Observation Haki. And now, it seemed most of the Pirate Kings possessed it.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The clash escalated—both figures blurring back and forth, each exchange faster than the last.

Ace's Mera-Mera Fruit granted him devastating offensive power, but unlike his original self, this version of Ace had refined his physical abilities significantly.

He wasn't just a Logia fruit user anymore. He had mastered Observation Haki, trained in Armament Haki, and even awakened traces of Conqueror's Haki.

His combat level—mid-second tier—let him exchange blow for blow with Tobirama, who was regarded as near-invincible at second-tier.

Of course, that was only because Tobirama hadn't revealed his full power yet.

He hadn't activated Sage Mode. He hadn't tapped into his hidden aces.

Tobirama was probing—testing Ace's strength before making his move.

When the time came, he would strike decisively.

Nearly ten minutes passed.

They had already exchanged over a thousand blows.

Tobirama had seen enough.

Ace's flame manipulation was impressive. His transformation into fire made him practically immune to physical damage. Even ninjutsu couldn't land reliably, he could dodge or defend with Armament Haki.

But there was one key problem—Tobirama's Water Release didn't include seastone. If it did, Ace would've already been in trouble.

Because seastone—the natural weakness of Devil Fruits—could pierce that flame body in an instant.

Unfortunately, Tobirama's Water Jutsu lacked that crucial component.

Among the Pirate Kings, only those with third-tier strength or higher had overcome their Devil Fruit weaknesses, thanks to expensive upgrades in the chat group.

But Ace?

He didn't have that luxury. He hadn't earned enough points to purchase the optimization function.

His Devil Fruit still came with the same vulnerabilities.

Thankfully, Tobirama's water lacked seastone.

Ace had panicked at first, but after realizing it didn't hurt him, he regained his usual swagger and grew reckless.

"It's useless. These attacks can't break through my elementalization at all. You can hit me a hundred times, and it won't make a difference."

A cluster of kunai sailed through Ace's fiery body. They passed harmlessly.

Ace smirked, confidence swelling inside him. He thought he had this match in the bag.

Tobirama, however, said nothing. He simply continued his silent barrage, his expression unreadable.

Ace took the silence as fear.

A mistake.

He lowered his guard.

"Ace is going to lose."

Ryosuke, watching from the Hokage side, muttered the words calmly.

"Eh? Ryosuke, how can you tell?" Kakashi asked from beside him, genuinely puzzled.

After all, with Ace's immunity to physical damage and even ninjutsu proving ineffective, this kind of opponent was a headache to deal with.

And yet Ryosuke seemed so certain.

"Because he's lowered his guard." Ryosuke replied, his tone casual but confident.

"And more importantly, Tobirama hasn't even activated Sage Mode yet. Also, don't forget… he has a pair of Sharingan."

"Physical and ninjutsu damage might be meaningless…"

Ryosuke continued, "But mental attacks like Genjutsu can't be ignored by elementalization."

"If it's a basic genjustu, Ace could break free with his willpower or Conqueror's Haki. But if it's a Mangekyō Sharingan genjutsu…"

He let the words hang.

The implication was clear.

Ace was doomed.

Logia fruits like the Mera-Mera were powerful.

Extremely powerful.

Immune to physical strikes. Able to nullify most elemental ninjutsu. More potent than the Hydration Technique of the Hozuki Clan.

But they had weaknesses.

Armament Haki, which no one in the Hokage world possessed.

And Senjutsu Chakra.

Elementalization didn't work against natural energy. It couldn't be bypassed.

Tobirama hadn't activated Sage Mode because he didn't know Ace's true strength.

But if he had?

If he had activated it from the beginning?

Ace wouldn't have lasted this long.

In pure head-to-head power, Ace wasn't Tobirama's equal.

Losing was only natural.

And now, in the present moment, Ace had committed the ultimate mistake.

Underestimating his opponent.

He believed Tobirama had no way to counter his flame body. He had grown complacent.

Instead of dodging incoming attacks as he had done before, Ace now relied entirely on his elemental state.

He stood there, letting most of Tobirama's strikes pass through him harmlessly.

But once Tobirama activated Sage Mode…

Once that natural energy flowed through his chakra…

Elementalization wouldn't save him anymore.

"So… yeah." Ryosuke said, eyes calmly fixed on the battlefield.

"Ace has already lost."