Naruto, But With Li's Peerless Flying Dagger

Although a few years younger than Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Raikage's strength was in no way inferior.

"Kill!"

Seeing the Cloud ninjas charge collectively, the Konoha side also erupted with shouts, and their momentum were matching the Cloud ninjas stride for stride.

"Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet!"

Sasuke Sarutobi, in his forties and the prime of his life, his strength at its peak, formed hand seals with phantom-like speed. In less than two seconds, he had completed the signs for the Earth Dragon Bullet.

As Sasuke Sarutobi poured out his chakra, an earth dragon, thick as a water barrel and over ten meters long, rose from the ground and spat a projectile towards the Two-Tails Jinchuriki.

"Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique!"

To the left, Kagami Uchiha struck almost simultaneously. A fire dragon snaked towards the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki.

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, naturally wasn't falling behind. However, unlike Sasuke Sarutobi and Kagami Uchiha who opened with offensive ninjutsu, Hiruzen Sarutobi's first technique was not an attack, but a summoning.

"Summoning Technique: Monkey King Enma!"

Poof!

Amidst the white smoke, a monkey roughly Hiruzen Sarutobi's height appeared.

"Hiruzen."

"I'm counting on you, Enma."

"Transformation: Adamantine Staff!"

After Enma appeared, Hiruzen Sarutobi wasted no words and immediately formed the necessary hand seals. Enma then transformed into a long staff, which Hiruzen grasped firmly before charging towards the Third Raikage.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Violent explosions erupted as the top-tier combatants of Konoha and the Cloud Village clashed.

With unspoken understanding, ninjas from both Konoha and the Cloud Village instinctively kept their distance from these three battlegrounds, fearing they would be caught in the crossfire of the six Kage-level powerhouses. It was no joke; even a Jonin, if careless enough to be hit by a stray technique from these clashes, would be severely injured, if not killed outright.

"You three, stay close behind me."

Li Anshi's position, while not at the absolute front, was relatively close to the vanguard. Just as they were about to engage the Cloud ninjas in close combat, Li Anshi looked back at his three subordinates.

"Yes, Sensei," Sagawa Yui, Kondo Kazuya, and Sakamoto Toshio replied.

They had barely acknowledged Li Anshi's words when the foremost ninjas from both Konoha and the Cloud Village began unleashing ninjutsu upon the opposing ranks.

"Lightning Release: Lightning Ball!"

"Water Release: Water Trumpet!"

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

"Earth Release: Splitting Earth Turn Palm!"

For a moment, lightning, fire, water, and rock danced and collided across the battlefield.

In large-scale battles like this, those daring enough to unleash ninjutsu right from the start were mostly Jonin. Ordinary Chunin simply didn't have that much chakra to waste.

Soon, the Jonin who had traded techniques began pairing off for deadly duels. Elemental forces erupted, and surrounding Chunin who weren't careful enough found that even a graze could injure, and a direct hit meant death. Thus, beyond the three major confrontations, the wider battlefield involving nearly three thousand ninjas fractured into roughly twenty smaller skirmishes, forcing others to navigate carefully or be drawn in.

In just over ten seconds, the Konoha and Cloud ninjas finally met in close-quarters combat.

Li Anshi slapped the ninja tool pouch strapped to his thigh. Two flying daggers sprang out, landing perfectly in his grasp.

Swish, swish...

With the sound of slicing air, the two Cloud ninjas directly in front of Li Anshi were thrown backward as if struck by immense force. Only when they crumpled to the ground did others notice the flying daggers, identifiable by their ring-shaped hilts, embedded in their throats.

Swish, swish—

Next, the Konoha ninjas near Li Anshi watched in astonishment as his hands moved like a celestial maiden scattering flowers. Streaks of white light flashed, and in mere moments, over a dozen Cloud ninjas fell dead.

"Hiss... Sensei really is strong!"

Seeing this, Sagawa Yui, Kondo Kazuya, and Sakamoto Toshio felt a surge of elation.

Although they had learned of their sensei's terrifying skill during the two-day 'hunt', it was only now, on the actual battlefield, that they truly understood he had merely been playing with them before.

They could see that the Cloud ninjas their sensei had dispatched were all wearing the distinctive white flak jackets. Similar to Konoha's green vests, these white jackets signified the rank and status of Chunin in the Cloud Village. Yet now, with little more than a flick of his wrist, their sensei had effortlessly slain over a dozen Cloud Chunin.

Since Li Anshi had decided to protect as many civilian ninjas as possible in this war, he naturally wouldn't hold back his strength.

Indeed, the Jonin positions in the village were limited, like carrots in designated holes, mostly controlled by the established ninja clans. Barring exceptional circumstances, it was nearly impossible for a civilian ninja to become a Jonin.

However, if a ninja forged a renowned name for themselves across the shinobi world, the village couldn't realistically deny them promotion to Jonin. To do so would invite ridicule from other ninja villages.

Furthermore, if such a powerful individual wasn't given proper recognition and treatment, other villages would gladly welcome them. Having a ninja originally from their own village turn their blade against them would inevitably deal a severe blow to the village's prestige.

Sakumo Hatake, for example, had earned the moniker 'Konoha's White Fang' during this very Shinobi World War, ultimately leading to his promotion to Jonin.

In terms of killing efficiency, Li Anshi's flying daggers were far faster than Sakumo Hatake's White Fang Tantō.

Li Anshi advanced without pause, his hands continuing their deadly dance, sending arcs of white light – his flying daggers – to claim the lives of countless Cloud ninjas.

Soon, Li Anshi's highly efficient slaughter drew the attention of the Cloud Village's stronger combatants. Consequently, one of the Cloud Jonin, after forcing his opponent back, blurred his hands into afterimages, rapidly completing the hand seals for a ninjutsu.

"Lightning Release—!"

Thwip—

In an instant, the Cloud Jonin's pupils constricted sharply. He opened his mouth, but only coughed up a large amount of blood foam.

"How is this possible?"

He couldn't fathom how he had been struck by a flying dagger before he could even unleash his technique.

Aside from the Jonin's previous opponent, no one else immediately noticed that a powerful Cloud Jonin had already been killed by Li Anshi.

"Truly foolish," Li Anshi thought dismissively. "Trying to form hand seals for ninjutsu right in front of me?"

After a brief glance at the Cloud Jonin he had just killed, Li Anshi paid him no further attention.

Little Li's Flying Dagger never misses!

That phrase wasn't just a boast. Against ninjas who typically opened fights with ninjutsu, anyone unfamiliar with him was practically guaranteed to fall victim to a 'first encounter kill'. Once they gained a better understanding of his capabilities, unless they were fools wanting to test if they could somehow block his blade, few ninjas would likely dare face him directly again.