Naruto: Reborn with the Template System

Author Note:

Here's the BONUS CHAPTER as promised—thanks for the support, and let's keep this energy going!

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The battlefield roared with chaos. Clashing steel, screams, and explosions filled the air in an unrelenting storm of violence.

From a small hillside overlooking the scene, the carnage below stretched endlessly, bloodied corpses, shattered weapons, and smoke swirling into the sky.

"That's the Third Mizukage?"

Guts asked, narrowing his eyes as he looked toward the distant shoreline.

A tall man stood amidst the Mist Shinobi forces.

Though his face bore faint wrinkles, his long flowing hair and dignified bearing gave him a strange youthfulness.

He exuded the quiet authority of a seasoned warrior.

Minato, standing beside Guts, gave a small nod.

"That's him. He has the Ice Release Kekkei Genkai from the Yuki Clan. Don't underestimate him."

Guts cracked his neck, then smirked.

"Minato-chan, I want to take this guy on. Any objections?"

Minato gave a half-hearted smile. After Jiraiya's warning about what Guts was doing for Tsunade, he hadn't bothered trying to change his mind.

That wasn't his nature anyway.

"Fine. I'll cover from the rear. Just don't overdo it."

Even if Minato had said no, Guts would've gone anyway, but hearing him agree without fuss saved time.

Without another word, Guts bent his knees and vanished upward, using Geppo to leap into the sky.

Each step left a burst of shockwaves behind him as he moved effortlessly through the air.

For a shinobi, flight was an overwhelming advantage. Speed, mobility, and the ability to strike from above, it changed the nature of combat entirely.

Gaara survived because he could fly using his sand, Guts recalled. Without that, Kimimaro would've killed him.

As he ascended, Guts activated his Advanced Observation Haki, and his irises lit up a faint, glowing red...just like Katakuri from One Piece.

Instantly, the next five seconds unfolded in his mind.

The Mizukage was about to strike.

"So predictable,"

Guts muttered with a grin.

"Feels damn good knowing what comes next."

Below, the Third Mizukage weaved hand signs without hesitation.

"Ice Release—Burst Ice Crystals!"

The air around him flash-froze, forming countless razor-sharp icicles that shot upward like a swarm of missiles.

"No greeting? Rude." Guts smirked midair.

His body flickered.

Every single ice shard missed him by a hair's breadth, not even grazing his cloak.

Down below, the Mist Shinobi stared in disbelief. Guts hadn't just dodged, he danced through the assault like it was choreographed.

"Finger Gun Uprising: Meteor Lightning Finger!"

A blue flash ignited from his fingertip.

CRACK!

A thunderous sound echoed as the attack pierced the Mizukage's chest, exploding outward in a burst of light and blood. A gaping hole tore through his torso.

Despite being called a "finger strike," it hit like a cannon punch.

But no one from Konoha cheered.

Instead, stunned silence spread across the battlefield.

Jiraiya, watching from afar, blinked in disbelief.

"No way… That's the Mizukage. Did he really go down that easily?"

Minato's expression was also puzzled. Even with Guts immense strength, a Kage shouldn't fall in one hit.

But Guts, still in the air, grinned. His red-glowing eyes confirmed what he already suspected.

From behind, Shisui's Sharingan flared as he shouted,

"Sensei, be careful! That's a clone!"

Sure enough, the Mizukage's body turned to ice and shattered.

Ice Release: Shadow Clone.

It wasn't over.

Suddenly, cold mist enveloped the air.

Dozens of ice mirrors materialized in a wide circle, surrounding Guts in all directions. Each one reflected the image of the Third Mizukage.

"Secret Technique: Magic Mirror Ice Crystals…?" Guts murmured.

But unlike Haku's technique, this version was on a whole different scale,nearly a hundred mirrors stretched across the sky, glistening with cold malice.

Shisui's eyes spun rapidly, frowning.

"I can't… I can't read it. My current Sharingan can't follow his movement through those mirrors."

Just then...

Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet!

A massive water dragon roared from the side, jaws wide.

Shisui vanished in a blur, reappearing ten meters away.

He turned sharply to face the attacker.

A middle-aged man with blue hair and a bandage over his right eye stepped forward. The air around him was calm, and he gave the aura of a strategist.

"Ao," Shisui muttered.

One of the future guards of the Fifth Mizukage. Even now, he had the Byakugan embedded in his right eye, stolen from a Hyuga during this very war.

"Impressive," Ao said.

"Guts student, The Famous Body Licker Shisui. Your speed lives up to your reputation."

Shisui's gaze hardened.

"You stole a Byakugan…? Shameful."

Drawing his blade, he performed a quick seal.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

Ao responded immediately. "Water Style: Water Wall!"

The jutsu clashed, steam hissing violently between them.

Meanwhile, above...

Guts faced the endless hall of mirrors.

"This technique… it's just reflections," he muttered, closing his eyes.

"This won't work on me."

Without a word, the Third Mizukage launched his next attack.

"Secret Technique: Killing Ice Throne!"

The moisture in the air surged, forming hundreds of deadly spikes,half water, half ice. They twisted unnaturally, flexible and sharp, a hybrid of two deadly states.

Guts remained still.

Then...

He flowed.

His body danced through the barrage like wind through trees, slipping past every spear, spinning and weaving with unnatural ease.

The Mizukage frowned. He's predicting everything. There's no point in flashy techniques…

Then let's see how he handles this.

He formed another seal.

But before he could even release his jutsu

Guts's eyes snapped open.

"There."

In a heartbeat, he turned and launched forward.

His Armament Haki coated his fists in black steel as he smashed through dozens of mirrors and appeared behind the Mizukage's real body, hidden among them all.

CRACK!

The punch shattered not only the mirror, but the air itself.

Too fast.

The Mizukage didn't even have time to blink.

In his final moment, his eyes,once narrow and calculating, suddenly went blank. And then…

Guts felt it.

A pulse.

A foreign chakra surged toward his mind. A cold, commanding force. It wasn't the Mizukage's will.

No...it was something else. A foreign presence. A Dōjutsu.

So… you're being controlled after all, Guts thought, his smile widening as he fought back the invading chakra with sheer willpower.

What a powerful Genjutsu. Whoever's behind this… they're no ordinary Sharingan user.

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