Uchiha Gate: From Konoha to One Piece

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With a determined expression, Kaito once again controlled his Susanoo, swinging its enormous sword toward the Third Kazekage.

But the Kazekage wasn't an easy opponent. He quickly amassed an immense amount of iron sand, forming a gigantic hexagonal cube in front of him to block the attack.

"Boom!!!"

The Susanoo's blade struck the iron sand construct but only managed to cut halfway through before stopping.

"Hahaha!"

The Third Kazekage couldn't hide his glee and burst out laughing. "Looks like there's a way to block your attack after all! Now, take this!"

With a triumphant shout, he manipulated part of the iron sand from the cube, transforming it into numerous iron spears that shot toward Kaito at terrifying speed.

Kaito swiftly dispelled his Susanoo. Using the 'Shave' technique, he vanished from his spot in an instant, reappearing several meters to the side.

He had realized that Susanoo was too sluggish to counter the Kazekage's rapid assaults. It wasn't the right tool for this fight.

The Kazekage wasn't about to let him off so easily. He immediately directed more iron spears to chase after Kaito.

Dodging in a wide arc around the Kazekage, Kaito suddenly dashed forward, closing the distance between them.

A long sword appeared in Kaito's hand, its blade gleaming ominously as he slashed at the Kazekage.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The Kazekage hastily formed a thick iron sand shield to block the strikes.

At the same time, he launched a barrage of iron spears and needles to counterattack.

Kaito continued to dodge and strike, the two locked in an intense battle that seemed evenly matched.

"You're dead!"

Suddenly, the Kazekage revealed his trap. At some point during their fight, he had surrounded Kaito with several iron sand cubes. Manipulating the iron sand, he commanded it to converge on Kaito from all directions, intending to crush him.

In the blink of an eye, Kaito disappeared again.

The Kazekage, however, wasn't surprised.

After all, he knew that Kaito had mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique. A simple trap like this wasn't going to kill him.

His real goal was to stall Kaito and buy time for his forces to retreat.

The Kazekage recalled that the Flying Thunder God markers Kaito had previously thrown were scattered on the ground several dozen meters ahead. He immediately focused his attention there, trying to locate Kaito.

Through his Magnet Release, he didn't sense any Flying Thunder God markers in other directions.

"This brat must still be up ahead," he thought as he scanned the battlefield.

But just as he was looking forward—

"Shhk!"

A cold sensation spread across his neck.

His entire body froze.

"How… How is this possible?"

With a face full of disbelief, the Kazekage tried to turn his head.

"Thud!"

Before he could, his head separated cleanly from his body, blood spraying into the air.

As his severed head fell, the Kazekage finally understood.

Somehow, Kaito had appeared behind him, holding a gleaming sword and completing a sheathing motion.

"How… How did you do it? There were no Flying Thunder God markers behind me…"

The Kazekage's lips moved as if to speak, but no sound came out. Even so, Kaito could clearly make out what he was trying to say.

Kaito chuckled mysteriously. "Who knows?"

Of course, he couldn't tell the Kazekage that he had cheated by using the teleportation ability granted by his Space Gate talent.

Cheating wasn't the right word, though. It was his innate ability, so how could it be considered cheating?

It was simply smart use of his powers.

Yes, he was just smart not cheating.

"If only my Flying Thunder God Technique had broken its limits. Then I wouldn't have needed to rely on the Space Gate to teleport without a marker."

"Hmm, that's not entirely accurate either. Even the Space Gate requires a kind of coordinate system…"

"Mapping out the battlefield is just another way to set coordinates, isn't it?"

Kaito mused to himself, feeling satisfied with his cleverness.

"In combat, the ability to teleport anywhere within my sensory range would be much more convenient. If only the Flying Thunder God could evolve to that level someday!"

He had high hopes for his Heaven's Reward talent, which had never disappointed him before.

"L-Lord Kazekage?"

Meanwhile, on another part of the battlefield, a few Sand Jonin were fighting Jiraiya and Sakumo when they noticed the Kazekage's headless body falling to the ground.

Their faces froze in disbelief.

"This can't be real… He is the strongest Kazekage! How could this happen?!"

While they were stunned, neither Jiraiya nor Sakumo hesitated.

"You dare get distracted in the middle of a fight? Your lives are mine now!" Sakumo declared coldly.

In a flash of silver light, Sakumo cut down the remaining Sand Jonin on his side.

Jiraiya wasn't far behind, using his Lion Mane Technique to finish off the last of his opponents.

Once the battlefield quieted, both of them turned to look at Kaito and then at the Kazekage's corpse on the ground.

"Kaito, you're insane! You actually took down the Third Kazekage just like that? That's ridiculous!" Jiraiya exclaimed, clearly impressed.

Kaito shrugged modestly. "He wasn't that tough. Definitely not as strong as Hanzo."

Sakumo, however, studied Kaito intently and finally spoke. "It seems your mastery of the Flying Thunder God has surpassed even the Second Hokage's. To mark the Kazekage in the middle of such an intense fight without him noticing… That's extraordinary."

Then, his gaze shifted to the sword in Kaito's hand.

"And that blade… What is it?"

When Sakumo's eyes landed on the gleaming blade in Kaito's hand, he couldn't look away. It was as if he was staring at a priceless treasure—or the love of his life.

"That sword, huh?" Kaito chuckled lightly, sheathing it as he spoke. "I had a master swordsmith forge this custom blade for me."

He smiled slyly, adding, "Not just for me—Mikoto-nee, Minato, and my mother each have one of the same quality, too."

Kaito was deliberately showing off, hoping to pique Sakumo's interest. His goal was to use the allure of legendary blades and pirate-world swordsmanship to gain Sakumo's favor and forge a stronger connection.

Speaking of which, Kaito had already passed his mother's letter to Sakumo regarding their earlier agreement to exchange sword techniques.

Naori had agreed, but time had been scarce for both of them. Between Kaito's patrols and countering Danzo's schemes, and Sakumo's packed schedule, they all barely had a moment to meet.

"Wait, what?!" Sakumo's eyes widened in shock. "A blade of this level? And you had four of them forged?! Do you have any idea how much something like this costs? And since when are master swordsmiths so easy to hire?"

After all, crafting a legendary weapon was no simple task. Each one usually required years to forge, and the materials were always rare and costly.

Kaito shrugged, smiling. "Well, it's not a big deal! If you're interested, I could introduce you to the smith sometime and have one made for you!"

"Really?!" Sakumo's excitement lit up his face, and he instinctively stepped closer, but then his enthusiasm dimmed as he chuckled bitterly. "Even if I wanted to, I probably couldn't afford something like that. And where would I even find such rare materials?"

It was true—just looking at Kaito's blade, he could tell it was infused with chakra-conductive metals. Crafting a weapon of this caliber would cost a fortune.

"That's not a problem at all," Kaito replied smoothly. "Here's an idea—we're already planning to exchange swordsmanship, right? In addition to teaching me, Mikoto-nee, and Minato, we could expand the deal."

"Expand how?" Sakumo asked, intrigued.

Kaito grinned. "Well, we've got plenty of Uchiha, Senju, and Uzumaki clan members already training in swordsmanship. If you're willing to teach them your techniques, I'll make sure you're compensated handsomely."

"It could be money, or it could be the rare materials you need for forging a sword like mine."

Sakumo pondered for a moment before nodding. "I'd be willing to teach, but I wonder how long it would take to gather enough materials."

"That's something we can work out," Kaito said confidently. "If it's urgent, I could even arrange for some materials to be given to you in advance."

Sakumo's eyes lit up again, and he bowed his head slightly. "Thank you, Kaito. I'll make sure to do my part."

At that moment, Kaito used his unique ability to check Sakumo's goodwill level—it had shot up to 78 points.

"Just a little more," Kaito thought gleefully. "Once we start trading swordsmanship, that last bit should come easily!"

Meanwhile, Tsunade arrived with the main force. She had seen Kaito take down the Third Kazekage from afar and was now rushing over in astonishment.

"Wait, you already killed the Third Kazekage?!" she exclaimed.

Kaito winked with a cheeky grin. "The key was to catch him off guard!"

Tsunade's sharp eyes narrowed, her expression a mix of suspicion and realization. She had a pretty good idea of how Kaito had managed it.

Normally, the Kazekage's Magnet Release would make it nearly impossible to catch him by surprise with the Flying Thunder God technique.

If Kaito had succeeded, it could only mean one thing—either his mastery of the Flying Thunder God had reached a new level, or he'd used some kind of spatial ability, like the Space Gate. Either way, it was a good outcome.

The death of the Third Kazekage left the Sand Village leaderless. This battle was as good as over.

"Unbelievable! Lord Kaito actually took down the Kazekage!"

"Yeah, the Third Kazekage was supposed to be the strongest in their history, wasn't he? And Kaito-sama just… killed him?"

"Lord Kaito is amazing! He's strong in large-scale battles and unbeatable in one-on-one combat!"

The Konoha ninjas who had arrived after the fight couldn't stop talking as they stared at the Kazekage's lifeless body. Their admiration for Kaito burned brighter than ever.

And just like that, Kaito's reputation soared higher, their loyalty deepened, and their morale skyrocketed.

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