My Techniques are a bit off

Transformation Technique.

As the second jutsu Link ever mastered, its place in his overall power system was somewhat awkward.

Once he got a living "battery" (Utakata) to supply him with chakra, his giant-size "super mode" became rather pointless.

After he developed his Black Shadow Army, the notion of turning himself into a weapon was unnecessary—he doesn't need to fight personally, so why transform into a weapon himself?

As for transforming into various other forms, most weren't useful; the only real benefit was occasionally turning into materials for his "Purple of the Hermit" technique.

All in all, even though the Transformation Technique had an incredibly high potential ceiling, it seemed like he could never fully leverage it.

However, everything changed one morning, just a few days after he became the Sixth Hokage.

He was fast asleep, when some random bird outside his window wouldn't stop chirping.

Half-awake and irritated, he thought of using the Transformation Technique to turn his hand into a "familiar object" to shoot that bird down—and his hand turned into a very specific shape:

A Stand… The Emperor.

Half-conscious, he squeezed the trigger; the rotating bullet struck the noisy bird, sending it tumbling off, and he was suddenly wide awake.

"A wise man seeks strength from within."

Growing bigger with the Transformation Technique was possible because he understood himself so well that he didn't have to think about the details of his own body.

But what about a Stand?

In his experiments with solidified chakra cubes, he'd learned that "Stands" were essentially manifestations of his psyche. They were part of himself. Even if they originated from uncontrollable mental energy, each time he used them, he became more familiar with them. In other words, he could use the Transformation Technique to turn himself into a Stand.

"I am the Stand, and the Stand is me."

Sure, he'd lose the Stand's usual translucence, but he'd gain its abilities in full. And thanks to the Transformation Technique, even his head would become that of the Stand, complete with all its powers.

No idea how it worked, but he didn't care—half of his mutated ninjutsu defied explanation anyway. After discovering this secret, Link dove headlong into specialized training. Except for a few rarely used Stands, he practically mastered transforming into most of them.

That's why he got so cocky about being "invincible." As long as the Transformation Technique lasted, he could be a one-man "Stand menagerie," wielding a myriad of bizarre powers at will—maybe even Ōtsutsuki Kaguya wouldn't be able to beat him.

In a first encounter, he could use time-stop to close the distance. Whether he then morphed into a powerful offensive Stand or relied on his mutated ninjutsu, he could end the fight quickly. And even if someone knew he had time-stop, there wasn't much they could do to counter it.

He always assumed this invincible power would only come into play on some future excursion to another world. He never expected to use it here, but—

"Za Warudo!"

With the power of Stand: The World, time abruptly froze.

In that silent moment, Link looked with a complicated expression at Utakata and Gaara's anxious faces. A little farther away, even Sasuke—mid-leap, suspended in midair—had that shocked look frozen on him. Link let out a soft sigh.

Three seconds was long enough for him to replace his mask, hoist Gaara onto a spot nearby, and return to where he'd been—striking a pose, as though nothing happened.

Time resumed its flow.

"Huh…?" Gaara was stunned. He could have sworn he'd just torn away Link's mask and hood. What was going on? And a second ago, it looked like…—

Thud!

Shadows instantly lunged at everyone but Utakata and Sasuke, slamming the other three Kage down to the ground.

"When exactly did you all assume I wasn't using genjutsu?" Link asked coolly, standing atop one of the shadows. His manner oozed aloofness.

Utakata blinked. In his head, he quickly used Rownet to cross-check his memories. He was certain of what he'd just seen. Some special technique, maybe?

"You—just—" The Fourth Raikage, who was closest and had a full view, let the words fly right out of his mouth.

Thud!

Thud! Thud!

Blurting out random stuff comes at a price. Even clad in his Lightning Release Chakra Mode, the Fourth Raikage got mercilessly pounded, teeth flying everywhere.

"Did you see anything just now?" Link asked with a gentle, crescent-eyed smile.

Silence befell the new Fourth Great Ninja War.

Looking toward the sunrise over the horizon, Link sighed. "You really shouldn't have been allowed to stay alive…" And before his words even finished echoing, all four Kage had been knocked unconscious.

"But if you died, you'd still go to Web Net in the Pure Land. If word got out—maybe it'd be simpler just to obliterate this entire world?"

"Wait, wait!" Sasuke landed in a cold sweat. "Leave it to me. I'll erase their memories."

Utakata scratched his cheek with one finger, truly not expecting things to turn out this way.

The Sixth Hokage turning into the Demon King, ready to destroy a world just to keep his missing-tooth secret?

Talk about a bizarre, comedic plot twist!

"You… two!" Link snarled, glaring at Utakata and Sasuke. He recalled his shadows, took hold of the unconscious Kage, and had the Earth Dragon lift off into the sky.

If it were possible, he'd have liked to lay into his two friends. But his body was still in an explosive growth phase; if he lost control, he might seriously injure them. So in the end, there was no way to vent his frustration. He felt furious yet helpless.

"Sorry," Utakata said quietly. He walked over and crouched down. "I shouldn't have tried prying into your secrets. You can kill me, or wipe my memory—"

All he asked was that Link not cut him off as a friend.

Sasuke stood silently to one side. "It's my fault. The plan was my idea. So—"

"Enough." Link rubbed at his cheeks, cutting them both short. "You're making me sound like some sort of villain, when it's actually you two who wronged me, all right?"

It's not like he was so fragile that just seeing him missing teeth would make him fall apart. Tsunade already knew. A couple more friends knowing… well, no big deal, right?

Pulling off his mask, Link admitted, "I've been going through a growth spurt recently, losing my teeth and all that. Hence…this." Unable to resist, he ran his tongue over the not-yet-fully-grown new tooth.

He turned to the unconscious Kage. "I'll leave them to you. If word gets out about me losing my teeth—"

"Don't worry," Sasuke promised. "Aside from the two of us, no one will know what really went down here."

"Ugh…" Link sighed, still feeling this was a loose end. But if he killed them, they'd show up in the Pure Land and use Rownet, spilling the truth.

"Hey, wait a minute!"

He suddenly remembered there was one more "person" who'd witnessed all this, right here—someone who'd definitely seen everything and knew his secret.

Sasuke followed Link's line of sight to Gaara. They got the message. With a jinchūriki, the Tailed Beast inside was watching all of it unfold.

Link's face darkened.

A trembling layer of sand covered Gaara's unconscious body, evidence that Shukaku was anything but calm.

"Tailed Beasts don't feel physical pain, am I right?" Link asked pleasantly, radiating sunshine in his voice—but ice in his gaze.