Naruto: Limitless Sage

At that moment—

Naruto stood tall at the center of the Chūnin Exam arena, smiling calmly before the stunned crowd.

With unwavering eyes, he reintroduced himself:

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto.

I am the son of the Fourth Hokage.

And the Jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails."

His words exploded like thunder in the venue.

The crowd instantly erupted into chaos.

He had said it himself—he was the son of the Fourth Hokage.

Everyone—

The Third Hokage, Orochimaru, the leaders of Sunagakure, and nearly every spectator—except Sasuke and Sakura—

All stared at Naruto in shock.

Even loyal Konoha shinobi like Iruka and the ANBU directly under the Hokage—

Even the clan heads of the Hyūga, Nara, and Yamanaka clans—

Even the feudal lords of the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind—

Every one of them was stunned speechless.

The Fourth Hokage's prestige had once reached across the entire shinobi world.

And now, the boy who had just shown overwhelming power… was his son?

How could they not be shaken?

But amidst the growing tension—

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, felt a deepening dread.

He looked at Naruto floating in the sky and shouted in frustration:

"Naruto! This isn't the time to be making a scene!"

"Someone—get him down from there!"

He was determined to stop Naruto before things spiraled out of control.

Hearing this, Naruto merely glanced at the old Hokage.

His gaze was cold, unreadable.

To him, Hiruzen Sarutobi no longer deserved an answer.

The Third Hokage met that icy stare—and his heart sank.

He had no idea what Naruto would do next.

And that uncertainty terrified him.

The moment his command was issued, the ANBU loyal to the Hokage prepared to act.

They nodded and formed hand seals, ready to use the Body Flicker Technique to intercept Naruto in midair.

But just as they prepared to leap—

Swish!

A blur of silver.

Hatake Kakashi appeared in front of them—white-haired, mask-clad, and expressionless.

He stood in their path.

"I'm sorry," Kakashi said coolly.

"But I can't let you interfere with Naruto's actions today."

As a former member of the ANBU, Kakashi knew these men well.

They had once been his comrades.

Which made it all the more difficult.

But also all the more necessary.

He couldn't allow them to sabotage Naruto now.

The ANBU captain narrowed his eyes.

"Step aside, Kakashi. You're strong, but you're no match for all of us together."

Though they respected Kakashi's skill—none of them could beat him one-on-one—they weren't planning a fair fight.

But Kakashi didn't flinch.

In response, he silently drew his blade: the White Fang, remade by a skilled craftsman in honor of his late father, Sakumo.

His actions spoke for him.

The air grew heavy with tension.

Kakashi and the Hokage's ANBU stood locked in a silent standoff.

Watching from above were the Third Hokage, Orochimaru, the Hyūga and Nara clan heads, the feudal lords, and the shinobi from Sunagakure.

Even those strong enough to keep up—besides Sasuke and Sakura—were caught off guard.

No one had expected this.

Not only had Orochimaru betrayed Konoha—

Even Kakashi, the famed Copy Ninja, had chosen to rebel?

Hiruzen stared at Kakashi in disbelief.

This wasn't supposed to happen.

He had assigned Kakashi to guide Naruto, hoping to use the bond of teacher and student to anchor Naruto's loyalty.

But now…

Looking at Naruto, floating in defiance, he realized—

That loyalty had never existed.

There were no ties binding Naruto to the village.

His plan had utterly failed.

Naruto had probably been acting this whole time—pretending, waiting.

And now… not only had he failed to control Naruto—

He had lost Kakashi as well.

It brought back old memories.

Of Sakumo Hatake—the White Fang of Konoha—a hero betrayed by the village's cowardice.

Of the despair that had driven Kakashi's father to take his own life.

Of the bitterness that had pushed Kakashi into ANBU, into the darkness… even to the point of being manipulated by Danzō to assassinate the Hokage himself.

Back then, Hiruzen had used his words to pull Kakashi back from the brink.

But now—

Those words held no more power.

And Kakashi had made his choice.

Kakashi… had fallen into darkness once.

But now, under Naruto's influence, he had returned to the light.

At one time, he might have been the most loyal shinobi in all of Konoha.

With both Jiraiya and Tsunade absent from the village, Sharingan Kakashi would have been one of Hiruzen's strongest remaining assets.

If only he were still under the Hokage's control.

But now—

Kakashi had clearly chosen to stand by Naruto's side.

The Third Hokage had lost him.

And Sarutobi Hiruzen couldn't help but feel a pang of regret.

Not regret for what he had done—

But for failing to make it work.

His actions hadn't been mistaken in his eyes—only ineffective.

Back in the Chūnin Exam arena, with the attention of countless shinobi and dignitaries on them, the ANBU under Hiruzen moved decisively.

They turned toward Kakashi.

Their eyes were cold, their resolve firm.

"Forgive us… Kakashi-senpai!"

There was no hesitation.

In perfect unison, several ANBU agents sprang into action, launching a coordinated attack against the Copy Ninja.

But—

They hadn't expected what came next.

Because in that moment—

In the eye Kakashi exposed from behind his mask—

A fierce gleam flashed.

He raised his blade in an instant.

And then—the White Fang moved.

With a chime of metal, like a howling dragon's cry—

The blade shone brilliantly white.

A flash, like lightning split the air!

A brilliant arc of white light swept through the arena like a slash from heaven itself.

By the time the light faded—

The crowd was stunned.

A massive corner of the examination hall's roof had been sliced clean off.

The ANBU agents who had leapt toward Kakashi were frozen mid-air.

Their bodies were locked stiff, drenched in cold sweat.

Even beneath their masks, their pale expressions could be felt.

They stopped—mere feet from Kakashi's blade.

Frozen in fear.

They looked down.

The roof had collapsed beneath them.

There was no doubt.

Had they not stopped in the final moment… had they followed through with their attack—

Their heads would have been severed.

And they knew it.

Kakashi had shown mercy.

Because if he hadn't—there was no way they'd still be standing.

But what stunned them even more—

Was Kakashi's swordsmanship.

They had no idea the famed Sharingan Kakashi had cultivated such a terrifying mastery of the White Fang Sword Technique.

They remembered—

After inheriting the Sharingan, Kakashi had largely abandoned his blade.

But now…

Had he continued training in secret all these years?

The ANBU didn't know.

What they did know—

Was that with his current strength, they could not stop him.

Even if they all attacked at once.

At that moment, all eyes in the arena turned toward the ruined section of the roof in utter shock.

"Kakashi… actually…"

Orochimaru's pupils contracted. He could no longer hide the unease in his heart.

As one of Konoha's Sannin, Orochimaru knew well what level Kakashi was at.

With his talent, Kakashi had once had the potential to reach Kage-level.

But the burden of the Sharingan—while powerful—had held him back.

After all, Kakashi wasn't an Uchiha.

He wasn't born to wield the Sharingan.

In theory, as long as he kept using it, his life force would only burn away faster.

By all logic, Kakashi should have stagnated.

But now—

Orochimaru stared at the aftermath of Kakashi's strike.

That one sword…

Its speed, its power—

It was unmistakable.

This was no longer the Kakashi he knew.

This was a shinobi who had reached the pinnacle of the Kage-level.

One effortless slash.

And Orochimaru couldn't guarantee he'd be able to block it himself unless fully prepared.

"When did Kakashi… break through?" Orochimaru muttered inwardly, unsettled.

Meanwhile—

Hinata, Shikamaru, Ino, and the rest of the rookie genin stared wide-eyed.

This was their teacher?

This was Naruto's teacher?

They had never seen anything like it.

And neither had the adults.

Hyūga Hiashi. Nara Shikaku. Might Guy. Yūhi Kurenai. The elite jōnin of Konoha.

They all stood silent.

None of them had expected to witness this side of Kakashi today.

Among them, Might Guy—Kakashi's eternal rival—was the most shaken.

He had always known Kakashi's strength better than anyone.

But now?

He no longer understood where Kakashi's limits were.

A single slash.

Without much visible chakra poured into it.

And yet—

It had cleaved through solid stone and steel, tearing down part of the arena roof with ease.

If that blow had struck a group of jōnin head-on?

They would have been cut down without a second thought.

Only a true Kage-level shinobi could one-shot elite jōnin like that.

The clan leaders—Hiashi, Shikaku, Inoichi—they all looked at Kakashi with new eyes.

"The prodigy jōnin who once shocked Konoha…

Today, he has returned in full glory."

A single sword strike.

That was all it took to shake the entire arena.

The audience was in awe.

From the stands, Maki, Gaara, and the other shinobi from Sunagakure stared at the aftermath of Kakashi's slash.

Their hearts trembled.

"When did Kakashi master such terrifying swordsmanship…?"

Maki muttered, his voice low, eyes filled with unease.

He realized something clearly:

Konoha… was becoming more dangerous than ever.

And it wasn't just the shinobi who were shaken.

The Daimyō of the Land of Fire, the Daimyō of the Land of Wind, and even the rulers of smaller nations—

They all felt it.

The tremor of the massive rooftop chunk crashing into the ground echoed through their bodies.

Their faces paled.

Even they, with no chakra or combat sense, could feel the overwhelming pressure in the air.

Meanwhile—

On Naruto's side stood those closest to him:

Minato Namikaze, Kushina Uzumaki, Jiraiya, and Tsunade.

They silently watched Kakashi's display.

And slowly… warm smiles formed on their faces.

As Kakashi's seniors, they understood more than anyone:

He had finally broken free of the burden.

He had cast off the Sharingan.

And in doing so—unleashed the power that had always been his.

Not borrowed. Not inherited.

His own.

Even the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, and the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, were watching from above.

Their eyes followed the white-haired jonin in silence.

Kakashi, wearing the Leaf forehead protector, radiated presence.

His swordsmanship—razor-sharp, precise, devastating.

The two ancient Hokage, veterans of the chaotic Warring States Era, couldn't help but nod in approval.

"A youth like this," Hashirama said with admiration, "even in our time, would've been unmatched."

"Exceptional form," Tobirama added. "His blade work is… almost flawless."

Even among the fierce warriors of their age, Kakashi's swordsmanship stood alone.

It could even be said:

He had reached the pinnacle.

They didn't fully grasp what was unfolding.

They lacked the full context.

But from what they saw—the Fourth Hokage, his son Naruto, and now Hatake Kakashi—

These younger generations of Konoha had far surpassed their expectations.

As elders of the village…

They felt pride.

But what they didn't realize—

Was that the very legacy they were proud of was now poised to overthrow what they cherished most:

The rule of the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen.

And no one dreaded that possibility more than the man himself.

Sarutobi stood still, seething inside.

He watched helplessly as his personal ANBU were stopped cold by Kakashi.

Their momentum shattered.

Their morale shaken.

He clenched his fists.

"Kakashi… that damned brat…"

How dare he defy the Hokage?

How dare he protect Naruto over the will of the village?

This was no longer a mission.

It was a mutiny.

He actually betrayed him.

That thought echoed in the mind of the Third Hokage.

What infuriated Hiruzen Sarutobi even more was—

The situation had completely spiraled out of control.

And now, it was far beyond anything he could contain.

At that moment—

Seeing that even the ANBU under his direct command had frozen, too afraid to act further—

Kakashi calmly sheathed his White Fang short sword.

Expression unreadable, he turned his eyes toward Naruto.

Naruto met his gaze and nodded.

Kakashi returned the nod with silent affirmation.

Then—he took a step forward.

Kakashi turned his attention to the entire exam hall.

Slowly, his eyes swept across the crowd—one face at a time.

The Daimyō of the Land of Fire, the Daimyō of the Land of Wind, and other nobles from various smaller nations...

High-ranking officials, prominent landlords, and the political elite of the Fire Country...

The citizens of Konoha packed into the stands...

The genin of the current generation—Sasuke, Sakura, Hinata, and others...

The clan heads—Hiashi Hyūga, Shikaku Nara, Inoichi Yamanaka, and more...

Even the First and Second Hokage, revived by Impure World Reincarnation, were observing...

So were the Three Legendary Sannin—Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru...

The shinobi of Sunagakure…

And finally—Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage himself.

Kakashi's gaze locked onto the old man.

Then, in a firm and resolute voice, Kakashi announced:

"Today, I—Hatake Kakashi, jōnin of Konohagakure—

Representing Uzumaki Naruto—

Formally bring charges to impeach the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen."

A stunning silence filled the air.

The exam venue fell deathly quiet for a moment—

And then erupted.

Kakashi had spoken as Naruto's voice.

And in doing so, before the Feudal Lords, before the First and Second Hokage, before every high-ranking figure in the shinobi world—

He had declared their intent to remove the Hokage from power.

The crowd exploded in disbelief.

"What did he just say?! Did I hear that right? They're trying to overthrow the Third Hokage?!"

"This must be a joke! Kakashi's a Konoha ninja—why would he say that?!"

"What's going on here?!"

Panic. Confusion. Outrage.

Everywhere, shinobi and civilians alike looked at one another with disbelief.

Only those already aligned with Naruto remained calm.

No one else could've imagined this outcome.

Everyone expected Orochimaru to be the main threat—he had come here to kill the Third Hokage.

But now—

Even Kakashi, the respected Copy Ninja of Konoha, had stood up to declare his intent to impeach Hiruzen Sarutobi.

To the shinobi of Sunagakure, it was baffling.

"Good heavens…"

"What crime did the Third Hokage commit…?"

"What kind of leader drives even his own students and comrades to this point?"

It was a disgrace.

A Hokage so failed in his duty that even his closest people wanted him removed?

What greater indictment could there be?

As for the citizens of Konoha, their reactions were more personal—and more intense.

What Kakashi had just said—

To them, it sounded like treason.

Betrayal of the highest order.

"Hatake Kakashi and Uzumaki Naruto… are they really turning against the village?"

"Are they committing rebellion—right here, in front of everyone?"

After all—

They were still shinobi of the Leaf.

And to call for the Hokage's removal in front of foreign leaders and daimyōs?

To some—

This was open insurrection.

...

TN:

Well, this was inevitable.

Honestly, while I still don't think the Third Hokage was a straight-up villain as portrayed in this story, I still don't like him.

No matter how I look at it, he's clearly shady.

He 100% knew about the Uchiha Massacre and silently approved it. He was probably involved—directly or indirectly—in the decline of the Senju clan (fanon guessing), or at the very least kept quiet to cover for Danzō. And there's more…

I mainly dislike him because of how he treated Naruto in canon. It just doesn't make sense.

How do you hide someone by literally naming them Uzumaki, a rare surname linked to Kushina, the previous jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails? And considering the rumors that Naruto was a "demon fox," it wouldn't have taken long for enemy villages to connect the dots and realize he was the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki.

At that point, if the goal was to protect Naruto, Hiruzen should have just adopted him or taken personal responsibility for raising him. Otherwise, what was even the point?

P.S.:

On second thought, even the idiots in his own village didn't figure it out for years—despite Naruto having the exact same face and hair as the Fourth Hokage, whose image was literally carved into the Hokage Rock. So I guess it's fine… because "plot demands it."

...

Support me on P-com/LordMerlin!

♾️ Limited-time 30% discount!

Get 10 advance chaps for $3.50, 20 for $7, and more — ending soon!