The ground cracked open, and thick tree trunks rose from the earth. One by one, towering trees with lush branches and leaves grew together, transforming the landscape at an unbelievable speed.
In just moments, a small forest appeared out of nowhere right in front of Yasuie and his team.
"This... is the First Hokage's Wood Style?" Yasuie stared in shock at the scene unfolding before him.
In the shinobi world, Senju Hashirama was legendary—a man who had not only established the village system but also brought the endless wars of the Warring States period to an end through the power of his unmatched Wood Release jutsu.
Just like the feared Uchiha ninja known as the Asura, Hashirama was a figure spoken of only in legends.
While the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan still existed in the ninja world, the once-powerful Senju Clan had nearly vanished without a trace. The awe-inspiring Wood Style was thought to have disappeared along with them, becoming nothing more than a myth.
To Yasuie, this scene felt almost unreal, like a dream.
The trees' branches extended outward, spreading like a dense canopy over the area. Thick branches continued to sprout rapidly, twisting and writhing as they reached toward Yasuie and his comrades.
A massive branch whipped down from above like a heavy lash. Thick as the body of a giant snake, the branch slammed down, one attack after another, relentlessly targeting the Cloud shinobi.
Attacks came from every direction—above, below, and all sides—like a venomous snake hiding in the shadows, striking at its prey without warning. Thɪs chapter is updated by NoveI★Fire.net
The six shinobi, including Yasuie, struggled to evade the relentless assault. They twisted and turned, trying to move within the ever-shrinking space as the trees closed in on them, forcing them to dodge with no room to breathe.
In the chaos, some of their comrades were caught—branches shot out from unexpected angles, wrapping around them in an instant. Before the others could react, more branches swarmed in, binding the captured shinobi tightly within the growing wood.
In just a few seconds, only four of the original six remained. Yasuie and the three other surviving Cloud ninjas were battered and desperate, barely managing to avoid being captured.
It wasn't just one tree or a specific area they had to fight. The entire forest was alive, attacking them all at once. They had to keep moving constantly, for even a moment's hesitation would mean being caught by the branches, dragged into the trees, and buried alive.
"Lightning Release: False Darkness!"
Bright electricity surged and condensed into a spear in Yasuie's hand. With a flash, the lightning spear shot forward, colliding with the branches that blocked their way. In an instant, the crackling spear clashed with the wood, electricity surging violently against the relentless force of the forest.
A powerful, piercing Lightning Release jutsu exploded in an instant, blowing apart the tangled branches and splintering the trees around them. Several tree trunks ahead were pierced, leaving massive holes blasted through them.
Seeing the jutsu work, Yasuie's face lit up with joy. But the next moment, that joy froze.
The blasted holes in the trees began to close up rapidly, healing at a speed visible to the naked eye. New branches sprouted from the trees, growing from the thickness of an arm to the size of a barrel in moments.
The forest's ability to heal itself made Yasuie's heart sink.
"Let me handle this!"
A blue figure shot forward, blazing with intense heat.
Yugito's body burned with eerie blue flames, scattering them like sparks wherever she moved. Anything the flames touched caught fire and exploded according to her will.
A series of explosions roared in rapid succession, their glow following Yugito's every movement as she charged ahead.
The burned branches snapped with a loud crack, falling from above, and the area seemed to ignite like a forest fire.
At first, it looked like Yugito's onslaught had given them an opening—a chance to escape the forest's grasp. But following closely behind her, Yasuie didn't show any signs of relief.
He could feel it—Yugito's attack had caused the forest to go completely berserk. More branches and trunks surged toward them, twisting and pressing together like an unstoppable force.
Before, each of Yugito's explosions had cleared several meters ahead. But now, no matter how hard she pushed, their progress slowed noticeably with every step.
Another Kumo ninja was suddenly snagged by a branch that shot out from the shadows, wrapping tightly around his ankle.
With a scream, the ninja was yanked to the ground, and in an instant, more branches swarmed him, wrapping his entire body into a solid, impenetrable cocoon.
Within moments, he vanished inside the prison of interwoven wood.
Yugito landed on the ground, her chest heaving from the strain of releasing powerful jutsu back to back. She hurled more blue fireballs around them, clearing a small space for them to catch their breath.
"We'll make a path for you! We'll draw their attention—if you get the chance to escape, run with everything you've got!" Yasuie said grimly, landing next to Yugito alongside another Kumo ninja.
If he'd held any hope of escaping earlier, that thought was gone now.
With the way the Wood Release forest kept expanding and healing, even if they drained every drop of chakra, breaking through seemed impossible.
The only one with any real chance of escaping was Yugito—because she was the jinchūriki of the Two-Tails.
But her control over the Two-Tails' power was still far from perfect.
"No, senpai! Don't you see? The forest's expansion has slowed down! Maintaining a jutsu of this scale must consume a huge amount of chakra. All we need to do now is find the person hiding in the forest and defeat him. Then we can escape." Yugito Nii rejected Yasuie's suggestion.
"The sensor ninja is dead. We can't sense his location anymore." Yasuie frowned.
He didn't argue with Yugito Nii. If the enemy appeared right in front of them, they could still take the chance to fight.
"You two, get back! Stay out of my way!" Yugito Nii's expression darkened. As someone who prided herself on her strength and cared deeply about her teammates, her emotions were now burning with fury.
"What are you planning? No! You haven't finished your training yet!" Yasuie tried to stop her, but a sudden surge of blue flames from Yugito Nii forced him to step back several paces.
Yugito Nii's appearance began to change rapidly. Her aura and chakra swelled uncontrollably. In moments, what stood before them was a cat-like beast with two tails, its entire body engulfed in blue flames.
The moment Yugito Nii unleashed the power of the Two-Tails, Yasuie and another Kumo ninja retreated instantly, trying to get as far away from her as possible.
Despite her transformation into the tailed beast, Yugito Nii seemed to retain some of her sanity. Ignoring Yasuie and the other retreating ninja, she let out a deafening roar.
The powerful wind from the roar swept through the area as she raised her head high. In her mouth, a black mass of chakra rapidly began to form.
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