Itachi's gaze pierced through the gradually fading embers and settled on Yo. His tone was utterly calm.
"On the way back to Konoha, I heard some rumors."
"I heard... you had mastered Wood Release and suppressed the rampaging One-Tail Shukaku during the Chunin Ninja Exams?"
"If that's true... why didn't you use Wood Release just now?"
"Or were those rumors... simply exaggerated?"
This was one of the things Itachi most wanted to confirm.
Wood Release was the power of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju. It had nearly vanished with the First Hokage's death.
His younger brother!
How could a member of the Uchiha Clan possibly wield that power?
If it was false, that would be for the best. But if it was true...
Itachi couldn't help feeling a trace of unease about what it might mean.
At that, Yo spread his hands. "Oh, you mean Wood Release. I didn't use it because... I was afraid I might accidentally kill you."
"After all, we're just sparring, not fighting to the death!"
"..."
The air fell silent for a second.
Watching from a distance, Guy nearly stumbled. Kakashi's mouth twitched, and even his exhaustion seemed to ease a little.
Kisame rested Samehada on his shoulder, an amused look on his sharklike face.
"Mr. Itachi... your little brother is pretty arrogant!"
"I'm a little annoyed. Want me to teach him a lesson?"
Itachi ignored Kisame. The three tomoe in his eyes spun rapidly, joining into a triangular pinwheel pattern. "You can... try!"
"All right!"
Yo nodded. "Since you're so eager to see it, then... I'll show you with your own eyes!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Yo clasped his hands together.
"Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!"
RUMBLE!!!
The river, which had been flowing peacefully, instantly churned into a frenzy.
Countless thick, gnarled vines and giant trees burst from the riverbed and tore through the surface, surging skyward like ancient beasts that had slumbered for ages.
They grew and spread wildly, intertwining as the grinding of wood against wood rang out with a teeth-grating screech.
In the blink of an eye!
A lush, primitive forest, teeming with savage vitality, appeared above the river.
Dense treetops blotted out the sky. Massive branches stretched across the river, while tangled roots plunged into the water below.
"Th-this is!!!"
The amusement and irritation vanished from Kisame's face, replaced by utter shock.
He even backed away several steps with Samehada on his shoulder, putting distance between himself and the forest's rapidly expanding edge.
"The First Hokage's... Wood Release?! What kind of joke is this?! Mr. Itachi, your little brother... really has mastered this power?!"
Kisame looked toward Itachi, only to find his partner had fallen silent as well.
Itachi leapt back and landed atop a distant tree.
His scarlet Mangekyō Sharingan stared fixedly at the forest covering the river.
Beneath his masklike expression, a storm was raging.
It was real!
The rumors hadn't exaggerated it; if anything, they might have understated it!
Wood Release on this scale might not compare to the First Hokage's, but it was undoubtedly the very same power in essence!
What had happened to his little brother? How could someone of Uchiha blood wield Wood Release?
The river breeze swept through the newborn forest, stirring its leaves with a soft rustle.
Yo stood atop one of the thickest trunks, looking down at Itachi on the distant treetop as his Three Tomoe slowly turned.
"See that?"
"Now, let me witness the ultimate power of our Uchiha Clan—Susanoo!"
Itachi's pupils contracted slightly as he studied his younger brother. "Yo! You know quite a lot!"
Yo shrugged. "I may not have much talent for the Sharingan, but I'm still a member of the Uchiha Clan!"
"I know at least a little about the ancient secrets passed down in the clan!"
"...So be it!"
Itachi slowly closed his eyes.
When he opened them again, the triangular pinwheel pattern of his Mangekyō Sharingan was spinning at full speed.
Two trails of crimson blood slid slowly from the corners of his eyes.
At the same time,
a vast, violent mass of orange-red chakra erupted from Itachi like a volcano.
The chakra rapidly gathered, forming a skeletal giant over ten meters tall in the blink of an eye. It had only an upper body.
The orange-red chakra framework radiated a heart-stopping pressure, and invisible flames burned in its hollow eye sockets.
"Wh-what is that?" Guy's eyes bulged, his jaw nearly hitting the ground.
He had never seen such a strange and powerful form of chakra.
Asuma had even forgotten to smoke the cigarette in his mouth. He murmured, "So the Uchiha Clan has been hiding this kind of power?"
Kurenai's face had gone pale. She clutched Asuma's arm tightly, feeling as if her very soul were trembling.
Even Kisame dropped his spectator's air, his expression turning grave.
He had been Itachi's partner for years, but this was his first time seeing Susanoo.
Yo was the calmest of them all. He shook his head. "Susanoo's first form? You're underestimating me!"
He clasped his hands together again!
"Wood Release: Wood Golem Technique!"
BOOM!
Countless giant trees and vines converged, rearranging and taking shape.
A wooden giant rose from the ground, no smaller than Susanoo's skeleton and even more massive.
Rough wooden armor covered its body. It radiated a mountain-like vitality and a crushing sense of oppression.
"You even learned the Wood Golem Technique?" Itachi was shaken once more.
"I'm attacking!"
At Yo's thought,
the towering Wood Golem took a heavy step forward, clenched its fist, and punched at Itachi's Susanoo.
The air shrieked under the strain wherever its fist passed.
Itachi's gaze sharpened. He immediately controlled Susanoo to swing its equally massive skeletal arm and meet the blow with a punch.
The orange-red chakra fist and the dark-brown wooden fist collided in midair above the river.
BOOM!!!
Like two mountains crashing together, the impact unleashed a deafening roar, leaving the distant onlookers momentarily deaf.
A violent shock wave burst outward in a ring. The river's surface was pressed into a vast hollow, and water exploded a hundred meters into the air.
CRACK!
A cracking sound rang out. Fine fractures appeared across Susanoo's orange-red skeletal arm.
The Wood Golem pressed its advantage, following with a punch from its other hand. Itachi controlled Susanoo to block.
THUD! BOOM!
Two more deafening impacts rang out.
The massive force sent Susanoo sliding backward.
More cracks split the skeletal framework across its body.
"Again!"
Yo was thrilled. The Wood Golem's attacks came like a storm, its power utterly overwhelming and its assault relentless.
"Susanoo's first form alone... is no match at all!"
Itachi painfully forced his Mangekyō into action, tears of crimson blood streaming down his face.
"So this is the First Hokage's Wood Release? Terrifying!"
Before you continue