Want to See Wood Release? As You Wish

"Is this guy really only twelve?"

"It's hard to imagine how strong he'll become if he gets more time to develop."

"Give it everything you've got. Don't give him a chance to catch his breath."

The Root members exchanged a few words, quickly steadying themselves.

They all knew Mo Chen possessed Wood Release, so his astonishing amount of Chakra was within expectations. They just hadn't expected him to be so talented, too.

According to their intelligence, Mo Chen had only just graduated from the Ninja Academy and had been training for just a few days.

They'd sent so many people only because they took Wood Release seriously. Even so, it had been a bit of an overreaction.

But they didn't think so anymore. Even without considering his Wood Release, the guy in front of them was a handful.

Seeing the Root members regain their composure and launch another attack, Mo Chen's expression grew a little more serious.

As expected of Root's elite. They really weren't easy to deal with.

Mo Chen's gaze shifted as he thought about how to break the deadlock.

Defeating all eight of them head-on wouldn't be easy. Who knew how many more traps were waiting for him in the shadows? Even if he could win, there was no need to fight them head-on.

But Mo Chen knew little about Barrier Jutsu. All he knew was that overwhelming force could break through one by brute strength.

With a flicker, Mo Chen retreated in the direction away from Konoha before his enemies could close in.

Since they knew he was heading back to Konoha, any other traps they had set would surely be along the way.

"Binding Technique!"

Before Mo Chen had gone far, however, two Root members sped up and caught up to him. They cast their jutsu from a distance.

Mo Chen suddenly felt his body grow heavy, as though the gravity around him had increased several times over.

Binding Technique was a restraining jutsu. If the difference in strength was great enough, it could pin someone in place in an instant.

But Mo Chen had activated his Sharingan, and his mental strength was formidable. Even with the two of them working together, they still couldn't restrain him completely.

Still, the jutsu greatly hindered his movements, and the other six Root members soon caught up.

They didn't use any jutsu. One of them simply kicked Mo Chen in the chest.

Mo Chen only had time to raise his arms. Before he could bring his strength to bear, the kick sent him flying.

Two more whooshes sounded behind him. Relying on his senses, Mo Chen knew that two people had circled around to attack him from behind.

Binding Technique made it difficult for him to move, leaving him unable to defend himself. He took two more kicks to the back, and his body was sent flying back the way he came.

He saw another person waiting in front of him, ready to strike at any moment.

Anger surged through Mo Chen. Just because the tiger hadn't shown its fangs, did they think he was Peppa Pig?

"Want to see Wood Release? Then you'll get your wish!"

Mo Chen endured the Binding Technique, brought his hands together with all his strength, and sent the Chakra inside him surging wildly.

Wood Release: Wood Golem Technique!

With a thunderous crash, a gigantic wooden golem over a hundred meters tall burst from the ground, instantly breaking the Binding Technique cast on Mo Chen.

Its powerful aura spread, and a blast of air swept outward, sending the Root members near Mo Chen flying backward.

But the golem hadn't touched the barrier surrounding them, which left Mo Chen a little disappointed.

"Feeling pretty pleased with yourselves, are you? Then let's see what else you've got up your sleeves!"

His trump card was already exposed, so Mo Chen stopped holding back. Sitting on the bridge of the giant golem's nose, he controlled it to swing a massive fist at the three Root members who were closest.

Their actions had been meant to force Mo Chen to reveal his Wood Release, so they must have prepared a way to deal with it.

But to Mo Chen's surprise, two of the three Root members fled in a panic, narrowly dodging the golem's fist. The third seemed stunned and reacted a moment too late, taking a glancing blow to half his body.

Pfft—

The Root member threw his head back and spat out a mouthful of blood. In a flash, he was slammed into the ground, leaving a huge human-shaped crater. He was barely breathing.

"Hm?" Mo Chen raised an eyebrow slightly, then grinned.

"Looks like even Root doesn't know everything. Did seeing my Wood Golem scare you stupid?"

When you thought about it, mastering Earth Release and Water Release in just a few days already made someone a super-genius.

Successfully combining them to wield Wood Release might just be a talent he was born with.

But mastering all that in a few days and then using the Wood Golem Technique, too? Anyone would find that hard to believe.

If that was the case, then their countermeasures against Wood Release would be far less effective than expected.

The Wood Golem might be the most basic giant construct in Wood Release, but in an era when tactics mattered more than strength, bringing out a giant like this practically decided the outcome.

Seeing the Root members panic, Mo Chen naturally didn't let the opportunity slip. He immediately controlled the golem to pursue them.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!!

The towering Wood Golem lumbered forward, swinging fist after fist.

Mo Chen didn't care whether he hit anyone. He just kept swinging.

"Come on! Weren't you going to attack me? Why have you all gone limp?"

Standing atop the golem, Mo Chen laughed wildly. "These fists are as big as houses! Tell me, who among you can take one?"

"Damn it, this brat's too arrogant!"

"So this is Wood Release? Its power is incredible, far beyond anything I imagined!"

"Compared to him, that Yamato from back then was complete trash! This clearly isn't ordinary Wood Release!"

"What do we do now? Do we have no choice but to run?"

The Root members fled in disarray. As they ran, they gathered together, but not one of them had any way to deal with the Wood Golem.

A behemoth like this might move clumsily, but its attacks covered a wide area. Get too close, and there wasn't enough time to dodge.

But if they stayed back, they couldn't attack the caster and dispel the jutsu. They were caught between a rock and a hard place.

At this point, they truly had no better option than to run.

"Hmph, you can't get away!" A wicked smile tugged at Mo Chen's lips.

Using a Wood Golem against ordinary people was like using a cannon to kill a mosquito.

If the enemy focused on escaping, it was hard to actually hit them.

But after chasing them around, Mo Chen had already accomplished his goal.

Looking down from above at the seven Root members he'd driven into one spot, Mo Chen brought his hands together, and Chakra surged through him once more.

Dense forests surrounded Konoha. This was Wood Release's home turf!

"Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!"

At Mo Chen's low shout, the trees all around them began to grow wildly.

Their trunks twisted, thickening and lengthening as their branches and leaves rapidly spread.

A new sapling sprang up wherever there was even the tiniest gap in the ground. In the blink of an eye, each sapling became a towering tree.

At that moment, the trees seemed to come alive. They reached out and wrapped themselves around the Root members.

They were already in a forest, surrounded by trees, with nowhere to hide.

Relying on their strength and experience, they dodged several attacks. But soon, each of them was hanging from a tree.

The moment they were lifted into the air, the Chakra inside them began draining at an incredible speed, siphoned away by the trees.

"Let's see where you can run now! You're all going to die!"

Mo Chen laughed triumphantly and controlled the Wood Golem to swing its house-sized fist once more, smashing it down on the Root members!