Wood Style: Tree World Descends

"What is this?"

Orochimaru was puzzled.

Sage Fukasaku explained, "This is the ultimate dojutsu unlocked after the Uchiha Clan's Mangekyō Sharingan awakens—the Susanoo, hailed as the 'Power of God.'"

"Symbolizing destruction and ruin, it's said that 'anyone who lays eyes on it once is doomed to die.'"

Isn't that—look once and you explode?

Orochimaru quickly averted his eyes, his confidence in his own ninjutsu wavering.

The Uchiha Clan, the Mangekyō Sharingan, the Susanoo—was this still the Ninja World he knew?

Orochimaru felt he was touching the cruelest truth of the Ninja World: effort sets the floor, bloodline sets the ceiling.

Sage Shima wondered, "Child's Father, didn't Madara Uchiha not have the Mangekyō Sharingan?"

Right, Madara's eye sockets were hollow, without a single eye—how could he use a Mangekyō dojutsu?

Sage Fukasaku shook his head, "No clue!"

Liao Wu stared intently at Madara's Susanoo, his eyes red with envy, drooling over it!

He really wanted to sacrifice Floating Wood to unlock the Susanoo, but he didn't have it!

In the original work, Madara was covered by Gaara and Shukaku's combined Desert Great Burial seal, seemingly about to be sealed away, but then he summoned the Susanoo?

Madara's eyes had already evolved beyond the Mangekyō Sharingan to the Rinnegan; at his level, the Susanoo was a technique he could execute with just Yin Yang Release.

"Liao Wu, the constructed Liao Wu!"

Liao Wu snapped, "Who, who dares curse me? I'll slaughter your whole village!"

Liao Wu turned around—an Orange Cat dressed as a ninja cat burst out of the bushes and leaped onto his shoulder.

"Fish Ball! Damn it, who told you to run earlier? You made me lose face in front of everyone."

Fish Ball retorted, "And you had face selling fake medicine before? I'm not done with you sending me to the battlefield last time. Without a pound of dried fish, don't bother summoning me again."

Liao Wu grabbed Fish Ball's head and rubbed it hard, "Scrap Cat, besides hissing, what else can you do?"

Sage Fukasaku and Sage Shima called out to Jiraiya.

"Little Jiraiya, stop spacing out—use sage techniques to counter his Susanoo now!"

"Got it!"

Jiraiya gathered sage chakra within his body as Sage Fukasaku and Sage Shima formed hand seals in unison.

"Sage Art: Gama-Gama!"

Jiraiya spewed a torrent of Toad Oil from his mouth, Sage Fukasaku exhaled Sage Wind, and Sage Shima breathed out Sage Fire.

The combined ninjutsu of wind, oil, and fire surged like molten lava toward Madara's Susanoo.

In an instant, Madara's flesh-state Susanoo had its defenses breached.

Madara grew intrigued, "Beyond Wind Release and Fire Release, you've added Mount Myōboku's Toad Oil? Interesting, interesting—this combined sage fire style..."

"I'd call it the strongest fire style."

Amaterasu was said to be an inextinguishable Black Flame, unquenchable by ordinary water release, but in terms of destructive power, Sage Art: Gama-Gama was a step above.

Madara's Susanoo was burned away in the blink of an eye.

Madara escaped from it, looking at the armor plates burned off his right arm—the sage flames had also scorched his arm.

The flesh was charred, an ugly burnt brown.

The Sannin's morale surged.

Sage Fukasaku praised, "Little Jiraiya, well done—you wounded him!"

Madara wasn't invincible.

A ninja still held to the core principle—Glass Cannon!

Possessing jutsu that could obliterate heaven and earth, but their body's defense was as fragile as paper.

In the original work, after Madara was revived, without the advantage of the Reanimation Body, Shukaku's sand buckshot could breach his Flesh Defense.

If you bleed, you get hurt; if you get hurt, you die.

Even a legendary figure like the Six Paths Sage couldn't escape life and death.

Madara was wounded, but it only excited him more.

"That's it—the feeling of bleeding, I haven't experienced it in so long!"

Madara laughed heartily, almost manic.

What Madara craved was a fight that was punch-for-punch, one that made him bleed and sweat—that alone could awaken the dormant battle cells within him.

Orochimaru watched Madara's frenzy and thought Madara was even more twisted than himself—who else saw injury as a gift?

But this only made the Sannin find Madara more terrifying; he was enjoying the battle, while they were on edge with unease.

Tsunade suddenly noticed steam rising from Madara's scorched arm, with flesh buds writhing within it. In an instant, Madara had healed the burns from the Sage Mode.

"This—"

Tsunade recoiled in shock. Such regenerative power rivaled her own Creation Rebirth.

She had never heard of Madara being a ninja with astonishing recovery.

Liao Wu watched Madara's instantaneous recovery—this was the Hashirama Cell inside him.

The Creation Rebirth that Tsunade had painstakingly developed was merely Hashirama's passive ability.

Hashirama Cell possessed the strongest regenerative power.

Madara was the most compatible person for Hashirama Cell. In the Original Work, Yamato had to rely on Tobi's possession to use Forbidden Technique-level Wood Style.

But Madara didn't need that. He was perfectly compatible with Hashirama Cell.

If Madara and Hashirama fought again at the Valley of the End, Madara would definitely win decisively.

Though Madara didn't have the Rinnegan now, he had Hashirama Cell inside him—which meant... Hashirama-level Wood Style!

Madara pressed his palms together, a mischievous smile curling at the corner of his mouth. "I think you'll be quite familiar with this."

Tsunade's pupils contracted. That was... the Hand Seal for Wood Style!

"Wood Style: Tree World Descends!"

As Madara completed the seal, the ground beneath him instantly cracked open. Countless thick tree trunks burst from underground, rapidly growing and spreading. Those trees engulfed the Sannin and their Summoning Beasts.

Orochimaru's Summoning Beast was caught by a giant tree. Before it could even trigger the Reverse Summon Technique's passive, its Chakra was instantly drained, turning it into a dried snake carcass.

This wasn't an Amateur's Wood Style like Yamato's—this was Domain Type Wood Style. Any contact with a single Branch Vine would drain your Chakra.

"Damn it, Wood Style!!"

Orochimaru desperately fled through the Tree World Descends, gripping his Kusanagi Sword to slash at the encroaching tree vines.

He felt like Madara was constantly shattering his worldview.

First Susanoo, now Wood Style—was this still conventional ninja combat?

You throw a few Shuriken, I spit some water, we go through the motions and call it a day!

What Hand Seal does Wood Style have? Wood Style has no Hand Seal.

You don't even bother forming seals for your jutsu—just clasp your hands together and shout whatever you want!

Wasn't this pure setting collapse?

Orochimaru deeply understood the absolute suppression of late-version Combat Power collapse over early-version rigorous settings.

They weren't even ninja from the same art style anymore.

Good Good Good, everyone's going all out, huh?

Fine, I'll go all out too!

"Forbidden Technique—"

The Slug relied on massive splitting, its slippery body evading the Branch Vines' control.

The Toad Three Brothers—Gama Bunta, Gama Ken, and Gama Hiro—were too large to dodge. They were the first to have their Chakra drained by Madara's Tree World Descends.

Seeing this, Jiraiya quickly dismissed the Toad Three Brothers' summoning, sending them back to Mount Myōboku.

Sage Fukasaku warned, "Little Jiraiya, burn it with oil!"

"Got it!"

"Sage Art: Toad Oil Flame Bullet!"

The Sage Mode Chakra inside Jiraiya transformed into a torrent of toad oil, while Sage Shima cast Sage Fire Style to form the Toad Oil Flame Bullet.

Though this technique wasn't as strong as Gama-Gama, it was still a Combination Ninjutsu at the Sage Mode level.

The blazing flames burned through the Tree World Domain that Madara had created.

Madara stood atop a tall tree, arms crossed, commenting blandly, "Not bad. Hashirama's village isn't completely worthless."