Wood Release: Four-Pillar House Technique

"Amamiya... Ruri?" Hashirama scratched his head, indicating he did not recognize the name.

"Amamiya Ruri? Is that the ninja rumored to be the strongest in the Land of Waterfalls?" The First Tsuchikage, Ishikawa, stroked his beard. The Land of Waterfalls shared a border with the Land of Earth, so he had heard of Ruri's name, though he had always assumed the man kept a low profile.

"Hmph... Land of Waterfalls? Takikage? A mere small nation..." Byakuren remained dismissive. Although he now suspected Ruri might possess strength on par with them, the national power of the Land of Waterfalls was far inferior to the Five Great Nations. Unless Ruri truly possessed strength equal to or even a cut above their own, the Land of Waterfalls establishing a Takikage was nothing more than wishful thinking.

"The Land of Waterfalls, now that is a fine country," the First Kazekage, Retto, said with a smile. Of the five, he was the only one besides Hashirama who did not harbor hostility toward Ruri.

The Land of Wind was far from the Land of Waterfalls, and the two nations had never had any conflict. Furthermore, what no one knew was that Retto and Ruri were acquainted.

About two years ago, when Sunagakure was being established, the Land of Wind's geography was poor—it was common knowledge that the land was covered in yellow sand. To ensure the rapid development of Sunagakure, Retto had traveled everywhere, negotiating with various countries, including the Land of Waterfalls.

At that time, the Land of Waterfalls had not yet established a ninja village, though they had the intention to do so. Sunagakure was perhaps the weakest of the five great ninja villages, but any support was hard-won. After the Daimyo discussed it with Ruri, they sent over a small amount of diluted Hero Water. While the diluted version lacked the ability to increase chakra, it could alter the geographical environment and create water sources; it was precisely this that Retto had used to solve Sunagakure's water crisis.

The support Sunagakure provided in return was the trade for that Hero Water.

Retto sighed with emotion. At the time, he had no idea that once the Land of Waterfalls established Takigakure, they would appoint a Takikage, because he knew clearly that Ruri had not possessed Kage-level strength back then. Who would have thought that in just a few years, such a massive change would occur? Ruri had been able to block the Mizukage's sneak attack with a flick of his hand. He also hadn't expected the Daimyo of the Land of Waterfalls to be bold enough to challenge the Five Great Nations. However, there was no conflict of interest between Sunagakure and Takigakure, and given their previous cooperation, they might maintain a partnership in the future. Starting with this, he could perhaps secure more Hero Water for Sunagakure—this was a profitable venture.

"How much longer are we going to dawdle here? I have no desire to be a monkey in the eyes of these samurai," the Raikage, A, spoke up. He had been observing Ruri and had yet to find any flaws, and with a crowd of samurai watching, he had long since lost his patience.

"Right, there is still business to attend to. Ruri, was it? Today is the day of the Five Kage Summit, so let's stop chatting for now!" Hashirama slapped his forehead, his words failing to acknowledge Ruri's status as Takikage.

If Hashirama had acknowledged Ruri's title and status as a Kage, he would not have addressed him by his first name, nor would he have used the Five Kage Summit as an excuse to make him leave.

Ruri shook his head inwardly. It seemed Hashirama hadn't become Hokage solely through charisma and strength; his political instincts were not weak either. While he wouldn't acknowledge his status as Takikage, he didn't drive him away directly, as offending a nation for no reason didn't align with his vision of peace in the ninja world.

It appeared that while his earlier display had stunned the other four Kage, it hadn't rattled Hashirama. Truly, the God of Shinobi was as experienced as they said.

Ruri formed hand seals and slammed his hands onto the ground. He had practiced his seal speed since childhood, reaching a level of five seals per second, but Hashirama still saw them clearly. Yet, the moment he saw those specific seals, he froze.

"Wood Style: Four-Pillar House Technique!"

A wooden residence rose from the ground. Ruri had long since scouted this meeting spot; it was spacious, so the appearance of a house wouldn't seem abrupt or obstruct passersby. At worst, the Land of Iron might send people to seal it as an illegal structure, but by then, the summit would be over.

"That is... Big Brother's Wood Style?" Tobirama, who had been following behind Hashirama, wore an expression of utter disbelief. Wasn't that his brother's signature Wood Style ninjutsu? How could it reappear in the hands of this guy? This was a technique even he couldn't learn... and wasn't Wood Style a Kekkei Genkai of the Senju clan?

The four Kage looked at Hashirama in unison, their eyes seemingly questioning who exactly this man was. They knew the power of Hashirama's Wood Style and had been beaten into submission by it, which was why this summit was happening in the first place. In their eyes, Wood Style was synonymous with Hashirama.

Even Retto was now uncertain. Had Amamiya Ruri's appearance been arranged by Hashirama? Otherwise, how could one explain this Wood Style that had only ever appeared in Hashirama's hands? Could these two be long-lost cousins? They didn't look anything alike!

Hashirama scratched his head and gave an awkward smile, remaining silent. This was impossible to explain clearly now. He didn't know what was going on either; he had cultivated Wood Style on his own and had always assumed it was a Kekkei Genkai. But seeing this, the origin of Wood Style was now open to question.

Originally, no one in the clan besides Hashirama could cultivate Wood Style, not even the talented Tobirama. He was certain the Senju clan had no branch families. In an era before Orochimaru was born, before black technology was developed, and before Hashirama cells were rampant, the only conclusion was that Amamiya Ruri possessed the same talent as him and had cultivated Wood Style on his own.

"Well, aren't we here for the Six Kage Summit? It's not good to stay outside forever. Let's go in." Ruri gestured for them to enter, his inner bitterness known to no one. He possessed neither the Water nor Earth chakra required to combine into Wood Style. Although he could use the Wood Style ninjutsu rewarded by the system, the consumption was immense. Between that and the previous use of the Truth-Seeking Orb to block the Water Dragon Bullet, he only had forty percent of his chakra left.

"That's true, let's go in!" Hashirama laughed heartily and was the first to walk into the residence. He had originally intended to build a house here using Wood Style himself, so Ruri's actions had saved him some chakra. However, because of this, the status of the Land of Waterfalls and Takigakure would have to be re-evaluated. A Takikage capable of using strange ninjutsu to block Byakuren's Water Style, and even capable of using Wood Style—such combat power was top-tier even among the Five Kage.

The other four Kage remained expressionless as they followed Hashirama inside. Ruri had the ability to easily block Byakuren's sneak attack and possessed Wood Style; they dared not think further. Perhaps Ruri's strength was above their own. Being one of the Five Kage, yet potentially inferior in strength to this Takikage who had popped out of nowhere, made them feel a bit humiliated.

Only then did Ruri breathe a sigh of relief. With the Five Kage willing to enter the house created by his Wood Style, his plan had largely succeeded. At the very least, the title of Takikage would have to be acknowledged, because in their eyes, Ruri was no longer just an ordinary Kage-level threat; his strength was enough to make the Five Kage take him seriously.

Ruri followed them inside, and the Five Kage's guards followed after.

Kakuzu, who was the last to enter, perhaps had a slightly slower reaction time, as he finally wore a look of utter confusion. He didn't know when his "big brother" had learned Wood Style, but he didn't dwell on it. The stronger his big brother was, the more ninjutsu he could help him develop. Besides, he could see that the current situation was to their advantage. From this day on, the title of Takikage would be recognized by the entire ninja world. As the designated Second Takikage, he felt this was going quite well.