White Lotus

"Do you mean I have to face all three of you at once?"

Seeing how eager Tsunade looked, Minato pointed at himself uncertainly. "Me?"

"Don't worry. Orochimaru and I won't attack you first."

Tsunade crooked a finger at him. "Enough talking. Get on with it!"

"Uh, all right."

Minato drew a kunai, his gaze instantly calming. "Then... excuse me!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, he appeared in front of Jiraiya. Without hesitation, he thrust his kunai toward Jiraiya's stomach.

Jiraiya's expression had grown much more serious than before. He deflected Minato's kunai-wielding wrist and drove a front kick toward Minato's chest.

Minato was about to dodge to the side when Jiraiya changed his front kick into a sweeping kick and sent him flying.

"You should've dodged to the outside. That way, I'd only be able to sweep toward the outside, where I'd have less leverage and would be more likely to leave myself open," Jiraiya said seriously.

"I'll remember that."

Minato steadied himself, then charged at Jiraiya again. His reckless approach left the three of them puzzled.

Just as they couldn't help wondering what gave the kid the nerve to charge straight at all three of them, an incredibly dazzling light burst from Minato!

It was as if a brilliant sun had risen in the training ground!

"Gaia—"

Jiraiya felt a flash before his eyes. Tears welled up instantly, and he couldn't help covering his eyes and shouting.

You sneaky little brat!

The three of them cursed him inwardly at the same time and all used Body Flicker to retreat.

As they pulled back, Jiraiya quickly formed Hand Seals. "Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"

Rumble—

A several-meter-high earthen wall rose, blocking the light.

With their eyes closed, they waited for the stinging to ease while listening closely to the sounds around them.

"He's behind the wall."

Orochimaru chuckled, a hint of anger in his voice.

"Don't take it out on a kid..." Tsunade said with a smile, though it looked rather forced. Minato's trick had clearly irritated her too, but as his teacher, she couldn't very well lash out.

"Oh? Then take a look over there."

Orochimaru pointed. Tsunade followed his gesture and saw Nawaki kneeling beneath a tree, covering his eyes and bawling.

Tsunade: "..."

"Why isn't he moving?"

Listening to the sounds behind the wall, Jiraiya could pick up Minato's heartbeat, along with the faint scrape of his shoe against the ground.

As the three of them wondered what was going on, a faint cracking sound came from the wall.

Tsunade's expression changed abruptly. "Retreat!"

She didn't need to tell them. Jiraiya and Orochimaru had already put some distance between themselves and the wall. They had no idea what had caused the sound, but there was no harm in being cautious.

Sure enough, the instant they moved back, several thick tree trunks burst through the wall and snaked toward their ankles!

"What?!"

Jiraiya's eyes widened. He quickly formed Hand Seals and spat out three Flame Bullets, smashing the incoming trunks. Then he stared blankly at Minato.

"Could that be... Wood Release?!"

Watching the branches slowly withdraw from Minato's arm, the last trace of complexity in Orochimaru's heart faded, replaced by an indescribable fervor!

He had two Kekkei Genkai?

Could someone really possess two Kekkei Genkai at once?

Could it be three?

Or even more...

What would happen if every Kekkei Genkai were combined in a single body?

The thought quietly gave rise to an ambition in his heart. Then he abruptly turned to Tsunade. "So this is why you took him on as your student, isn't it?"

Tsunade nodded. Though she couldn't use Wood Release herself, as the granddaughter of the First, no one was more qualified to teach Minato than she was—not even the Hokage.

The Scroll of Seals in Konoha did contain Wood Release techniques, but it belonged to the village, and learning them came at a price.

If she taught him, though, it would be a family inheritance. That was a different matter entirely.

Besides, the Scroll of Seals had been compiled by her second grandfather. If they wanted to get technical, even the scroll itself was the private property of the Senju Clan.

"Splendid—"

At Tsunade's nod, Orochimaru licked his lips, his gaze toward Minato growing even more fervent.

"Tsunade, how about we make a deal?"

Tsunade watched Orochimaru warily. "You're not thinking of stealing my student, are you?"

Orochimaru's smile froze. "How could you call it stealing? We're comrades who've fought side by side, after all. And I genuinely admire the boy."

"No way~"

Tsunade gave a soft snort. "Don't even think about it! I'd be happy for you to teach him, but I'm the only one who can be his teacher!"

Orochimaru considered it and decided it wasn't unacceptable. He nodded. "That works."

They might not have the title of master and pupil, but they'd have the relationship in practice. That had to count for something, right?

With that connection between them, it wouldn't be unreasonable to get him to help with a few little experiments, would it?

"Come to think of it, this is my first time seeing Wood Release. It doesn't seem all that special. I can't figure out how it attacks."

Jiraiya rubbed his chin, recalling the way those tree trunks had moved. A suddenly suggestive look came over his face. "Crushing? Wrapping around someone? Heh heh..."

"Wood Release has tremendous suppressive power and can also absorb a target's chakra to a certain extent. In that respect, it's a lot like those filthy things in your head. Once they get ahold of you, they'll squeeze you dry," Tsunade said calmly, but her words sent a chill down Jiraiya's spine.

"That does sound dangerous..."

"Absorb a target's chakra..."

Minato was thoughtful too. After pondering for a moment, he suddenly walked to the edge of the training ground and placed a hand against a thick tree.

As Tsunade and the others watched in confusion, the tree—which had been full of green leaves and brimming with life moments earlier—turned yellow and shed its leaves just seconds later.

"You call that 'to a certain extent'? He can even drain plants? Does that mean this kid's chakra is unlimited as long as he's in a forest?"

Jiraiya pointed at the withered tree, shouting in alarm.

Tsunade swallowed. She'd never heard that Wood Release could drain the life force of plants.

Minato wasn't all that surprised. In fact, he'd already been holding back. He even felt that if he wanted to, he could drain the entire tree in an instant.

After thinking it over, he sent some chakra back into the tree. Its canopy turned lush and green again, and it even grew a little thicker than before.

It might have sounded absurd, but in that instant, Minato seemed to "hear" the tree thanking him.

Could Hashirama absorb the chakra of trees in the original story?

Or perhaps life energy would be a more accurate description...

Madara had awakened the Rinnegan after merging with the Power of All Creation. If Hashirama had done the same, what kind of power would he have awakened?

The scene of Naruto and Sasuke during the final battle suddenly flashed through Minato's mind. A faint suspicion crossed his thoughts. He glanced at Tsunade and the others, then smiled apologetically.

"It really can absorb chakra. I'll have to be careful when using it from now on."

His smile was as warm and sunny as ever, like a pure, unblemished white lotus...