"Hahaha! Fujima, that kid's a lot like me, isn't he? Hahaha!"
"Big brother, don't you think so?"
Tobirama Senju had watched Fujima Senju's performance and grinned. His nephew really was impressive.
"Hmph. Look at you two—you're exactly alike. This technique is forbidden. No one is allowed to learn it."
Hashirama Senju glanced at Tobirama and snorted before speaking evenly, then continued watching the battle.
"Uh...!"
"Great, finally someone else is like me. Invent a technique, and it's automatically forbidden...!"
Tobirama gave Hashirama a resentful look. His big brother's words made him feel indignant on behalf of them both, but he couldn't beat Hashirama, so he had no choice but to obey.
"Not bad."
Hashirama's Clone watched as the Rasenshuriken continued hurtling toward him and gave a slight nod. Then he leaped backward. Just as he jumped down from Rashomon, the Rasenshuriken slammed into the third gate.
"Boom...!"
"Zzzzzzz...!"
In an instant, the Rasenshuriken unleashed its full power. Countless needles of wind-nature chakra tore into the third Rashomon, emitting a piercing sound.
"Crash...!"
The third Rashomon was soon shattered, but the Rasenshuriken continued to wreak havoc on the ground, whipping up countless splashes of water and creating a watery whirlwind dozens of meters across. The river water sprayed in every direction.
"Wow, the young clan leader is incredible! He's actually managed to fight the clan leader for this long! And what kind of ninjutsu was that? I've never seen it before!"
"He's amazing. The young clan leader has not only awakened Wood Release, but his Water Release is incredibly powerful too. He's starting to remind me of Lord Tobirama. The Senju Clan will only grow stronger from here!"
"Of course! One day, the whole world will belong to the Senju Clan! Hahaha! With the clan leader and young clan leader leading us, we'll definitely defeat the Uchiha Clan!"
"Exactly! With the clan leader and young clan leader on our side, we're sure to defeat the Uchiha Clan. Those scum are all wicked people. The next time we fight, we'll wipe them out for good!"
The battle between Hashirama and Fujima filled every member of the Senju Clan with hope for their strength, giving them the confidence to crush the Uchiha Clan.
"Fujima, your strength has really surprised me. But from here on, I'll be using my full power, so be careful."
Hashirama's Clone looked at Fujima, pride and approval flashing in his eyes. He still hadn't used his full strength.
Though he was a Wood Clone and weaker than Hashirama's real body, he was still stronger than any Hokage in history. No ordinary person could stand against him.
"Hmph."
Fujima snorted. He had used so many techniques that he'd already spent nearly half his chakra.
Even though he had a tremendous amount of chakra, he was still young, and his reserves continued to grow every day. He was sure he'd soon surpass his father.
"Wood Release: Wood Human Technique."
"Wood Release: Wood Dragon Technique."
Hashirama clasped his hands together and shouted. A wooden figure dozens of meters tall erupted from the ground, a wooden dragon coiled around its neck.
"You're not the only one who can do that. I can do it too! Come on! Let's fight hand to hand."
"Ha...!"
"Wood Release: Wood Human Technique."
"Wood Release: Wood Dragon Technique."
Then something ridiculous happened: two wooden giants, each with a wooden dragon, appeared near the Senju Clan Compound. Fujima's was a little smaller, probably because he wasn't as practiced.
"Pfft...!"
"Dad, why is your Wood Human a whole size bigger than mine?"
Fujima saw that Hashirama's Wood Human was a whole size bigger than his and nearly spat blood.
"You're not practiced enough. Use it a few more times and you'll get the hang of it."
"Now, here I come."
Hashirama's mouth curled into a faint smile as he spoke. Then he sent his Wood Human charging straight at Fujima's.
"Boom, boom, boom...!"
The two wooden figures pounded across the ground, making it tremble like an earthquake.
"Take that! Take that! Take that...!"
The two Wood Humans clashed, trading punches, while their wooden dragons tore at each other.
"Crash...!"
Before long, Fujima's Wood Human was knocked to the ground with a single punch.
"Ow!"
Fujima himself was slammed hard into the ground and cried out in pain.
"Dad's Wood Human isn't just a whole size bigger; it's way more powerful than mine too. What a rip-off."
Fujima saw that his Wood Human had been beaten so badly by Hashirama that it couldn't fight back at all, and cursed under his breath.
"Wood Release: Advent of a World of Flowering Trees."
"Ah...!"
He was down to his last bit of chakra. Once he used it all up, he'd finally be free. He hurriedly unleashed Wood Release's ultimate secret technique.
Fujima frantically used his chakra as nourishment. He clasped his hands together and poured chakra into the ground, making the trees sleeping beneath the earth grow rapidly and swell in size.
Hundreds of red flowers bloomed on every tree. After absorbing Fujima's chakra, the flowers grew at an astonishing speed and burst into bloom, releasing countless poisonous spores that spread across the entire battlefield.
"Can't hold back anymore, can you?"
"But I told you: Wood Release is useless against me. All this effort is pointless."
Watching the vast forest Fujima had summoned, Hashirama gave a faint smile and spoke calmly, without a hint of concern.
Hashirama was the God of Wood Release. No Wood Release technique could affect him. Even if he inhaled the pollen, he wouldn't suffer any ill effects.
That was the power of the Sage Body. It was no ordinary physique.
"Dad, I just want to use up my chakra as quickly as possible. I don't want to fight anymore. Fighting you is exhausting."
Hearing Hashirama's words, Fujima muttered to himself and continued pouring in his chakra.
The trees grew taller and denser as he poured out every last bit of chakra in his body.
The trees suddenly thrust toward Hashirama, as if they were alive, stabbing straight at him.
"Boom, boom, boom, boom...!"
Hashirama sent his Wood Human rushing toward Fujima. It charged straight through everything in its path, smashing the trees in front of it and sweeping them aside without restraint.
"Haah, haah... I finally used up all my chakra. I'm exhausted."
Just then, Fujima felt the last trace of his chakra flow into the trees beneath his feet. He stood on a branch, gasping for breath.
"Ding! The host has made a successful choice and completed the task. Reward acquired: Shikkotsu Forest Summoning Contract. It has been stored in the system inventory. You may choose to sign the contract at any time."
At that moment, the system's notification finally sounded, offering him a bit of comfort.
"Finally. I'm completely worn out."
Hearing the system's notification, Fujima felt a wave of relief. Exhaustion washed over him, and he toppled straight off the tree.
"Hm?"
Hashirama's Clone frowned when Fujima suddenly started falling from the tree for no apparent reason. With a wave of his hand, he made a branch appear beneath Fujima, catching him.
"The kid actually used up all his chakra. Heh!"
"He really gave it everything he had, but he's still quite strong. He's already one of the most powerful people in the entire Ninja World."
"As long as he doesn't run into that freak Madara, I doubt anyone could kill him."
Hashirama's Clone quickly reached Fujima and scooped him into his arms. Seeing that he'd passed out and hearing his steady breathing, he smiled faintly, then leaped back toward the real Hashirama.
"Is it over? Who won? The young clan leader is amazing! I don't think even I could beat him."
"Same here. I'm an elite jonin, yet I feel like the young clan leader, who's only ten, is countless times stronger than me. It's unbelievable."
"I'm already halfway to Kage Level, and even I don't think I'm stronger than the young clan leader. How can you say that with a straight face?"
"That was incredible! We rarely get to see the clan leader fight. The battlefield is always such chaos that you can hardly see anything. That was a real treat!"
"Hahaha, the Senju Clan's rise is finally at hand!"
The countless people at the Senju Clan Compound all felt that their clan would only grow stronger in the future. Their young clan leader was simply too powerful. In a few years, they would have two god-level warriors on their side!
The ranking of ninja strength during the Warring States Period was: trainee genin, Genin, elite genin, Chunin, elite Chunin, jonin, elite jonin, half-Kage, Kage, Super Kage, and god. Above those were the Six Paths and beyond, but those ranks weren't used during the Warring States Period.
At present, only two people in the entire Ninja World had reached the god level: Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha.
The two people who came closest to that level were Tobirama Senju and Izuna Uchiha. That assessment had been made after their clashes on the battlefield.
A clan without a Kage-level warrior had no reason to expect to survive.
Kage-level warriors held immense importance within any clan, and the Senju Clan and Uchiha Clan were by far the strongest.
The Hyuga Clan came next, but after their leader, Hyuga Tenin, died, their strength had declined drastically, and they had withdrawn from the battlefield altogether.
Only the Senju Clan and Uchiha Clan were still fighting on the battlefield.
"That kid really gives it everything he's got!"
"Let's go. It's getting late. Everyone should get to bed early."
Hashirama took Fujima from his Clone and spoke to Tobirama. Then he leaped quickly back toward the clan compound.
Before you continue