Wood Release VS White Fang of Konoha

"Are two of them the real body, or are they all clones?"

Genma noticed the battle on Yamashiro Aoba's side.

As his thoughts raced, electric sparks crackled and flashed on his right hand.

He injected Lightning Release chakra into the Kunai in his hand. Amidst the clash, the immense force combined with the energy inherent in the Lightning Release chakra caused the Kunai in Hatake Sakumo's hand, already riddled with notches, to snap upon impact.

"You can already imbue ninja tools with Lightning Release chakra. Well done, Genma!"

Hatake Sakumo praised him inwardly, his figure retreating in quick succession to avoid the sharp edge. Suddenly, his ears twitched, and he twisted his neck just as a Senbon coated in lethal poison flew past, grazing his cheek.

It was Shizune, who had been hiding, seizing the opportunity to use her Sleeve Arrow.

Because he had to dodge that strike, Hatake Sakumo's movements stalled for a split second.

Substitution Technique!

In an instant, he swapped positions with the Senbon that had just flown to the other side of Hatake Sakumo's body, and the Senbon transformed into Genma's likeness to continue the assault.

"Hm?"

This was the first time Hatake Sakumo had witnessed this method of Genma's.

Because the position swap was too fast and his attention had been diverted by the Senbon, his first instinct was to assume the Senbon had been transformed into by Genma and thrown by Shizune.

Good coordination!

He praised him inwardly once more, even as the Bell at his waist was snatched away by Genma.

But immediately after, both Hatake Sakumo and the Bell exploded into puffs of smoke.

Another clone!

In the woods, Shizune shifted her position at high speed.

Suddenly, a figure blocked her path ahead.

Shizune halted, pulling out a Kunai and staring nervously at the Hatake Sakumo in front of her.

Suddenly, Shizune's body stiffened, her arms trembling slightly, yet she found herself unable to move. "This is... Immobilization Technique!"

Poof!

Hatake Sakumo vanished.

In the clearing.

Before Genma could return to assist, Yamashiro Aoba had already been taken out of the fight.

Then, Hatake Sakumo dissipated into smoke.

As expected, they were all clones.

"Genma, it seems you'll have to rely on yourself from here on out."

Yamashiro Aoba retreated to the side, preparing to watch the battle.

At that moment, another Hatake Sakumo emerged from the woods on the other side.

Genma cast his gaze toward him and probed, "It seems this one should be the real body."

Hatake Sakumo didn't confirm or deny, but instead said with surprise, "Shizune was your clone."

"Your Transformation Technique is excellent; you even fooled me."

Genma replied modestly, "Just a precaution."

Hatake Sakumo nodded. "Well done. On the battlefield, medical ninjas are always the first targets enemies aim to eliminate."

"Taking out the medical ninja not only strikes at the enemy's morale and disrupts their rhythm, but it also weakens their ability to sustain combat."

"So, this should be the final bout."

"Do you have any more surprises?"

Hatake Sakumo looked on with a hint of anticipation.

"Teacher, I do indeed have a few more tricks up my sleeve," Genma replied.

The two Shadow Clone and Shizune also walked out of the woods.

Shizune went over to Yamashiro Aoba, while the two Shadow Clone simply dispelled themselves.

In an instant, green eyeshadow appeared on Genma's face.

Wood Release Chakra Mode!

Hatake Sakumo's gaze sharpened. "Such powerful chakra!"

"At this level, it's not just comparable to mine... no, it's even stronger than my own chakra!"

Hatake Sakumo felt a jolt of shock.

This disciple of his was truly hiding too much; it made him feel like a rather irresponsible teacher.

Genma pressed his palms together, his internal chakra surging like a tidal wave.

For over a year, he hadn't added many new abilities to his repertoire.

One was the immobilizing genjutsu he had already displayed: Spider Web.

The other was Lightning Release.

He had learned Kakashi's Chidori, but he rarely used it; it didn't quite suit his style, and the progress was nowhere near as efficient as simply smashing people with his brute strength.

Furthermore, he hadn't yet spent the time to evolve Chidori into Lightning Blade.

Regarding Lightning Release, after mastering the nature transformation, Genma had focused his development on body flicker techniques—specifically, using lightning chakra to stimulate his entire body's cells, including his neurons.

Because the technique wasn't fully developed, he hadn't used it in the spar just now.

At present, the only thing that could allow him to go all-out against his teacher, Hatake Sakumo, was the Wood Release Chakra Mode.

Genma had also sent a Shadow Clone into the woods early on, partly to maintain the Wood Release chakra, and partly to ensure Shizune didn't get "taken out."

In truth, he was dying to see the true strength of his teacher, Hatake Sakumo.

As for the previous exchange, it was clear that Hatake Sakumo had just been playing with the kids.

"Teacher, watch yourself!"

With that warning, Genma unleashed his ninjutsu.

The next moment, four thick wooden vines burst from the ground, growing rapidly toward the sky.

The tips of the vines were sharp, and they suddenly dove downward, streaking toward Hatake Sakumo in the center with a piercing whistle that tore through the air.

"This... this, could it be the First Hokage's Wood Release Secret Technique?"

Yamashiro Aoba stuttered.

He had never seen Wood Release before, but the Ninja Academy textbooks on the Will of Fire and records of the Hokage's deeds had all mentioned the Wood Release that the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, had relied upon to pacify the Ninja World.

"Wood Release Secret Technique is a Kekkei Genkai. Could Genma be a descendant of the First Hokage?"

"No, that's not right. Genma's surname is Kazekaze."

Yamashiro Aoba was so shocked he could barely speak coherently. He swallowed hard and muttered, "This kind of chakra... it's too strong. This is the first time I've seen such terrifying chakra!"

"He's practically a monster!"

Beside him, Shizune wasn't shocked; she simply clenched her fists, silently cheering Genma on.

She had known for a long time that Genma had mastered Wood Release.

"So this is the Wood Release Chakra Mode that Genma mentioned before..."

Watching the vines descend, Hatake Sakumo immediately dodged.

But then, even more vines erupted from the ground, weaving and dancing like dragons and snakes.

"There are too many!"

Lightning flared across Hatake Sakumo's body, his speed skyrocketing. He bypassed the attacks and charged straight toward Genma's main body.

Genma raised an eyebrow and formed the Snake seal with his hands.

Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!

Even more vines—no, trees—emerged.

Where there had been bare wood before, now massive trees with branches and leaves grew at breakneck speed, filling the sky and blocking Hatake Sakumo's path.

"Could it be that Genma is already on the same level as the First Hokage..."

Hatake Sakumo was also stunned. Faced with such dense, suffocating coverage, he finally drew the short blade from his back.

White chakra light exploded outward. The lightning on Hatake Sakumo's body receded, leaving only a searing white glow flickering along his blade.

But his speed was even greater now.

His figure flickered, leaving behind countless afterimages.

As his blade danced, wood shattered and splinters flew.

Facing the crushing force of the forest, Hatake Sakumo charged forward like the sharpest of fangs, smashing through every obstacle in his path with unstoppable momentum.

"So fast!"

Genma was secretly alarmed. "As expected of the White Fang of Konoha!"

A standard Deep Forest Emergence couldn't even stop his teacher.

Seeing Hatake Sakumo about to break through the forest, Genma took a deep breath and changed his seal to a prayer position, intense lightning surging over his body.

The next moment, every tree in the forest was enveloped in electricity.

The entire forest instantly transformed into a cage of lightning.

Wood Release + Lightning Release: Wood-Lightning Prison!

In an instant, Hatake Sakumo had nowhere to hide and no time to use other defensive measures. His body was struck and entangled by the lightning, paralyzing him and leaving him unable to move.

Genma immediately used the Substitution Technique to swap places with pockets of air, moving like a teleporting blur until he reached Hatake Sakumo's side and snatched the Bell.

"We won!"

Watching Genma appear with the Bell, Shizune was overjoyed and hurried forward: "Genma, Sakumo-sensei should be alright, right?"

"Uh..."

Genma scratched his head in embarrassment: "Well, that should be fine, right?"

There was no helping it; the Wood Release chakra accumulated by his shadow clone earlier hadn't been much, otherwise, he would have used Wood Release to capture him.