Unintentionally

The massive Three-Tails was hoisted out of the lake by countless trees, their roots wrapping directly around its body to continuously drain its chakra, fueling this Wood Release ninjutsu.

"Ah... Hah!!!"

Senju Tobirama roared, his hands pressed together in a seal. The Wood Golem beneath Li Ke grew larger and longer, and as he continuously utilized Fuinjutsu, he sensed something intriguing...

The Sage chakra allowed him to perceive that the Fuinjutsu he released using Li Ke's body possessed, to a greater or lesser extent, the characteristics of the Uzumaki Clan.

And if that were the case.

"Let me put this to the test!"

Senju Tobirama's lips curled into an irrepressible grin, and from behind him, countless golden chains erupted!

This was the special Fuinjutsu the Uzumaki Clan relied upon thanks to their bloodline: Adamantine Chain. It was a technique for both offense and defense, one that should have been the signature jutsu of the Uzumaki Clan far more than the Reaper Death Seal!

Yet, unlike the Adamantine Chains he remembered the Uzumaki clansmen using, when the chains bursting from Li Ke's body struck the Tailed Beast, Senju Tobirama observed that the power of the Adamantine Chains manifested even before they made contact! The Three-Tails' chakra was already being drained and sealed!

"To think even this technique could be pushed to such a level?! Fantastic!"

Senju Tobirama couldn't help but press his hands together once more, drawing vast amounts of chakra from the Three-Tails.

"In that case, one could extract and utilize Tailed Beast chakra without even becoming a Jinchuriki; it would simply be a matter of using the Wood Golem as a new chakra pathway..."

Manipulating Wood Release to battle enemies for the first time, Senju Tobirama finally felt what his older brother must have felt.

Looking at the surviving Mist Shinobi, Senju Tobirama spoke words of utter despair.

"Come! Let me see just how much you are capable of!"

The next moment, the Wood Golem beneath him moved with agility, hands clasped together. Instantly, the Tailed Beast chakra extracted from the Three-Tails formed a technique within the Golem, which was then unleashed upon the land.

"Hah!!"

Wood Release: Flower Tree World Descends!

The cavern, already crowded with countless trees, was shattered by massive, towering trunks. Giant flower buds erupted from the earth, and clouds of pollen began to spread through the air.

The moment the shinobi who had barely managed to survive the initial Wood Release realized something was wrong, they had already inhaled vast quantities of pollen, causing them to grow dizzy and disoriented.

"And now—"

The Mangekyo Sharingan spun incessantly, but at this moment, Li Ke's other eye shifted into a Byakugan.

Boundless gale-force winds appeared out of thin air, while the Uchiha Clan's Fire Release ninjutsu was already being prepared.

Watching the wary Mist Shinobi rushing toward him from afar, Senju Tobirama unleashed his technique.

Violent winds swept the clouds of pollen toward the Mist Shinobi, enveloping them in the hallucinogenic powder, and in the next instant.

Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!

A raging torrent of fire was spewed from Senju Tobirama's mouth. Not only that, but the moment the fire erupted, a flash of black flame appeared, rapidly forming into arrows. These arrows carried the chakra-infused flames, weaving into massive nets that swept through the pollen-choked shinobi.

In an instant, the pollen ignited; the gale fueled the pollen and the fire, and the fire ignited the pollen.

A massive conflagration ensued.

Violent explosions roared continuously before him, turning a radius of several thousand meters into a thundering sea of fire.

However, using Li Ke's Byakugan, Senju Tobirama saw that quite a few Mist Shinobi had survived by using Earth Release and Water Release.

And so—

"Beasts have their uses, too."

Under the suppression of the Wood Release and the Sage Art: Adamantine Sealing Chains, the Three-Tails, stripped of all resistance, was controlled by the Mangekyo Sharingan. It opened its mouth, and vast amounts of chakra began to gather.

Thus, when the reinforcements of Mist Shinobi arrived and the flames died down, the first thing they saw as they tried to assess the situation was the Tailed Beast Bomb gathering in the Three-Tails' maw.

A moment later, the Tailed Beast Bomb surged toward them.

Terror washed over the faces of the Mist Shinobi, yet more were still rushing toward the scene.

Watching them through the Byakugan, Senju Tobirama recognized their attire; these were the true trump cards and elites of the Mist.

The Assassination Squad and the Anbu.

"Oh? The Mist Anbu? To think they've sent even these units... It seems they truly have reached the end of their rope."

He flexed his arms. Although Li Ke's body still held plenty of chakra, and with the Three-Tails fully under his control, he lacked no ability to use large-scale ninjutsu, Senju Tobirama wanted to try something new.

"Vanish!"

He quickly formed seals and pressed his hands onto the tree roots beneath him. The power of Transparent Release surged, masking the countless roots and causing them to disappear from the sight of all others.

However—

In the very center of the arriving Mist Shinobi, a Flying Thunder God Mark abruptly appeared.

The next moment, countless Mist Shinobi realized something invisible was attacking them!

One Mist Shinobi leaped into the air, only to have his neck snapped the next instant; another landed on a tree, only to be torn into shreds.

Others suffered an even worse fate; they collided with something in mid-air, and the next moment, their bodies were pierced by countless transparent objects, turning them into sieves!

The most terrifying part was that even when those objects were stained with blood, they remained completely invisible!

Watching their comrade's body pierced in an instant, the Mist Shinobi of the assassination unit were struck with terror. Yet, being an elite force, they immediately devised a countermeasure!

"Quick, use the Mist Technique!"

As the words fell, countless water mists manifested in the air, and through them, they clearly saw the abrupt tentacles surrounding them!

The Mist Shinobi watched in horror as countless intangible tentacles churned through the mist, lunging toward them—and they were already trapped in the very center of this Tentacle Forest!

Seeing this, Senju Tobirama merely clasped his hands together casually, his eyes filled with delight.

"Darkness Technique."

The next moment, the Mist Shinobi, who could previously still track the movement of the tentacles, were plunged into absolute darkness!

"Aaaaaahhh!!"

And so, screams of terror echoed incessantly throughout the forest. Standing atop the Wood Golem, Senju Tobirama watched the Mist Shinobi being gradually submerged and couldn't help but shake his head.

"Hmph, getting a bit boring..."

Hundreds of elite shinobi were nothing more than playthings in the face of sufficient Bloodline Limits and chakra.

But this was not the limit of Li Ke's body.

If this kid's body could grow for a few more years and unleash all his chakra, then even if all the 'Kage' came at once with their troops and Tailed Beasts, they would be no match for him.

Clenching his palm, Senju Tobirama was certain of this.

The Bloodline Limit that was considered useless in the Moonlight Clan—only good for assassinations and prone to exposure with the slightest movement—became the ultimate ninjutsu when used through Li Ke's body: silent, motionless, devoid of physical sensation, and producing not a single sound during execution.

"Forget it, time to get down to business."

Having had his fill of fun, and primarily because there were no more Mist Shinobi nearby, Senju Tobirama turned his gaze toward the Three-Tails.

This location was actually quite close to Konoha Village, so Senju Tobirama pondered for a moment before manipulating the Wood Golem to seize the Three-Tails, then applied several Fuinjutsu seals onto its body.

With this, all it would take was a qualified Sealing Squad or someone of his own caliber to easily seal the Three-Tails into a special chakra container and bring it back to Konoha Village.

In this way, Konoha Village could secure a massive indemnity. As for keeping the Three-Tails, while the current situation in Konoha would allow for it, there was no need.

With Li Ke around, there was no need to worry about Tailed Beasts, and if they forcibly kept the Three-Tails, Konoha Village wouldn't have enough time to catch its breath; Li Ke needed time to develop his own base of support.

Otherwise, Li Ke would likely have to use his Shadow Clones for everything, which would work a man to death.

Moreover, Li Ke was still far too young; he would need at least five or six years before he could become Hokage. However, bolstering Konoha's assets would allow his future ideals to be better realized.

Besides, the importance of the Tailed Beast could be used to drag the Mist Shinobi through the mud.

In the end, it was nothing more than a weak beast.

"Monkey, I leave the task of paving the way for those who come after to you."

As he spoke, he formed hand seals again, the power of the Sharingan deepening its hold on the consciousness of the Three-Tails.

He didn't do much—just planted a suggestion that whenever the Three-Tails was ordered to attack Konoha Village, it would instead fire a Tailed Beast Bomb directly at Kirigakure Village.

He had wanted to use the Sharingan to do this long ago, but his elder brother wouldn't allow it.

But now...

"That is exactly why I'm saying! Madara! Your plan is wrong! Children gain nothing and learn nothing in a world of genjutsu! And how can you alone replace the development of an era?! What about the progress of various crafts and techniques?!"

Hashirama Senju grabbed Madara Uchiha by the shoulders and roared. Madara Uchiha squinted, looking at Hashirama Senju with annoyance before poking him in the chest.

"Isn't it because you, you bastard, thought you were dying! So you just sat there saying that protecting the village was enough! If I hadn't been trying to cultivate power to surpass you, I could have lived to be over two hundred just by transplanting your cells! But you, you thought you were going to die at forty! So you chose to stay home and watch the kids! Gambling with children, nearly losing your pants! If you had come out to fight with me, why would I ever need to use the Infinite Tsukuyomi!"

Madara Uchiha didn't hold back at all; they were already dead, so what was there to fear about speaking his mind to Hashirama!

"But you still can't do this! Humanity has no future this way!"

"Nonsense! If even you can betray me, who else can I trust?! Your brother?!"

"The point is that your idea is wrong!"

Hashirama Senju reiterated, and Madara Uchiha, now beyond furious, grabbed Hashirama Senju by the collar.

"Then you give me a plan where war never happens! If you aren't going to do anything, then shut your mouth!"

"But you really are wrong! We should discuss other methods! People can always reach mutual understanding!"

"I'm starving to death, someone in your house is starving, and you only have one portion of food—what use is mutual understanding in that situation! That is why only my Infinite Tsukuyomi..."

Hearing Madara Uchiha reach this point, Li Ke was no longer sleepy. Sitting on the ground and listening to the two old ghosts curse and bicker, he raised his hand.

"Um... actually, regarding the development of productive forces, I..."

However, it was clear that these two had no interest in talking to him.

"Shut up! You evil Murata brat! I am talking to Hashirama! He is the type who always makes a self-righteous conclusion and then proceeds without caring about the lives of others! If you don't convince him, you can never get anything done!"

Madara Uchiha spoke angrily, and Hashirama Senju didn't back down.

"I'll talk to you later! Qingtan, I must make Madara realize his mistake right now!"

With that, the two resumed their argument, and when words failed, they resorted to tearing at each other and brawling. But because Li Ke had forbidden the use of chakra, the two quickly devolved into a clumsy, flailing fistfight.

Indeed, the flashy taijutsu of a ninja was built entirely upon chakra; without it, those techniques were nothing more than empty, impractical movements.

And so, Li Ke watched as the Battlefield Rose of the Uchiha and the God of Shinobi of the Senju Clan began their utterly pointless brawl.

Li Ke: "..."

Sighing, Li Ke looked over at Izuna Uchiha, who was already yawning out of boredom on the sidelines.

"Was it always like this?"

Izuna Uchiha glanced at him and nodded.

"Pretty much. Whenever those two get together, no one else can even get a word in, so I usually just end up fighting that bastard Senju Tobirama!"

The first half of his sentence was mild enough, but by the second half, his tone had turned exceptionally sour.

Clear-cut love and hate; it was exactly as expected.

"I see..."

Li Ke nodded, intending to forcibly put an end to their skirmish, when he heard Senju Tobirama's voice.

"Your friends are here."

Li Ke hurriedly opened his eyes, only to see a dumbfounded Rin Nohara and Kakashi, along with the Three-Tails, which was bound up like a rice dumpling, held fast by a massive Wood Golem, and covered in so many layers of Fuinjutsu that it was completely unable to struggle.

Li Ke: "..."

When did this happen!

What about Kirigakure?!

What about all my Kirigakure battle merits?!