Wood Style

Li Yu felt he truly could not wait to test out his Wood Release ninjutsu. Taking advantage of the night, he snuck out of the laboratory and hurried back to the Senju clan's compound.

Upon reaching the entrance to the clan grounds, his arrival was detected, and two ninjas leaped out to block his path.

"Who goes there?"

"Swish, swish, swish, swish."

Several more figures appeared, surrounding Li Yu.

Li Yu shouted, "It's fine, I'm one of your own! I am Nawaki, I've returned!"

After the Senju clan's sensory ninjas confirmed his identity, he was allowed into the compound.

Li Yu returned to his room, immediately took a scroll from the shelf, opened it, and attempted to weave the hand seals.

Wood Release: Wood Clone.

He created two clones and had them spar with each other. After about the time it takes to burn an incense stick, the lack of chakra caused the technique to dispel automatically, leaving behind two logs.

Physical clones are truly impressive. Wood Release is so useful; Wood Release is truly wonderful.

If in the future I can be like Uchiha Madara—Lord Madara—and create eight Wood Clones, all capable of activating the Susanoo, that would be truly formidable.

Now that he knew his potential and possessed knowledge of the plot, the future looked promising.

He would focus his combat on Wood Release, only activating the Sharingan when dealing with those who had to die, while disguising himself as a Senju clan member who had awakened Wood Release.

The next day, Li Yu returned to Orochimaru's laboratory, prepared to bid him farewell.

Seeing that the research materials on his desk had vanished and the surface was bare, the corners of Li Yu's mouth curled upward. He thought triumphantly, It's a good thing I destroyed the gene-fusion serum early on; the remaining data is nothing to worry about.

Still, Teacher Orochimaru is certainly efficient.

He went to his resting quarters and saw that Orochimaru was there as well.

"Nawaki-kun, are you awake? How do you feel?"

"Teacher, I feel excellent. The experiment was a great success."

"I intend to go outside and test the strength of this body."

Orochimaru replied without a hint of surprise, "Nawaki-kun, it seems you have your own plans. I won't hold you back then. I look forward to your future achievements."

After taking his leave of Orochimaru, Li Yu found a secluded corner and dispelled his clone, which transformed into a log.

From the shadows to the side, a pale-faced man with long, flowing hair stepped out and clicked his tongue.

"My, my, this student of mine is truly cautious."

"To have mastered Wood Release ninjutsu so quickly... if I hadn't followed him secretly, I wouldn't have realized that was just a Wood Clone."

He flicked out his long tongue, licked his lips, and revealed a fanatical gaze.

"Nawaki, you really are my excellent disciple. So cunning."

"Could it be that the people of the Senju clan are naturally gifted at researching forbidden ninjutsu?"

"No matter. I should hurry and finish testing based on the data with a test subject."

"The power of the First Hokage."

The real Li Yu was still within the Senju compound, perusing the Wood Release and Sage Art scrolls left behind by the First Hokage.

He created several Wood Clones, and after spending a few days, he mastered all the Wood Release ninjutsu contained within the scrolls.

Li Yu was currently in the body of the twelve-year-old Senju Nawaki. Ninja rank: Genin. Chakra nature: All natures. Chakra reserves: Jonin level. Sage Body + Sharingan.

Li Yu knew that the data he left for Orochimaru certainly wouldn't be enough to create a second version of himself. With Orochimaru's intellect, he would eventually discover that the gene-fusion serum was missing.

Before Orochimaru could figure it out, he had to work hard to improve his strength and find a way to conceal his identity. Primarily, Li Yu did not want to leave the Leaf Village just yet.

Having thought this through, Li Yu immediately stood up and headed straight for the Hokage Building, intending to speak directly with the Third Hokage.

Inside the Third Hokage's office.

The first thing he saw was a man wearing a red conical hat with the character for "Fire" inscribed on it, a pipe hanging from his mouth. His hair was not as entirely white as he had imagined. Standing beside him was a silver-haired ninja wearing a forehead protector.

This must be Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage, in his prime. Beside him was the White Fang of the Leaf, Hatake Sakumo, who was rumored to possess strength even surpassing the Sannin and was currently the leader of the Anbu.

Although Li Yu felt a bit excited, he composed himself and said, "Greetings, Lord Hokage, Lord White Fang."

Sarutobi Hiruzen looked surprised. "Nawaki, before you went missing, you were physically incapacitated. Tsunade left the village to search for you."

"Lord Hokage, I hid away to practice a secret family technique, which allowed me to recover. Furthermore, I have awakened our clan's precious bloodline limit: Wood Release."

Li Yu's subsequent words successfully diverted Sarutobi Hiruzen's attention, leaving him utterly astonished.

"What? Wood Release? You have successfully awakened Wood Release?"

Behind the Third, Hatake Sakumo's eyes gleamed with golden light.

Li Yu then proceeded to demonstrate the Wood Release.

Wood Release: Wood Clone.

At this moment, a multitude of wooden tentacles sprouted from Li Yu's sides, merging together to form a solid clone characteristic of Wood Release.

Li Yu exhaled, having manifested four clones in one go without feeling any strain; each clone possessed the chakra reserves of a genin.

Seeing this, Sarutobi Hiruzen could not help but be overjoyed, his eyes misting over.

"Good, very good. Where the leaves dance, the fire will burn. The firelight will continue to illuminate the village and allow new leaves to sprout."

"The First Hokage's Wood Release has finally been inherited."

Li Yu helplessly accepted the baptism of the Third Hokage's Will of Fire, expressed his agreement, and spoke at the opportune moment.

"My dream is to become the Hokage."

Hearing Li Yu's reply, the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, nodded with gratification, squinting his eyes as he took a puff from the pipe in his hand.

The answer did not seem to catch Sarutobi Hiruzen by surprise.

"Nawaki, since you have awakened Wood Release, I will have you join my direct Anbu squad to better protect you for the sake of the village."

"This way, you can use a codename to conceal your true identity."

"Lord Hokage, that is exactly what I intended. I agree to join the Anbu."

Upon hearing Li Yu's response, Sarutobi Hiruzen turned his head to the White Fang of the Leaf standing beside him.

"Sakumo, I leave this child in your care. Look after him well. His files are to be kept at the highest level of confidentiality; he is the future hope of the Leaf."

Li Yu immediately dispelled his wood clones and followed the White Fang of the Leaf out of the Hokage Building and into the Anbu headquarters.

The White Fang of the Leaf personally registered Li Yu and processed his paperwork, then pointed to the masks on the wall.

"Pick a mask for yourself."

Li Yu immediately took down an oval mask composed of alternating green and white patterns. The whites of the eyes were green, the pupils were black, and there were curved green stripes beside the eyes, with a forked curved stripe extending from the forehead.

The green color suited his Wood Release. Codename: Zi Yu.

"Zi Yu, you will be assigned to my direct Anbu squad. First, go and familiarize yourself with the Anbu regulations and the hand seals for entering and exiting the barrier."

Li Yu collected his standard-issue Anbu gear: a black bodysuit, wrist guards, armor, a ninja sword, a mask, and a ninja tool pouch.

He spent an entire day learning Anbu codes, the hand seals for entering and exiting the Hidden Leaf barrier, Anbu regulations, the scope of Anbu missions, pursuit, assassination, protecting the Hokage, and dangerous assignments.

Just like that, Li Yu began his life as an Anbu ninja, spending his days refining chakra and practicing hand seals and Wood Release ninjutsu.

There were also the medical ninjutsu scrolls left behind by Tsunade; he couldn't let the Senju clan's talent go to waste.

Healing Jutsu, Mystical Palm Technique, and Poison Extraction—simple medical ninjutsu should be enough for now.

Li Yu spent nearly a week in the Anbu, where his primary tasks consisted of patrolling and surveillance within the village.

The four-man Anbu squad Li Yu was assigned to was led by a burly man in his twenties with solid, muscular build, codenamed Yan Xing, who specialized in Earth Release and taijutsu.

Of the other two members, one was a female with purple hair and a slender figure, codenamed Yue Ying, who specialized in Leaf-style swordsmanship.

The other was small and thin, about 1.4 meters tall, and rather shy when speaking, codenamed Shui Qi, who specialized in Water and Wind Release.

The last one was Li Yu, who was slightly taller than the other two members, codenamed Zi Yu, who specialized in Wood Release and medical ninjutsu.

The above was all recorded in the Anbu files; the Hokage had truly taken good care of Li Yu.

The squad had two taijutsu users and one long-range attacker.

This was perhaps the team's superficial effectiveness. Using the logic from his college gaming days, Li Yu figured Yan Xing was the tank absorbing damage, Shui Qi provided water and smoke cover while using Wind Release to buff the team's speed, Yue Ying provided close-quarters protection, and he himself was the healer.

It was a setup built for running away if they couldn't win, with extremely high defensive capabilities.

The team lacked offensive power and wouldn't be useful for head-on combat missions, but they were well-suited for protection and retreat.

The Hokage had been so thorough in looking after Li Yu that he really wanted to give Sarutobi Hiruzen a "666" for his efforts.

When Li Yu began his daily routine of patrolling and killing time, he was initially quite excited, finding everything fresh. However, after patrolling every day for a while without any opportunity to take action, he instead ended up seeing quite a few of the village's prominent clans.