Wood Style! You sacrifice your life to chase power, I get it with a flick of my wrist!

"You... you are spouting nonsense!"

Shimura Danzo's voice sharpened and cracked, his mask of calm composure shattered in an instant.

He instinctively took half a step back—a minute movement, yet it was like the first falling stone before a landslide, completely exposing the turbulent waves within his heart.

The Sharingan!

That was the deepest root he had buried in the darkness, the foundation of his confidence to stand toe-to-toe with the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, and his greatest leverage in coveting that supreme position!

The man before him not only knew, but in front of Sarutobi, he had laid bare his filthiest secret with the casual tone of someone discussing the weather!

"Sarutobi! Do not let him bewitch your mind!"

Danzo turned abruptly toward Sarutobi Hiruzen, roaring with fierce intensity as he attempted to seize back the initiative.

"He is trying to sow discord! This person is extremely dangerous and must be erased from this place immediately!"

He had already resolved to kill.

This secret must never leave this office alive!

"Root, move!"

At Danzo's command, the few Root ninja behind him, who resembled puppets, performed hand seals in an instant without the slightest hesitation.

Their movements were uniform, cold, and efficient, as if they were a killing program rehearsed countless times.

"Wind Release: Vacuum Great Sphere!"

"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"

"Wind Release: Vacuum Serial Waves!"

"Wind Release: Vacuum Wave!"

Several B-rank ninjutsu converged into pale, high-pressure air bullets, emitting ear-piercing shrieks.

At the same time, the ground on all sides rose with a boom, and thick earth walls shot up to form an airtight cage of certain death, intending to completely shred "Uchiha Madara" and bury him along with that secret!

Sarutobi Hiruzen wanted to stop them, but it was already too late.

He could only watch helplessly as the violent storm of chakra completely swallowed that arrogant figure.

It's over! That fool Danzo!

"Stupid."

A sinister sneer appeared on Danzo's face; he believed that no one could survive a joint execution by Root.

"No matter who you are, in front of my Root, you only have a dead end!"

However, his smile lasted less than a second.

A detached and majestic voice emerged clearly from the center of the storm, piercing through the roar of the ninjutsu as if all the violent energy around him were irrelevant.

"Is this your foundation, Danzo?"

"Then, let me show you how laughable the power you pursue is in my presence."

As the words fell.

BOOM—!!!

An indescribable, vast, and boundless aura of life surged into the sky!

It was not an explosion of chakra, but a more primitive, ancient, and vital force!

Under the horrified gazes of Danzo and Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Countless thick, massive wooden pillars grew wildly from beneath "Madara's" feet in an unreasonably savage manner, breaking through the shredding wind and shattering the earth-style blockade!

Those shrieking vacuum spheres struck the wood and vanished into thin air, unable to leave even a single mark.

The thick earth walls were as fragile as sandcastles before the crazily growing wood, easily pierced, torn, and pulverized!

Wood?

Sarutobi Hiruzen and Danzo widened their eyes simultaneously, the same term flashing through their minds, making their very souls tremble.

"Wood... Wood Release?!"

Impossible!

This was absolutely impossible!

This was the unique bloodline limit of the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama! It was the ultimate ninjutsu that pacified the chaotic world, hailed as the power of a god!

How could Uchiha Madara possibly use it!

But the reality was laid out before them in the most shocking and brutal way.

The wooden pillars did not stop growing; they intertwined, spiraled, and converged in mid-air, forming a massive and magnificent structure atop the ruins of the Hokage's office in mere seconds—

A wooden throne!

Lin Feng, playing the role of "Uchiha Madara," sat calmly upon the throne, looking down at the people below as if they were ants.

Beneath his feet, countless sharp wooden spikes stood ready, their lethal tips aimed at Danzo and his stunned Root subordinates, radiating a deadly chill.

Sunlight pierced through the shattered roof, spilling onto the Wood Release Throne and casting his silhouette long, as if he were a creator god stepped out of myth.

At this moment, Lin Feng rested his chin on one hand, his purple Rinnegan swirling slowly with a hint of playfulness, a touch of lethargy, and an absolute mastery over everything before him.

In truth, he was having the time of his life.

System, for this act, I give myself a hundred points!

The ninjas of Root all froze.

The ninjutsu they took such pride in, the coordinated strikes they relied on for survival—before this god-like power, they were as fragile as children's toys.

As for Shimura Danzo, he felt a chill run through his entire body, as if his very bones had been extracted.

He stumbled back a step, his legs gave way, and he collapsed onto the ground, his murky, single eye filled with nothing but endless defeat and despair.

Wood Release!

It really was Wood Release!

He had pursued this power his entire life, betraying his comrades and subjecting himself to inhumane grafting experiments just to obtain it, yet in the end, he could barely coax a few branches into existence.

But this man before him, Uchiha Madara, the arch-nemesis of the First Hokage!

He used Wood Release as easily as breathing, conjuring it with a wave of his hand, even creating such a magnificent and grand structure!

This... this was the true power of a god!

His ambition, his schemes, his dark and hidden desires—at this moment, they were crushed to dust by this Wood Release Throne rising from the earth.

"Danzo."

"Madara" on the throne spoke slowly; his voice was not loud, yet it struck everyone's heart like a heavy hammer.

"You desire Hashirama's power, yet you haven't even grasped one ten-thousandth of what he truly understood."

His tone was filled with mockery, as if he were looking at a maggot trying to imitate the flight of an eagle.

"You only know how to squirm in the dark mud, coveting things that do not belong to you. It is laughable."

He flicked a finger.

Whoosh!

A sharp wooden spike shot instantly from the throne, whistling through the air. It grazed Danzo's cheek and embedded itself deep into the wall behind him, the tip still vibrating with a low hum.

"In the future, do not let me see that disgusting eye of yours again."

"Get out."

The single word carried the weight of a divine decree.

Danzo's cheek burned with pain, blood trickling down the wound, but he dared not harbor a single thought of resistance.

Supported by a few Root ninjas who were equally terrified out of their wits, he scrambled away, fleeing in a pathetic panic without once looking back at the place where he had lost all his dignity.

With Danzo's departure, the ruins of the office fell into an even deeper silence.

Only the ragged, heavy breathing of Sarutobi Hiruzen remained.

He stared blankly at the man on the throne, watching the magnificent creation behind him slowly decompose and dissipate into a sky full of wood shavings. His heart could no longer muster any thought of resistance.

Rinnegan...

Shinra Tensei...

And now, Wood Release...

Aside from the legendary Uchiha Madara, the man who truly stood at the pinnacle of the Warring States period, who else could achieve all this?

He... he really was Uchiha Madara!

The legend who should have been dead for years had returned!

"You..." Sarutobi Hiruzen's voice was hoarse and dry. He summoned all his strength to ask the most critical question. "What exactly do you... intend to do by returning to the village?"

"Madara" sat upright on the throne.

He did not answer Sarutobi Hiruzen's question directly. Instead, as if he had suddenly remembered something interesting, he turned his gaze toward the distance.

His eyes were deep, as if piercing through space and time to see a figure wearing a swirl mask, stirring in the darkness.

A meaningful curve tugged at the corner of Lin Feng's mouth.

Obito, oh Obito, Lord Madara has returned; it is time to rewrite your script.

"This era seems to have a few interesting brats as well."

He withdrew his gaze and took one final look at Sarutobi Hiruzen. The look was indifferent, yet it sent a chill deep into the soul of the Third Hokage.

"Tell everyone in the village: Uchiha Madara has returned."

"Before I come back to take what I want, enjoy your final 'peace'."

Before the words had even faded, the space around his body began to distort without warning, forming a strange vortex that threatened to swallow him whole.

This was the signature ability of Kamui!

But Lin Feng knew this was merely a spatial effect he had mimicked using the power of the Rinnegan, all to further solidify his persona and, incidentally, dig a massive pit for the future "masked man," Obito.

Just before his body was completely pulled into the distorted space, he left behind one final sentence.

It was a name that would shake Sarutobi Hiruzen, and indeed the entire ninja world, to its core.

"My next stop... Amegakure."

"It is time to go and see my good-for-nothing junior."

The vortex snapped shut, and his figure vanished completely.

In the ruins of the vast Hokage office, only Sarutobi Hiruzen remained, standing frozen in place with a face full of utter horror.

Amegakure?

That was the territory of the legendary "demigod" Hanzo the Salamander, and also the base of the mysterious, emerging organization known as the Akatsuki!

Who was he going to see?

And who was this "junior" he spoke of? Could it be...

Sarutobi Hiruzen dared not think any further.

And the thing he intended to take... what on earth could it be?!

One mystery after another, like an invisible net, instantly shrouded all of Konoha and the entire ninja world.

Sarutobi Hiruzen knew that from this moment on, the structure of the world would be changed forever.

And he, the Hokage of Konoha, had to make a choice immediately!