Meanwhile, at Konoha's Root headquarters.
An old man with bandages wrapped around the entire right side of his body leaned on a cane, his left eye exposed.
A Root member knelt on one knee before him.
"Lord Danzo, we've received word from Orochimaru."
"Speak!"
"All the Root members we had assigned to monitor Orochimaru fell victim to his poison hand. Only one survivor made it back to report!
"We learned from him that Orochimaru has already left Sound Village with a group of his subordinates!"
Thud!
After hearing this, Danzo struck the ground with his cane.
Then he muttered to himself, "Hiruzen's student, Orochimaru, huh? The bond between master and student is still strong! This is a good opportunity for me.
"I do all the dirty work! Meanwhile, Hiruzen gets to live the easy life as Hokage.
"Hmph!
"Hiruzen, I've wanted to be Hokage for a long time!
"And you're already so old. Why don't you step down? I'm ready to eat at your funeral!"
"Pass the order down. All Root members are to leave immediately and hide in the nearby Land of Grass. Stay out of sight and make no moves! Wait for my orders before doing anything else."
Everything I do, I do for the village. Orochimaru, you'd better give it your all!
"Lord Danzo, there's one more piece of news. Tsunade has returned to the village!"
"Tsunade?" Danzo asked calmly.
"Yes, Lord Danzo. Tsunade also brought a man with her. Judging by their words and actions, they seem to be lovers!"
"I see. You may go. And take care of the survivor Orochimaru left behind! With so many people dead, it wouldn't make sense for him to survive!"
"Yes, Lord Danzo!"
After the Root member left, Danzo cursed inwardly.
Tsunade, why did you have to come back now?!
As long as you stayed away and didn't return, the position of Hokage was as good as mine!
I, Danzo, am not stupid. I can mess with anyone except Tsunade.
If I went after her, my dream of becoming Hokage would be over.
If you're going to make it in this world, you need power and connections.
All I can say is, I, Danzo, can't afford to provoke Tsunade, with her power and connections!
She has the backing of the Daimyo's Mansion, and she's a Senju.
I'll have to look for another opportunity to become Hokage!
A man? Just how capable did this man have to be for Tsunade to take an interest in him?
With Tsunade's halo shining over him, this man's future was sure to take off!
But if he dared to get in my way—
I'd make Tsunade a widow!
Why couldn't I be younger? If I were younger...
If I could win Tsunade over, with her power and connections—
Hmph! I'd have been Hokage long ago!
The Ninja Academy.
On the training platform, Hiruzen Sarutobi glared at Shao Nan!
How did this young man know so much about me? Who was he? What did he want?
I didn't believe his appearance in Konoha at the same time as Tsunade was a coincidence!
While Hiruzen Sarutobi was still pondering this, Shao Nan's voice came from across the platform.
"Old man, since you've set up this arena, I might as well give it a proper touch!"
As Shao Nan spoke, chakra gathered around him. The immense chakra startled Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"He has Lord Hashirama's Chakra Enhanced Strength, and chakra even more powerful than a monster's, just like Lord Hashirama?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked utterly incredulous.
Every teacher and student below was also drawn to the chakra Shao Nan was releasing.
"Who's that man facing off against the Hokage?!"
"Is that the First?!"
"Konohamaru, look! There's a superhero up there!"
Shao Nan slapped his right hand against the platform.
Rumble!!!
The whole platform shook violently, and huge chunks of wood sprang up from the ground.
A massive wooden pillar appeared at each of the platform's four corners.
Then thick wooden ropes emerged from the pillars, stretching around all four sides of the platform!
Shao Nan laughed. "An arena ought to look like an arena, right? Hahaha!"
Shao Nan's display shattered everyone on the training field's expectations.
Tsunade finally seemed to understand why she felt so strongly drawn to Shao Nan.
"So everything he said was true! Why didn't he just use Wood Release back then? You bad man!"
Then she scooped little Chino out of Shizune's arms and into her own.
"Little Chino, isn't your big brother handsome?"
"Big Brother is the handsomest, and you're beautiful too, Sis! Hehe." Chino cooed in Tsunade's arms.
Tsunade couldn't help planting a big kiss on Chino's cheek.
"Our little Chino has such a sweet mouth." Then she turned her attention back to the platform.
"Is that Wood Release? Am I seeing things? Kurenai, did you cast a genjutsu on me?" Asuma asked Kurenai Yuhi in disbelief.
Kurenai Yuhi rolled her eyes at Asuma. "No!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi was shocked. "He can even use Wood Release? Could he be Lord Hashirama reincarnated?"
"Hey, old man! If you're not going to make a move, I will! I won't go easy on you just because you're old. You're the Hokage, aren't you?!"
Shao Nan suddenly slapped his right hand against the ground.
He shouted,
"Ha!"
"Wood Release: Wood Binding Technique!"
Long strips of wood burst from the ground beneath Hiruzen Sarutobi's feet.
In an instant, they seized Hiruzen Sarutobi.
But as soon as they grabbed him, his entire body turned into mud.
"Old man, I don't think you're taking me seriously. In a fight between people at our level, are Substitution and Clone Techniques really appropriate?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't answer Shao Nan. Instead, he took off his Hokage cloak.
The moment the cloak hit the ground, several shuriken suddenly appeared in front of Shao Nan without any warning.
It was impossible to tell which direction they had come from.
Hiruzen Sarutobi swiftly formed Hand Seals.
"Shuriken: Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!"
"Earth Release: Tile Shuriken Technique!"
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
A dense storm of shuriken and roof tiles generated on the platform attacked Shao Nan from every direction.
And a huge fireball—
Its flames blazing fiercely, it hurtled toward Shao Nan.
Just as Shao Nan was about to slap his hand against the ground,
Hiruzen Sarutobi unleashed another technique.
"Not so fast! Earth Release: Earth Core Technique!"
Shao Nan had just been about to raise a Wood Locking Wall to defend against the shuriken and tiles.
But he and the chunk of stone beneath him were suddenly lifted high into the air.
Rumble!!
Was this old man going to keep throwing out one technique after another just because he knew so many?
There was no choice. He wouldn't slap the ground, then.
The instant the ground rose beneath him, Shao Nan slapped his right hand against his thigh.
"Wood Release: Wood Locking Wall Technique!"
An upgraded version of the Wood Locking Wall!!!
Thick, elongated wooden pillars surged up from the stone beneath his feet.
With the soles of Shao Nan's feet as the center, they curved together into a sphere, shielding him.
Crack! Bam!
Hiruzen Sarutobi's attacks struck the wooden sphere.
The force sent it tumbling down from the air.
Hiruzen Sarutobi seemed to spot an opportunity and formed Hand Seals.
"Lightning Release: Heaven-Shattering Thunder Technique!"
"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"
"Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet!"
A ball of blue lightning appeared in Hiruzen Sarutobi's hand, crackling loudly.
The current was clearly powerful.
Then he hurled the ball into the air.
In an instant, lightning bolts thinner than fingers shot from the sphere and struck the wooden ball where Shao Nan was.
The lightning looked powerful, but it barely affected the wooden ball. Wood didn't conduct electricity!
Next, a grotesque dragon's head made of mud appeared beside Hiruzen Sarutobi.
It launched a barrage of Earth Dragon Bullets at Shao Nan's wooden ball.
Hiruzen Sarutobi drew in a deep breath and exhaled.
A blazing fire dragon nearly five meters wide roared after the Earth Dragon Bullets, attacking Shao Nan.
But he wasn't done. After using Fire Release, Hiruzen Sarutobi continued forming Hand Seals.
He was forming them fast!
In no time, he completed three seals.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
A vast amount of water appeared on the dry training platform.
It soaked the entire platform and spread below it!
A huge blue water dragon surged up from the platform.
Its head fixed on the wooden ball containing Shao Nan.
Inside the wooden ball, Shao Nan heard Hiruzen Sarutobi call out the names of those techniques.
He couldn't help trembling a little. This old man was trying to kill him.
If he weren't so disdainful of using other types of Ninjutsu, with this body's talent—
What technique couldn't he use?
Fine, then. He'd stop playing around!
Inside the wooden ball, he brought his hands together.
"Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!!!"
An enormous wave of chakra burst from Shao Nan!
Rumble, rumble, rumble!!!
The entire Ninja Academy—and even all of Konoha—began to shake.
It felt like an earthquake, and a pretty strong one!
Huge cracks appeared in the ground, and the school walls were riddled with fissures as well.
Seeing this, all the teachers immediately began evacuating the students.
Kurenai Yuhi and Asuma did the same!
Rumble!!!
The shaking continued as even thicker roots climbed up from the ground and walls.
They formed towering trees, dark and thick, fifty or sixty meters tall.
The massive trees instantly overpowered and broke through Hiruzen Sarutobi's techniques one by one.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was stunned. This was only supposed to be a spar, and he'd gone all out with Lord Hashirama's Deep Forest Emergence.
Before Hiruzen Sarutobi could even speak, thick branches formed by the trees chased after him.
The branches seemed to have minds of their own as they pursued him, trying to wrap around him.
Unfortunately, old and frail, Hiruzen Sarutobi's agility and reflexes had already declined.
It wasn't long before the branches caught him, dragged him to a tree trunk, and bound him there.
The thick branches squeezed Hiruzen Sarutobi tightly, making it difficult for him to breathe!
Shao Nan released the wooden sphere and stepped out.
Seeing that the school was now covered in towering giant trees!
"Oh no, it seems we've gone too far!"
Tsunade couldn't concern herself with their sparring anymore. After handing Chino over to Shizune,
Tsunade's graceful figure landed on the arena.
The rookies of Team 8 and Team 10.
Shikamaru: "The Hokage had been in the lead the whole time, but that guy actually turned the entire situation around with a single jutsu!"
Shino: My insects are terrified of these trees!
Kiba: Is this guy not an enemy?
Choji: With this much wood, how much meat could I grill?
Ino: What a powerful man! I wonder what kind of flowers he likes!
Hinata: I can't see through him, even with my Byakugan.
Before you continue