The King's Return: Wood Release Stuns the Entire Camp

Konoha's frontline command camp. Inside the largest main tent, the atmosphere was oppressive to the extreme.

Orochimaru stood before the sand table, his face pale. A trace of appropriately measured grief colored his hoarse voice. "Lord Danzo, I arrived too late. Nawaki accidentally triggered a Sand ninja explosive tag trap. Not even his bones remained."

Shimura Danzo sat at the head of the table, leaning on his cane. At the words "not even his bones remained," a nearly imperceptible flash of wild joy passed through his exposed eye, though his face was stricken with grief.

"Heaven envies the gifted! Nawaki was the First Hokage's own grandson, Konoha's hope!" Danzo slammed his cane heavily against the ground, devastated. "The Senju Clan has been utterly cut off!"

Orochimaru lowered his eyes and said nothing. He knew Danzo's act all too well.

Danzo abruptly changed his tone, his voice turning righteous. "Though the Senju Clan is gone, the First Hokage's legacy cannot be left to fall into outside hands. Nawaki's sister, Tsunade, is emotionally unstable right now. For Konoha's safety, the Senju Clan's secret technique scrolls, sealing documents, and the defenses of their territory must immediately be taken over in full by our Root!"

This was the higher-ups' true objective. Kill Nawaki, drive Tsunade away, and completely swallow the Senju Clan's vast political and ninjutsu legacy.

"Orochimaru, draft the casualty report at once. I'll send Root back to the village immediately..." Danzo eagerly issued his orders.

Swish!

The tent's heavy flap was violently thrown open by a hand covered in blood.

Piercingly cold wind and rain poured into the tent.

A blood-soaked boy in a tattered ceremonial robe strode inside. A bright, cheerful smile hung on his face, revealing a mouthful of white teeth.

"Lord Danzo, what was it you just said you wanted to take over?"

The tent fell instantly silent.

Orochimaru's golden vertical pupils abruptly contracted as he stared fixedly at the boy before him. He had clearly seen the explosion through the white snake just moments ago. How could this brat possibly have returned alive? And... why were the fluctuations of chakra around him so terrifying?

Danzo shot to his feet, his cane falling to the floor with a smack. He pointed at Nawaki, his finger trembling slightly.

"Naw... Nawaki? You're not dead?!"

"I'm lucky. The Sand ninja explosive tags got damp." Nawaki smiled as he took a step forward. "You seem rather unhappy to see me alive, Lord Danzo?"

Danzo was, after all, an old fox, and he reacted instantly. With Nawaki alive, his plan to annex the Senju Clan was completely ruined! Nawaki might even have realized that the trap had been set by Konoha's own people!

Killing intent surged within Danzo. This was his camp. As long as he secretly disposed of Nawaki here, he could pin any charge he pleased on him.

"Stop!" Danzo barked, murderous light blazing from his single eye. "Nawaki died in battle. Orochimaru saw it with his own eyes! You, a spy from an enemy nation, dare disguise yourself as the First Hokage's grandson and infiltrate the camp! Root, seize him! Dead or alive!"

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Two Root jonin wearing animal masks instantly emerged from the shadows. Drawing their ninja blades, they lunged from both sides at Nawaki's throat with savage killing intent.

Orochimaru stood to one side without stopping them, his gaze flickering. He wanted to see how Nawaki had survived.

Faced with the lethal assault of two jonin, Nawaki's sunny smile instantly vanished, replaced by absolute frost.

Rather than retreating, he advanced. His hands suddenly came together before his chest.

Clap!

The crisp sound of his palms meeting echoed through the tent.

"Danzo, have you gone senile? Can't even recognize the bloodline of the Senju Clan?"

Boom!

The camp's hard ground instantly split apart. Two dark-brown roots as thick as water barrels burst from the earth like enraged giant serpents, moving too fast for the naked eye to follow.

"What?!" The two Root jonin paled in shock and tried to cut through the roots with their blades.

But it was too late. The speed and hardness of Wood Release utterly surpassed anything they understood.

Squelch! Squelch!

The sound of blades piercing flesh rang out. The two thick roots pierced precisely through the Root jonin's abdomens, hoisting them high into the air and pinning them directly to the tent's overhead beams.

Blood dripped from the roots onto the ground. The two jonin died on the spot without even letting out a scream.

Wood Release!

True Wood Release!

Orochimaru sucked in a sharp breath and involuntarily took half a step back. His eyes blazed with fanaticism and disbelief.

Danzo looked as though he had been struck by lightning. He froze in place, his iron-blue complexion turning deathly pale. He stared fixedly at the two wildly writhing roots, a rattling sound escaping his throat.

"The First Hokage's... Wood Release... How is this possible..." Danzo's body began to tremble uncontrollably. The power he had dreamed of obtaining had awakened in this young master he had regarded as trash!

Nawaki dusted off his hands, stepped over the corpses on the ground, and walked up to Danzo. Less than half a meter separated them.

Looking down at this darkness of the shinobi world, Nawaki once again wore that innocent, harmless smile.

"Lord Danzo, do you still want to take over my Senju Clan's legacy now?"

Danzo clenched his teeth, cold sweat pouring down his forehead, unable to utter a single word. Under the absolute martial suppression of Wood Release, the schemes he had been so proud of seemed utterly laughable.

Just as the atmosphere in the camp froze to its lowest point, a series of urgent whooshing sounds suddenly came from outside the tent.

Three shinobi wearing the masks of the Hokage's direct Anbu knelt on one knee outside the tent.

"Young Master Nawaki! The Third Hokage received reports from the frontlines and is deeply concerned for your safety. The Hokage has issued his highest order: you are to return to the village immediately!"

Nawaki glanced at the Anbu outside and sneered inwardly. That old monkey, the Third, certainly gets news quickly. He's probably afraid Danzo can't keep a newly awakened Wood Release user like me under control at camp, so he wants to bring me back to the village and watch me under his nose.

"Understood."

Nawaki turned and headed toward the tent exit. At the flap, he paused and glanced back at Orochimaru and Danzo.

"Teacher Orochimaru, Lord Danzo, the winds are strong on the battlefield. Take care of yourselves. Konoha's future will still need the Senju Clan to protect it."

With that, Nawaki lifted the tent flap and strode away.

He left behind only a pale-faced Danzo and an Orochimaru with madness in his eyes.

Step one: fake his death, escape, intimidate the higher-ups. Complete.

Next, it was time to return to the village and claim the system reward.