Sign in for Wood Release! Kamizuki Yu: Peace Is Too Naive, Only Fists Speak the Hard Truth

The limits of Danzo's patience would reveal themselves soon enough. Those little maneuvers by Root were merely an appetizer.

There were more important matters to deal with first.

The Uchiha Clan was a ticking time bomb that could blow up the entire Hidden Leaf at any moment. And the enemies of the future would only grow stronger and more unreasonable.

In this world, power was always the hard currency that stood above all rules.

The Valley of the End... the legacy left behind by the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju?

The corner of his lips lifted slightly.

"Going there for a look wouldn't be a bad idea."

A flash of golden light whisked Kamizuki Yu away from the bustle of the Hidden Leaf, and he instantly appeared in an entirely different world.

The Valley of the End.

A massive waterfall plunged down like an overturned galaxy, its thunderous roar deafening. Mist filled the air, refracting a faint rainbow glow.

On the cliff faces to either side, the enormous stone statues of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, and Madara Uchiha faced each other across the rushing waters.

Weathered and mottled by the passage of time, they still emanated a heart-pounding pressure, as though the wills of those two peerless warriors were still clashing here.

The First Hokage's vast life force and Madara Uchiha's ultimate will of destruction lingered and intertwined in the air, forming a unique force field.

Kamizuki Yu landed lightly at the feet of the First Hokage's towering statue, dozens of meters high, as insignificant as an ant.

Looking up, he saw that though the statue's face had endured wind and rain, its lines remained resolute. Its brow carried a magnanimity that embraced all things, as well as... an almost naïve persistence.

"The God of Shinobi," he murmured.

"For some illusory peace, you even threw yourself into it. Truly..."

He shook his head.

He understood, but he did not agree.

"System, sign in beneath the First Hokage's statue."

[Ding! Successfully signed in at 'Valley of the End · First Hokage Statue'!]

[Congratulations, Host, for obtaining 'Wood Release · Basic Mastery (based on Asura Chakra and Sage Body, immense potential)'!]

[Congratulations, Host, for obtaining 'Perfect Compatibility with Hashirama Cells'!]

Basic Mastery again.

But the value of basic mastery for Wood Release was something else entirely.

The instant the system notification ended, an indescribably massive torrent of information and life energy poured from the void into Kamizuki Yu's mind and every limb of his body.

It was the true essence of Wood Release—the power of all creation, the ultimate secret behind the evolution of life forms.

The cells of his Sage Body rejoiced, each one like a seedling parched by drought and suddenly blessed with rain, greedily absorbing this power.

Asura Chakra fused with it perfectly, transforming into the purest source of Wood Release chakra.

[Perfect Compatibility with Hashirama Cells] allowed him to bypass every risk of fusion, granting him instinctive affinity for this power from the start.

There was not the slightest stagnation or conflict, as if he had been born to possess this power.

Wood Release chakra surged through his body, gentle yet domineering, brimming with the contradictory qualities of creation and destruction.

"This feeling..."

Kamizuki Yu closed his eyes and savored it carefully.

It differed from every power he had wielded before. This was a force closer to the origin of the world itself.

A moment later, he opened his eyes, and a sharp glint flashed through them.

He raised his right hand, spreading his fingers toward the open ground before him.

"Wood Release: Nativity of a World of Trees."

He did not deliberately force it. He simply followed the technique that surfaced in his mind and guided his chakra.

Rumble! Rumble—

The earth shook violently. The rocky ground beneath his feet cracked inch by inch as dozens of incomparably thick, dark-brown trees burst from the earth at a visible speed, growing wildly and intertwining with one another.

In the blink of an eye, a small forest had risen before him. Its branches and leaves were lush, blotting out the sky and radiating primitive, majestic vitality.

Every tree was extraordinarily resilient, far beyond what ordinary ninjutsu could easily destroy.

And this was merely a casual strike under [Basic Mastery], without pouring much chakra into it.

If he unleashed it at full force, supplemented by senjutsu chakra...

"The First Hokage's signature technique truly lived up to its reputation."

He could feel that his control over these trees was exquisitely precise.

With a thought, the branch of one massive tree stretched out like a nimble serpent, accurately wrapped around a pebble in the distance, then gently set it down.

It combined offense and defense, control and area coverage.

"Immense potential."

Just as Kamizuki Yu was satisfied with Wood Release's power and intricacy, an inexplicable sensation rose within him.

He seemed to hear a distant, gentle voice whispering in his ear, carrying a hearty laugh.

"Ha ha ha... peace... does not come easily... you must... protect it well..."

That voice contained an infinite yearning for peace, a deep hatred of war, and a kind of... loneliness.

Was it the lingering imprint of the First Hokage Hashirama Senju's will upon heaven and earth?

Kamizuki Yu stood motionless.

He could sense the immense power contained in that will, as well as the purity of its ideal.

"Protect peace?"

He tugged at the corner of his mouth, revealing an unreadable smile.

"What a... naïve, lovable idealist."

"Still, I have indeed accepted your power. As for peace... I'll define my own peace."

The whisper of that will gradually faded, as though it had never appeared.

Yet Kamizuki Yu knew it had not been an illusion.

This land, this powerful man's strength, had resonated with him in some wondrous way.

Sage Body, Asura Chakra, Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, Flying Thunder God Technique, Adamantine Sealing Chains, Perfect Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, and now Wood Release.

The greatest bloodline limits and secret techniques of both the Senju and Uchiha Clans had gathered within him.

"Against Hashirama Senju or Madara Uchiha at their peak, what would my chances of victory be now?"

The thought flashed through his mind.

He quickly suppressed it.

Now was not the time to consider such things.

Obtaining Wood Release had sent his overall strength soaring once again, while also making his methods more versatile.

He now had greater confidence in dealing with the radicals within the Uchiha Clan, as well as Danzo, who was watching hungrily from the shadows.

Even against the Akatsuki organization that might emerge in the future, or even the legendary Otsutsuki Clan...

A cold curve formed on his lips.

"Whoever dares to extend a claw will have that claw chopped off."

That was his principle. Simple, brutal, effective.

His strength was ready. It was time to deal with those troublesome matters.

Fugaku Uchiha.

What exactly was this clan head, whom many of his clansmen secretly criticized as "weak," thinking?

Was he content with the status quo, allowing the village higher-ups to gradually erode the Uchiha Clan's space to survive?

Or was he enduring in silence, lying low as he awaited an opportunity to completely change the Uchiha Clan's fate?

Kamizuki Yu found that very interesting.

With a wave of his hand, the lush forest before him instantly dissolved into countless green motes of light and scattered into the air, as though it had never existed.

The Valley of the End returned to normal, with only the waterfall's roar remaining.

Kamizuki Yu took one final look at the two enormous statues, his gaze lingering for an extra moment on Madara Uchiha's statue.

"The Uchiha Clan's fate... isn't for old relics like you to decide."

As his words fell, his figure had already vanished.

His next stop: the Uchiha Compound, the clan head's residence.