It was a bright, enticing fruit, with thin, soft skin, plump flesh, a smooth surface, and a mouthwatering fragrance. Hashirama could tell at a glance that it had to be delicious, so, utterly unsuspecting, he opened his enormous mouth and bit off more than half of it.
Shingetsu called this fruit a lemon. Usually, she put slices of fresh lemon into freshly brewed black tea or chilled cola. She loved its distinctive, refreshing fragrance, which made both drinks taste even better. Lemon-flavored cakes and cookies were among her favorite desserts, too.
But no matter how much Shingetsu loved lemons, she would never eat one plain like Hashirama was doing!
Hashirama Senju took a huge bite of the lemon in his hand. A strange flavor, so sour it turned bitter, crashed over his taste buds in relentless waves. The sourness left him completely speechless, and his entire face twisted beyond recognition.
"It's so sour!!!"
A heart-rending scream echoed through the skies over Konoha. Loud as a bell and brimming with vigor, yet hoarse and grating, it shook the woods. Several crows resting quietly on the branches took fright and flew into the sky, cawing wildly.
"..."
Watching Hashirama's misery, with his screams ringing in her ears, Shingetsu could only feel utterly speechless. She looked on impassively as he leaped around the orchard like a monkey, stuffing every fruit he encountered into his mouth.
The mighty God of Shinobi had actually been defeated by a mere lemon.
This went far beyond something people would laugh at. If anyone from Konoha stumbled upon this scene, the shock might give them a heart attack on the spot!
"..." × 2
Madara and Tobirama stood nearby, equally expressionless. Watching Hashirama disgrace himself beyond all measure, they pressed their lips into cold, flat lines. Their eyes were filled with disgust, as though they were looking at an enormous heap of garbage.
"Shingetsu, why did you make such a sour fruit?!"
So now this is my fault? Weren't you the one who told me to grow fruit trees?
Even as Hashirama wailed, he still found time to complain to Shingetsu, asking why she had created such a bizarre, horribly sour fruit. Hearing this ridiculous complaint, she rolled her eyes in exasperation and puffed out her cheeks, looking just like a pufferfish inflated into a ball.
"Shingetsu, we're going back to the clan compound."
"Yes, Master."
Having seen enough of Hashirama's monkey act, Madara turned and left without mercy. Shingetsu obediently followed him. She had wanted to get away from this mess for a while now.
Master and disciple strode out of the orchard, ruthlessly abandoning the Senju brothers as they headed toward the Uchiha Clan Compound with swift, determined steps.
Hashirama let out a wail at the sight and lunged forward to stop them. Faced with the stonehearted Madara Uchiha, he once again deployed his signature relentless pestering.
"Don't go! Cough... it really is still sour... Madara, wait! Give me another chance!"
Sitting cross-legged beneath a fruit tree he had just stripped of its fruit, Hashirama glanced at the dusty ground, his arms full of fruit, and frowned slightly.
Clearly, going on a picnic without a tablecloth or basket was a terrible idea. Still, for a shinobi with remarkable abilities, fixing that was easy enough.
"Shingetsu, try weaving a basket with Wood Release."
"A basket?"
Shingetsu tilted her head, unsure how she was supposed to do that, but she still brought her hands together and formed the Snake Hand Seal.
Several vines emerged from the ground and awkwardly intertwined under her control, struggling to form a basket. Before long, however, they twisted into a tangled nest of snakes that could no longer be separated.
"I can't. I can't control Wood Release that precisely."
Tossing the yarn-ball-like thing aside, Shingetsu shook her head in dejection.
Ever since awakening Wood Release, she had gained far, far more chakra than before. Her chakra control, however, had not improved, which often left her helpless when delicate work was required.
Seeing her disappointment, Hashirama smiled. Without even forming hand seals, he simply reached down and patted the ground. Several slender vines sprouted from the soil, nimbly bouncing and weaving through one another until they formed a lovely little basket. White flowers dotted the tender twigs at even intervals, adding beautiful touches of color to the flower basket.
"When I first awakened Wood Release, I used to weave baskets like this all the time. Sometimes I made straw sandals, too. Thinking back on it now really brings back memories."
Hashirama picked up the flower basket and stuffed all the fruit in his arms inside, then handed the full basket to Shingetsu. Holding it, she recalled the superb control he had displayed while weaving it and could not help feeling both envious and curious.
"Then what should I do?"
"There's no shortcut. Come on, keep weaving."
Hashirama gently patted her head, his touch very light. But he soon stood up, leaving Shingetsu to keep weaving baskets while he walked back into the orchard with a smile.
"I'm going to pick some more fruit now. It would be nice if there were a basket ready when I got back."
The more Shingetsu wove flower baskets with Wood Release, the more she realized just how difficult it was. It demanded precise chakra control in every respect.
To weave a flower basket, she first had to carefully control the thickness and length of each vine. She could not make a mistake in the force or direction she used while weaving, either. The slightest slip would ruin all her work.
After producing more than a dozen failures in a row, Shingetsu discovered that even her most successful flower basket barely had the right shape. Compared with Hashirama's dainty, girlish flower basket, it was downright hideous.
She poked disdainfully at the ugly basket in her hands, consoling herself that it at least looked somewhat like a basket now and could just about hold things. As long as it could hold things, it was a good basket.
Time slipped by, and as she continued weaving baskets, Shingetsu was surprised to discover that her control over Wood Release and chakra had already improved.
It was just as Hashirama had said: Wood Release was a power that relied more on instinct and intuition than experience and reason.
Even Hashirama himself could not distill it into rules or lessons, which spoke volumes about how unruly and domineering the power of Wood Release was. Given that, he believed Shingetsu should work hard on the fundamentals for now rather than rashly pursue more powerful techniques.
For Shingetsu, weaving baskets was a little boring and a little troublesome, but it was still countless times better than his earlier abstract instruction. To avoid another round of Hashirama's "just clap your hands together," she patiently applied herself to weaving flower baskets.
While Shingetsu continued weaving those ugly flower baskets, the first group of curious, bold Konoha villagers slowly approached the orchard.
The lush forest that had appeared out of nowhere in the center of the village had drawn considerable attention from the moment it came into being.
The signs of Wood Release were simply too obvious. Besides, when the village was first founded, Hashirama had often used it for large construction projects. After seeing it so often, even civilians who knew nothing about ninjutsu could readily guess that this forest had to be the work of Wood Release.
Out of a shinobi's caution and reverence for Hashirama, they had sensibly refrained from barging in and merely watched from afar. Yet a long time passed after the forest appeared without any earth-shaking sounds of battle. Some people grew bolder and began making their way over.
Most of this first group consisted of Senju and Uchiha shinobi, along with other shinobi interested in Wood Release. Only a tiny handful were exceptionally bold civilians.
They had expected to encounter a clash between powerful fighters. Instead, they were greeted by towering trees laden with all kinds of fruit. More than a dozen varieties of beautiful fruit that no one in Konoha had ever seen dazzled their eyes. Better still, fresh, sweet fragrances filled the air, whetting their appetites with a single breath and making them want to keep eating forever!
In Konoha, where poverty meant even dango were rationed, the sudden appearance of so much sweet fruit hanging from the branches was undoubtedly more exciting than a battle between masters. It was also an irresistible temptation.
"Wow, look at all this fruit! Can we eat it?"
A fat member of the Akimichi Clan, with the character for "food" printed on his clothes, loudly asked the Yamanaka shinobi and Nara Shinobi beside him. The sight of so much plump, juicy fruit made him grin from ear to ear. A thin trickle of drool escaped without his noticing, and his hands twitched eagerly, as though he might start picking fruit at any moment.
Hashirama happened to hear the question and came cheerfully rushing out of the forest, his arms filled with oddly shaped fruit. His strong, resonant voice reached everyone present.
"You can eat all of it! Help yourselves!"
"Hooray!"
With Lord Hokage's permission, the fat Akimichi, who had long since lost his patience, turned into a veritable tank and charged into the orchard to gorge himself. Following his example, many others who could no longer hold back ran to the trees that caught their fancy, picking fruit and eating nonstop.
"So sweet!"
"These fruits are delicious!"
"Why is this so sour? Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey!"
For a while, delighted exclamations rose one after another, forming a wave of happiness. As for the occasional discordant screams, those were presumably from more people who had fallen victim to the lemons.
As Hashirama watched everyone contentedly munching fruit with the fond satisfaction of a grandfather over a hundred years old, a member of the Senju Clan excitedly hurried over and began peppering him with questions.
He knew that Hashirama's Wood Release tasted awful and was inedible. Yet these fruits were plump and sweet, and Hashirama had shared them with the villagers. He could only conclude that Hashirama had grown even stronger.
"Lord Hashirama, did you grow these fruit trees? Has your Wood Release become even stronger?"
"I can't do anything like this. You should know that quite well."
"Then how could... ah!"
Seeing that his clansman had worked out the answer himself, Hashirama nodded with a smile, his expression open and gentle.
He did not lower his voice. In fact, he deliberately raised it to ensure that his next words reached every person in Konoha happily munching on fruit:
"All of this is thanks to Shingetsu."
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