Thick, sturdy tree trunks wound around Orochimaru in coil after coil, binding him tightly as they continued to squeeze away what little room he had left to move.
"So this is the power the First Hokage used to pacify the Shinobi World and establish a ninja village." Orochimaru stroked a trunk with a somewhat entranced expression, then applied a little force and crushed a section of it. Both disappointed and excited, he said:
"Though this power isn't enough yet, if I were to lend a hand..."
Once that thought arose, it grew increasingly impossible to contain. Orochimaru bit his fingertip and drew it across his right palm, leaving a bright red streak of blood, then slammed his hand against the ground:
"Summoning Technique: Triple Rashomon!"
The enormous Rashomon gates resembled gates of demons summoned from hell. They instantly shattered the thick, tangled trunks, and the three gates stood in a triangular formation, protecting Orochimaru securely within.
Naoki Senju stared in surprise. He had forgotten Orochimaru had that trick up his sleeve. As he considered his next move, his legs suddenly weakened, and he nearly fell. After repeatedly unleashing large-scale, high-level Ninjutsu, he had very little chakra left.
But this was the best opportunity to defeat Orochimaru, and opportunities in battle were fleeting. Naoki Senju's gaze sharpened. Ignoring his weakened body and nearly depleted chakra, he formed hand seals once more.
"Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!"
As Naoki Senju released his chakra without holding anything back, the surrounding forest seemed to come alive. With no outside force acting upon them, the trees began shaking violently.
The rustling of leaves rubbing against one another filled the air without end. It was a hymn to life, the forest's celebration of its new master's birth!
Towering trees dozens of meters tall sprang up like bamboo shoots after the rain, growing, growing, growing madly! The thick trees surged wildly toward the towering Triple Rashomon.
Watching from the edge of the battlefield, Tsunade and Shizune gazed excitedly at the "sea of trees" before them. This was the Senju Clan's strongest power, the supreme might that had established Konoha Ninja Village!
"Grandpa, can you see this? This is your Wood Release, the Senju Clan's Wood Release!"
Inside the training ground, a white-haired figure emerged from the mass of snakes. Not only did the snakes show no intention of attacking him, they even slithered past his feet as if nothing were amiss.
Behind his round glasses, his deep eyes held both a longing for power and profound fear. Finally, he sighed in resignation, turned to leave, and murmured to himself:
"Wood Release truly is an unrivaled power. Unfortunately, its wielder isn't someone easy to get along with."
The forest, whose trees had not been particularly dense before, was now covered by a "sea of trees." Within that sea, a distorted "triangle" was still visible.
Before this mighty force of nature, even the strongest defensive Ninjutsu had no power to resist. After a teeth-grating screech of twisting metal, the Triple Rashomon, nearly wrung into a twisted braid, vanished into a cloud of white smoke with a bang.
Under Naoki Senju's control, the "sea of trees" instantly filled the space left by the vanished Triple Rashomon and caught Orochimaru within it as he swung the Kusanagi Sword.
Naoki Senju went limp and toppled backward, but rather than falling to the ground, he landed in a warm, wonderfully springy embrace.
From the sensation against the back of his head alone, Naoki Senju was certain the person behind him had to be Tsunade, not Shizune. That little girl Shizune could not possibly possess such an impressive bosom.
"Thanks for your hard work, Naoki."
Hearing that familiar, gentle voice, Naoki Senju nuzzled comfortably against her, adjusted his position while he was at it, and replied:
"This is nothing if it means protecting Sister Tsunade."
Tsunade, being taken advantage of yet again, had intended to push him away. But after hearing Naoki Senju's sentimental words, she stopped herself, though she still warned him quietly:
"Behave yourself. Shizune is right here."
Naoki Senju chuckled. After finding a comfortable position in Tsunade's arms, he controlled the trees to bring the captured Orochimaru over. He had initially doubted that he could capture Orochimaru so easily, but after seeing Orochimaru and the Kusanagi Sword with his own eyes, he no longer had any doubts.
Perhaps Orochimaru had not expected Deep Forest Emergence to break through Triple Rashomon in an instant. After all, battles between ninja were really contests of intelligence gathering, and Naoki Senju knew Orochimaru's Ninjutsu inside and out.
Although Orochimaru knew something about Wood Release and had even cultivated an artificial Wood Release Kekkei Genkai user like Tenzo (Yamato), he had never witnessed true Wood Release firsthand. It was possible for him to slip up when caught off guard.
Looking at Orochimaru tightly bound by Wood Release, Tsunade's small mouth fell slightly open in disbelief. She seemed to find it difficult to accept that her former teammate had actually been defeated by Naoki Senju, who had only trained for a few months.
Then, seemingly remembering something, Tsunade's spirits lifted immensely, and she could not resist laughing and mocking him:
"Orochimaru, weren't you the most talented back then? How do you compare to Naoki now?"
Even Shizune was no longer quite so afraid of Orochimaru. When they first met, Orochimaru's cold, sinister air, like that of a venomous snake, had terrified her.
Clap, clap, clap~
Crisp applause sounded from behind them. Shizune was the first to turn, only to stiffen, unable to speak.
Puzzled, Tsunade turned to look as well, then turned back in disbelief, only to see the bound Orochimaru turn into venomous snakes and slither away. Even the Kusanagi Sword broke free of its restraints and flew into the newcomer's hand.
"Naoki-kun truly is a rare genius in the Shinobi World. At his age, I was no match for him."
Pale skin, narrow, pale-gold snake eyes, purple eyeshadow-who else could the newcomer be but Orochimaru?
Deep Forest Emergence's failure to trap Orochimaru was both unexpected and understandable. As the Shinobi World's slippery snake, even the Totsuka Blade's seal could not deal with her, let alone Naoki Senju's unpracticed Deep Forest Emergence.
Still, failing to capture Orochimaru meant he had lost this contest. Although Naoki Senju had never expected to defeat one of the Sannin, he probably would not be getting the Wood Release scroll offered as a reward anytime soon.
Orochimaru seemed to sense his thoughts. A large, multicolored snake slithered up to Naoki Senju, opened its mouth impossibly wide, and slowly spat out a Ninjutsu scroll. Naoki Senju opened it and found that it did indeed contain Wood Release Ninjutsu.
"I merely used a few special means to escape. The winner of this contest is indeed Naoki-kun. Naturally, this Wood Release scroll belongs with its rightful owner."
At this point, how could Naoki Senju fail to understand? Orochimaru had gone to all this trouble merely to test his strength, and he had already decided to give him the Wood Release scroll.
Although he felt that Orochimaru could be quite a freak at times, Naoki Senju still thanked him sincerely:
"Thank you, Aunt Snake. Oh, no... Uncle Snake."