"Please believe me, believe in the Wood Release that once brought peace to Konoha, believe in the power of the First Hokage who ended the Warring States period." Kōki ignored the words of the Sunagakure leader and turned to Nara Yūsuke and the others with a serious expression, advising them. He believed that with the power of Wood Release, they could definitely break through the Sunagakure's encirclement and bring the Ino-Shika-Cho trio back to Konoha alive.
" Kōki..."
Nara Yūsuke opened his mouth, but only uttered Kōki's name without saying anything more.
He just stared blankly at Kōki in front of him. For a moment, he seemed to see the figure of the First Hokage. Although he had never seen him before, he was certain that it was him.
He looked at Kōki's short stature, yet it concealed an astonishing spirit and will. Even for someone from a prestigious family like him, this was the first time he had ever seen such a person.
He murmured to himself, " Kōki. Konoha, no, the Shinobi World will tremble for you. If the First Hokage's mission was to end the Warring States period, then I believe your mission is absolutely to resolve the war-torn era that has divided the Shinobi World."
Kōki had no idea how much his words had shaken Nara Yūsuke's heart. He was still looking intently at Nara Yūsuke and the others, waiting for their reply.
Coming to his senses, Nara Yūsuke gave Kōki a deep look, then turned to Yamanaka Kenji and Akimichi Tsuyoshi, sighed, and said with a wry smile, "Looks like we've been saved by Kōki again. We're really not up to par as his seniors."
"We are far from qualified as seniors, but I believe we are absolutely capable of serving as a shield."
As soon as he finished speaking, Nara Yūsuke took the lead and stood behind Kōki, followed closely by Yamanaka Kenji and Akimichi Tsuyoshi, completely blocking the blind spot behind Kōki.
At this moment, they exuded an unwavering determination: to ensure that Kōki had no worries whatsoever.
Seeing Ino-Shika-Cho's actions, Kōki felt a surge of warmth in his heart, a sense of reliability welling up from his back.
He focused intently on the Sunagakure in front of him, rapidly circulating his Chakra, preparing to unleash Wood Release at any moment.
Meanwhile, the Sunagakure, Kōki successfully surrounded Kōki and the others, saw the change in the aura among the four of them and their eyes filled with fighting spirit.
Although the Sunagakure leader was unaware of the changes that had occurred among the Konoha Anbu, the most important thing was to quickly eliminate the Anbu in front of him and wash away the shame of Sunagakure, so as to avoid any unforeseen complications.
Therefore, he waved his hand and issued the attack order to Kōki, "Let's go, take out these Konoha Anbu!"
At the command of the Sunagakure leader, the Sunagakure who had been surrounding them swarmed forward and charged toward Kōki.
Seeing the densely packed Sunagakure in front of him, Kōki remained calm, as he had already made preparations.
He clasped his hands together and chanted, " Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence."
A large number of saplings sprouted from the rocky ground and grew bigger and bigger. The trees seemed to be uprooted, creating a forest in an instant, and they all wrapped around the surrounding Sunagakure.
The Sunagakure who were attacking Kōki did not expect that trees would grow from the ground and attack them. They were caught off guard and were immediately entangled by the roots of the trees. At the same time, they felt their Chakra being absorbed and they were unable to move.
Of course, some powerful and quick-witted Sunagakure also dodged the suddenly appearing trees, either by slashing with their weapons or by using Release Technique to defend themselves, and successfully avoided the trees' attacks.
But when they breathed a sigh of relief and looked around to assess their own situation, they discovered that they had lost more than half of their men to the enemy's attack, with only the powerful Sunagakure surviving the jutsu.
Such casualties deeply saddened the Sunagakure Village leader. "How is this possible? In just a short while, so many of our men have died!"
The Sunagakure Village leader simply couldn't understand how he, who had initially held an absolute advantage, had lost so many men in an instant due to this strange Release Technique.
He then recalled that the Release Technique Kōki used was very similar to the Wood Release that was said to exist in the village, and he also heard the Wood Release technique that the Konoha Anbu had just shouted out.
" Wood Release? This is Wood Release!" Combining his suspicions with the horrific scene before him, the Sunagakure leader couldn't help but exclaim in shock.
Of course, he wasn't the only one who thought of this; other Sunagakure who knew more about it also roughly recognized the Release Technique that Kōki had used. They were all extremely shocked and found it hard to believe.
"It really is Wood Release! Has Wood Release reappeared in Konoha?"
"Wasn't Wood Release supposed to have been lost because the heavens were jealous of it? How can it be revived in Konoha?"
The people of Sunagakure recalled the village's records about the earth-shattering, world-recreating power of Wood Release, and the descriptions of their Sunagakure ancestors' Wood Release: the power of Wood Release is beyond human wielding; only beings called gods can possess it, and to be an enemy of such a being is simply courting death.
Fear and bewilderment crossed the faces of the Sunagakure residents. They couldn't imagine what would happen if that power that had pacified the world reappeared on the battlefield. A sense of pessimism and despair spread among the surviving Sunagakure residents.
Suddenly, a furious curse came from the mouth of the Sunagakure leader.
"Damn it, you idiots, pull yourselves together! Is the will of Sunagakure so fragile? Our forefathers were able to establish Sunagakure with such Wood Release, and we must inherit their will. Besides, this Wood Release user is just a brat; we should seize the opportunity and nip him in the bud, instead of wallowing in despair and losing our fighting spirit."
He was furious at the sight of his teammates' dejected state.
Although he was worried and afraid of the sudden appearance of Wood Release, he was even happier.
He knew that if the user of Wood Release chose to hide himself, then their Sunagakure would face an even greater crisis in the future.
He felt more at ease facing a young Wood Release user than a fully-fledged Wood Release user in the future.
This reminded him that he still had time to save Sunagakure and change Sunagakure future fate of defeat.
The words of the Sunagakure leader pulled all the Sunagakure out of their dejected mood. Yes, they still had time.
As long as the user of Wood Release hasn't grown to the point of being invincible, they still have a chance.
They stared at Kōki and the others, who were surrounded by trees, their eyes flashing with intense killing intent. They all thought simultaneously, "We absolutely, absolutely must kill this guy here. We can't let him return to Konoha alive."
At this moment, the Sunagakure members had focused all their attention on Kōki, and the Ino-Shika-Cho trio no longer held any appeal for them. Even if the Ino-Shika-Cho trio wanted to leave now, they would not stop them.
Their only goal now is the Wood Release brat in front of them.