Rumble!
With a deafening roar, countless trees erupted from the ground, twisting and intertwining.
A massive three-story building rose from the desert.
At this sight, the expressions of everyone present shifted from astonishment to outright terror.
Even Honoka, who had only recently joined Sunagakure, was wide-eyed with shock. The others were no less stunned.
Pakura, Michikawa, and Bunpuku were visibly shaken, their faces filled with awe. Baki trembled uncontrollably, cold sweat dripping from his forehead. Chiyo and Ebizō stared in disbelief, their bodies trembling slightly. Karura covered her mouth with her hands, while Yashamaru's eyes widened as he looked at his brother-in-law. Only Hana, who had known about this beforehand, remained relatively calm.
"This... this is Wood Release! The Wood Release of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju!"
Michikawa couldn't contain his shock and blurted out the words.
Rasa, however, remained calm and gave a firm denial.
"No... this is not Wood Release. This is what I wanted to show you—the ability of Senjutsu energy called 'Material Transformation.'"
"What?!"
At this point, everyone felt their brains short-circuiting.
Wasn't this clearly the legendary Wood Release used by the God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju, to bring peace to the shinobi world?
Of course, it was Wood Release.
But Rasa would never admit it, as the implications were too significant.
However, this didn't stop Rasa from offering an alternative explanation for the Wood Release and laying the groundwork for his future use of it.
Rasa turned to Chiyo, who was still reeling from the shock, and said,
"Chiyo-sama, do you remember the scroll I gave you on Dragon Vein Puppetry? It mentioned the ability of Material Transformation."
!!!
Rasa's reminder instantly brought the memory back to Chiyo.
Indeed, the scroll Rasa had given her on Dragon Vein Puppetry had mentioned a similar ability. At the time, she hadn't paid much attention to it, nor had she connected it to Wood Release. But now...
Seeing the skeptical looks on everyone's faces, Rasa decided to demonstrate his favorite technique.
"Golden Dragon Staff!"
A golden staff appeared in his hand.
"Watch closely!"
In his hands, the Golden Dragon Staff began to transform. It shifted from a staff into various weapons—swords, shuriken, knives, hammers, chains—and its material changed as well. It went from golden sand to black iron sand, then to ordinary sand, and finally to wood.
Everyone watched in stunned silence.
Rasa then explained,
"This is the Material Transformation ability of Senjutsu energy. In theory, I can use Senjutsu energy to create various materials. In fact, Magnet Release also has a similar ability, using chakra to create iron sand or gold sand."
Michikawa, as a master of Magnet Release, was taken aback.
Now that he thought about it, Magnet Release did indeed have such a capability.
Could this really not be Wood Release? Yet, something still felt off to Michikawa.
Rasa, however, didn't dwell on the issue and moved on to explain the second ability of Senjutsu energy.
"Inorganic Reincarnation—this is the second ability of Senjutsu energy. Simply put, it can give life to inorganic matter and control it. Like this..."
Under Rasa's control, the Golden Dragon Staff in his hand began to move on its own, growing, extending, thickening, and thinning at an astonishing speed.
Before the group could recover from the shock of the Wood Release, they were once again stunned by this new display of power.
Chiyo, who had calmed down slightly, recalled something and said,
"The Dragon Vein Puppetry technique also has a similar ability. That man, Anrokuzan, used it to control his puppets."
"Exactly. However, there's one thing to note: giving life doesn't mean giving intelligence. So, the inorganic matter that's given life still requires the user's control."
Chiyo, however, had another thought.
"This is already an incredible ability. At the very least, it could revolutionize Sunagakure's puppetry techniques. Imagine puppets that don't require chakra strings to control and are even more flexible."
Her words lit up the eyes of the Sunagakure shinobi present.
One of the major weaknesses of Sunagakure's puppetry was its reliance on chakra strings. If the strings were cut, the puppets would temporarily lose functionality, which was a fatal flaw.
Rasa suddenly thought of something and said,
"Speaking of which, there's something I need Chiyo-sama's help with."
"Oh? What is it?"
"Chiyo-sama, you're familiar with the nine tailed beasts that exist in the shinobi world, right?"
Rasa's sudden question left everyone stunned, especially Bunpuku, the jinchūriki.
"I'd like Chiyo-sama to create nine puppets for me, modeled after the nine-tailed beasts. Is that possible?"
Rasa's unusual request puzzled Chiyo. However, considering the strange and powerful abilities Rasa had just demonstrated, she nodded.
"Understood. Creating puppets isn't difficult, but the key is what kind of effect you're aiming for, Kazekage-sama."
"We can discuss the details privately."
"Very well."
"Now, for the third ability of Senjutsu energy. This one is easier to understand."
Rasa planted the Golden Dragon Staff into the ground and took a few steps back. He then turned to his brother-in-law and said,
"Yashamaru, use a Fire Release technique on it!"
Yashamaru, who had been standing quietly at the back, stepped forward at his brother-in-law's command. He formed hand seals and unleashed a simple Great Fireball Technique at the weapon.
Then, everyone saw why Rasa had given such an order.
The moment Yashamaru's fireball made contact with the Golden Dragon Staff, the flames were visibly absorbed.
As the group stared in shock, Rasa explained,
"This is the third characteristic of Senjutsu energy: the ability to absorb chakra, including techniques formed from chakra."
Pakura gritted her teeth and said,
"You've got to be kidding me. That ability is way too broken. Doesn't that make you invincible?"
"Not quite. First, Senjutsu energy can't absorb things that naturally exist in the world. For example, Magnet Release manipulates naturally occurring iron sand and gold sand through magnetic forces. However, if the chakra within the sand is absorbed, the sand will lose control. Additionally, Yin-Yang Release, taijutsu, and attacks from conventional weapons can still harm a Senjutsu energy user."
"???"
While taijutsu and conventional weapons were understandable, what was Yin-Yang Release?
"Yin-Yang Release? Are you talking about the nature transformation of Yin and Yang chakra?"
"No."
Rasa shook his head.
"That's a different concept. Let's use Sunagakure's Magnet Release as an example. Our Magnet Release is a technique that generates magnetic forces by combining Wind and Earth chakra natures, which then control iron sand and gold sand. However, after generating magnetic forces, freely controlling the iron sand and gold sand into the desired forms isn't easy. That's where Yin and Yang chakra natures come in—Yin Release creates form, while Yang Release grants life.
In this process, Yin and Yang chakra play a supporting role.
But Yin-Yang Release is different. It's the pure use of Yin and Yang chakra's power."