"Wood Release!"
"It's the Wood Release of the First Hokage!"
"No, it's Naruto's!"
"Naruto is the son of the Fourth Hokage! And he's inherited the First Hokage's Wood Release!"
"With them here, our Konohagakure will definitely be safe!"
Exclamations of awe and excitement erupted among the crowd. A few even clenched their fists tightly, thrilled to witness the legendary Wood Release with their own eyes.
However, within the Uchiha Clan's compound, a young man gazed at the massive wooden hand holding up the meteor. A deep sense of frustration flashed in his crimson eyes, where three tomoe spun rapidly.
This strikingly handsome youth was none other than Sasuke, the younger brother of the current Uchiha Clan leader.
The unique constitution of the Uchiha Clan seemed to thrive on pain and tragedy, as if only through such trials could they achieve a transformative strength.
Thanks to the tacit cooperation between Minato and Fugaku, the Uchiha Clan had not turned against the village. In fact, after Fugaku and many other clan members died heroically in battle and Itachi succeeded him as clan leader, the Uchiha had risen to the village's inner circle of power.
Itachi, who had chosen not to defect, believed he could protect Sasuke with his own strength.
However, this led to a situation where even with Kakashi's guidance, Sasuke's abilities lagged further and further behind Naruto's.
Naruto, nurtured from a young age by Minato and Kushina, was no longer the mischievous troublemaker who couldn't even perform basic hand signs.
Back in the Ninja Academy, Naruto's grades were on par with Sasuke's, and the two often competed fiercely for the top spot.
But after graduating, Minato assigned Yamato as Naruto's teacher to train him in Wood Release.
Minato, with his keen insight, knew Kakashi was not the right fit for Naruto due to their fundamentally different abilities.
In Minato's view, since Naruto had the Nine-Tails sealed within him, mastering the First Hokage's Wood Release was the best way to control the beast.
The Wood Release could effectively absorb the Chakra of Tailed Beasts, continuously enhancing its own power.
As for other aspects like resolve and determination, Minato had already instilled those into Naruto through subtle guidance over the years.
Though Sasuke's innate talent was enough to astonish ordinary shinobi, his lifelong rival was none other than Naruto, the son of the Fourth Hokage and a prodigy in his own right.
This was why seeing Naruto's mastery of Wood Release now stirred such intense emotions within Sasuke.
He, too, wanted to protect Konohagakure, just like his father and brother, even if it meant dying in battle.
"Naruto..."
"Your power has already reached this level, hasn't it..."
Sasuke gritted his teeth, his fingers digging into the back of his hand so deeply that his nails pierced his flesh, yet he seemed unaware of the pain.
The massive meteor in the sky was momentarily halted by the enormous wooden hand.
Upon closer inspection, a golden glow surrounded a young man standing to the right of the wooden hand. His collar was adorned with rows of tomoe, and a spiral pattern marked his abdomen.
This was none other than Naruto Uzumaki, who had mastered Wood Release and, with Kushina's help, harnessed the power of the Nine-Tails through a Chakra tug-of-war.
As the giant wooden arm held the supermassive meteor in place, Minato seized the opportunity. His hands moved swiftly, forming hand signs before inscribing a black sealing array at the meteor's base.
When the black array expanded to encompass the entire meteor, the massive rock was suddenly "absorbed" into the seal. The process was seamless, with no resistance whatsoever.
Boom!
Moments later, the tremors from the ground confirmed to everyone that what they had just witnessed was no illusion.
Thud! Thud!
Bang! Bang!
Meanwhile, atop the Hokage Rock, Konohagakure's shinobi were engaged in fierce combat with Madara.
Among them, the most striking presence was Itachi's orange-red Susano'o.
"The Totsuka Blade and Yata Mirror, huh?"
"Truly remarkable artifacts."
"So, the Nine-Tails is in your village, and you can even use Wood Release?"
"Interesting!"
"If you're so determined to protect this village, then let's see how far you can go!"
Madara's voice suddenly grew deep and resonant. At the same time, an overwhelming surge of blue Chakra erupted from his body.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Madara's previously "small" Susano'o instantly expanded to an enormous size. A colossal figure resembling a warrior clad in a blue kasa (straw hat) and rain cloak appeared atop the Hokage Rock.
But it didn't stop there. With a soft utterance of "Stabilize," Madara clenched his right hand, which was clad in a black glove.
The giant underwent another transformation. The blue kasa tilted down to cover its face, and the rain cloak unfolded to the sides.
Finally, standing before the entire village was a fully armored, deep blue samurai over 200 meters tall.
At its waist hung two sheathed long blades, each over 100 meters in length. Its back bore wings, and its face resembled that of a long-nosed tengu.
"Power is not the same as will. It is the interaction of forces between matter!"
"No matter how strong your will is, it is meaningless in the face of absolute power!"
Madara's arrogant declaration echoed across the battlefield.
In comparison, Itachi's orange-red Susano'o, which had only reached its third form with just an upper body, seemed like a feeble infant crawling before the godlike presence of Madara's Perfect Susano'o.
"Look!"
"What is that?!"
"Is that the enemy invading us?"
"Susano'o?!"
"That's the legendary Perfect Susano'o?!"
"It's drawing its blade!"
"Run!"
"What do we do?!"
"My legs... I can't move..."
"Somebody save me..."
In an instant, the previously subdued Konohagakure erupted once more into chaos. The screams and cries of terror were even more frantic and desperate than before.
But.
As the Perfect Susano'o unsheathed its blade and swung it with immense force—
In that instant—
The entire world seemed to fall silent.
It was unclear how much time had passed—perhaps a fleeting moment, perhaps an eternity.
At that moment, time and space appeared to freeze.
Only when the first wisp of dust rose into the air did the world begin to move again.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Using the Hokage Rock as a dividing line, everything to the right of it—the entire district of Konohagakure—was obliterated in an instant. Countless buildings and trees were pulverized into dust, scattering into the air.
Rumble...
Massive clouds of dust shot into the sky, followed by a deafening explosion.
Bang!!!
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