The Five Kage's perception of Ruri shifted once again. Having only seen his Wood Release and sealing techniques before, they had assumed those were his specialties.
They never expected him to have developed a seal-less ninjutsu. His proficiency in ninjutsu must be extraordinary, making his strength even more unfathomable.
Hashirama naturally overheard the conversation. The moment Kakuzu's attack landed, "Hashirama" transformed into a wooden figure—it had merely been a Wood Clone.
Hashirama used a Body Flicker to appear in front of Kakuzu, curiously asking, "Water, Lightning, Fire, and now Wind Release—four different chakra natures. Yet, I can sense you only possess water and earth chakra natures. Are the shinobi of the Land of Waterfall all so remarkably talented in ninjutsu?"
"That's not even the half of it! My ninjutsu skill isn't even one ten-thousandth of my big brother's! Earth Style: Earth Dragon Bullet!"
Kakuzu wasn't here to chat with Hashirama. A ferocious-looking earth dragon, summoned by him, charged towards Hashirama!
Witnessing this, Byakuren stared daggers at Ruri. Earth Dragon Bullet? Dare you claim the principle behind this isn't plagiarized from the Water Dragon Bullet?
Even Ishikawa doesn't know this Earth Release technique, and it had never appeared in the shinobi world before!
Byakuren was convinced that either Kirigakure's techniques had been leaked, or someone had stolen them from the village!
The sheer audacity! Not only stealing techniques but also blatantly converting Water Release into Earth Release! He had never seen someone so shameless!
Ishikawa, however, looked at the Earth Dragon Bullet with keen interest. As an Earth Release expert, he immediately grasped its principle; it indeed shared similarities with the Water Dragon Bullet. This inspired him—Earth and Water Release were very similar in many techniques, like Water Wall and Earth Wall. Many jutsu could definitely be adapted interchangeably!
Since the shinobi world was now at peace, maintaining superficial harmony required interaction between nations. Ishikawa decided to send a diplomatic envoy to Kirigakure upon returning to his village, hoping to... borrow some Water Release techniques for reference.
"All five chakra natures! Truly remarkable talent!" Hashirama casually dispersed the earth dragon, clicking his tongue in admiration.
Ruri nodded. Kakuzu had performed quite well. Unfortunately, all Ruri could teach him were the initial non-elemental Rasengan and the Wind Style: Rasengan. Once Kakuzu fully mastered various Rasengan-type techniques, even without his forbidden technique, he could possess combat power infinitely close to Kage-level.
Techniques like Fire Style: Rasengan, Water Style: Rasengan, or even advanced ones like Lightning Style: Rasenshuriken or Earth Style: Rasenshuriken—with Kakuzu's innate talent for ninjutsu, even an average Kage-level opponent would find him troublesome.
"Wood Release: Advent of a World of Flowering Trees!"
Hashirama seemed to have gotten carried away, perhaps from not having fought in so long, and directly unleashed his signature technique. Instantly, an overwhelming forest erupted from the ground, swallowing Kakuzu!
Collateral damage! The range of the Advent of a World of Flowering Trees was immense. No one had anticipated Hashirama would use such a powerful Wood Release against a mere Takikage guard, so they were completely unprepared and all got caught in it!
Fortunately, they weren't the primary targets and reacted swiftly, leaping to the tops of the trees.
"Sorry, sorry! I didn't control my chakra properly!" Facing Tobirama, who was fuming and about to question him, Hashirama could only scratch his head and laugh sheepishly. There was no helping it; with so much chakra, it was easy to lose control over the range.
"Fighting within the Land of Iron's borders was already ill-advised, and now Lord Hokage has damaged the environment..." Ruri began, but Hashirama interrupted him.
"Damaged the environment?" He glanced around. "Isn't this afforestation? During the summit, the Kazekage even paid me to do this to the Land of Wind's environment?!"
"Look at the situation! Your Wood Release has even blocked the city gates..." Ruri said, facepalming helplessly. The urgent task now was to dispel the Advent of a World of Flowering Trees; Kakuzu was still trapped inside.
"Amaterasu!"
With Ruri's soft cry, a tiny flame landed on one of the trees in the forest, immediately engulfing it.
Ruri felt a sharp pain in his eyes and a rapid drain on his chakra. However, aside from the pain, there were no other abnormalities. The depleted chakra was quickly replenished by the Seven-Tails' chakra. It seemed there were no detrimental side effects. Apparently, using Amaterasu without the Sharingan didn't cause blindness, likely because it didn't consume ocular power...
The black flames of Amaterasu, having consumed one tree, weren't satisfied. They spread rapidly, and in less than a minute, the entire forest created by the Advent of a World of Flowering Trees was burned away without a trace. Kakuzu, trapped inside, wasn't even touched, his clothes remaining intact.
Is this Fire Release? None of the present Kage specialized in Fire Release, not even the First Hokage Hashirama or the prospective Second Hokage Tobirama. But that didn't prevent them from understanding the power of Amaterasu.
Hashirama looked gravely at the spot where the black flames had vanished. This technique resembled Fire Release, but he had never seen Fire Release of such potency!
It effortlessly incinerated his Advent of a World of Flowering Trees into nothingness, leaving not even ash.I'm afraid even Madara's Fire Release pales in comparison!
The other four Kage also watched with complex expressions. The black flames had given them a sense of trepidation; it felt like those flames could burn through anything!
Even with their vast battle experience, they had never witnessed Fire Release of such magnitude. There weren't many skilled in Fire Release in the shinobi world, with Uchiha Madara being the strongest. But his Fire Release didn't instill such fear in them. What was more terrifying was Ruri's chakra control. The more powerful a technique, the harder it was to control, just like Hashirama's Advent of a World of Flowering Trees. Unless Hashirama used his full power and focused, controlling its range was difficult.
Yet Ruri could precisely control Fire Release of this caliber to burn only the Wood Release without harming Kakuzu. Within the entire area covered by the flames, aside from the trees, nothing else was touched!
Ruri wouldn't explain to them that although Amaterasu was Fire Release, it was also a special ocular jutsu that didn't require meticulous chakra control—it burned exactly where he looked, no more, no less. The mystery born from their misunderstanding added to his imposing aura.
"Perhaps we should stop here. Lord Takikage is indeed very strong!" Hashirama used a Body Flicker to approach, his face filled with admiration for Ruri. There were few in the shinobi world who could so easily dismantle his Wood Release.
Ruri nodded. His goal of gaining fame was largely achieved. Hashirama's use of Wood Release had already attracted the attention of many watching samurai.
And his subsequent move to effortlessly break Hashirama's most famous technique, the Advent of a World of Flowering Trees, was enough to make the Daimyo take notice.
Furthermore, if they continued fighting and Hashirama activated Sage Mode, Ruri's true strength might be exposed, which could lead to complications.
So, Ruri waved his hand and said to Hashirama, "If there's a chance in the future, I will certainly visit Konoha."
Right now, even using all his trump cards, he wasn't Hashirama's match. But that would change. Hashirama's strength had peaked, while Ruri was still improving.
"I look forward to your visit, Lord Takikage!" This fight wasn't without gains for Hashirama either. He learned that Takigakure also had its hidden depths; that guard was already on par with Tobirama.
"Big Brother, are we just letting him go like this?" Tobirama watched the retreating figures of Ruri and Kakuzu, asking unwillingly.
"Lord Takikage? We can't say that. He's an interesting person. The policies in his mind can help develop the shinobi world. He's someone who desires peace, just like me." Hashirama seemed to have found a kindred spirit. There weren't many who wished for peace in the shinobi world like he did, and even fewer who would selflessly share plans to help other nations develop harmoniously.
Frowning, Tobirama realized Hashirama clearly didn't grasp his meaning. Watching Ruri and Kakuzu get further away, he hardened his resolve and hurled a kunai at Kakuzu's retreating back!