Sou! Sou! Sou!
Thick roots burst upward in every direction.
They twisted and expanded, squeezing the air out of the battlefield.
CRACK.
CRASH.
Nearby houses collapsed one after another. Roofs shattered. Walls split open. Dust and debris filled the sky.
Within seconds—
The alley had transformed into a living forest.
The entire village felt it.
The Root Ten froze.
In their minds—
One image appeared.
Hashirama Senju.
The First Hokage.
The man who reshaped the Valley of the End with a single battle.
The masked Sharingan user's three tomoe spun rapidly.
Through his vision, he saw it clearly—
Kazuki's chakra.
It wasn't just dense.
It was nearly visible.
Thick.
Heavy.
Like ancient roots pressing against the world itself.
"This… this quality…"
Even jōnin couldn't sustain that kind of chakra density.
The trees swayed.
The ground trembled.
Oppression filled the air.
Outside the forest—
Hiruzen, Mito, and Minato all felt it.
Hiruzen muttered under his breath:
"…That's Kazuki's chakra?"
Mito's eyes widened.
For days she had thought he was lazy.
Sleeping.
Avoiding responsibility.
Now she understood.
He wasn't idle.
"He's truly a child of the Senju…" she whispered.
Then she glanced at Minato.
"Kushina is inside?"
Minato nodded urgently.
"Yes, Mito-sama."
Mito's eyes flickered.
Then—
Unexpectedly—
She placed a hand on Hiruzen's arm.
"Wait."
"If Kazuki used Deep Forest Emergence… there's no immediate danger."
Hiruzen blinked.
"…Old Lady, just moments ago you were ready to level the village."
She sniffed.
"Young people should handle young matters."
Minato flushed slightly.
Hiruzen sighed.
Back Inside the Forest
Yamanaka Fū felt cold sweat drip down his spine.
"This isn't standard jōnin-level…"
"Attack!"
He lunged forward.
Simultaneously—
The Sharingan operative's eyes began bleeding.
"Genjutsu — Demonic Illusion: Golden Binding!"
Invisible chains attempted to lock Kazuki's body in place.
It shattered instantly.
"Impossible?!"
Fū's Mind Body Switch followed—
It bounced back violently.
He staggered mid-air.
The Aburame insects surged forward—
Only to be crushed mid-flight by spiraling wooden vines.
Not one technique worked.
Not one.
Kazuki didn't move.
He simply stood there.
Chakra surging like a tide.
The forest responded to his will.
Roots lashed like whips.
Vines thickened as they grew.
Every second, the battlefield became more crowded.
Less breathable.
More suffocating.
Root operatives leapt desperately between branches.
Some used substitution.
Some used shadow clones.
But the forest was alive.
It adapted.
It hunted.
"Retreat!" Fū shouted.
Too late.
Vines shot forward like arrows.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Screams echoed.
Within seconds—
Operatives were bound tightly, cocooned in layered wood restraints.
Like rice dumplings wrapped for festival cooking.
Fū formed a quick seal.
"Substitution!"
Bang!
He reappeared twenty meters away, breathing hard.
He turned—
And froze.
Kazuki stood directly in front of him.
Calm.
Expression unreadable.
Behind Kazuki—
Nine wooden clones surrounded the area.
Each one radiating killing intent.
Every other Root operative—
Captured.
Bound.
Dangling helplessly.
Fū's heart pounded violently.
One against ten.
Overwhelming victory.
Kazuki tilted his head slightly.
"You're the leader, right?"
Fū swallowed.
For the first time—
He understood something clearly.
They hadn't come to capture prey.
They had stepped into a forest ruled by a god.
And the god was asking questions.