[Upon returning to Konoha, nothing significant happened for half a year. You spent your time studying Wood Release and enjoying a relationship with Hinata Hyūga, feeling that life was quite pleasant!]
[A year later, after much research, you mastered several basic Wood Release jutsu: Wood Creation, Birth of the Sea of Trees, Wood Clone, and Piercing Technique.]
[A year and a half later, the Akatsuki invaded Konoha. You fought fiercely against Pain's Six Paths. Hinata Hyūga rushed to your side to fight alongside you, but she was injured in the process!]
[Furious, you killed Konan, but were later sealed by Pain's Chibaku Tensei.]
[You died!]
This life simulation was rather straightforward, mainly consisting of training and spending time with Hinata.
In terms of Wood Release, Akira did indeed manage to learn a few techniques.
One year and a half from now, the Akatsuki would invade Konoha. Akira was already aware of this. Last time, Nagato had summoned the Gedo Statue, and the two of them had perished together.
However, this time, it seemed that Hinata would jump into the fight and get hurt fighting by his side?
Looking at the simulator's results, Akira couldn't help but feel a bit like a loose cannon.
You hurt my woman, so I kill yours? Akira ended up killing Konan?
He never expected that he would meet his end sealed by the Chibaku Tensei.
So, what did this mean? Once sealed, did the simulation count him as dead and end?
There didn't seem to be much noteworthy information. When presented with the three choices, Akira naturally opted to extract the jutsu, knowledge, and experience.
A sense of clarity rose in his mind, as if recalling something long forgotten. Akira now fully understood and had mastered several Wood Release jutsu.
Wood Creation was a basic offensive Wood Release technique, just a small skill.
The Wood Clone technique? A clone jutsu that was even harder to see through than the Shadow Clone, quite practical!
As for the Piercing Technique, that one was particularly brutal.
It involved piercing the target with sharp wooden spikes, and then detonating them!
The wooden spikes would spread inside the target like a porcupine, exploding into countless sharp spikes from within!
In the original story, an enraged Obito, after awakening his Mangekyō Sharingan, used this technique against several Mist Village shinobi.
As for Birth of the Sea of Trees, it was essentially a weakened version of the legendary Deep Forest Emergence.
In the original, Yamato had used it to transport both people and animals.
"So, in this first simulation, after more than a year, I only managed to learn a few basic Wood Release skills?"
After finishing his extraction, Akira shook his head slightly.
But there was no need to rush. He could take his time with the simulations.
He was confident that he'd eventually master the higher-level Wood Release techniques!
In Akira's opinion, Deep Forest Emergence was the true dividing line when it came to Wood Release mastery.
Being able to use this technique meant possessing the kind of power that could shake the entire shinobi world.
Though after that, there were techniques like Flowering Tree World Emergence, Wood Golem Jutsu, Wood Dragon Jutsu, True Several Thousand Hands, Top Transformed Buddha, and so on.
But the Deep Forest Emergence was the most famous—an ultimate wide-scale control and attack jutsu that was most associated with the First Hokage.
Mastering it would mark the transition from having Wood Release on par with Yamato, to closing in on the First Hokage's level of power.
Without further delay, after returning to Konoha, Akira sought out Hinata once again.
Being young lovers still caught up in the heat of things, they spent the day cuddling and getting closer, deepening their relationship further.
That night, they snuggled up together, solidifying their bond.
Meanwhile, regarding Hinata quietly paying off Akira's gambling debt of 1 million ryo, Akira couldn't help but chuckle.
Hinata hadn't even married him yet, and she was already acting like the lady of the house, silently covering her man's debt!
Naturally, this remark made Hinata blush furiously, too shy to even look at Akira.
Akira, of course, reassured her, saying that he was quite fond of her doing such things.
After spending most of the day together, Akira rested for the night.
The next morning, bright and early, he ran another life simulation.
This time, Akira learned a number of Water and Earth Release jutsu.
Since Wood Release required both water and earth chakra natures, Akira naturally gained proficiency in those elements as well!
His understanding of Wood Release also deepened through his research.
However, just as he was on the verge of mastering Deep Forest Emergence, the Akatsuki attacked again.
This time, while fighting fiercely against Nagato, Akira was backstabbed by Tobi.
The simulation ended, and Akira harvested more jutsu knowledge.
Then, seeing that Hinata didn't have any missions for a while, Akira spent another full day with her. They grew even bolder in their affections, with Akira pulling her close, holding her tight, which made Hinata's face turn as red as a ripe tomato.
By the third day, Akira ran yet another life simulation.
Once again, he fell during the Akatsuki's invasion.
But the good news was that Akira finally mastered his first big Wood Release technique—Deep Forest Emergence!
"Alright! Finally! After four or five years of studying, I've finally mastered Deep Forest Emergence!" Akira grinned, feeling much better.
Now that he had Deep Forest Emergence, could the Wood Golem Jutsu be far behind?
Soon enough, he'd be piloting his own "mecha."
After finishing the simulation and mastering Deep Forest Emergence, Akira's mood brightened. He headed to the research lab.
"Akira, what a surprise! What brings you here?" Orochimaru greeted him warmly with his signature sinister smile.
"I'm here to give you a gift!" Akira said with a grin.
"Oh?" Orochimaru's eyes gleamed with interest. Receiving a gift from Akira was rare, and he was quite curious to see what it was.
"You've mastered Edo Tensei, haven't you?" Akira asked.
"Indeed, I have. However, I still believe it can be further perfected. If you're interested, I could continue my research." Orochimaru responded candidly.
"You remember Hidan from the Akatsuki, right?" Akira continued, not revealing his intentions just yet.
"Of course. While his abilities are among the weakest in the Akatsuki, his immortality and his secret techniques make him dangerous. He can kill enemies far stronger than himself." Orochimaru wasn't sure why Akira was suddenly bringing up Hidan, but he answered thoughtfully.
"So, what do you think would happen if we used Hidan as the sacrifice for Edo Tensei? Could we kill him?" Akira smiled, posing the question to Orochimaru.
"I'm not sure," Orochimaru admitted, his eyes gleaming with curiosity.
"Hidan's immortality makes him immune to almost any form of damage, yet Edo Tensei requires the sacrifice to die."
"These two conflicting elements... it's hard to predict the outcome," Orochimaru mused, clearly intrigued by the idea.
A true scientist, after all, is always curious about the unknown.
It was a classic case of an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object.
"Shall we give it a try?" Akira suggested with a grin, seeing that Orochimaru was just as excited as he was.
"Are you serious?" Orochimaru's eyes lit up with excitement.
"Tonight, let's find a quiet spot and test it out," Akira said. After all, Edo Tensei was a forbidden technique. If they caused too much commotion, it would only lead to trouble.
Akira smiled knowingly as he and Orochimaru agreed on a time and place before parting ways.
For the rest of the day, Orochimaru couldn't focus on his other experiments. Instead, he began preparing all the materials needed for Edo Tensei, eagerly waiting for the night to fall.
When darkness finally settled in, and the appointed time arrived, Orochimaru made his move, sneaking out of the research lab.
He left Konoha unnoticed and made his way to a secluded forest about twenty or thirty miles away from the village.
Checking the time, Orochimaru realized he had arrived half an hour early.
After waiting a while, Akira finally arrived.
Without wasting any time, Akira used a summoning jutsu. A large snake appeared and spat out the sealed Hidan from its mouth.
"It's him, alright!" Orochimaru grinned wickedly, looking down at Hidan.
He immediately began drawing the Edo Tensei summoning array on the ground, placing Hidan at the center.
"Shall we begin?" Orochimaru asked, not caring in the least about what would happen to Hidan.
"Yes, let's start!" Akira nodded, just as curious as Orochimaru.
With Akira's approval, Orochimaru activated Edo Tensei…
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