"How is this possible? My Wood Release… appearing in an Uchiha?"
Hashirama scratched his head in confusion, looking at Akira with surprise. At the same time, he stopped his Deep Forest Emergence technique.
Akira glanced at Hashirama, secretly marveling at the sheer amount of chakra he had.
Honestly, the Edo Tensei state was already known for having infinite chakra and immortality, making it one of the most terrifying abilities.
However, for someone like the First Hokage, those buffs were almost pointless!
Having inherited the body of a Sage, Hashirama's healing ability was so powerful that Tsunade's ultimate technique seemed like a passive ability for him. No matter how severe the injury, he could recover quickly.
Plus, his chakra reserves were already nearly limitless.
The First Hokage, even during his lifetime, essentially possessed the two most feared abilities of Edo Tensei. It was like he started the game with both infinite health and chakra. No wonder he could dominate the entire ninja world!
"You're strong, kid, but I still think I'm a bit stronger!"
Even though he was impressed by Akira's ability to use Wood Release, and even to the point of mastering Deep Forest Emergence, Hashirama's personality was much like Naruto's—never one to back down easily.
As he spoke, Hashirama took a deep breath. A second later, the markings of Sage Mode appeared on his face.
Akira could clearly feel the natural energy in the area becoming much more active!
"Sage Mode, huh? Sorry, but I have that too." Akira smiled at Hashirama's transformation.
Then, after taking a deep breath, Akira also activated his Sage Mode.
Within a few breaths, a blue-green aura of chakra, like flames, surrounded Akira's body.
Visually, Akira's Sage Mode looked even more dazzling!
"Are all young people this terrifying nowadays?" Hashirama gasped as he looked at Akira's Sage Mode.
It was true. The Uchiha clan was already known for possessing the Sharingan, the most powerful kekkei genkai in the ninja world.
And now, Akira had mastered both Wood Release and Sage Mode?
That made him a combination of both himself and Madara Uchiha, bringing together their unique strengths into one person.
What's more, Akira still looked so young, barely fourteen or fifteen.
If he was given another ten years to grow, who in the ninja world could possibly stand against him?
Even if Hashirama himself were resurrected at full strength, he might not be able to defeat him.
But just as Hashirama was musing over this, Akira deactivated his Sage Mode!
"Huh? What's the meaning of this?" Hashirama asked, surprised to see Akira deactivate his Sage Mode. "Weren't we going to continue sparring?"
"First Hokage, as much as I'd love to continue, we've made too much of a scene. It's not wise to keep going," Akira replied.
He had keenly sensed several powerful chakras rapidly approaching.
"You're right. After all, I'm a dead man. It wouldn't be appropriate for me to appear in front of Konoha," Hashirama agreed, nodding thoughtfully.
Originally, Akira and Orochimaru's goal was simply to test whether Hidan, as an Edo Tensei sacrifice, could truly be killed.
That's why they chose a location about twenty or thirty kilometers from Konoha.
But Akira hadn't expected Orochimaru to choose the First Hokage as the Edo Tensei target!
Orochimaru, in turn, hadn't expected Akira to actually engage the First Hokage in battle!
The sheer scale of their Deep Forest Emergence clash had caused such a commotion that even though they were thirty kilometers away, Konoha had quickly picked up on it.
Orochimaru quickly formed hand seals, and soon, a coffin appeared out of thin air. Hashirama looked somewhat disappointed but closed his eyes and lost consciousness as he was sealed away.
After the First Hokage's body was placed in the coffin, it sank into the ground and disappeared.
Akira and Orochimaru glanced around. The battle had left the area so overgrown with trees, thanks to their clashing Deep Forest Emergence techniques, that there was hardly any ground left to stand on.
If anyone showed up now, it would be a hassle to explain everything!
With that in mind, Akira and Orochimaru quickly made their retreat.
Before long, Konoha's shinobi arrived, and as they surveyed the scene, each one of them was left in shock.
The dense forest, with the trees intertwined in battle—it really looked like Deep Forest Emergence.
But what was the meaning behind these trees fighting each other?
And most importantly, ever since the First Hokage's death, no one else had been able to use Deep Forest Emergence.
Who could have possibly used it now?
"Yamato!?"
After a moment of silent observation, an elderly Jonin turned to Yamato.
"Don't look at me! I couldn't do something like this!" Yamato replied with a dark expression, shaking his head.
Although Yamato had mastered Wood Release, he knew perfectly well that with his chakra reserves, using Deep Forest Emergence was impossible.
He couldn't even use Wood Release to build a large house without draining his chakra, let alone pulling off something like this!
"So, someone actually used Deep Forest Emergence? How is that possible?" The elderly Jonin's face reflected his shock after hearing Yamato's reply.
"No… it looks like it wasn't just one person. It seems there were two," came another voice.
It was Shikaku Nara. After closely examining the trees, he nodded and said, "It looks like two people were fighting here, and both of them used Deep Forest Emergence!"
Boom!
His words caused another wave of shock among the surrounding Konoha shinobi.
Seeing someone use Deep Forest Emergence was already astonishing enough.
Now they were saying two people had used it?
This was beyond outrageous!
"Leave some people here to investigate further. It's best to have the Hyuga clan come and carefully inspect the area," Shikaku ordered. "We need to report this to the Hokage as soon as possible!"
"Could it be? Are there still surviving members of the Senju clan, and they've mastered Deep Forest Emergence?"
Shikaku muttered to himself as he turned to leave the scene.
That night, the higher-ups of Konoha were shaken and sleepless.
Rumors spread that two individuals had clashed just outside Konoha, both using Deep Forest Emergence.
Naturally, this drew immediate attention from Konoha's leadership.
After all, Deep Forest Emergence was a unique technique, not just for Konoha, but for the entire ninja world.
While Konoha's higher-ups were in turmoil, Akira, as the head of the Anbu, simply stayed out of sight, leaving the chaos outside to unfold while he and Orochimaru quietly returned to the research lab.
Inside the lab, Orochimaru's curiosity was piqued. He summoned the coffin containing the First Hokage once again.
After opening it, Orochimaru released the Edo Tensei technique. The First Hokage's body immediately collapsed.
As the dust that had once clung to him scattered and turned into a small pile of earth, Hidan's body emerged, half-buried in the dirt.
"Is he dead?" Akira asked, staring intently at Hidan.
"It looks like he's severely injured, but not dead. It'll take time for him to recover," Orochimaru replied after inspecting Hidan.
"So, even after being used as a sacrifice for Edo Tensei, Hidan's immortality still saved him?"
The injuries weren't the issue. The fact that Hidan had survived after being the target of Edo Tensei's guaranteed death was the real shocker!
"Yeah, his immortality is even stronger than I thought!" Orochimaru nodded, though his gaze toward Hidan became noticeably more dangerous.
An immortal with such a powerful ability, now in his possession?
Orochimaru could already imagine how useful Hidan would be as a test subject for his experiments!
"Well, things outside are getting a little out of hand. As head of the Anbu, I should go make an appearance. You carry on with your research," Akira said, having learned enough about Hidan's immortality for the moment. With that, he left the lab.
Shortly after, an Anbu member reported to Akira.
They told him that just outside Konoha, it seemed as though two individuals had fought using Deep Forest Emergence, and Tsunade had already rushed out to investigate.
"Well, this misunderstanding is getting out of hand. The Senju clan is all but extinct, and Tsunade's running out there thinking there's a survivor," Akira muttered to himself, easily guessing what was going through Tsunade's mind as she raced out of the village.
Acting as if he knew nothing, Akira went back to organizing work for the Anbu.
Meanwhile, elsewhere…
After parting ways with Akira, Kakuzu spent a few days traveling and finally returned to the Akatsuki...
*********
Note: If you are interested, you can read up to chapter 214 at patreon.com/Emik01.
"If you want 2 chapters per day, please remember to give a power stone to the top 5."