The fully-released form of Shukaku the One-Tail roared loudly, causing sand to surge and sweep over a large section of the Konoha forest, turning the ground into a small desert. Covered in violet runes signifying the Wind God, Shukaku had been completely unleashed.
Furen noticed that atop Shukaku's head, Gaara was not in the usual "sleeping" state.
"This... this is the real Shukaku…"
Furen licked his lips. During the Chūnin Exams, the rampaging Shukaku had Gaara's body on its head, in a state of slumber, which is why Shukaku was eventually defeated by Naruto and Gamabunta.
Though Shukaku might be one of the weaker-tailed beasts, he was still a tailed beast capable of rivaling the major nations. Otherwise, why would these nations go through so much trouble trying to capture them?
Gazing at this colossal behemoth of the ninja world, Furen's eyes sparkled with battle intent. He looked at his hands—after nurturing the cells of the First Hokage for so long, he was now capable of using Wood Release without issue. He had witnessed this jutsu firsthand during his encounter with the Edo-Tensei-revived First Hokage.
"Wood Release: Nativity of a World of Trees!" Furen formed hand seals, then clenched his fists tightly.
Instantly, the ground beneath Shukaku's massive form began to tremble. From beneath the now-desertified land, enormous trees started to sprout. These thick trees wrapped around Shukaku's body, clinging like a parasite. Despite Shukaku's desperate attempts to tear them away, the trees continued growing faster than Shukaku could destroy them.
"ROAR~"
In a final, defiant roar, Shukaku was forced to the ground, subdued by Furen's jutsu.
At the same time, Furen, having expended all his chakra to perform the technique, felt completely drained. He had nothing left. The sheer chakra consumption of Wood Release was staggering!
Just as Furen bent over, exhausted and planning to recover a bit before moving on, he suddenly sensed chakra flowing back to him from the Wood Release, via the trees.
"This is... the feedback from Nativity of a World of Trees." Furen muttered to himself, gazing at the now-suppressed Shukaku.
Furen's version of the "Nativity of a World of Trees" didn't just bind Shukaku; the branches were continuously absorbing the tailed beast's chakra to nourish themselves. This was the true power of the First Hokage's Wood Release!
While Yamato, a clone of the First Hokage's cells, could use Wood Release, his version only summoned lifeless wood, which paled in comparison to the original. There was an insurmountable difference in power!
Back in the Warring States period, the First Hokage subdued all nine-tailed beasts using Wood Release, as easily as picking up chickens, before distributing them to the major nations.
The reason the First Hokage's Wood Release was so effective against tailed beasts was that his trees were alive and could absorb the chakra of his enemies—tailed beasts included—and use it for his benefit.
Right now, Furen could clearly feel his " Nativity of a World of Trees" sapping Shukaku's chakra and feeding it back to him. The seal on his forehead, which typically required an immense amount of chakra to form, was now rapidly storing the excess chakra from Shukaku.
Shukaku, restrained by the Wood Release, realized that his body was shrinking as his chakra was slowly drained.
Although Wood Release naturally restrained tailed beasts, Furen was so strong that a single move could suppress even a fully-formed tailed beast!
Squatting in front of Shukaku, Furen stared into the beast's eyes. The massive tanuki's gaze softened for a moment, as memories of a similar suppression began to resurface.
"Wood Release… Hashirama..." Shukaku thought to himself, remembering the last time he had been subdued in this manner.
After staring at Shukaku for a long moment, Furen smirked and teased, "Hey, little tanuki(Japanese raccoon dog), how about you show me a Bijuu Bomb?"
The rage in Shukaku's yellow-brown eyes was unmistakable.
Shukaku struggled, desperately wanting to tear Furen apart, but quickly realized that he didn't have the strength.
After a brief two-second pause, Shukaku opened his mouth wide, ready to oblige Furen's request for a Bijuu Bomb.
Black "yang" chakra and white "yin" chakra began spinning, forming into a massive black sphere. Bubbles of purple and light blue chakra started to appear around Shukaku's mouth as the energy compressed
Seconds later, the yin-yang chakra mixed in a 8:2 ratio, condensing into an ultra-dense sphere that shot forward at high speed!
Of course, Furen wasn't dumb enough to just stand there and wait for the Bijuu Bomb to hit him—he was merely curious about what a Bijuu Bomb really looked like.
After all, the Rasengan, created by the Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze and used by Naruto throughout his life, was based on the Bijuu Bomb's principles.
Standing on top of Shukaku's head, Furen watched as the Bijuu Bomb obliterated everything in its path, leaving nothing but destruction. Then, in the distance, it exploded, flattening an entire hill!
"The power of a Bijuu Bomb... it's truly incredible!" Furen exclaimed in shock.
Just as Furen was about to fortify his Wood Release and completely suppress Shukaku, another feral roar echoed from the direction of the Bijuu Bomb's impact.
A sinister chakra, filled with malice, began to spread through the air.
"This is... the Nine-Tails?" Furen turned in the direction where Naruto had been earlier.
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T/N:
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