Naruto: The Age of Ninja Swords Begins in Kumogakure

Chapter 287 Reunion of Master and Disciple

As the Dust Escape barrier dissipated, three figures were revealed inside. An invisible protective shield surrounded the three, which was the shield that blocked the decomposing power of the Dust Escape.

"As expected, its effect on energy decomposition is much worse."

Orochimaru recognized it as a magnetic shield, and a magnetic force at the level of Kekkei Tota, or rather, a fusion of magnetic field and magnetic force.

Dust Release is very powerful, but it is more effective against matter, capable of destroying the molecular structure of matter and reducing it to the most basic atoms.

However, it is not very powerful against energy, because energy does not have a molecular structure.

"Watergate!"

Orochimaru, seeing the sandstorm surging in like a tidal wave, understood how troublesome this power was, and gestured to Minato Namikaze.

Minato Namikaze understood, leaving behind a shadow clone before departing for the very center of Loulan, intending to destroy the dragon vein.

This was a plan they had set up long ago. They originally wanted to kill the strong members of Sunagakure, and preferably the Fourth Kazekage.

But now the strongmen from the Hidden Cloud Village have arrived, especially the one who restrained himself. The Hidden Cloud Village is also skilled in sealing techniques, so the success rate of setting up a trap here to kill them is not high.

Moreover, since Thor has demonstrated such power, the only option now is to destroy the dragon vein first.

Before Minato Namikaze could even infiltrate the Dragon Vein, a massive burst of Wood Release chakra erupted, causing countless tree roots to burst forth from the earth, instantly transforming Loulan into a forest and completely sealing off the entrance to the Dragon Vein.

Countless trees swept towards Minato Namikaze, and countless pollen grains were scattered.

He conjured a lightsaber in his hand and extended it, swinging it rapidly in an attempt to create a path and force his way in. However, the trees grew much faster than he could cut them.

Furthermore, the severed trees quickly reconnected with the parts on the ground, continuing their charge towards Minato Namikaze.

Seeing this, Minato Namikaze decisively used the Rasengan, specifically the Light Release Rasengan.

The golden spiral was propelled downwards and spun rapidly, shredding any nearby trees and achieving a balance with the trees' growth rate.

But it's just a balance; it still can't break through inwards, let alone destroy the dragon vein.

Moreover, the dense tree roots left him no space to use his eye techniques in conjunction with the Flying Thunder God Technique to rush in.

"Minato-kun, don't waste your energy. You're just an assassin-type ninja; direct confrontation isn't your forte."

With a flash of silver light, Tamura Hao carried Sara, who was still struggling and kicking, over, holding a brand new long sword in his hand, named Zanka Katana, a famous fire-attribute sword.

"So your Hidden Cloud Village has also mastered Wood Release."

He flashed to the side, and Minato Namikaze's expression became even more solemn.

Although I had read the intelligence before and knew that Senju Nawaki was not dead, the range of his Wood Release technique is really exaggerated. This is a true mastery of Wood Release.

"Wood Release was originally the power of the Senju clan; you simply stole it."

At that moment, a figure emerged from a tree; it was the young version of Rope Tree.

"Rope Tree!"

Looking at the young man's somewhat familiar face, Minato Namikaze couldn't help but recall the boy he had fought alongside during the Chunin Exams, only to find that they were now enemies.

"Take her away, I want to have some fun with Minato-kun."

Tamura Hiroshi tossed the still restless girl toward Nawaki, preparing to play with Namikaze Minato.

This was one of the few opponents he acknowledged, and also a very difficult opponent to defeat.

"Bang!"

"what!"

The girl fell onto the thick tree, and tears welled up in her eyes from the pain. She then glared angrily at someone.

"No, women are too much trouble. You take them with you. I'm going to see Orochimaru-sensei."

The rope tree resolutely refused to move, then the body merged into the tree and left.

He sensed Orochimaru's chakra; it felt strange, but it should be true.

I've missed you so much, it's been years.

Just then, a golden light flashed, and Minato Namikaze appeared beside Sara, slashing down with his lightsaber.

The situation is now clear: it is almost impossible to enter the underground and destroy the dragon vein. Therefore, the only option is to execute the second plan: kill the Loulan Queen who can control the dragon vein.

Without the assistance of the Loulan Queen, even if the Hidden Cloud Village had better abilities, it could never hope to obtain the power of the Dragon Vein.

Although it was wrong to harm such an innocent person, he had no choice but to do so for the sake of the village, for the ninth rank, for Jiraiya-sensei, and for everyone.

Before the lightsaber could cleave the girl's head, Minato Namikaze had to use the Flying Thunder God Technique to retreat to his original position.

"How did your speed increase so much?"

Minato Namikaze stared intently at Tamura Hiro, who appeared beside the girl; the other's speed far exceeded his expectations.

Although he had tried his best to overestimate the opponent's speed, he still underestimated it somewhat.

"Minato-kun, you've fallen too."

Tamura Hiroshi wore a disappointed expression, as if he disapproved of Minato Namikaze's unscrupulous methods.

As for speed, he hasn't been training for nothing over the past five years. He has not only brought his immortal body to the envisioned minor completion level, but also permanently opened the eight gates, forming a cycle of the Eight Gates Formation within his body.

In addition, he has further developed and perfected his light escape technique. With these multiple enhancements, his maximum burst speed has reached ten times the speed of sound, and he only used eight times the speed of sound just now.

However, even at eight times the speed of sound, Minato Namikaze easily dodged it.

It's not just that the technique is fast enough, but also that the user's own speed has been increased. It's clear that the user has also perfected the Light Escape technique, which can amplify their own speed.

But it's definitely not as good as his own. Minato Namikaze's Light Release was determined from the beginning to be offensive. Even if he later incorporated the nature changes of wind, fire, and lightning to accelerate it and improve it, it still wouldn't be as effective as Tamura Hao's speed-burst style.

Of course, the Light Release technique in the Ninja World is more powerful. In this respect, Tamura Hao cannot compare to Namikaze Minato's Light Sword in terms of the attack power of Light Release alone.

However, if one integrates sword intent into light release chakra to form a light blade, one can rival it, not to mention that his light release chakra is perfectly integrated with natural energy.

This is something Minato Namikaze couldn't do either, because Minato needed to activate the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode to empower himself, and the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode and Sage Mode cannot coexist, unless it's the more perfect Kurama Mode.

It seems that Minato Namikaze hasn't completely fooled Kurama yet.

"You're going to kill me!"

Sarah only then realized what was happening and stared blankly at Minato Namikaze.

A year ago, Minato Namikaze stayed with them for a while. She had a good impression of this older brother and even developed some feelings for him.

Although the other person has left, she still thinks about them.

But today, not only has he discovered that his mother's disappearance and even death are related to the other party, but now he is also being asked to kill himself.

Why is this happening?

"Minato, you focus on dealing with him, I'll dig the tunnel."

At that moment, a golden figure rushed over, shouted to Minato Namikaze, and then conjured a giant Rasengan that rushed towards the entrance of the dragon vein, quickly shredding the trees in its path.

Although this Rasengan did not incorporate Light Release chakra, it was still powerful because it incorporated the Nine-Tails' chakra, especially since its size was many times larger than the one Minato Namikaze had created before.

That's right, the person who came was none other than Uzumaki Kyushin. As a ninja of the Uzumaki clan, Uzumaki Kyushin's chakra reserves far exceeded those of Namikaze Minato.

Especially after receiving the transplant of the First Hokage's cell heart and being stimulated by the Nine-Tails' chakra, his bloodline talent was fully developed, and his chakra became extremely terrifying, no less than the chakra of the Yang Nine-Tails within him.

Such a terrifying amount of chakra can be fused with all of the Nine-Tails' chakra, allowing for the mobilization of even more fused chakra.

Minato Namikaze glanced at his girlfriend, who was struggling against Wood Release, then pursed his lips and remained silent before flashing towards Tamura Hiroshi and Sara.

Tamura Hao then hoisted Sara onto his shoulder once more, wielding his sword with one hand and calmly deflecting Minato Namikaze's repeated attacks.

With the evolution of his Light Escape into a light blade form, he was able to control and neutralize Minato Namikaze's light sword, instead of simply dodging it as he had done before.

Leaving aside the two who were once again engaged in a speed battle, Nawaki arrived at Orochimaru's side.

Black Zetsu, wielding Thor's hammer and Stormbreaker, attacked Orochimaru and the others, suppressing them single-handedly. Even when Orochimaru unleashed his Nine Vajra Seals attack, it was repeatedly severed by Stormbreaker.

"Orochimaru-sensei, it's been a long time!"

Rope Tree arrived at the edge of the battlefield, his gaze locking onto that figure through the dim sandstorm.

Orochimaru seemed unsurprised to hear that familiar address. He leaped away from Jiraiya and the others, leaving the battlefield to meet Nawaki.

Thor Black ignored this and intensified his attack on Jiraiya and the others.

"Rope Tree, you've grown quite a bit taller; you're a grown-up now."

Orochimaru looked at the young man before him with great satisfaction.

He valued this only student very much, and he was heartbroken for a long time when he heard the news of Nawaki's death.

However, when Nawaki appeared in the Senju clan's territory in Konoha, he realized that this disciple had not completely died and had been secretly preserved by the Senju clan.

The news of his death was only for better protection, to prevent certain people from killing him again.

"You're twenty years old now, so naturally you're an adult."

Rope Tree scratched his head and smiled brightly.

He harbored no resentment towards this teacher. The teacher had taught him a great deal back then, and the teacher had not been involved in or even aware of what had happened. He couldn't blame the teacher.

"Your Wood Release technique is excellent. As expected of someone who awakened it on their own, it's far superior to those of us who steal it."

Looking around at the surging trees, Orochimaru couldn't help but sigh.

After developing that first clone to a certain level, he realized the problem: even if his body and soul were completely integrated into it, he could not perfectly control Wood Release.

Not only does it consume more resources, but it is also not as flexible and versatile to operate as the first generation in the records.

This still incorporates the First Hokage's chakra provided by Hao Jun. In comparison, the Wood Release techniques of Senju Orange Water and Uchiha Fugaku are even more rigid and lack vitality.

According to records, the First Hokage's Wood Release was truly like a living thing; he could even remotely control the battle even when his chakra was severed, and even when his chakra was removed, he could transform into a tree and grow normally.

Just like the Death Forest outside the village, which was created by the First Generation using the Tree World, those trees are still growing now.

It was precisely because he understood that he could not develop the power of Wood Release to its fullest extent that he decisively abandoned that body. In the end, he only wanted to unleash his ultimate power to see how far he could go.

Unfortunately, it became a joke, as Haojun saw through the flaw and easily cracked it.

The Wood Release technique that Nawaki uses now has a vitality that Nawaki lacks; it is a true life form, not a creation of ninjutsu.

This goes beyond the scope of ninjutsu, and it is also a unique feature of Wood Release.

"Wood Release has many key factors; it's far more complex than others think."

As Rope Tree spoke, he manipulated his Wood Release to create a house, tables and chairs, and a wooden tea set.

The house, along with the surrounding wooden trees, blocked out the wind and sand, creating a small, quiet area.

Orochimaru walked into the wooden house and sat down opposite it without any concern that Nawaki would come after him.

Putting aside their master-disciple relationship, Nawaki wouldn't lay a hand on him just because of Tsunade's connection.

"Wood Release is indeed not that simple. It's not just about the fusion of the three attributes of water, earth, and yang, but also about the bloodline of the Senju family. That's the most crucial element."

After taking a sip of tea, Orochimaru revealed his findings from his research on Wood Release.

Although Wood Release is publicly claimed to be a bloodline limit formed by the fusion of Water and Earth attributes, it actually also incorporates Yang Release, making it arguably a bloodline elimination technique.

Besides the chakra nature, there is also the Senju bloodline as a reason. The Senju bloodline seems to inherit the core power of Wood Release. As long as a method is found to activate it, it can be fused into Wood Release.

The First Hokage found that method and then obtained the power of Wood Release, which allowed him to suppress even a powerful figure like Madara Uchiha.

"Did Orochimaru cultivate his body using my grandmother's cells?"

Nawaki curiously examined the teacher in front of him. Although her appearance was still the same, he could clearly sense the chakra in her. It was definitely his grandmother's chakra, and it was dominant.

"Lord Mito's cells are very powerful, and he has developed the Uzumaki bloodline to its fullest potential. Combined with the chakra he gave me, I have achieved my current perfect body."

As Orochimaru spoke, he deactivated his transformation technique, revealing the appearance of a woman's body, which bore a striking resemblance to Mito Uzumaki.

"My teacher's ninja spirit is truly beyond my comprehension."

Looking at the familiar face before him, Rope Tree sighed in admiration.

This teacher truly gave up everything in his pursuit of power.

"Was your Sharingan activated on its own?"

Orochimaru examined the eyes of the disciple opposite him. Although they appeared unchanged, he could sense the power within them.

It feels very different from the Sharingan's power; it lacks that cold, evil feeling, but it's definitely not wrong in essence.

"Well, although their potential can't compare to that of the Uchiha, it can still be nurtured and improved using Yin Release chakra."

This is the opposite of the Uchiha's method of improvement. Uchiha ninjas improve their Yin attribute by enhancing their Sharingan, which is considered a shortcut. We, on the other hand, need to train in the opposite way, making improvement much more difficult.

Nodding, Nawaki spoke while manifesting his three-tomoe Sharingan.

His development started much later than Kushina and Vanilla, and he has only managed to raise his Sharingan to the level of three tomoe, still a long way from the Mangekyou Sharingan.

"Can it evolve into a kaleidoscope?"

Orochimaru was intrigued by those bright red Sharingan eyes.

He already knew that the Sharingan could evolve using Yin Release chakra; Minato's eyes were an example of that, and they were successful.

Although it was mainly due to the Nine-Tails' Yin-attribute chakra, and the fact that the tailed beasts had a special, even homologous, relationship with the Sage's bloodline, it was enough to prove that this path was feasible.

"Yes, but it's very difficult, and it's impossible to evolve to a perfect level, or rather, it's even more difficult. You need to cultivate the Yin attribute to a level that surpasses the limit."

Nawaki didn't hide it from him. He had seen Orochimaru talking to that bastard when he came to the clan's territory last time, and he could tell that the two had a good relationship.

Although we don't know exactly what happened between the two, we can at least know that Orochimaru-sensei might not necessarily be an enemy. In addition, considering their past relationship and his relationship with his sister, it's okay to talk about some trivial matters.

"Is it a transformation like that of Sakumo-senpai Shirai?"

Orochimaru immediately thought of Sakumo Hatake's Purple Lightning, which he had studied and, based on Hatake's description and explanation, had gained some understanding of its essence.

Some even speculate that Hao Jun's golden lightning and the Third Raikage's black lightning are similar powers, representing a transformation and sublimation that transcends changes in nature.

"Yes, but the Yin-Yang attribute is very special. It is difficult to cultivate it to the limit, and it is even more difficult to transcend the limit. I have not heard of anyone cultivating to that level."

Perhaps Grandpa achieved that back then, and Madara Uchiha, who was on par with Grandpa, must have also undergone a transformation in his Yin Release training.

Rope Tree expressed a guess, which was also the guess of her sisters.

"Has Miss Hikari not broken through her limit either?"

Orochimaru thought of Uchiha Hikaru; he couldn't have been wrong about the Susanoo from that battle.

"We're still a little short of our limit, and we have absolutely no clue how to transform."

Rope Tree did not hide this from anyone; it was not a secret in itself.

Of course, more than that won't work.

Orochimaru wisely refrained from asking further questions, knowing that this was enough for him to deduce many things.

"Did I not sense you before because you went deep underground to search for an underground river?"

He suddenly asked about what happened before. He had activated his senses before but had not sensed the existence of the Rope Tree. But this student suddenly appeared.

"To unleash the full potential of Wood Release, you need sufficient water and soil. Wood Release created purely with chakra is not true Wood Release."

Nawaki did indeed dive underground to search for water, which was what that guy instructed him to use Wood Release on a large scale here, and at the same time, he would use the Eight Thousand Spears Seal to transfer chakra to him.

With nearly unlimited chakra, he was able to use Wood Release to this extent, and it was even expanding outwards at this moment, seemingly trying to envelop the entire Dragon Vein.

"Do you want to use Wood Release to seize the power of the Dragon Vein? That kind of energy is the lifeblood of the earth, and its network covers hundreds of kilometers around."

Orochimaru was curious; although this was a method, the amount of chakra required was terrifying.

The amount of chakra required to create a tree world that covers an area of ​​hundreds of kilometers is unimaginable.

"I'm just following orders; my chakra is supplied by someone."

Nawaki didn't know much about this; he was just called over to be a tool, and then came over to check on the teacher after sensing his chakra.

"Is it chakra stored from that World Tree?"

Orochimaru thought of the World Tree in Kumogakure. According to intelligence, the chakra used by Kumogakure ninjas to perform ninjutsu within the World Tree's coverage area would be absorbed and stored.

The amount of chakra stored up over so many years must be an astronomical figure. Using this as a foundation to generate Wood Release would indeed be terrifying.

(End of this chapter)