Starting with Naruto, I'll become stronger through my own efforts.

Chapter 138 The Battle of the Three Hokage (Part 1)

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Xia Zuo raised his hand and pointed, just as Senju Hashirama also reached out and clapped his hand.

Two similar yet completely different Wood Release chakra burst forth, and two giant trees rose from the ground, binding Tobirama Senju and instantly enveloping him in a spiral cage.

Hashirama Senju praised, "This is truly excellent Wood Release; it's now on par with mine."

"Fifth Generation, I'm entrusting this to you now. I believe you can hold on until we return to the Pure Land."

Xia Zuo nodded, turned to look at Uchiha Shisui who had just emerged from underground, and asked, "Is the cleanup finished?"

Shisui nodded and said, "The cleanup is complete. Even that Kaguya clan ninja named Kimimaro has been brought under control."

Xia Zuo ordered, "Lead the Konoha ninja to retreat. A real battle is about to break out here, and even you will have a hard time intervening."

Without hesitation, Uchiha Shisui immediately accepted the order and, along with the Konoha ninja, quickly left with the prisoners and spoils of war.

After walking about a kilometer, Hyuga Takashi realized that Uchiha Shisui's speed had not stopped.

Because if they went any further, they would be beyond the Byakugan's field of vision, he couldn't help but ask, "Shisui-sama, we've already gone this far, are we going to continue?"

Uchiha Shisui nodded and said, "Let's keep going. The battle between the Fifth Hokage and the First Hokage cannot be guaranteed to be safe just by walking a thousand meters."

Five kilometers later, not only Hyuga Takashi, but even the most cautious Aburame Ryoma felt it was about time.

Uchiha Shisui asked with a smile, "How big do you think the camp where 8000 Kumogakure ninja lived would be?"

"The Fifth Hokage used a single jutsu to cover the entire camp; this is nothing compared to what he did."

The persuaded Konoha ninja, carrying prisoners and spoils, walked ten kilometers in one go. Before they could even speak, they felt a tremor coming from behind.

The Konoha ninja and prisoners all turned around and were shocked to see a wall of water, as white as a bolt of lightning, shooting into the sky, reaching a height of a hundred meters.

Orochimaru, now free from the genjutsu's influence, grinned and said, "The Second Hokage's Water Release techniques are truly breathtaking."

About ten seconds later, a muffled roar came, making everyone feel a tightness in their chests and dizziness in their heads. But the huge column of water was then surrounded, divided, dispersed, and swallowed by the swarming trees.

Seemingly having absorbed a massive amount of water, the tree grew rapidly at an astonishing pace, transforming into a colossal tree that inspired awe.

The giant trees kept growing, their numbers becoming countless, and in the blink of an eye, they formed a vast forest, which continued to expand its area.

Even Orochimaru, with his shrewdness, was speechless. He asked Shisui, "Whose Wood Release technique is this?"

Uchiha Shisui replied with a blank and worried expression, "Perhaps it belongs to the First Hokage. The Wood Release technique used by the Fifth Hokage never produced such a large tree."

As if fate had deliberately targeted him, another, distinctly different but equally tall and robust giant tree grew up and began a fierce war with the previous one.

The giant trees swung their thick trunks and stretched out their branches, launching ruthless attacks on rival trees, including ramming, strangling, piercing, and parasitizing them.

The Konoha ninjas were stunned. The war in the forest was even more brutal than the most intense battle of the Fourth Shinobi World War.

The attack launched by this forest was something even Konoha Village could not resist. Whether it was 20,000 or 30,000 ninjas, they could only helplessly and powerlessly be strangled to death.

Orochimaru, who had experienced both wars, was equally dumbfounded. He said with a wry smile, "I finally understand why the First Hokage, who were all outstanding figures in their time, had to bow down to the First Hokage."

"How is this any different from a war between gods?"

At this moment, Uchiha Shisui forgot Orochimaru's identity and asked, "Lord Orochimaru, do you think the Fifth Hokage can win?"

Orochimaru licked his eyes and shook his head, saying, "It would be difficult for the Fifth Hokage to win."

"I can't tell which of the two giant trees belongs to whom, but since they are currently evenly matched, the First Hokage has the best chance of winning."

"Because the reanimated ones are immortal before they collapse, even if they are shattered into pieces, they can instantly recover."

"Furthermore, the chakra of those resurrected through Edo Tensei is limitless."

Because the Fifth Hokage, Natsume, was a ninja, he would get tired and his chakra would run out.

The chakra of those resurrected through Edo Tensei comes entirely from the sacrifices. Without the restriction of the life shackles, they can maintain a stable output at their maximum level indefinitely, effectively possessing unlimited chakra for a short period of time.

If the First Hokage cannot be overwhelmed from the start, and the battle continues, the Fifth Hokage will naturally lose.

Orochimaru was a renowned ninjutsu expert, and he was also the one who performed the Impure World Reincarnation. His words made the Konoha ninjas very worried.

Well, actually, apart from Uchiha Shisui, the other Konoha ninjas aren't too worried.

After all, he was the First Hokage, the God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju. It's not shameful at all for the Fifth Hokage to lose to him.

Most importantly, the Konoha ninja believed that the First Hokage would not harm the Fifth Hokage.

After this battle, the Fifth Hokage will surely be able to learn from the First Hokage and become even stronger.

On the battlefield, Hashirama Senju and Natsume were locked in a stalemate, but he knew that he was actually at a disadvantage.

Because while dealing with Hashirama's Wood Release technique, Xia Zuo was also dealing with Tobirama Senju's unpredictable attacks.

The Second Hokage had completely lost his mind at this point, but thanks to the fighting instincts etched into his soul, he was still able to make accurate judgments and demonstrate excellent tactics.

After the initial Water Release: Great Exploding Water Wave was swallowed by Xia Zuo's Wood Release, Tobirama Senju gave up on winning by the amount of chakra.

He switched to a hit-and-run tactic.

Tobirama Senju used the Flying Thunder God Technique to ensure mobility, and employed Water Release: Water Severing Wave and Water Release: Hard Vortex Water Blade as surprise attack ninjutsu, continuously launching attacks around Natsumi.

Helpless, Xia Zuo could only retaliate with the same ninjutsu, using offense against offense to neutralize the two extremely powerful ninjutsu.

Tobirama Senju became more cautious and attacked less frequently.

However, he was always able to seize the opportunity precisely, launching an unexpected yet deadly attack on Xia Zuo when Hashirama Senju was exerting his full strength to attack.

Despite being far stronger than Tobirama Senju, Xia Zuo was overwhelmed and exhausted by him.

The Fifth Hokage remarked, "Now I finally understand what it felt like for the Kage of the Four Great Shinobi Villages during the First Shinobi World War."

"The Second Hokage truly deserves to be called the third ninja to subdue the ninja world; fighting him was such a frustrating experience."

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"Honestly, I should have looked at the Book of Sealing Techniques first and mastered more forbidden techniques before making a move against Orochimaru."

"Hehe, it doesn't matter, it's just showing off our strength ahead of time."

Upon hearing this, Hashirama Senju casually summoned vines and bound his younger brother like a dumpling, then asked curiously, "Fifth Hokage, are you hiding other strengths?"

Xia Zuo looked at him in surprise and asked, "First Hokage, are you still thinking straight?"

Hashirama Senju was baffled: "My rationality has always been intact, is there a problem?"

Xia Zuo's lips twitched. He looked at the Second Hokage who was tied up and suddenly understood why the First Hokage hadn't lost his mind.

Orochimaru's Impure World Reincarnation technique is not yet perfect, which will cause the instinctive desires of the reincarnated individuals to swell and gradually overwhelm their reason.

However, if someone like the First Hokage possesses a flawless, innocent heart, with instinct, desire, and reason all working together, then there is no possibility that their intelligence could be diminished.

The price was that Hashirama Senju wasn't very bright and often did childish and ridiculous things.

For example, right now, out of curiosity about Xia Zuo's hidden strength, he took the initiative to capture his attacking younger brother and then tied him up like a rice dumpling.

Xia Zuo suddenly laughed: "I do have some power that I haven't used yet."

"First Hokage, please experience the power of a fully realized bloodline limit."

Hearing Xia Zuo's words, Senju Hashirama became excited and said to Xia Zuo, "Alright, I'll also demonstrate the true secret technique of Wood Release."

He clapped his hands together, unleashing a Wood Release secret technique even more powerful than [Wood Release: Advent of a World of Trees].

[Wood Release: Wood Dragon Technique]

[Wood Release: Wood Human Technique]

The giant tree belonging to Hashirama Senju tangled together and transformed into a wooden Arhat, over a hundred meters tall, with broad shoulders, a thick waist, and a large, fat belly.

Meanwhile, at the edge of the forest, the slightly shorter giant trees also intertwined and merged, forming a 300-meter-long wooden dragon with a sharp, upturned nose, soaring into the air.

After roaring loudly at Xia Zuo, the wooden dragon cautiously wrapped itself around the wooden figure.

Then, Hashirama Senju controlled the wooden doll, holding a wooden dragon and a fist, and strode towards Xia Zuo.

This was the first time Xia Zuo had ever seen these two powerful Wood Release techniques. He was not surprised to find that not only could his Wood Release not directly confront them, but even all his bloodline limits combined could not match their aura.

He clicked his tongue: "Seriously, piloting a Gundam is definitely the most imposing."

The power he possessed flashed through his mind, and Xia Zuo took a deep breath, releasing a massive amount of chakra.

"I'm sorry, First Hokage, I haven't mastered any higher-level Wood Release techniques yet, so I can only use my chakra reserves to bully you."

Standing atop the wooden dummy, Hashirama Senju became even more excited upon hearing this: "So strong! That's great! I've improved since I was 14..."

"After I turned 30, I never experienced that feeling of the weak defeating the strong again!"

"This is so exciting!"

Hashirama Senju suddenly noticed that the branches and leaves of the large tree beside him were withering and curling up, quickly drying out and turning yellow, and were blown away by the wind, turning into dust in the air.

Then he realized that although the wind around him wasn't very strong, it was unusually dry and harsh, like a breeze under the scorching desert sun, frantically evaporating moisture.

【Burning Escape - Fat Remnant Wind Disaster】

Unlike Yekura, whose Scorching Release technique is primarily fire-based and creates fireballs that instantly evaporate the body's moisture, Xia Zuo's Scorching Release technique is primarily wind-based, unleashing a vast drought-like wind.

The ability to freely change the composition of one's bloodline limit is an achievement that Xia Zuo obtained after reviewing the bloodline limit rings in reverse after completing the Wood Release: Bloodline Elimination.

He also discovered that the bloodline limits of two combined bloodlines not only have different tendencies, but can even extend into completely different bloodline limits.

For example, the Wood Release, which combines water and earth, can be fused into Lava Release chakra if the chakra undergoes a qualitative change during its transformation. This lava release chakra can then be transformed into a super acid liquid and acid mist capable of dissolving all substances.

Of course, Xia Zuo wasn't so foolish as to give up his Wood Release Kekkei Genkai.

Because the Wood Release Kekkei Genkai is the root system of the Wood Release Kekkei Tota, there is a mysterious and profound connection between the two.

It even relates to the subsequent fusion of bloodline elimination techniques, and the operation of the final bloodline elimination ring after it is formed.

Because they were impure beings, neither Hashirama Senju nor Tobirama Senju were able to detect the danger immediately. By the time the forest showed signs of withering, it was too late to take action.

In the blink of an eye, the forest that belonged to Hashirama Senju withered.

The giant wooden man and the wooden dragon lost their support, and even the elusive Tobirama Senju's location was exposed.

Hashirama Senju exclaimed, "I have witnessed the Scorching Release of Fireballs before, but I never imagined that Scorching Release could be used on such a large scale. It is truly an astonishing amount of chakra."

Xia Zuo smiled slightly upon hearing this, thinking to himself that the First Hokage really had high standards. He didn't think much of his development of the Scorching Release technique, only thinking that he had a lot of chakra.

Indeed, although such a large-scale scorching wind is highly destructive, as long as we have prior information and take countermeasures in advance, we can neutralize most of its power.

But the Wood Release technique that creates a vast forest is different; no matter how well you understand it, you can only fight against it with sheer strength.

The First Hokage's attitude did not affect Xia Zuo in the slightest. He was not using the Scorching Release Kekkei Genkai to counter the Wood Release Kekkei Genkai, but rather to demonstrate the perfect Kekkei Genkai ring.

After starting with Scorch Release, it was immediately followed by Magnet Release, specifically the sand control technique that Shukaku, the One-Tailed Beast, excels at.

【Magnetic Escape - Yellow Sand and Sea Waves】

The fallen leaves, broken branches, scorched soil, and dried-up river sand, all created by the drought scene of the Scorching Release, suddenly shattered into a sky full of yellow sand. Then, the yellow sand flew all over the sky, forming sand waves as high as the wooden figure, surging and crashing against the burly wooden figure.

The wooden figure controlled by Hashirama Senju was naturally not knocked down by the sand waves, but it still struggled to move under the heavy weight of the yellow sand.

Just then, Tobirama Senju suddenly appeared on the wooden doll's shoulder. The forest where he was hiding had been completely buried by yellow sand, and he could only escape here to avoid the sand's attack.

The Second Hokage glanced around listlessly, then suddenly formed hand seals and unleashed a ninjutsu that consumed the most energy.

[Water Escape·Big Explosive Water Wave]

[Water Escape·Big Explosive Water Wave]

[Water Escape·Big Explosive Water Wave]

He used powerful ninjutsu three times in a row to create a vast ocean out of thin air, completely submerging the yellow sand and instantly turning the tide of the battle.

The Second Hokage exploded to pieces with a bang, his reanimated body disintegrating into countless pieces of reanimated earth, which slowly gathered around a single point.

Although the two Hokage offered the same sacrifice, the difference in the strength of their souls was too great.

The same amount of chakra output was something the First Hokage could completely process without putting any stress on his body, but the Second Hokage could not.

Although the Edo Tensei has unlimited chakra, its defensive capabilities are only average, and its ability to withstand the backlash caused by chakra output is even worse, far inferior to that of a living human body.