[Ding! You have obtained the talent Trait [Bloodline Limit: Wood Style (Purple)]. Fuse or Decompose?]
"Fuse."
Although the system's voice was utterly emotionless, at this moment it sounded like music to Izayoi's ears. Without a trace of hesitation, he fused the transnational Trait he had just acquired.
A second later, Izayoi's Trait list showed a brand-new entry: Bloodline Limit: Wood Style (Purple). Next to "Wood Style" was a bracket with a "+," indicating it could be upgraded.
Izayoi's store of points had already broken the 100,000 mark, so he could upgrade ten Purple Traits to Gold, or one Gold Trait to Red. Although raising Wood Style would cost only 9,999 points, Izayoi still refrained—he considered it a waste.
Danzo Shimura, Obito Uchiha, Yamato, and Black & White Zetsu had amply demonstrated that what truly mattered wasn't Wood Style itself, but the kind of extraordinary physique possessed by Senju Hashirama.
Even half of the Nine-Tails' chakra plus Naruto Uzumaki's wasn't quite enough to match his power. When someone like Hashirama developed the Sage Body to the max, any ninjutsu or Bloodline Limit in his hands would become spectacular.
If Hashirama had mastered Dust Release, then that would be the top-tier skill—he'd validate that Dust Release, a bloodline expansion surpassing conventional Bloodline Limits, deserved its fearsome reputation.
Without the massive Yang Release chakra of a Sage Body, Wood Style is merely a decent bloodline limit—capable of producing an "Ace" ninja like Yamato, but not much more. Izayoi, who already wields the Tenseigan, doesn't really need Wood Style at all.
But to push Sasuke Uchiha (his main "cash crop") to grow faster—and to deal with Black Zetsu's Mayfly technique—Izayoi did need Wood Style. Now that he'd finally acquired it, he could handle that disgusting nuisance for good and rid Konoha of their infiltration.
Wearing his "colored contacts," Izayoi activated the Tenseigan and shifted his perspective to the villa in Sakura Street, taking control of a single puppet stationed there. He opened the safe, pulled out a red scroll, and unfurled it. A series of Wood Style ninjutsu immediately caught his eye.
This scroll was precisely the one Danzo had originally given Tenzo in the story—a prized possession of Danzo's. Of course, it did not include Hashirama's signature Wood Style trio: Advent of a World of Flowering Trees, Wood Dragon Jutsu, and Wooden Golem Jutsu. Neither did it contain the ultimate Sage Art: Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands.
Izayoi paid that no mind. Opening the scroll, he focused on the "Three Basic Wood Style Jutsu."
If Black Zetsu's impersonation technique, Mayfly technique, and Spore technique are the ultimate forms of Clone/Transformation, Body Flicker, and Invisibility, then these Wood Style transformations were simply the best "standard three" for Wood Style itself.
Though they couldn't compare with Black Zetsu's three "god-tier" moves, they still far exceeded the usual Transformation Jutsu or Shadow Clone Jutsu.
Izayoi took only a quick look and instantly learned the three fundamental Wood Style ninjutsu. Then he practiced two more practical Wood Style jutsu before turning his attention away.
Izayoi picked up his fishing rod and walked out into the villa's garden. There, Sasuke sat under the eaves quietly reading. "Sasuke," Izayoi asked, "want to come fishing with me?"
Without looking up, Sasuke replied, "No. Go ask Hinata or Hanabi to keep you company." Then, raising his head slightly, he added, "I have a feeling they'll be reopening requests for C-rank and higher missions soon. So maybe I'll be heading out on missions. While I still have time, I want to read a bit more."
He shook the book in his hand, glancing at Izayoi. "By the way, that S-rank jutsu you mentioned—was it a medical ninjutsu?"
"It's sort of a supportive technique, halfway between healing and sealing," Izayoi mused, then waved cheerfully. "Anyway, I'm sure you'll like it. Good luck."
Leaving Sasuke's house via Body Flicker, Izayoi didn't look for Hinata or Hanabi. He headed alone to the Naka River.
Pulling a beach chair from a sealing scroll, he prepared bait, cast the line with practiced ease, and settled down for an afternoon of fishing.
When several minutes passed with no activity, he reached for more bait, tossing a handful into the river to attract fish to the float.
He certainly looked like a professional angler. Yet no one realized that amid that handful of bait was a single white "seed," drifting along with the current downstream.
A dripping-wet figure crawled up from the riverbank below—one of Izayoi's Wood Clones disguised by a Wood Transformation.
It disappeared in a Body Flicker the moment it left the water. Next, it reappeared at the cliff above the Naka River. Hiding in a hollowed-out tree trunk, the Wood Clone pressed a hand to the ground, channeling its Wood Release chakra underground.
It didn't sprout any roots on the surface; rather, through the roots below, it sent out threads of chakra in every direction—covering a radius of about one kilometer, connecting to the plant roots and flowing groundwater.
Without resorting to Sage Mode sensory or opening the Tenseigan, the Wood Clone's chakra soon picked up an unusual chakra signature underground.
That foreign signature was attached to a certain root and had "merged" with it. No matter how advanced your perception or x-ray vision, it would look just like an ordinary tree root.
But there's no such thing as a perfect jutsu. Like an elemental matchup, any technique can be countered. Wood Style—born of combining Water and Earth natures—can restrain Mayfly, which merges someone into the ground and plant life to zip around underground via living roots and water flow. Pinpointing the White Zetsu clone, the Wood Clone formed no hand seals, only whispered, "Wood Style: Smothering Binding Technique!"
In an instant, the tree root White Zetsu inhabited abruptly "came alive," growing rapidly to envelop the intrusive chakra like a giant "zongzi wrap," draining it before it could flee. At once, black tadpole-like curse marks spread across the root, sealing the White Zetsu clone's consciousness.
"Dammit, we've been discovered!"
Right when that White Zetsu clone was sealed, all other White Zetsu clones scattered around Konoha—and indeed throughout the ninja world—felt a sudden mental flash. They realized at once which clone had been caught. In the next second, every White Zetsu clone in Konoha abandoned its post and fled.
Meanwhile, Black Zetsu—who'd been wandering the ninja world gathering intel in Mayfly mode—poked his head above ground. The White Zetsu portion, dropping all its usual frivolity, said grimly, "The Mayfly technique's been broken. Our clone in Konoha was found and captured."
Through their telepathic link, Black Zetsu (the black half) learned this immediately, making his dark face seem even gloomier. "Mayfly merges with the earth and vegetation, eluding even top-tier sensory. Not even a barrier can hinder it. Even if discovered, with an instant reaction, not even powerful Earth Release can restrain it. So capturing a White Zetsu clone so silently wasn't just any ninjutsu… Could it have been some special technique or bloodline limit?"
"I can't say," White Zetsu muttered, shaking his head. "The clone was sealed on the spot and never got a chance to share information. Shall we send in more clones?"
Black Zetsu went quiet, lost in thought, and White Zetsu waited in silence. After a few moments, Black Zetsu gave a raspy, meaningful chuckle. "No need. Maybe this is good news."
"Good news? How's that?" White Zetsu asked, puzzled.
"We overlooked something crucial." Black Zetsu gazed skyward, wearing a sly smile. "Hamura, that ungrateful brat, only took one branch of descendants with him. Another branch remained in the ninja world, ditching their original surname over the past thousand years."
White Zetsu's eyes went wide. "You mean…the Hyūga clan?"
"That's one possibility." Black Zetsu offered his reasoning. "Very few techniques can crack Mayfly, and I've never witnessed it in all these centuries. I couldn't get close to those two unfilial sons back then, but if it's the Rinnegan plus that unknown dojutsu, they might see through Mayfly."
"If so, that means our mysterious figure isn't from the moon at all, but rather someone in the Hyūga clan…someone who reawakened a lineage trait!"
"Exactly…" White Zetsu's eyes lit up. "So should we investigate the Hyūga clan? Who's most likely to have awakened such an eye? Hiashi Hyūga?"
"An all-encompassing dojutsu needs a massive chakra supply," Black Zetsu pointed out. "So if someone in the Hyūga has unusually huge chakra, that'd be our best candidate."
"What if no one fits that description?"
"Then it's possible that the side branch quietly sent their best youth to Konoha. We can keep an eye on those with white hair."
"Kakashi Hatake might fit. Before getting Obito's Sharingan, he had quite the chakra pool."
"It's not him. If he belonged to that line, a Sharingan transplant wouldn't pose any side effects even without Uchiha blood." Black Zetsu sounded sure.
"All right…" White Zetsu nodded, frowning. "But with Mayfly compromised, our clones might not sneak back into Konoha."
"If Mayfly won't work, we'll just use our impersonation technique." Black Zetsu smirked.
"Oh, right!" White Zetsu's eyes glinted. "We can disguise ourselves as Konoha ninja and slip inside. Heck, maybe pose as a Hyūga clan member. Even if we're exposed, we'll only lose another clone."
So they acted at once, though Izayoi was none the wiser. If he had known their reaction, he would only admire how cunning the thousand-year schemer was—yet still, he himself held the upper hand.
Black Zetsu's logic hadn't fully escaped its narrow constraints. They could never guess that an outsider might perfectly replicate some awakened "Ōtsutsuki-level" bloodline—nor that he wasn't even white-haired!
Because he could also fly, neither Konoha's higher-ups nor the Zetsu clones would suspect him of being the Akatsuki leader or that mysterious figure.
They assumed Izayoi must have learned a flight-type Earth Release (like Light-Weight Rock Technique).
Indeed, Izayoi's background was squeaky clean. Even his massive chakra capacity could be chalked up to some distant Uzumaki or Senju ancestry—two lines that carry the Yang-type Sage Body gene, totally unrelated to Yin Release dojutsu or the Rinnegan.
…
Cutting back to the Naka River. After sealing the White Zetsu clone, the Wood Clone used Wood Release to bring that mummified "package" up from underground, then vanished again, looking for more hidden clones in Konoha.
Izayoi, on the other hand, rose into the air, flew to the cliff, and approached the "zongzi"-like bundle. To prevent surprises, he first transformed with a Wood-Style transformation into an ordinary middle-aged man, then undid the wooden wrappings.
Inside lay the unconscious White Zetsu clone. "Let's see if your head is empty or not," Izayoi murmured, placing a hand atop its head. "Ninja Art: Mind Reading Jutsu!"
The moment his Yin Release chakra infiltrated the Zetsu clone's mind, Izayoi's face fell. Sure enough, White Zetsu's "brain" was empty. In other words, no way for Izayoi to glean Mayfly or the impersonation jutsu from it. If he'd gotten both, combined with a self-sufficient Wood Clone capable of absorbing chakra, he alone could equal a hundred thousand White Zetsu.
Still, Izayoi was prepared for this outcome. He had other plans. The greatest advantage of a transmigrator: knowledge of the plot! So he simply sealed the White Zetsu clone away again, dumped it deep in a sealed mountain cave, and dove into the river to catch some fish—just to brag a little to Sasuke when he got home. After all, a real fisherman never comes up empty-handed!
Thus time advanced to August 22, Konoha Year 60—half a month after the Konoha Crush. For all that time, Konoha ninja had only two types of missions: D-rank inside the village, or intel-gathering outside regarding Orochimaru and the Sound.
Other than that, the mission system was halted. No outside commissions were accepted. Without a new Hokage in office, it stayed that way.
With no missions to take, the village had a surplus of shinobi lazing around. Though morale was at rock bottom, it was at least calm enough to avoid panic.
But on this day, Konoha suddenly bustled with excitement. Rumor had it that two legendary figures appeared at the village gates.
One was none other than the granddaughter of the First and Second Hokage—Princess of the Land of Fire, the greatest medical ninja in the whole world: Lady Tsunade!
Within minutes, chatter about Tsunade's return to become Hokage spread through Konoha—instantly reviving everyone's spirits.
~~~
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