"So naughty, sneaking up on me," Koharu said, surprise flickering across her face. Encased in Susanoo, she was confident, barely registering Gin as a threat.
Without hesitation, she directed Susanoo's other hand to snatch him from her shoulder.
"What can I say?" Facing the cherry-red hand, Gin shook his head calmly, muttering something Koharu couldn't catch. Standing, he stretched an arm, warming up. "Uchiha-style taijutsu secret…"
His voice reached her through Susanoo. Infuriated by his nonchalance, she unleashed the hand's full force.
"Heh heh, got you!" Seeing her palm engulf Gin's figure, Koharu cheered. No escaping now.
"Land of Lightning… elbow strike!" Gin's cool voice rang out. A monstrous elbow strike met the hand with unmatched power.
Koharu felt resistance, then horror as the hand broke free of her control. Crack! To everyone's shock, Gin's elbow shattered the Susanoo's hand, sending the cherry-red fragment flying hundreds of meters before dissipating.
"You… you!" Koharu gaped at her broken Susanoo, jaw unhinged, unable to fathom Gin overpowering it with taijutsu alone.
The jaw-dropping scene stunned not just her but everyone else, freezing their actions as they stared at Gin, casually shaking his arm.
Minutes earlier…
Seeing the rising giant, Tajima's heart clenched, fearing for Gin against a blackened Koharu. As he moved to assist, Wangliang blocked his path.
"Who are you?" Tajima, wary of the shadowy figure trailing Yao, sensed he wasn't Uchiha.
"My will's creation, heaven's tool for my vengeance," Yao explained with a sinister grin, stepping forward. "I planned to torment you to death, reliving Kin's despair, but it seems you'll get off easy."
Seeing Koharu unreliable, Yao turned to the eager Wangliang. "Wangliang, do—"
Boom! A massive hand soared past their heads, crashing into a distant hillside.
The trio froze, stiffly turning to Gin's location.
"Impossible! It's genjutsu!" Koharu's crimson eyes scoured Gin for illusion traces.
"Tch, bit numb." Ignoring her, Gin shook his tingling arm. Hit a nerve. Elbow strikes need care, or it's injury time.
"Go to hell!" Violent impulses, fueled by the darkness in her mind, consumed her rationality, leaving only a thirst to kill.
Finally freeing her cleaver, Koharu clutched her throbbing head, eyes unfocused, driven by the malevolent force. She swung at Gin again.
"Sigh, I'm in a rush. Let's end this." Knowing Tajima's danger grew with delay, Gin charged the cleaver.
Mid-sprint, he clapped his hands, chakra surging, murmuring, "Wood Release: Advent of a World of Trees."
The ground rumbled as massive trees erupted, roots breaking soil. Perched on a sprouting giant, Gin directed countless branches to ensnare Koharu's Susanoo.
Before her cleaver could strike, the mystic branches coiled around her Susanoo, binding it tightly. No matter her struggle, she couldn't break free, the branches sapping her chakra, leaving her too weak to move.
"What jutsu is this?!" Koharu demanded, never having seen such a technique. Propping herself up, she glared at Gin atop the tree, seeking answers.
The paused combatants pricked their ears, curious for Gin's explanation.
When Gin shattered her Susanoo with brute force, Wangliang was mildly shocked—stage-two Susanoo wasn't the toughest; a skilled ninja could break it. But when Gin clapped and unleashed Wood Release, Wangliang froze, doubting his yin-yang immunity to genjutsu.
In millennia, he'd never seen anyone but Hagoromo and Asura wield Wood Release—let alone Indra's descendant! The revelation overwhelmed him. Why can an Indra heir use Asura's Wood Release? Did Hagoromo rig something?
"Kids shouldn't ask grown-up questions," Gin said, pleased with his "Advent of a World of Trees." He recalled a fateful night.
One moonless evening, a brown spiky-haired man in a jonin vest stepped from a backyard portal. Spotting Gin, he clapped his hands, shouting excitedly, "Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!"
Hearing "Wood Release," Gin startled, but recognizing the landscaping master, he relaxed. Without hesitation, he flung two lightning spears, felling Yamato and his fledgling grove.
"Backyard daily random skill refresh: [Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence]. Acquired Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence 1…"
Memory cut.
Yamato's Deep Forest Emergence was Hashirama's Advent of a World of Trees, but Yamato's diluted Hashirama cells couldn't match the original. Gin, however, having farmed Senju bloodline over years, wielded Uzumaki, Hyuga, Kaguya, and Senju lineage, boosting his version near Hashirama's prime.
"Koharu, I'm coming in!" Leaping to her Susanoo's chest, Gin raised a foot. Under her horrified gaze, he delivered a Painful Sky Leg kick.
Crack! Like a breaking eggshell, her "indestructible" Susanoo caved, a gaping hole forming. Gin nodded, strolling in confidently.
Facing the imposing curly-haired man, Koharu's heart sank. His taijutsu was overwhelming. Close combat was her weakness, and her Mangekyo techniques were unusable. Like a chick, she was lifted by the neck.
"Kill or maim, do what you want!" Puffing her cheeks, she turned away, eyes shut, awaiting death.
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