The technique Sea of Trees Emergence was not quite the same as the legendary Deep Forest Emergence.
To be precise, this move could only be considered a weakened version of that fabled Wood Release jutsu.
Like Deep Forest Emergence, it used the caster's chakra as the source of life, causing verdant trees to spring from the earth.
The difference was in scale — it couldn't compare to Deep Forest Emergence, which could rip up the land by its roots and completely alter an entire map.
In addition, Senju Haruto had used Earth Release to improve the soil here, giving this stretch of woodland enough nutrients to keep it from withering.
But even at the level of Sea of Trees Emergence, the sight from above left Rasa utterly stunned.
In his entire life, he had never witnessed a ninjutsu this extravagant.
Especially the vitality radiating from those trees — it far exceeded his understanding of what ninjutsu could achieve.
"Why… why would a shinobi like this be born in Konoha? If only the Sand Village could have someone like him…"
In that moment, Rasa felt both awe and envy.
If the Sand Village could produce a genius of Haruto's caliber, they would not have to struggle so desperately to grow stronger.
In less than a few minutes, Haruto had created a waterfall and even a forest on barren, lifeless land.
The Sand shinobi on the ground were even more shaken. They stared at the scene before them in disbelief.
Some rubbed their eyes hard, calling over teammates to slap them in the face — only after feeling the sting did they realize this wasn't a dream.
Yamato simply plopped down onto the ground with a thud, folding his legs beneath him.
"I had a faint guess about Haruto's intentions," Yamato admitted, "but seeing it with my own eyes… it's still overwhelming."
"Agreed."
Kakashi nodded without hesitation, sharing Yamato's view.
"To be honest, I think this has gone beyond the realm of ninjutsu…"
Kakashi swallowed hard.
If he hadn't seen Haruto weave hand signs and release the jutsu himself, he would have believed this to be the pure work of nature — a divine miracle in the truest sense.
And yet, such a scene had been wrought entirely by Haruto's hand.
"Even the Third Hokage couldn't do something like this…" Kakashi found himself comparing Haruto to Sarutobi Hiruzen.
After all, while Sea of Trees Emergence was a secret technique, Haruto's Earth Flow Rampart and Waterfall Basin Technique were both standard Earth and Water Release jutsu.
The Third Hokage was famously proficient in all five elemental releases — but even so, Kakashi doubted Sarutobi could reproduce what Haruto had just done.
Thinking of Sea of Trees Emergence, Kakashi suddenly remembered something.
He'd been present when Haruto met Uchiha Itachi.
Back then, Haruto had used Deep Forest Emergence to change the entire terrain in one move, stretching so far that the edge of the jutsu couldn't even be seen.
This time, Sea of Trees Emergence was far less overwhelming.
In fact, Kakashi felt that even Yamato could probably manage something on this level of Wood Release.
But…
"Even after casting those three large-scale jutsu in a row, he's not showing the slightest sign of fatigue."
Kakashi closed his right eye.
Though there was some distance between them, if he concentrated and used his Sharingan, he could still make out Haruto's expression clearly.
And so Kakashi was certain — Haruto wasn't limiting himself because of insufficient chakra. He had deliberately scaled Deep Forest Emergence down into Sea of Trees Emergence.
Could it be…?
Before Kakashi could finish the thought, Rasa descended from the sky on his cloud of golden sand, landing beside Haruto.
Staring at the roaring waterfall, Rasa was completely convinced of Haruto's power.
It was only now that he truly believed what Haruto had said earlier —
that what Haruto could offer was something even the combined might of the Land of Earth, the Land of Lightning, and the Land of Water could not produce.
This water source and fertile land alone were enough to change the fate of Sunagakure.
Rasa's heart pounded with excitement. He even felt the urge to thank Haruto for what he had done for the Sand.
"But this waterfall is made of chakra, not naturally formed," Haruto said casually, glancing at the massive cascade he had created.
Rasa immediately caught the implication.
In this world, there was no such thing as a perpetual motion machine — no jutsu could last forever.
Once Haruto left the Sand Village, the waterfall would vanish in due time.
"What are you suggesting?"
Taking a step forward and mustering all his resolve, Rasa said,
"We of the Sand are willing to provide our gold dust exclusively to Konoha."
For Rasa, gold dust was far less important than the stability of his village and the lives of his people.
In this harsh environment, water was far more valuable than gold.
To him, this trade felt like he was the one walking away with the better deal.
"Good. That's fine."
Haruto nodded. "However, there's something I have to tell you."
"Oh?"
"Earth Flow Rampart is no problem — large-scale terrain alteration like that doesn't fade easily. But the Waterfall Basin Technique…"
"Judging by the chakra I just spent, a waterfall of this size would last at most about a month."
"A month?!"
Rasa actually took a step back in shock.
He had assumed this kind of jutsu would last no more than three days.
After all, this was in the middle of a waterless desert, conjuring a massive waterfall from nothing.
There was a huge difference between using the terrain's natural features and creating something entirely against nature.
If not for the Land of Wind's unique landscape, even he might not have been able to restrain Shukaku's rampages.
And yet Haruto was saying his Waterfall Basin Technique could last a whole month?
How outrageous was that?
Seeing Rasa's expression, Haruto assumed he thought the duration was too short.
"There's nothing I can do — creating a waterfall without a natural water source means it won't last as long," Haruto explained.
In truth, this was just him downplaying it.
If he hadn't deliberately reduced his chakra output, or if he had activated Sage Mode to create the waterfall, both its scale and its duration would have been far greater than this.
But the Sand wasn't Konoha — there was no need for him to go all out.
What Haruto didn't realize was that he was still vastly underestimating his own impact.
Rasa's scalp prickled. For a moment, he began to doubt reality itself.
This man… was saying that a month was short?
Did Konoha calculate time differently from the Sand?
A year only had twelve months, right?
In other words, casting Waterfall Basin Technique only twelve times could completely change the living conditions in the Sand Village.
At that point, even as Kazekage, he could indulge himself — perhaps even reduce his bathing interval to once a week!
One thing was certain: in the entire shinobi world, there was likely no one but Senju Haruto capable of such a feat.