The next morning, Kyuushin, refreshed after a good night's sleep, regained his vigor.
However, upon arriving at the training ground, he found Minato and Nawaki already drenched in sweat, having clearly been exercising for quite some time.
It was likely that Kyuushin's display of power on the battlefield had stimulated them—not out of jealousy, but because they felt Kyuushin's strength had pulled too far ahead, and they feared they couldn't keep up with him.
Kyuushin was naturally aware of this and didn't disturb them. What surprised him, though, was that Nagato was also performing some basic exercises nearby.
Though he looked clumsy, he executed each movement meticulously, already soaked in sweat, yet showing no signs of stopping to rest.
Kyuushin nodded, satisfied with Nagato's performance. While Nagato was kind-hearted, he was by no means weak-willed.
Having just learned so much groundbreaking information yesterday, he immediately found his goal and acted upon it. Becoming the 'God' of Amegakure in the original storyline wasn't entirely due to the Rinnegan.
With such determination and drive, even without the Rinnegan, Nagato's future achievements would certainly not be insignificant.
Speaking of Jiraiya's two disciples in the original storyline, Minato and Nagato, their fundamental personalities were quite similar. However, their differing environments led them down different paths.
But in this world, with Kyuushin's presence as a foreign butterfly effect, the destinies of the two would ultimately be very different.
After breakfast, Kyuushin mentioned Shikaku's special training to Minato and Nawaki, suggesting they could go watch if they had time. As expected, both showed interest.
Practical combat training is naturally much more effective than simple exercise. They were too familiar with each other, making practical training less effective. Now, with others to spar with, they were naturally pleased.
Mito left with Nagato, likely to research the Rinnegan and see if she could create a more targeted sealing technique.
Seeing them all leave, Kyuushin took out the key Mito had given him yesterday, preparing to go examine the ninjutsu scroll left by Senju Tobirama today.[1]
As the former residence of Senju Hashirama, the Senju Ancestral Home was naturally very large. Previously, the areas Kyuushin and the others frequented were mainly for eating, sleeping, and training.
However, these areas occupied only a small portion; many other places were unknown to Kyuushin, such as Senju Tobirama's study, where he was headed today.
Following Mito's directions, he wound his way through the residence for about ten minutes before finally arriving at a standalone two-story building.
Kyuushin carefully inserted the key into the lock. With a flash of light, the lock automatically opened, and at the same time, the entire two-story building transformed its appearance.
"There's a barrier jutsu here?" Kyuushin thought to himself, completely unaware of it before.
However, it made sense. This building likely housed the Senju Clan's greatest treasures. How could Mito protect such a collection with just a single lock?
Clearly, the key Mito gave him was not merely a physical key, but rather the key to the barrier jutsu covering the building.
Kyuushin gently pushed open the door. Thanks to the barrier jutsu, there was no dust inside, but after a long period of disuse, a faint musty smell still wafted out.
The room had no partitions; upon entering, one saw a large bookshelf lining the wall. There was also a desk by the window, making the room very simple. It seemed Senju Tobirama was not one for elaborate displays.[6][1]
Kyuushin didn't rush to search the bookshelves for scrolls. Instead, he first walked to the window, opened it, and a gentle breeze immediately swept in, dispelling some of the stuffiness in the room. Only then did he walk to the bookshelf and examine the books and scrolls on it.
Like a library, Senju Tobirama had categorized these books and scrolls, which made things much easier for Kyuushin.[2]
Kyuushin briefly looked through them and found five categories: "Application and Development of Water Release Ninjutsu," "Application and Development of Earth Release Ninjutsu," "Other Elemental Ninjutsu and Non-Elemental Ninjutsu," "In-depth Development and Application of Summoning Technique," and "Miscellaneous Notes."
As for the Wood Release secret techniques Kyuushin was looking for, he found that Senju Tobirama had placed them under the "Other Elemental Ninjutsu and Non-Elemental Ninjutsu" category, rather than creating a separate one.
Although Kyuushin was tempted by all the ninjutsu here, he decided to do what he came for first and look at the others when he had more time.
Kyuushin moved the scroll containing the Wood Release secret techniques to the desk, carefully unrolled it, and upon opening it, the various Wood Release secret techniques recorded within invigorated him.
Since Senju Tobirama did not possess Wood Release, most of the Wood Release secret techniques recorded here were dictated by Hashirama, combined with Tobirama's understanding.
Senju Hashirama was powerful, no doubt, but asking him to accurately describe a ninjutsu was too difficult for him. It was like Naruto in the original work; it wasn't hard for him to learn a ninjutsu, but asking him to explain its principles was impossible.
Senju Hashirama was similar to Naruto in this regard, so the secret techniques recorded here were basically performed by Hashirama one by one, and then Tobirama recorded them.
It even included the ultimate move under Sage Mode, "Sage Art Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands: Summit Enlightenment," though this ninjutsu was likely added by Tobirama after the Battle of the Valley of the End between Hashirama and Madara.
Furthermore, Tobirama also raised his own question about why Hashirama's Wood Release was so powerful.
After all, kekkei genkai were common, but ones as strong as Hashirama's were unique. As a master of ninjutsu research, Tobirama naturally wouldn't overlook this anomaly.[5]
Unfortunately, every time Tobirama asked Hashirama, he only received a vague answer. Even Hashirama couldn't explain why his Wood Release was so powerful.
Tobirama might have been truly exasperated, even complaining about his older brother on this scroll, indicating he was truly pushed to his limit.
However, Tobirama also left his own conjecture at the end of the scroll:
"Kekkei genkai in the shinobi world are usually formed by combining two of the five elemental chakras. My elder brother's Wood Release is composed of Water and Earth.
And Mu from the Land of Earth is said to have combined Earth, Wind, and Fire elements to form Dust Release, which he called Kekkei Tota. Its power is indeed much greater than ordinary kekkei genkai.
In terms of pure destructive power, it might even surpass my elder brother's Wood Release, but its versatility is not as strong as Wood Release.
So, is it possible that my elder brother's Wood Release is also a combination of three elements, but one of them does not belong to the five elements, but rather to Yin or Yang ?[2]
Generally speaking, Yin and Yang element chakra are difficult to mix with the five elemental chakra. There is currently no kekkei genkai in the shinobi world that is constructed with Yin or Yang as one of its components.
Therefore, when we speak of kekkei genkai, we generally refer to the combination of the five elements, not including Yin and Yang elements. Could it be that my elder brother's Wood Release is so powerful precisely because it incorporates powerful Yang Release chakra?
Unfortunately, this hypothesis cannot be verified. We can only hope for future generations."
"Water, Earth, and Yang?" Kyuushin murmured to himself. It must be said that Senju Tobirama's conjecture had some merit. Yin and Yang elements were not included in the five chakra natures that constitute kekkei genkai.
Even with the addition of Yang Release chakra, Senju Hashirama's Wood Release still seemed to fall within the scope of a kekkei genkai. This might also explain why Hashirama's Wood Release was so powerful.
In fact, Kyuushin always had a question: why were Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara so powerful, despite both being reincarnations of Asura and Indra?
Uchiha Madara was easy to understand; by a stroke of luck, he obtained his brother's Sharingan, achieving the Eternal Mangekyo. This was a coincidental event.
At least in the many previous reincarnations of Indra, even if those reincarnated individuals were powerful, they were far from Uchiha Madara's level.
And Senju Hashirama? He was arguably the most special one. Why did his Hashirama cells possess such immense vitality?
Even Naruto, the next reincarnation of Asura, didn't seem to possess Hashirama's vitality. Without the Nine-Tails' help, Naruto would fundamentally be unable to reach Senju Hashirama's level.
After all, half of the Nine-Tails' chakra combined with Naruto's own chakra seemed to just barely match Senju Hashirama's chakra. This amount of chakra was indeed somewhat overpowered.
Logically speaking, as fellow reincarnations of Asura, even if Naruto had a gap with Senju Hashirama, it shouldn't be this significant.
So, what was different about Naruto and other Asura reincarnations compared to Senju Hashirama? The answer seemed obvious: Wood Release.
In the Naruto world, the existence of Wood Release is very special, as the cultivation system of chakra was brought to the entire shinobi world by the Divine Tree planted by the Otsutsuki Clan.
The Divine Tree is wood, and Wood Release is also wood. Kyuushin would be the first not to believe that there's no connection between the two.
The key is that Wood Release has too many special abilities. Not to mention its powerful vitality and regenerative capabilities, it can also absorb the enemy's chakra and seal enemies.
These attributes have already exceeded the original capabilities of Wood Release. Absorbing chakra and sealing both strongly resemble the abilities of the Divine Tree.
Furthermore, White Zetsu can be synthesized using Hashirama cells. Coincidentally, after the Divine Tree absorbs a person's chakra, it also turns them into White Zetsu. This is also evidence of a connection between Hashirama and the Divine Tree.
However, how Senju Hashirama formed this relationship with the Divine Tree is beyond investigation. Perhaps he unintentionally absorbed a fragment of the Divine Tree left behind at some point.
Asura's reincarnation status combined with Wood Release, plus the mysterious connection with the Divine Tree, collectively created the overpoweringly strong Senju Hashirama. This explanation makes much more sense.