"Flying Thunder God?"
The Fourth Raikage recognized the technique instantly. Back then, he'd suffered a humiliating loss because of it!
According to intelligence, Konoha had produced another user of this jutsu—but they hadn't confirmed who. He never expected to run into them so soon.
"And it's just a kid?"
The Raikage frowned—not because he feared losing, but because he feared they'd run and he wouldn't be able to catch them.
"I can't stay passive. Only that loud-mouthed brat can use Flying Thunder God, so…"
His gaze sharpened. Chakra gathered again inside him. Nearby, Tsunade and Shizune stared at Ren in surprise.
Just a moment ago, they'd felt a brief dizziness—then, once they snapped back, the distance between them and the Raikage had widened.
"Flying Thunder God…"
Tsunade's eyes narrowed, caught between shock and disbelief. She didn't know much about what had been happening inside Konoha, but this made him the second person she knew of to inherit her Second Granduncle's technique.
"But you're getting way too cocky, brat."
Even shaken, Tsunade still sighed.
"Flying Thunder God is strong, but to reach my granduncle's level—or the Fourth Hokage's—you'll need time. Take them and leave. I'll handle the Fourth Raikage."
"Leaving now would be a waste."
Ren shook his head lightly, eyes never leaving the Raikage.
This was the perfect chance to make the mission bigger—stronger—and brighter.
He gave Shisui and Yugao a subtle hand sign. His gaze hardened.
"And besides…"
Ren pivoted—
—and the Raikage moved like lightning, crashing in.
"He won't let us leave anyway!"
BOOM!
The impact tore open the ground. Rubble exploded in every direction.
A pressure wave rippled outward—nearby houses cracked instantly, and even the ones farther away trembled.
"What's happening?!"
"What the hell was that?!"
Residents poked their heads out, then froze when they saw shinobi squaring off right beside their homes.
Nobody needed to be told twice.
"Run!"
"Get out—NOW!"
The street turned into chaos, but it didn't last long—the civilians fled as fast as their legs could take them.
"What an asshole."
Tsunade watched them run, fury rising in her gut. Still—at least the civilians were clearing out.
She'd been watching the Raikage the whole time. The instant he struck, she'd grabbed Shizune—
—and, with the same motion, snagged one of the kids and pulled them away.
The other two were fine: one could teleport, and the other had already moved ahead of time.
But Tsunade still cursed under her breath.
"That brat… does he really think knowing Flying Thunder God means he can do whatever he wants?"
She looked up—Ren was already fighting the Raikage head-on.
And then her eyes widened.
He wasn't losing.
BAM!
High above the ruins, two figures collided again and again, fast enough to blur. Every impact sent dull shockwaves ripping through the air.
BOOOOM—
They dropped to the street below, and the ground split under the force. Cracks shot outward over ten meters. Buildings collapsed like paper, unable to withstand the tremors.
"Do you do anything besides dodge?!"
The Raikage roared as he punched.
Unlike Tsunade's surprise, the Raikage's emotions were split in two: shock… and fury.
Shock, because the kid's speed was absurd.
Fury, because the kid could keep up and layer Flying Thunder God on top of it.
It made him nearly impossible to hit.
"If I don't dodge, should I just stand there and get punched?"
Ren laughed like it was obvious, flashing aside with contempt in his voice.
"Look at how old you are compared to me—how do you even have the face to say that? And aren't you proud you're the 'fastest man alive'? What—fastest in bed?"
"You little—!"
The Raikage's fist tightened so hard it creaked.
Who the hell talked like this and still called themselves a kid?
BOOM BOOM BOOM—
In an instant, his punches multiplied into afterimages. It looked like dozens of people striking at once.
Wind screamed. Stone shattered. Homes crashed down.
But it still couldn't land cleanly.
Ren's speed—backed by that terrifying LV10 body—was simply too much.
"DIE!"
The Raikage thundered forward again, lightning flaring around his fist.
The air compressed. The wind slapped Ren's face so hard it stung.
But the moment the punch should've connected—
Ren vanished.
"This stupid trick again!"
The Raikage's anger boiled over.
But he reacted immediately, locking onto Ren's Flying Thunder God marker and charging again.
"You think you're Minato Namikaze?! You're nowhere near him—he wouldn't fight like you, always running!"
A lightning-split punch tore forward—
—but this time Ren didn't retreat.
He slipped aside and drove a kick toward the Raikage's abdomen.
The Raikage swung his left arm back and blocked it.
And Ren's voice cut in, casual as ever.
"I've never thought I was the Fourth Hokage."
His grin sharpened.
"Because I'm definitely living longer than him."
"…Is that so?"
The Raikage's eyes narrowed, the edge of a smile turning cruel.
"Then I'll send you to meet him today."
He surged power into his block and whipped his arm outward.
Ren was smashed away—
CRASH!
A wall burst apart. Stone fragments flew like rain. Ren instinctively blinked.
And in that blink—
The Raikage was already above him.
"Anyone can talk big. You're fast, sure—but speed alone won't save you from me."
Ren snorted.
Midair, he vanished again—
reappearing at the flank, one hand already forming seals.
"Annoying little gnat!"
The Raikage missed again.
Yet beneath the fury, something else crept in: clarity.
This kid wasn't just annoying.
He was dangerous.
"I underestimated him."
Another Flying Thunder God user in Konoha was already bad enough—Konoha growing stronger again was unacceptable.
Especially to Kumogakure, who wanted to crush Konoha and replace them as the strongest village.
Killing this kid…
…would be a huge win for the Cloud.
"So you've forced my hand."
The Raikage inhaled, chakra surging violently. His clothes fluttered as if caught in a storm.
"I didn't perfect this move back when I fought Minato—that's why I lost. Today, I'll see if you can survive it!"
Blue chakra armor erupted across his body.
Wild, violent, roaring—
his hair stood on end, crackling with power.
"That chakra cloak…"
Tsunade's expression changed. She knew the Lightning Release Chakra Mode—but this level was rare.
Many jutsu aren't hard to learn. The real difference is mastery—making a technique terrifying.
Like Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation—performed by a master, it was a completely different beast than when cast by a normal shinobi.
"This is bad."
Tsunade's mind raced.
"With Flying Thunder God, he can defend. But breaking through that cloak is hard—and if he gets caught once, it's over."
She glanced at Shisui and Yugao, then snapped:
"Stay with Shizune. Get far away. I'm going in."
"Tsunade-sama, you don't need to rush."
Shisui shook his head, calm.
"…Ren isn't even going all-out yet."
"…What?"
Tsunade stared, confused.
And then she noticed something else.
Shisui's eyes were crimson.
"Sharingan?"
Her brows tightened, but she didn't press it—only asked sharply:
"What do you mean? What else does that brat have?"
"Tsunade-sama, we didn't get the chance to explain why we came."
Shisui's gaze stayed fixed on the battlefield. He was ready to move at any moment.
Ren had signaled earlier: he would lead the offense, while they provided support if needed.
Neither Shisui nor Yugao liked it…
…but they trusted him enough to follow through.
"This mission is because Konoha has a problem," Shisui said quietly.
"And that problem involves the Senju… and Wood Release."
"…The Senju? Wood Release?"
Tsunade's eyes sharpened instantly.
Her first thought was ugly: Did the village start those experiments again?
Even if she didn't want to know, she knew enough—because the one who opened the door to that kind of research had been her Second Granduncle.
But if it were just experiments, why call her back?
Konoha had plenty of Wood Release records.
"We ran into an enemy who can use Wood Release," Shisui continued.
"A dangerous enemy. And also…"
He raised his chin slightly, eyes on Ren—
"…we may have found a Senju descendant. Someone who inherited Wood Release… and awakened it naturally."
At that moment—
the Raikage attacked again.
Ren's hand slammed onto the ground.
Dark markings spread. A strange power exploded from his core.
Curse Mark and Yin Release activated almost simultaneously—
and the earth shuddered.
Tsunade felt chakra roar up, both familiar and alien at the same time.
"Wood Release: Wood Dragon Technique!"
The ground split—
and a massive wooden dragon erupted, roaring as it surged toward the Raikage.
"…What?!"
The Raikage's face changed, but he couldn't adjust in time.
He drove a heavy punch into the dragon's head—
BOOOOOOM!
The impact screamed through the ground like a quake.
Yet the dragon smashed through—
and the Raikage was blasted backward.
"…Wood Release?"
As he flew, his thoughts turned blank.
Then he crashed, destroying more buildings—
and the shock cleared his head.
"This kid… is Senju."
Killing intent surged hotter.
Wood Release was a legend he'd heard since childhood. Senju Hashirama—"the man who ended the Warring States Era."
But the Raikage refused to believe a child could reach that level.
A jutsu's strength depended on its user.
At most, it proved this brat was talented.
And besides—
he'd never lived in that era. Never felt the terror described in books.
Who knew how much of it was Konoha propaganda?
A shinobi needed confidence.
And the Raikage had plenty.
"…So it really is Wood Release."
Tsunade stared, momentarily dazed, as the Wood Dragon rampaged with violent life-force.
She never expected to see it again—
especially not this kind, filled with a breath-like vitality.
"Damn it—he cannot die!"
Pain from the shockwave slapped her face awake.
Whatever the truth was, someone with Wood Release couldn't be allowed to fall here.
At the very least, she had to figure out what Ren actually was.
"Shizune! Take them and leave—this is an order!"
Tsunade shot forward, leaving no room for argument.
"Yugao, go with Shizune-senpai. I'm going to support him."
Shisui moved too, keeping pace.
Tsunade frowned hard.
"Brat—what are you doing? My orders mean nothing?"
"Tsunade-sama," Shisui said evenly, "Ren is my teammate. And I trust my own ability."
His Sharingan began to rotate.
"And if I weren't capable, the Hokage wouldn't have sent me."
"…Tch."
Tsunade clicked her tongue.
"You're as much trouble as he is."
Then the ground trembled again—violently.
She and Shisui both froze.
BOOM BOOM BOOM—
The Wood Dragon was tearing the town apart.
A single tail-swing sent buildings collapsing, dust exploding, debris and stone fragments turning into a storm.
Even far away, civilians fled out of the town in waves.
On rooftops and high ledges, wandering nin and reckless swordsmen gathered, staring in disbelief.
They had no idea what kind of battle this even was.
On the battlefield, the Raikage's face twisted darker and darker.
This fight was slipping beyond what he'd expected.
And the strength of that Wood Release…
…was higher than he'd anticipated.
"I told you I'd drag you back to Konoha."
Ren's voice whispered at his ear.
"And you thought I was just talking?"
The Raikage spun—
Wood Release: Piercing Branches exploded past his side, sharp enough to shave the air.
"DIE!"
He twisted to strike—
—but Ren vanished again.
The Wood Dragon slammed down immediately after—
BOOM!
A deep crater formed. The Raikage barely escaped, but there was no relief in it.
"Disgusting…!"
He cursed inwardly.
Flying Thunder God for close-range harassment—if it didn't land, Ren disengaged instantly.
And then he used the dragon for wide-area pressure, denying the Raikage any clean counterattack.
What kind of shameless battle plan was this?
But it worked.
He didn't know where the Flying Thunder God markers were.
And he couldn't afford to take the dragon head-on.
Its durability was worse than he'd expected.
And worse than that—
"That thing can absorb my chakra!"
He'd noticed it earlier. Every time he hit the dragon, it siphoned chakra—maybe not much, but it did.
And smashing it wasn't a real solution.
It could be repaired.
The only answers were defeating the caster…
…or waiting until the caster ran dry.
"Damn you… damn this Wood Release… damn Konoha!"
The Raikage roared—
then sensed danger from behind.
"Once I drag you back, I hope you keep that mouth."
A blade of wind screamed past.
The Raikage flipped and retreated—
Ren was already there, kunai flashing.
But the instant he landed—
the Wood Dragon roared overhead again.
He leapt away—
and Ren reappeared again midair.
HNG—
A kunai coated in Wind Release chakra slashed down at him.
In midair, there was nowhere to dodge.
But the Raikage's eyes lit up like he'd finally found it.
"An opening…!"
The brat had come to him.
He swung his fist up without hesitation.
"Lightning Release: Guillotine Drop—Lariat!" (tech name stylized as per this fic's version)
Lightning exploded across his body. Power condensed into his right hand.
Even without perfect leverage in the air, he trusted his strength.
"One hit."
"Just one hit."
"It's enough—"
And then—
he saw it.
In Ren's eyes…
a clear, unmistakable mockery.
HNG—
Ren vanished at the very moment of impact—
and a brutal force smashed into the Raikage from behind.
BOOOOM!
The shockwave tore through him. His body nearly felt like it was breaking apart.
He slammed into the ground—
and momentum dragged him forward, carving a wide trench through the rubble as dust billowed into the air.
"You didn't really think I'd fist-fight you head-on, did you?"
When the dust thinned, Ren's voice drifted in like a knife.
The Raikage crouched in ruins, the ground beneath him gouged deep.
He looked battered—yet not as injured as it should've been.
But his lightning armor?
It was cracked and broken, barely holding together.
He lifted his head.
He saw the boy again—somehow already reset, already positioned.
Behind him, the Wood Dragon radiated savage pressure.
And in that moment, the Raikage finally felt the weight behind Wood Release.
"Alright," Ren said lightly, hopping back onto the dragon's head, arms crossed.
"I think we're about done here."
"If you still want to fight, that's fine…"
His smile widened.
"…but now it won't be just me."
BOOM—
A terrifying surge erupted.
A green chakra giant rose over the shattered town—
and on the opposite side, a massive slug appeared through the smoke.
Three colossal monsters in a ring.
A full encirclement.
The Raikage's expression finally changed.
Cold sweat slid down his forehead.
"…So this is Konoha."
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