Black petals swirled around Ethan, seemingly without any killing intent. Combined with the beautiful red sea of flowers around him, it created an incredibly picturesque scene from any angle.
Within this enchanting display, the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, and the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, vanished into the black petals.
"What's going on?"
Compared to the ordinary Anbu who couldn't understand what had just happened, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Orochimaru, and the Anbu captain, whose strength and vision were sharper, clearly saw what had occurred.
"They were... torn apart..."
The Anbu captain was so shocked he nearly forgot his role as a field commentator. He remained stunned by the scene in front of him, feeling that it was utterly absurd.
The powerful First and Second Hokage, two legendary figures, were actually defeated by a genin?
"What kind of jutsu was that..."
Although Ethan had spoken the name and type of the jutsu, the principle behind it, its effect, and its purpose were all still a mystery to him.
He couldn't even guess what the red sea of roses within the barrier was meant to do.
In comparison, Hiruzen and Orochimaru understood much more.
"The moment the black petals touched them, they completely pulverized any part they contacted... so the two of them were reduced to dust by those black petals filling the sky... What is this jutsu? Is it poison? Or just an illusion?"
Hiruzen had many guesses but no way to confirm them.
Orochimaru, however, had already drawn a conclusion.
"It's poison... that's right, Wood Release controls plants, and poisonous plants are nothing unusual."
This also explained why his own body was growing increasingly numb, nearly beyond his control.
"But what kind of poison is this potent?"
Orochimaru had studied forbidden jutsu for years and had a deep understanding of poisons. In his memory, no toxin had such a strong effect: causing the entire body to become paralyzed, gradually losing control, while the senses continued to deteriorate. Sight, hearing, and even smell were all fading. At this rate, he would soon lose all sensation of existence.
Not to mention the terrifying effect of turning physical matter into dust. Although there were poisons capable of corroding or melting objects, none could compare to the destruction Ethan had just caused.
"Hehehehe, this is getting more and more interesting."
Orochimaru had initially wanted to study this unfamiliar form of Wood Release further, but now he realized he would soon be in serious trouble. This little guy's jutsu was far more dangerous than he had imagined.
Although his body was almost completely immobile, some of Orochimaru's jutsu could be used anytime. The most typical example was his unique substitution technique—shedding his skin, like a snake discarding its outer layer and leaving all damage behind.
Leaping into the air, Orochimaru didn't land immediately. Instead, he used Wind Release: Great Breakthrough to clear out the rose-covered area below. Only after dispersing the field of flowers did he land safely on the exposed rooftop.
Just as Orochimaru created a "safe" landing zone, the two Hokage who had been torn to pieces began to reassemble.
Their scattered fragments and dust pulled together again, and both Hokage stood before Ethan, completely intact.
"Ethan, the enemies summoned by Edo Tensei are immortal and have unlimited chakra. The longer this battle drags on, the worse it becomes for us..."
Hiruzen wasn't surprised. Although he had never used Edo Tensei himself, he had studied and learned many forbidden jutsu developed by Tobirama. It wasn't that he couldn't use them, but forbidden jutsu were called forbidden for a reason. If not necessary, he would avoid them for life.
However, today, he might have to make an exception.
"You've done exceptionally well. Leave the rest to me."
To Hiruzen, Ethan wasn't just excellent—his strength had already reached a level where he could be considered a core force of Konoha. Given his age and rate of progress, he might even become the most reliable top-tier combatant in the future.
That was why, the more outstanding Ethan performed, the more Hiruzen wanted him to retreat from this fight.
Ethan glanced at the two Hokage in the distance as they began forming hand signs. Based on how many signs they were making, they were clearly preparing a powerful technique. However, as a transmigrator, how could Ethan not know that Edo Tensei summons were immortal? So he hadn't expected the combination of Flourishing Round Dance and Piranha Rose to finish things.
What he truly wanted was to trap these two "immortals."
"Wood Release: Poppy in a Dream."
Just as the two Hokage were about to release their jutsu, countless vines suddenly sprouted from their bodies, tightly binding them in place and rendering them immobile.
If it had ended there, it might not have been enough to restrain them. Even if they could only use a fraction of their power, ordinary vines wouldn't hold them.
Yet, as flowers began to bloom along the vines, the two Hokage, who could have broken free with any number of jutsu, stopped resisting. It was as if all their strength had been drained.
"?"
Orochimaru had originally been waiting for Ethan's expression to change when he realized Edo Tensei summons couldn't be killed.
He hadn't expected the situation to shift again. What were those vines? No, the key had to be the flowers.
Orochimaru's insight was sharp. In a short moment, he grasped the critical detail. When the vines first wrapped around them, the two Hokage struggled. But as they struggled, flowers bloomed on the vines. The more they resisted, the faster the flowers appeared. Once they stopped struggling, the blooming slowed.
"What kind of flowers are these?"
He wasn't expecting an answer. It was more of a rhetorical question. Yet, to his surprise, Ethan replied.
"A kind of flower that extracts the target's perception, emotions, chakra, and everything else. As long as they still have thoughts, the flowers will continue to bloom."
"When a person loses all emotions, power, and thoughts, no more flowers will bloom."
"That's it!"
Orochimaru immediately understood. Simply put, it turned people into living corpses devoid of will or consciousness.
After all, puppets summoned by Edo Tensei still retained basic thoughts: to fight.
Ethan didn't focus on how to destroy the indestructible bodies granted by Edo Tensei. Instead, he targeted the mind—and that was a smart approach.
A combat puppet that has lost the will to fight, regardless of strength, becomes useless.
Even commands issued remotely by Orochimaru would be absorbed by Poppy in a Dream. The commands simply vanished like stones thrown into water, receiving no response.
"So... that Piranha Rose technique wasn't to kill them, but to tear their bodies apart so you could implant this plant..."
Ethan didn't answer this time. It was obvious.
Originally, Poppy in a Dream wasn't a standalone technique. Ethan had forcibly extracted and modified it from another jutsu to fit the definition of "Wood Release."
However, all these Wood Release techniques of his gave Orochimaru a strange feeling. He could sense that this Wood Release was... unconventional. For example, the effects of Poppy in a Dream. According to standard categorization, attacks targeting the mind would typically be genjutsu. But this was different. It had a tangible physical manifestation.
Thinking along those lines, Orochimaru suddenly felt that the earlier roses made more sense. Ethan's Wood Release followed a path completely different from Hashirama's. Hashirama's Wood Release focused on the direct manipulation of plants. Its techniques were straightforward, its destructive power easily understood, and it dealt purely physical damage.
Ethan's Wood Release, however, was bizarre. The damage seemed to come from various toxins applied to the plants. And these toxins were nothing like ordinary poisons.
"Depriving perception, weakening the body, pulverizing objects... fine. But absorbing emotions..."
It was an attack method usually seen in genjutsu, but now it was expressed physically as a poison through Wood Release. It was a highly creative approach. More importantly, Ethan had already proven how effective it was.
After his excitement faded, Orochimaru grew gloomy again. He realized that Ethan's Wood Release just happened to be his natural counter. This battle wouldn't be as simple as he had thought.
Ethan had no idea what Orochimaru was thinking. He hadn't thought much at all when using these jutsu. He didn't even care whether the techniques were classified as genjutsu or ninjutsu. He simply picked what suited Wood Release.
Of course, these techniques were genuinely activated using chakra, so in theory, others could learn them. But to use them as Ethan did, Wood Release alone was far from enough.
In fact, Ethan's Wood Release, like Hashirama's, carried a certain uniqueness. Future generations who wished to replicate it would likely need to research both Yang Release and Yin Release alongside Wood Release.
"It's about time to end this..."
Ethan formed another hand sign. As he moved, a red mist began to rise slowly within the barrier.
(To be continued.)