Seeing the tens of thousands of Iwagakure shinobi approaching like a tide, Byakuya stood tall atop the cracked battlefield, his expression calm—almost amused.
A faint smirk curved on his lips.
"Hmph… So eager to die?"
"In that case, allow me to show you… what true power looks like."
At that moment, his Mangekyō Sharingan flared, the tomoe rotating with a dangerous glint. But then, to everyone's astonishment, he slowly let the Mangekyō fade, closing his eyes as his chakra began to shift.
The Konoha forces were stunned.
"W-Why did Lord Byakuya close his Mangekyō Sharingan?!"
"What's going on?"
"Is he… giving up?"
Even the Third Raikage, still battered from their earlier clash, stared in disbelief.
"What the hell is he doing?" the Raikage growled, clenching his fists. "You humiliated me with that power—why seal it away now?!"
Ōnoki, floating midair and preparing a Dust Release technique, narrowed his eyes. "This doesn't make sense… he was overwhelming even without going all out… Is he planning to surrender?"
But that possibility was dismissed the moment the earth began to tremble.
Byakuya's hands formed a rapid sequence of seals.
"Wood Release: Advent of a World of Trees!"
A tremendous surge of vitality erupted from his body, sending shockwaves through the ground. In an instant, the cracked battlefield bloomed into chaos.
Massive trees erupted from the earth, twisting and coiling like awakened beasts. The roots surged forward, engulfing enemy formations. Screams echoed as Iwagakure shinobi were snared, crushed, or impaled by the relentless advance of nature.
"W-What is this?!"
"Why are trees suddenly—!"
"Cut them down! Use fire! Use anything!"
Iwagakure shinobi drew their blades, hacking at the vines and branches, but they found them unnaturally resilient. Standard kunai and blades left only faint scratches. Only seasoned jōnin with chakra-infused weapons had any success—and even they were quickly overwhelmed.
For every tree they cut down, twice as many surged forward.
Two became four.
Four became dozens.
Dozens became a forest.
It was like watching a storm of nature devour a battlefield.
Ōnoki's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Th-this chakra… This jutsu…!"
"Wood Release…?!"
He hadn't seen anything like this since the time of Hashirama Senju—the God of Shinobi. That same terrifying energy, the same dominating force that quelled the warring states era, now stood before him… in the hands of an Uchiha.
"But… how…?"
"He's an Uchiha!" the Third Raikage shouted, smashing through tree trunks with his Lightning Release armor. "How can he use the Senju clan's Wood Release?!"
Not only were the Raikage and Tsuchikage stunned, but even the Konoha shinobi were visibly shaken when they witnessed Byakuya unleashing the power of Wood Release.
"W-Wood Release!? That's Wood Release! The First Hokage's jutsu…!"
"I'm not hallucinating, right? Lord Byakuya actually used Mokuton…"
"This isn't a genjutsu?!"
"No, it's real. Lord Byakuya really just used the First Hokage's power!"
Whispers spread like wildfire through the ranks of Konoha's shinobi, disbelief etched onto every face.
"But... isn't Lord Byakuya from the Uchiha clan?! How could he possibly wield Mokuton, the bloodline of the Senju!?"
"I… I don't understand either…"
Mokuton had always held a legendary status within the history of Konoha. It was the signature kekkei genkai of Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage — a power so unique and immense that it had once brought an era of war to heel. His ability to suppress tailed beasts and create forests from barren earth was unrivaled.
Ever since Hashirama's death, true Wood Release had vanished. While Root's artificial attempts using Hashirama's cells had birthed pale imitations, those were unstable at best — mere shadows of the original.
But now, right before their eyes, genuine Wood Release had returned.
And the wielder… was not a descendant of the Senju.
He was an Uchiha.
That fact alone shook the very foundation of what they thought possible.
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