As soon as Haseo started treating the stone layers like a broken gong and banging on them with a rusty hammer, the entire Konoha was immediately shaken.
The branch of the Senju supporting the rebellion knew such techniques didn't belong to them, so they began to worry about Nawaki's unauthorized actions. However, compared to their nervousness, those within Konoha were even more tense.
Unconsciously interpreting this as an enemy attack method, the ninja of Konoha who had previously maintained stable battle lines and acted with calculated strategy suddenly became somewhat panicked.
You don't even have to guess what kind of chaos a hundred-meter-tall monster stomping into Konoha would cause.
How nerve-wracking would fighting around the main crystal become?
Therefore, scaring both enemies and friends was just one of Haseo's longtime (and pretty terrible) habits.
An elderly Uchiha stood atop a rooftop, his crimson Sharingan locked onto the towering figure beyond the battlefield. He momentarily became very excited:
"This… Could it possibly be…
Never mind, I must've seen wrong. It's not."
Turns out he got excited for nothing.
Completely unaware of the impact his actions caused in Konoha, Haseo continued playing with earth release techniques at his end.
Sure, emotions were a factor—but the real problem was the actual damage he was doing to the village. Fortunately, he had only collapsed some outer walls and partially buried several buildings.
Though Haseo's actions appeared exaggerated, they were actually quite restrained. The issue lay elsewhere—despite his ability to instantly kill Nawaki without exaggeration (he could do it anytime), emotional considerations made such an immediate elimination impossible in reality.
Crushing wooden constructs was no big deal—it was just part of the game. In the next second when prepared to take direct hits, Nawaki backed off and fled... frankly speaking, this wasn't cowardice but rather a normal, rational decision.
Nawaki's problem was that everyone kept telling him how powerful the Senju were, leading him to believe the Senju indeed possessed great power. So far, there was absolutely nothing wrong with this belief. His mistake was thinking that his own current strength equated exactly to that of the Senju...
Guess he didn't know any better.
Or rather, although he acknowledged the Senju's extraordinary might, his limited imagination failed to grasp exactly how astonishing that strength truly was. To him, this wooden titan before his eyes was equivalent to divine creation-level techniques.
Nawaki had already inherited Wood Release, and judging by his progress, perhaps the bloodline of the First Hokage truly allowed him to adapt more naturally to this power than an outsider ever could. If he'd taken things slow and trained with a clear head, genuinely mastering this force, then the current battle wouldn't have turned into such a one-sided massacre.
After all, Wood Release will always be Wood Release.
Too bad there's no 'what if' in real life.
After smashing the first wooden titan, Haseo's earth-release colossus came to a stop. By now, the surrounding terrain had been thrown into chaos, completely devastated.
In this "basin" created by the giant Earth Release statue, Haseo still managed to locate Nawaki. His gaze had never left his opponent from start to finish.
Then, he watched as Nawaki reformed hand seals and summoned another Wooden Construct.
Honestly, Haseo was taken aback by this reaction... Was this guy really handing him an opening?
Just how much chakra did using the Wooden Construct technique consume? Didn't it cost any chakra at all?
Soon after, Haseo seemed to understand somewhat. Whether Nawaki's combat IQ was negative or not aside, his subconscious decision to use the Wooden Construct again was likely just an attempt to boost his own confidence.
Facing such a colossal Earth Release statue, Nawaki felt insecure psychologically. Experience could support a ninja through various unexpected situations, but Nawaki lacked experience.
Therefore, he needed something to strengthen his will to fight. Besides this wooden construct, what else could he rely on?
Even though the first Wooden Construct had already been shattered into splinters, all he needed to do was summon another one.
Any elite Jonin with actual combat experience would certainly realize at a moment like this that worrying about the statue wasn't the priority — the real goal should be closing the distance with Haseo. With both chakra and ninjutsu skills considered, Nawaki—being capable of Wood Release—deserved Jonin-level status. However, while he possessed the "rank," he lacked practical experience, making everything mere facade.
Even the Sakumo Hatake that Haseo first met — that sniveling child — was better than Nawaki now.
On the other side, another Wooden Construct arose, yet Haseo's response was even simpler — another earthen rise was all he needed.
Just then, the Earth Release statue lifted one massive leg and took a "gentle" step forward, then the other foot kicked up a huge amount of earth. In an instant, the giant foot came into intimate contact with the Wooden Construct.
Such a methodically powerful approach always appeared slow at first glance, yet was deceptively quick. Even if Nawaki now wanted to control his Wooden Construct to escape, there was no way he could react in time.
Compared to the Earth Release statue, the Wooden Construct was no bigger than a basketball. Thus, with one powerful kick after another, the "ball" rocketed away without a trace.
After receiving these relentless kicks, the wooden figure was nearly destroyed entirely. As it rocketed backward with a whistling gust of wind, its lower half smashed against the edge of the "basin." And due to the tremendous inertia, before it could even begin to roll, the upper half of the Wooden Construct ripped free from the lower portion — gone in the blink of an eye.
Once again abandoning the collapsing wooden creation midair, Nawaki crashed painfully at the feet of the Earth Release giant.
Haseo thought for sure this time he wouldn't try summoning a third Wooden Construct. If he did… Well, even the ever-sharp-tongued Haseo couldn't find words to describe the absurdity of it.
Next, Haseo released the hand seal and stopped controlling the Earth Release statue further. Your move, my counter-move — that was how Haseo intended to test the supposed Senju strength within Nawaki himself, so he had no intention of relying solely on this one technique throughout the entire battle.
Leaping down from atop the giant statue, Haseo bounced off its surface a few times mid-air before landing gracefully on the ground.
Meanwhile, Nawaki also struggled back onto his feet.
"Is the story developing a bit differently than you expected?"
"Same or not, Nawaki didn't have time to answer now—it was extremely easy for a novice to panic when facing a boss.
Just as Haseo was walking step by step toward Nawaki, the latter's hands suddenly clapped together.
Right where Haseo had stepped, thick vines rapidly erupted from underground. These swiftly growing branches, brimming with vigorous vitality, instantly surged forward, attempting to swallow Haseo in an ocean of greenery.
That kind of attack gave off a dangerous vibe.
However, regardless of its actual effect, this assault finally made Nawaki look somewhat competent.
Yet before the vines could wrap around him, brilliant white electricity already flickered across Haseo's body. Unique lightning instantly counterattacked these binding plants, carrying destructive energy that stripped away their vitality and reduced them into carbonized black powder within moments.
But those countermeasures were overkill—Haseo's instincts alone would've dodged that binding move easily, especially now that he was in Sage Mode.
About thirty meters away, Haseo casually flung his hand. Before Nawaki's eyes, a flash of light appeared, followed immediately by intense pain piercing his left shoulder and leg. This caused his lower body strength to momentarily vanish—he could only kneel down involuntarily.
Two one-meter-long Wind Blades pierced through Nawaki's limbs and shoulder, though they weren't Lightning Release techniques—these were Wind Release. This was Haseo's Sage Art: Wind Release - Ame no Ohabari no Jutsu.
Nawaki immediately attempted to pull this out, yet blood oozed from his palms the moment his fingers approached the wind blade.
High-density sage chakra allowed Ame no Ohabari no Jutsu to maintain its form and lethality even after leaving Haseo's control.
Unable to handle this at the moment, Nawaki could only leave them embedded in his body… because Haseo was already approaching.
Nawaki had once seen Haseo as nothing more than a stumbling block and launched an attack. Now, however, he was beginning to think about retreating. So… how should he retreat?
Nawaki interlocked all ten fingers into the 'Snake' seal. He still had one last trump card—the most iconic Wood Release secret technique:
[Wood Release: Nativity of a Sea of Trees.]
Countless twisted vines sprouted from the yellowish-brown soil, then began growing rapidly. In an instant, they flooded the crater created by the Earth Release statue, continuously spreading outward without pause.
Judging merely from the scale of this technique, it truly deserved the name 'Sea of Trees.' At this moment, Haseo understood why the Senju faction considered Nawaki a qualified successor—at least visually.
The twisting vines lashed out at Haseo like wild beasts and even wrapped around the colossal Earth Release giant's legs like rampant ivy.
But Haseo remained unmoved, beginning to form hand seals only when nearing engulfment:
[Sage Art: Wind Release - Ame no Ohabari no Jutsu - Grand Heavenly Phenomenon.]
[Sage Art: Fire Release - Garuda.]
Fire Release activated around Wind Release, forming a Combined Ninjutsu that Haseo could easily manipulate... Just a few hand seals were needed, without even needing to pause in between.
[Sage Art: Mahabrahma Garuda]
Flames spread like boundless seas, winds roared like endless mountain chains—combining Sage Art with the power of fire and wind, this technique granted Haseo the might to shift mountains and cross oceans.
The scorching orange flames curled Haseo's black hair. Like a monstrous tsunami born from a cataclysmic disaster, the raging inferno surged from the horizon and slammed into the "Forest Realm."
In an instant, the lush greenery turned crimson beneath the surging flames.
The entire "Forest Realm" burst into roaring flames under the blistering heat.
After unleashing such a devastating attack, Haseo instantly regretted it... The fire had grown far too massive. What would become of the kangaroos and koalas in the forest now?
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