Chapter 124: Hashirama Senju
"Hashirama Senju!?" "Yamada Xunzhen?"
Li Jiexuan never could have imagined that Yamada Xunzhen—the man he had lived and trained with day in and day out—was actually Hashirama Senju in disguise. It was as absurd as Jack Ma showing up at your house dressed as a beggar, asking for spare change…
Just as Li Jiexuan was reeling from the shock, Kinkaku and Ginkaku had already caught up. The terrifying Nine-Tails–transformed monsters lunged viciously toward the people of Konoha.
A gigantic fox claw, vast as the sky itself, slammed down violently.
Li Jiexuan instinctively frowned. "Everyone, run—"
Before he could finish, Hashirama Senju stepped in front of him and let out his signature hearty laugh. "Little Jiexuan, I'll give you your first lesson as Hokage right now—and also your last!"
"What?"
"To be Hokage means becoming Konoha's strongest shield, protecting its people." As he spoke, Hashirama extended his palm. "Wood Release – Wood Expulsion Jutsu!"
A massive wooden shield shaped like a demonic face rose up, firmly blocking Kinkaku and Ginkaku's claws outside. No matter how wildly they scratched and tore at it, they couldn't break through.
"ROAR!!!"
This completely enraged the brothers. They opened their huge mouths as terrifying chakra rapidly condensed…
"Tailed Beast Ball!"
Li Jiexuan's eyes widened in horror. He never expected their partial tailed-beast transformation to be so advanced that they could already use the all-annihilating Tailed Beast Ball.
However—
"Summoning Jutsu – Fivefold Rashomon!"
Five enormous demonic gates appeared out of nowhere, completely stopping the two incomplete Tailed Beast Balls dead in their tracks…
Seeing that even their strongest attack was useless, Kinkaku and Ginkaku finally regained a shred of clarity and shouted in terror, "Hashirama Senju—you're still alive!?"
Hashirama ignored them. He only stared at Li Jiexuan, smiling gently. "To be Hokage, you must not only learn how to protect, but also become an indestructible spear—one that utterly crushes all invading enemies!"
As he spoke, a piece of his face suddenly fell away, like a fragment of tree bark…
"Big brother!" Tobirama Senju cried out instinctively. "Leave the rest to me—"
"No, Tobirama. Your power is still far from enough." Hashirama smiled and shook his head, forming seals with both hands. "Sage Art – Wood Release – True Several Thousand Hands!"
Terrifying chakra surged forth. The entire land trembled violently as a colossal Thousand-Armed Buddha slowly rose from the ground.
If the two knockoff Nine-Tails were like mountain peaks, then the Thousand-Armed Buddha was the boundless, endless sky. Before it, Kinkaku and Ginkaku were nothing more than laughable insects.
Seeing this, Tobirama clenched his teeth. He knew he could no longer stop Hashirama…
At this moment, Li Jiexuan stood together with Hashirama atop the Buddha's head, gazing down upon all living beings…
"Are you going to die?"
Hashirama Senju was like an ancient, rotting tree, dry bark continuously peeling away from his body…
Facing Li Jiexuan's question, Hashirama smiled and shook his head. "Falling leaves and withering branches are not death. When I burn away completely, the ashes left behind will nourish new, tender leaves."
"Not this again…"
Back when he watched the anime, countless people had been brainwashed by this line. Li Jiexuan stubbornly glared at him. "I might not be the tender leaf you imagine!"
Hearing this, Hashirama burst into laughter. "That's right, my captain. You're already a fully grown ninja. Your future will go far beyond mine!"
Beyond the First Hokage? Once, Li Jiexuan had been full of confidence about that. But now, standing atop this heaven-piercing giant Buddha…
"Can I really surpass this sky?"
For the first time, Li Jiexuan doubted himself. No matter how hard he tried, he still couldn't change history. In the end, all he could do was try to trade his own life for the Second Hokage's.
Could someone like him truly surpass the God of Shinobi?
"What's wrong, Captain? Losing confidence in yourself?" the First Hokage laughed loudly. "If that's the case, I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving Tsunade to you!"
"What the hell!?"
Li Jiexuan gritted his teeth and roared, "Old man, what nonsense are you spouting!? Forget the sky—my destination is the sea of stars!"
"Now that's more like it, my captain!"
Hashirama laughed heartily, then casually grabbed Kinkaku and Ginkaku as if pinching snails. The once-arrogant brothers were no different from chickens in his hands…
"What a pity the Nine-Tails isn't here!"
As he spoke, Hashirama used a sealing technique to extract the Nine-Tails' chakra from their bodies and stuffed it straight into Li Jiexuan.
"Ding… Obtained Nine-Tails Chakra (Residual Grade)."
"Ding… Obtained Hashirama Cells (Origin Grade)."
"What is this supposed to be?"
Li Jiexuan stared in shock. Do all you Hokage just love stuffing things into other people's bodies!?
Hashirama didn't explain. He simply gave Li Jiexuan a gentle push, sending him back down to the ground…
Kinkaku and Ginkaku's troops had already arrived. Ninjas covered the mountains like swarms of ants, rushing toward the Thousand-Armed Buddha.
"Li Jiexuan, Tsunade, and Konoha—I'll leave them to you." Hashirama smiled softly as his entire body slowly turned to wood. "Wood Release – Top Deity!"
The terrifying Thousand-Armed Buddha moved! Thousands of mountain-sized wooden fists crashed down, flattening all of the Cloud Village's mountain ranges. The invading thousands of Cloud ninja were instantly reduced to dust…
"Big brother!" "Lord First Hokage!"
The Second Hokage and Hiruzen cried out in grief. Meanwhile, Li Jiexuan, falling continuously from the sky, felt strangely calm. In his heart lingered an unresolved question…
"Hokage… what kind of existence is it, really?"
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