Chapter 109: Wood Release

Overwhelming gold dust surged wildly from the earth, obscuring the sky and the sunlight, and causing Pakura to reveal an expression of disbelief.

Uchiha Feiyu waved his hand casually, and a massive amount of gold dust condensed into a giant golden pillar, which fell upon the earth like the Sea-Stabilizing Needle, landing right in front of Pakura.

Pakura blankly reached out her hand and gently stroked the pillar condensed from gold dust, finally confirming that it was indeed the gold sand that could only be condensed by the Magnet Release unique to Sunagakure.

"How is this possible... You, you actually reproduced the Gold Sand Ninja Art?!!"

"And the gold sand you control is far stronger than Rasa's."

Pakura had also seen the Fourth Kazekage take action and pan for gold; the amount of gold sand Rasa could pan at once was not even one-third of Uchiha Feiyu's, and the gap between the two was simply too vast.

There was no helping it; not to mention that Rasa's own chakra was already far inferior to Uchiha Feiyu, whose bloodline was continuously advancing and who was cheating by consuming souls every day.

Speaking purely of the fundamental foundation, Uchiha Feiyu's chakra nature transformation and shape transformation also far exceeded Rasa's, which naturally led to the same ninja art being several times stronger in Uchiha Feiyu's hands, even for Bloodline Limit ninja arts.

"As far as I know, after Rasa died, your Sunagakure no longer had any legitimate Magnet Release ninja, and you also lost a major source of income, right?"

Hearing Uchiha Feiyu's question, Pakura's face suddenly flushed, and she stammered in reply:

"Or one could say, in your ninja village, for anyone who can master the Sand Control Technique, it is not too difficult to learn Magnet Release... at most, it requires paying a slight price."

More important than Magnet Release? Pakura had an expression of disbelief after hearing this.

Pakura tried very hard to suppress the look of surprise on her face, but the corners of her mouth turning up still betrayed her mood:

"If you have this ability, it would indeed be very helpful to the Sand Ninja... Wait, you said you could let the Sand Ninja learn this kind of ninja art?"

Uchiha Feiyu rolled his eyes; did she think they didn't want to pan for gold? The key was that they didn't have the ability!

Apart from the Fourth Kazekage, even if other Kazekage awakened Magnet Release, they didn't control gold sand; if they wanted to pan for gold, they didn't have the conditions!

Magnet Release was already Sunagakure's strongest heritage; not only was it powerful and integrated offense and defense, but it had also been developed to be very mature by successive Kazekage, and most importantly, it was extremely adapted to the desert terrain, with its power increasing a notch in the desert.

"I have a special method that can help the ninjas of Sunagakure learn Magnet Release... Do you think this ability is enough to develop the Sand Ninja?"

This price sounded quite high, but Pakura did not change her expression; among ninjas, fewer than one in ten could die of old age. If those Sand Control ninjas knew that paying such a price would allow them to learn Magnet Release, they would absolutely not have the slightest hesitation.

"It depends on their talent. If the talent is high enough, they might just be weak for a day or two; if the talent is insufficient and they insist on learning it, they will likely pay with several to over a dozen years of their lifespan!"

Whether from the perspective of prestige or effect, Pakura did not think any other ninja art could exceed the significance of Magnet Release to the Sand Ninja.

"N... not bad. In fact, only the Fourth Kazekage ever panned for gold; the other Kazekage never did such a thing."

Even, let alone the most severe case of several to over a dozen years of lifespan, even if it meant directly shortening their lives by twenty or thirty years, they would never let this opportunity slip by.

"It is certainly impossible for everyone to learn it, but as long as the basic Wind Release and Earth Release chakra nature transformations pass, then I can help them take that final step."

On the ground, one after another, grass sprouts and tree branches slowly grew out, and in a moment, they permeated several kilometers of the desert area. Pakura's entire complexion changed completely, and she screamed out loud:

Having the shadow of a village run to dig sand and pan for gold to subsidize the village's expenses was, after all, not a glorious thing, and Pakura was naturally a bit embarrassed.

"How about it? Which of the two, Wood Release or Magnet Release, do you think is more useful to Sunagakure?"

"Pay a price, what kind of price?"

"Th-this is... this is Wood Release ninja art!!!!"

In the Ninja World, a short life was never the problem; being weak was!

"What I know is not just Magnet Release ninja art; there is also a ninja art that is far more important to Sunagakure than Magnet Release..."

But the next second, Pakura knew she was wrong; there was indeed a ninja art in this world that was a thousand or a hundred times more important in significance to Sunagakure than Magnet Release!

Uchiha Feiyu pressed his palms together, and chakra full of vitality radiated from his body. In an instant, the entire desert seemed to come alive, emitting a rustling sound.

The Gold Sand Ninja Art was slightly inferior in power to the Sand Iron Ninja Art among Magnet Release, but it had extremely important significance to the entire Sunagakure's economy, even more important than ordinary Magnet Release.

"Is that all the price required? I believe the Sand Ninja will absolutely be able to bear it!"

Regarding Uchiha Feiyu's question, the excited Pakura did not hesitate at all and spoke directly:

"With the Wood Release Ninja Art, who would still want to learn that sand-playing Magnet Release! Haven't we seen enough sand in our daily lives?!!"

Although disparaging her own village's prized ninja art like this was beneath the dignity of the Fifth Kazekage, having seen the Wood Release, Pakura's mind was already too excited to think of anything else, and she immediately blurted out what was in her heart.

Yes, Magnet Release was very important to Sunagakure, and it was also very powerful when in the Land of Wind, but compared to Wood Release, it was nothing.

If you went and asked all the ninjas of Sunagakure whether they wanted Wood Release or Magnet Release, the answer you would get would absolutely be a unanimous Wood Release!

In terms of power, although Pakura had great confidence in the Magnet Release of her village's successive Kazekage, if compared to the Wood Release of that God of Shinobi, Senju Hashirama, even this Fifth Kazekage could not lie to her conscience and say Magnet Release was more powerful than Wood Release.

In terms of effect, Magnet Release could exert greater power here in the desert, and the Gold Sand Ninja Art could be used to pan for gold to fill the village's treasury, but compared to the Wood Release's ability to plant trees and forests to transform the desert, the importance of Magnet Release plummeted.

It was no wonder Pakura was so excited, as if she had seen the hope of Sunagakure.

"By the way, can your Wood Release also be taught to our ninjas?"

"Sorry, this Wood Release stuff is different from Magnet Release; I can't teach it."

Uchiha Feiyu flatly rejected Pakura's request. He could forcibly make ninjas who met the conditions learn Magnet Release because he relied on the soul of the Fourth Kazekage in his hand; by relying on the ability of forced possession, he could naturally make those ninjas who already met the conditions synthesize Magnet Release chakra.

As for Wood Release, that was the result of Uchiha Feiyu's bloodline atavism and the awakening of an incomplete Sage Body. He didn't have a soul that knew Wood Release in his hand, so it was naturally impossible to teach the Sand Ninja Wood Release.

Even if he could teach the Sand Ninja Wood Release, Uchiha Feiyu would never teach it.

Unlike Magnet Release, a ninja art that could only be used for mining, the importance of Wood Release to the Sand Ninja meant that as long as Uchiha Feiyu retained its exclusivity, he would not have to worry about Sunagakure escaping his grasp.

Pakura's expression stiffened slightly, but putting herself in his shoes, she could also understand Uchiha Feiyu's thinking, it was just hard to accept in her heart.

However, considering Uchiha Feiyu's strength, even if Pakura found it hard to accept, in the end, she could only let the matter drop.

After calming down a little, Pakura thought carefully in her heart that she didn't seem to be at a loss either.

After all, whether it was Wood Release or Magnet Release, in the end, it was all something gained for free, and if Uchiha Feiyu was truly willing to help Sunagakure, then the Sand Ninja could also use the power of Wood Release to transform the environment of the Land of Wind.

Thinking of this, Pakura's expression improved a lot. Originally, she had to obey Uchiha Feiyu due to the situation, but now that she thought about it carefully, it didn't seem like a bad thing?

When Pakura and Uchiha Feiyu returned to Sunagakure, they saw a large number of ninjas blocking the entrance, their faces full of surprise.

Uchiha Feiyu and Pakura had been negotiating not far from the Sand Ninja, and since Uchiha Feiyu's Wood Release didn't pursue power but rather the largest area, even the entrance and even a small half of the interior of Sunagakure were already covered with all kinds of plants.

The ninjas of Sunagakure were not idiots; such a strange scene obviously could not be any natural phenomenon, and the most likely possibility was some kind of ninja art, and the one that best fit the requirements was naturally the famous Wood Release ninja art of the Ninja World.

Although it looked like this Wood Release ninja art didn't have much strength, did the ninjas of Sunagakure care about that? What they cared about was that Wood Release could make plants grow in the desert!

Plants and water, in the desert-covered Land of Wind, were treasures more precious than gold. The Sand Ninja had dreamed of the day their own ninja village could become surrounded by green trees and fragrant flowers, and as a result, half of the dream had been completed today; many Sand Ninja still felt like they were dreaming!

"Kazekage-sama... what exactly is going on? Could it be that you have learned Wood Release?"

An elderly ninja who looked quite aged walked out and spoke tremblingly. Pakura opened her mouth, glanced at the masked Uchiha Feiyu, and only after seeing Uchiha Feiyu nod slightly did she speak:

"It is not a ninjutsu I performed, but this member of the Shadow Guard beside me; he has already synthesized the Wood Release Bloodline Limit."

Wood Release is a Bloodline Limit formed by the fusion of Water-style chakra and Earth-style chakra; this point is widely circulated throughout the Ninja World, and in theory, ordinary ninja can indeed cultivate Wood Release.

However, for so many years, the various Ninja Villages have conducted much research on this, yet apart from Senju Hashirama, not a single ninja has truly been able to develop Wood Release through the fusion of chakra, which shows just how difficult it is.

Sunagakure, which has an incomparable longing for Wood Release, naturally also conducted research on this, but the result of the research was that there were no results. They never expected that now, when all ninja had long since given up hope, a Wood Release ninja would suddenly emerge in the village!

"Great, this is truly great! Our Sand Ninja are finally saved!"

This old ninja was streaming with tears, making Pakura feel incomparably awkward for a moment. What did it mean that Sunagakure was saved... to say nothing of the fact that Sunagakure wasn't exactly on the verge of destruction, right?

Although... during this period, Sunagakure had indeed been going from bad to worse, and it seemed it was not far from completely collapsing and falling out of the Five Great Shinobi Villages.

At the entrance of Sunagakure, there were several Jonin who had also participated in yesterday's meeting. Originally, these Jonin felt some dissatisfaction in their hearts regarding the mysterious Shadow Guard that Pakura had brought out, who was even unwilling to take off his mask.

However, upon learning that the other party was a Wood Release ninja, all this dissatisfaction vanished, leaving only overflowing joy.

They also guessed that this masked ninja might have another identity and was not a ninja of Sunagakure at all, but what problem was there with that?

No matter where the other party was a ninja from, as long as the other party was willing to use Wood Release to transform the environment of Sunagakure, then let alone wanting to be in the Shadow Guard, even if he wanted to be a high-ranking official or an Elder of the village, they would raise both hands and feet in agreement.

Amidst the cheering and welcoming of a crowd of ninja, Uchiha Feiyu and Pakura walked into Sunagakure. In order to better win over people's hearts, Uchiha Feiyu performed a Wood Release ninjutsu once more, immediately causing the entire canyon where Sunagakure was located to be covered in green trees and grass, which also ushered in even greater cheers.

Not until returning to the Kazekage Office did the smile on Pakura's lips close up slightly, and even looking at the Uchiha Feiyu before her, he didn't seem as annoying as he was at the beginning.

Unfortunately, the next second, Pakura immediately retracted her thoughts. She saw Uchiha Feiyu snap his fingers, and the ninja who had followed Pakura into the office immediately retreated respectfully and even closed the office door.

Then Uchiha Feiyu stretched, sat down on the Kazekage's chair, propped his two legs directly onto the desk, and said:

"Pour me a glass of water, Miss Kazekage."

The smile on Pakura's face stiffened, and she clenched her fists, but in the end, she still ran to pour a glass of water and handed it to Uchiha Feiyu.

After taking a sip of water, Uchiha Feiyu stretched and said relaxedly:

"Now that I have revealed my abilities, shouldn't you also show some of your sincerity, Miss Kazekage?"

"Sincerity!? What do you want?"

Pakura was slightly stunned, the expression on her face somewhat startled. Uchiha Feiyu chuckled:

"Even when you have your own village's ninja carry out missions, you have to pay them! Let alone the fact that I am not even a ninja under your command. Whether it's helping Sunagakure with greening or helping you create Magnet Release ninja, it can't all be for nothing!"

"Didn't you say you wanted to control the entire Sunagakure? Since even the village is yours, what reward do you still want?"

Pakura rolled her eyes and said directly. In reality, Sunagakure was penniless, and she really couldn't think of what reward to give.

"Heh heh, stop trying to swap concepts with me here. You wouldn't want me to use Genjutsu and resort to force, would you?"

Hearing Uchiha Feiyu's threat, Pakura secretly gritted her teeth:

"Alright then, what kind of reward do you want? Let's get this straight first: Sunagakure doesn't have any money right now."

(End of this chapter)