Chapter 139: Nine-Tails and Wood Release

"Roar!!"

A terrifying roar rang out near Konoha. Sensing the chakra rushing in from afar, the Leaf Ninja, already in a state of emergency, looked toward the distance with nervous expressions.

A light like fire flickered in the distance, approaching Konoha at high speed. A moment later, a giant fire fox, twenty or thirty meters tall, appeared before the many Leaf Ninja, waving its nine massive tails.

"Nine-Tails!! It really has appeared!"

"Where is the Fourth Hokage? Could it be that the Hokage has already..."

"We cannot let this beast get any closer to Konoha! It is already within range to use a Tailed Beast Bomb! Everyone, quickly drive the Nine-Tails back."

Just then, hearing a roar, the retired Third Hokage charged out in full gear and shouted orders to the other ninja.

Sarutobi Hiruzen had served as Hokage for decades; although he was now retired, his prestige in Konoha remained unparalleled. After hearing his words, the many ninja who had been in a panic suddenly found their backbone.

"All Chunin and Genin, hurry and organize the villagers to evacuate! Jonin-level ninja, follow me!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen muttered to himself in complaint, but recalling the demeanor of the First Hokage, he figured that in the eyes of the First Hokage, the Nine-Tails was probably no different from any other tailed beast!

"Roar!!"

With an angry, giant roar from the Nine-Tails, pure sound waves accompanied by a massive amount of chakra transformed into a gale. The power was comparable to a large-scale B-rank Wind Release jutsu, blowing many of the weaker ninja back repeatedly.

Recalling a certain Sealing Technique used for desperate situations, a look of determination appeared on Sarutobi Hiruzen's face. Just then, he suddenly heard a shout from behind the Nine-Tails:

"Wood Release—Deep Forest Bloom!"

"It seems that today might be the day I use that move!"

"Damn it... this Nine-Tails fellow is far more terrifying than I imagined?!"

Following the Third Hokage's shout, a group of Konoha Jonin charged forward. But when the Nine-Tails stood its ground and fixed its cold gaze upon them, even the Jonin of Konoha felt a series of tremors.

The strength of a tailed beast is not much greater than some Shadow-level Ninja, but its deterrent power far exceeds that of an average Shadow-level Ninja. This massive clump of chakra, filled with a sense of brutality, is enough to make any slightly weaker ninja's heart race with fear.

After finishing his orders, the Third Hokage led a group of Jonin to meet the Nine-Tails. Seeing that the Nine-Tails was about to rush into the village and had even begun to condense a Tailed Beast Bomb in its mouth, the Third Hokage did not hesitate to aim the Adamantine Staff—which Enma had transformed into—at the opponent:

"The First Hokage didn't even offer a word of warning... I've really been screwed over this time!"

The Third Hokage's expression was somewhat grim, and he secretly lamented in his heart.

The Tailed Beast Bomb originally in the Nine-Tails' mouth was forced upward toward the sky by this strike. Following a thunderous explosion, a powerful shockwave swept down, blowing away the roof tiles of some buildings in Konoha.

They're all just things that can be pinned to the ground with a single slap anyway. What? You say there's a difference? Uh, maybe the Nine-Tails requires me to use a bit more chakra?

Back during the Second Ninja World War, the Third Hokage had seen the power of other tailed beasts, so in his estimation, while tailed beasts were powerful, they were by no means invincible.

"Enma! Lengthen quickly!"

If this Tailed Beast Bomb had landed in Konoha, it would likely have left a blank, desolate expanse as well...

The giant Adamantine Staff, as thick as a man's embrace, instantly extended at high speed, pressing right against the chest of the charging Nine-Tails and pushing it back.

"No matter what, we cannot let the Nine-Tails invade! Everyone, follow me and drive the Nine-Tails out!"

Looking up, many ninja were terrified to find that the clouds originally in the sky had been shattered by the Tailed Beast Bomb, and the entire sky looked clear and blue.

Not to mention that the Nine-Tails' strength is peerless among the tailed beasts, far stronger than the average Shadow-level powerhouse, and the pressure it brings is far greater than that of ordinary tailed beasts. If not for the fact that the current Leaf Ninja are battle-hardened, each one having rolled through mountains of corpses and seas of blood, ninja from a peaceful era would likely have been so scared their legs would have gone limp and they would be unable to move.

However, this Third Hokage never expected that the Nine-Tails' strength was simply not on the same level as the other tailed beasts. After all, the Nine-Tails had always been perfectly sealed by Uzumaki Mito and Uzumaki Kushina; it had never gone on a rampage, nor had it ever been on a battlefield. Thus, in the Third Hokage's mind, the Nine-Tails' strength was roughly the same as the other tailed beasts.

Amidst a rumbling sound, countless trees grew from the earth. Those thick trees twisted like giant pythons, wrapping directly around the Nine-Tails' body.

The Nine-Tails struggled desperately, and terrifying chakra erupted. Although it shattered a large number of trees, a large amount of chakra was also absorbed, causing the trees to grow faster the more they were broken. Soon, they had wrapped around half of the Nine-Tails' body.

"Am I dreaming?! Why am I seeing Tsunade using Wood Release?!"

The Third Hokage opened his mouth wide, looking in surprise at the majestic blonde woman. If he wasn't mistaken, that should be Tsunade, one of her three disciples.

"Hokage-sama, you are likely not mistaken. That is indeed the Wood Release of the Senju Clan!"

Kakashi, standing beside the Third Hokage, said with some surprise. At the same time, the Leaf Jonin behind them had begun to discuss and even cheer:

"Wood Release, that's Wood Release!"

"Has Princess Tsunade already achieved the Awakening of the Wood Release Bloodline Limit?"

"The legendary jutsu unique to the First Hokage who pacified the world—even a tailed beast cannot break free from it!"

After hearing these discussions, the Third Hokage was finally certain he hadn't seen wrong, but... Tsunade awakened Wood Release?! How is this possible?!

Having once conducted a research project on Wood Release awakening, the Third Hokage could be considered one of the ninja who understood this Bloodline Limit the best. He was very clear about one thing: Wood Release did not belong to the Senju's Bloodline Limit; it belonged solely to Senju Hashirama!

Not to mention anything else, just looking at the Wood Release cells left behind by Senju Hashirama, one could see that Wood Release was completely different from ordinary Bloodline Limits. It had already exceeded the level of bloodline awakening and could almost be called a genetic mutation.

Under normal circumstances, no matter how much a member of the Senju Clan trained, it was impossible for them to possess the level of bloodline that Senju Hashirama had. If that weren't the case, the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, wouldn't have started the Wood Release experiments; he could have just had his clansmen train in the fusion of Water and Earth to create Wood Release, right?

"Could it be that Tsunade also conducted Human Experimentation? Uh... given her level of Medical Ninjutsu, such a result is not surprising, but given her personality, would she really do such a thing?"

The Third Hokage let his mind wander for a moment, then steadied himself. Regardless of how Tsunade awakened Wood Release, the most important thing now was to seal the Nine-Tails!

Although Wood Release has a huge restraining effect on any tailed beast, the Nine-Tails, as the strongest of all the tailed beasts, would naturally not be easily subdued by a move like Deep Forest Bloom. Even though a large amount of chakra had been absorbed, it was already on the verge of breaking free.

Thinking of this, the Third Hokage performed seals with his hands and directly created four Shadow Clone Jutsu, beginning to refine chakra:

"Five Elements Release: Great Combo Technique!"

Water, Fire, Earth, Wind, and Lightning—the five powerful release techniques followed the principles of mutual generation and restraint, stimulating each other's power and transforming into a world-destroying shockwave that slammed directly into the Nine-Tails!

The Nine-Tails roared wildly and was left covered in wounds, with a large hole opened in its body. It was fortunate that these tailed beasts are energy bodies condensed from chakra; although they have some flesh-and-blood characteristics, they are ultimately far more tenacious than ordinary living creatures, or else it would have been finished off by that single blow.

As a half-ninja-art-battery type, the Third Hokage might not be able to beat the Second or Fourth Hokage in a one-on-one, but in terms of pure destructive power, in all of Konoha today, only Jiraiya in Sage Mode could rival him.

Having taken several heavy hits in a row, the Nine-Tails roared at the sky, waving its nine tails wildly and erupting with terrifying chakra energy, forming an attack like an energy storm.

Furthermore, it condensed a large number of small Tailed Beast Bombs in front of it again. This time, the Nine-Tails did not condense more chakra, but directly blasted these small Tailed Beast Bombs outward.

"Joint defense! Earth Release—Myriad Earth Flow Wall!!"

Following the Third Hokage's shout, many Leaf Jonin performed seals simultaneously, and a city wall like a cliff rose from the ground, blocking the Tailed Beast Bombs.

With a series of rumbling explosions, the entire Earth Style Wall was blown to dust. Fortunately, after being blocked by the wall, those Tailed Beast Bombs did not cause any casualties.

All those dealing with the Nine-Tails alongside the Third Hokage were Jonin. They might not be able to block a Tailed Beast Bomb, but some falling debris and shockwaves were clearly not a problem for them.

The Nine-Tails opened its mouth again, seemingly wanting to use this Tailed Beast Bomb again, but at this moment, a rumbling sound had already begun to echo from the forest behind it.

"Wood Release—Wood Dragon Technique!"

Following a light shout from Tsunade, the trees grown from the Deep Forest Bloom intertwined and rotated, condensing into a giant Wood Dragon that bared its fangs and brandished its claws, pouncing directly onto the Nine-Tails!

Almost in an instant, the Nine-Tails could feel the chakra within its body being continuously drained by the Wood Dragon; in a fit of rage, it opened its mouth wide and bit down on the Wood Dragon's neck.

But the Wood Dragon was, to put it plainly, just a large mass of trees; it had no vital points to speak of, and even the damage caused by the Nine-Tails' struggling was immediately restored under the constant absorption of chakra.

With one side weakening while the other grew stronger, coupled with the fact that the Nine-Tails was already severely injured, after having its chakra drained by the Wood Dragon for another two minutes, it finally let out a roar of unwillingness and gradually shrank back.

After the Nine-Tails disappeared, what was revealed was Uzumaki Kushina, who had her eyes tightly shut and had fallen unconscious; the Wood Dragon extended its claws, cradled Kushina in its hands, swam back to Tsunade's side, and placed Kushina into her arms.

The Third Hokage also arrived at this time with a group of Jonin, surrounding Tsunade; although he really wanted to ask what was going on with Tsunade's Wood Release, in the current situation, his primary concern was clearly the Fourth Hokage and the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

"Tsunade, what exactly is going on? I heard from Kakashi that you were attacked by an enemy?"

Tsunade nodded with a heavy expression and began to speak:

"The opponent possesses Space-Time Ninjutsu; they suddenly appeared in Kushina's delivery room and triggered the Nine-Tails' rampage..."

"The Fourth Hokage has already gone to pursue the enemy, but I don't know what the final battle situation is; it's a good thing I had an Awakening of Wood Release, otherwise it's not certain I could have suppressed the Nine-Tails."

"Space-Time Ninjutsu... has it been confirmed? Does the opponent really possess this kind of ninjutsu?"

"Beyond a doubt, the opponent, just like the Fourth Hokage, can perform Space-Time Ninjutsu; aside from Minato, I estimate no one in the entire Hidden Leaf can deal with them!"

Hearing this, the Third Hokage's brows furrowed even deeper, and he let out a long sigh:

"I hope Minato can capture this guy! A ninja who is full of hostility toward the Hidden Leaf and also possesses Space-Time Ninjutsu... the current Hidden Leaf really cannot withstand any more turmoil..."

However, things went contrary to his wishes; until the Third Hokage returned to the Ninja Village, lifted the alert, and waited for a full day and night, Namikaze Minato still had not returned.

Early the next morning, Uzumaki Kushina, who had been through the Nine-Tails' turmoil, "woke up," and Tsunade also went out for a turn and brought back the wailing Naruto.

"Naruto?! That's great, as long as Naruto is alright!"

Uzumaki Kushina held her child back, her body trembling slightly, and her eyes turned red.

Although Uchiha Feiyu was selfish, self-interested, and ruthless, and could definitely be called a demon, he at least did not go so far as to actually lay a hand on an infant; however, he did use the Swallowing Heaven Demonic Art to drain the Ashura Chakra hidden deep within Naruto's Soul.

This had a great impact on Naruto's constitution and spirit; at the very least, the future Naruto would absolutely be unable to possess the Nine-Tails-level chakra reserves like in the original story, and his constitution would also be much weaker, at most comparable to that of an ordinary member of the Uzumaki clan, or perhaps even inferior.

However, being able to keep his life was already good enough, and after having his Origin swallowed by the Swallowing Heaven Demonic Art, Naruto had no visible injuries on the surface, which let Uzumaki Kushina breathe a sigh of relief.

Even though she herself had been transformed into the appearance of Uchiha Feiyu, Uzumaki Kushina still held deep feelings for her child.

Now, seeing that Uzumaki Naruto was fine—at least on the surface—Kushina was still very happy, and even felt full of gratitude toward Uchiha Feiyu.

"Tsunade, where did you find Naruto? Did you find any news about Minato?"

After the Third Hokage learned that Tsunade had retrieved Naruto, he also came over directly and asked with a somewhat anxious voice.

"I found Naruto at the ruins of the original delivery room; as for news of Minato, I still haven't heard anything."

(End of this chapter)