Land of Rain, Amegakure.
"Wood-Release user…someone with a second pair of Rinnegan…"
Tendo Pain glanced at the photos and intelligence that Konan handed him. Wearing an impassive expression, he said, "It seems that to become a true god, I have to pass the test fate has set for me."
"No matter who it is, nobody can stop me from achieving peace!"
Unlike Tendo Pain's lofty declarations, on Uchiha Obito and Black/White Zetsu's side, the atmosphere was heavier.
"First there was that mysterious figure with the Rinnegan, and now a legitimate Wood-Release ninja. Lately, the surprises just keep popping up!"
Obito looked at Izayoi's profile with obvious annoyance. "That kid survived the Nine-Tails incident—fine. But at his age, to be wielding Wood Release at that level? Clearly this wasn't something that only just awakened. How could he stand hiding it for so long? Doesn't he know how important Wood Release is? The minute he revealed it, Konoha would've poured everything into cultivating him!"
If Izayoi had exposed his Wood Release earlier, then when Obito wiped out the Uchiha clan, he could've also taken out that threat.
But now…
Five nature transformations, an advanced Rasengan variant, plus flight and Wood Release. Unless he manages a perfect surprise attack, even Obito can't do much about him.
Especially flight. It's exactly the kind of ability Obito hates dealing with the most.
"You don't suppose…he's actually that mysterious person?" White Zetsu suddenly blurted out, hitting on the truth.
But Obito immediately shot him down. "Can a Rinnegan switch back to a normal-looking eye?"
White Zetsu shut up at once.
Of course it can—if the Rinnegan was awakened naturally by that person, rather than transplanted.
In his mind, Black Zetsu also doubted Izayoi was the mysterious figure. If Izayoi had the Rinnegan, that would mean he had completed the "Polar Reversal" (the merging of Yin and Yang) even before graduating from the Academy—something Madara Uchiha only managed when he was old and near death. That's impossible.
The process of merging Yin and Yang demands someone be the reincarnation of either Asura or Indra, and push the "Sage's Body" or Sharingan to its extreme, then obtain a supreme Yin or Yang power and fuse them, slowly developing the power of "all creation."
Every one of those steps is nightmarishly difficult and takes ages.
Black Zetsu spent over a thousand years just to create a second pair of Rinnegan. A kid who only recently graduated couldn't manage it.
Even if Izayoi's Rinnegan were transplanted, he'd be in the same situation as the young Nagato back then, unable to fully harness it.
Plus, if the Rinnegan were transplanted, it couldn't switch back to a normal state.
And if Izayoi were secretly from the Ōtsutsuki clan on the Moon, sent to Konoha, he'd have white hair and the Byakugan. Clearly, Izayoi doesn't meet any of those conditions.
He's just a lucky kid—the descendant of Hashirama Senju, arguably the most exceptional Asura reincarnation in history—who, by chance, inherited Wood Release after decades of the bloodline lying dormant.
That said, the future of this Wood Release user definitely won't match the heights of Hashirama, who had the Sage's Body.
But he did inherit Tobirama's talent for ninjutsu. By this age, he's already got multiple nature transformations mastered, plus he's developed Storm Release and Dust Release.
Once Konoha starts training him in earnest, he might well become the next Tobirama in terms of ninjutsu. That alone makes him a huge threat to the Eye of the Moon Plan.
At that thought, Black Zetsu silently cursed his rotten luck.
All this trouble…damn Hagoromo and Hamura. You two unfilial sons died ages ago, and I'm still dealing with the mess you left behind!
Of course, no one knew how aggrieved Black Zetsu felt.
Right after Izayoi's info spread throughout the ninja world, a bounty for him appeared on the black market.
The amount? A whopping 180 million ryō.
For comparison, Sarutobi Asuma—an Elite Jōnin, member of the "Guardian Shinobi Twelve," and son of the Hokage—had only a 35 million ryō bounty on the black market.
Yet some rookie who graduated not long ago was worth 180 million and instantly shot to the top of the black market's "Most Wanted" list.
From that, it's clear how much money the mastermind is willing to sink into eliminating a Wood-Release threat.
Izayoi, for his part, had zero knowledge of this.
If he did know, he'd probably sneer just like Sasuke sometimes does.
"Broke losers! That amount of money can't even buy the plot of land for my new house. You think I'm that cheap?"
It also highlights how little "tool-like" ninjas seem to be worth. Even a user of the legendary power that once ended the Warring States period fetches a price that might not sound all that high.
…
During those two days, Izayoi passed along the method to train in the "Super Typhoon Serial Spheres" to Sasuke, and also used Storm Release: Judgment to carefully do some logging, controlling the destructive force so as not to cause a ruckus.
It took two full days just to clear away all the towering trees in the Uchiha district and along the Naka River.
Over the course of it, Hinata and Karin contributed the most.
Sasuke tried using Chidori to chop down a giant trunk that would take a dozen people to encircle—only to run out of chakra before it even fell. He was left trembling from exhaustion.
Meanwhile, Karin and Hinata, who both had vast chakra reserves and had begun learning "monster strength" punches, turned those giant trees into personal punching bags. Together, they could knock down dozens of big trunks a day, leaving Sasuke a bit demoralized.
During that time, the "Rookie 9" and other friends also came to visit, eager to see Izayoi. His newfound fame eclipsed even that of a typical celebrity.
"Izayoi, you sly dog! You hid this all along!"
"Yeah, I thought people were mixing you up with someone else—but it's really you!"
"A Senju descendant with legendary Wood Release? Wow. You definitely owe us a feast."
"…"
Izayoi couldn't shake them off, so he had to put on a banquet at Sasuke's place to feed these "troublemaker friends."
At least they had some sense of loyalty—after they were done eating and drinking, they helped Izayoi chop trees. Although, aside from Naruto, most of them didn't really contribute much.
Naruto, though, used Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu plus Rasengan to help out, effectively doing the most work. Izayoi secretly rewarded him with a scroll for a new jutsu—Wind Release: Vacuum Great Sphere.
In terms of the five basic chakra natures, this jutsu's rank is akin to the Uchiha's Fire Release: Dragon Flame Bullet—technically still a lower-level jutsu, and not exactly rare.
But Naruto was beyond grateful. After all, he'd had to beg Kakashi for ages to learn even Wind Release: Great Breakthrough. Kakashi then pretty much said, "One Wind Release technique is enough," and never taught Naruto anything more advanced in wind-style.
If not for learning Rasengan from Jiraiya, Naruto would still only have the single Wind Release: Great Breakthrough technique.
Now, simply by swinging by to see how Izayoi was doing—and help out a bit—he'd been gifted a brand-new jutsu scroll.
"Just as I thought: after Old Man Third and Iruka-sensei, you're the third person who truly recognizes me! And you're also the rival I respect!"
Feeling like a kid who'd just gotten a favorite new toy, Naruto left with a grin.
…
"That was…ridiculous," Karin said, sitting on the engawa and wiping sweat from her brow with a handkerchief. "It took us two whole days just to clear a fraction of the trees. I can't even imagine how spectacular Izayoi's Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence must've looked on a battlefield."
"Right?" Hinata nodded in agreement.
Although Hinata didn't see it firsthand that night, two days of nonstop logging left her fully aware of how crazy strong Wood Release can be. She also realized why the elders in her clan had suddenly warmed up to her so much, pestering her about Izayoi and dropping hints that she ought to make their relationship official.
Wood Release is just too powerful!
At the same time, Hinata couldn't help a little private delight. If even the Hyūga elders were in favor, and her father wouldn't stand in the way, she could confess to Izayoi any time with nothing stopping her now.
But after he interrupted her last attempt, Hinata had lost the courage to be so forward. She really was shy.
Meanwhile, Izayoi, who'd just finished sending off the "Rookie 9," activated Wood Release: Four-Pillar House Technique (a three-room, one-living-room setup) to restore the Uchiha district after Deep Forest Emergence had destroyed much of it.
After all, Konoha might expand into this area in the future—making the land worth a fortune. Izayoi wouldn't want to devalue his little brother's property.
When everything was back in shape, Izayoi said to Sasuke—who didn't seem to care much about the damage—"Go pack your things. We're heading out soon."
"Got it!" Sasuke's eyes lit up and he immediately Flicker away to get ready.
Izayoi went to let the two girls know what was going on.
"Wait—you and Sasuke-kun are heading out?" Karin asked timidly, looking around. "Then I guess I'll stay at Hinata's place in the meantime. How long will you be gone?"
"Hard to say. Could be two or three days if we're quick, or maybe a week or more," Izayoi answered with a smile. "You two should keep training hard. If not, by the time we get back, Sasuke might leave you in the dust."
"Right!"
The girls froze a second, then exchanged glances before nodding firmly.
"And Hinata," Izayoi added, "if you have time, would you mind keeping an eye on the workers building my new house? If no one supervises, I worry they might run into issues that cause delays."
"Leave it to me," Hinata said softly with a smile.
After chatting a bit more, Izayoi grabbed his stuff, made a quick stop by the Naka River, then took Sasuke to file travel papers at the gate before heading straight to the Land of Fields.
Indeed, Izayoi's plan for Sasuke's "injection" was to meet with Orochimaru. More precisely, with Orochimaru's knowledge and Kabuto's surgical expertise.
Though Izayoi had the "Medical Genius" trait by name, he hadn't actually studied medical ninjutsu. He was very sure Sasuke wouldn't have any real problems with the Hashirama cell transplant—if something did go wrong, Izayoi could use Wood Release to absorb the runaway power. But you can't beat professionals with a do-it-yourself approach.
And if they connected with Orochimaru, they might also snag the Ryūchi Cave Summoning Scroll, which would boost Sasuke's strength even further.
If Tsunade and the slug sage refused to sign Hinata onto the Shikkotsu Forest contract, Ryūchi Cave was also an option. Someday Izayoi might want to learn Sage Mode, and at that point, it'd be good to have the Three Great Sage Lands available.
So a trip to Orochimaru was a must.
About halfway there, Sasuke finally realized what was happening. He stared wide-eyed. "Land of Fields… The person you're taking me to see—is it Orochimaru?!"
"Bingo."
"You're out of your mind," Sasuke said, incredulous. "You know that snake freak wants my Sharingan, and you're literally bringing me right to his front door? Aren't you worried we'll get trapped?"
"Relax, he's not the same Orochimaru we met in the Forest of Death," Izayoi assured him. "During the Chūnin Exams, the Third Hokage sealed the soul of his arms. Right now, he can't perform any of his usual ninjutsu, and his body's on the brink of collapse. He's at his weakest point."
"The village will probably find that out once they dig into the brains of those Sound Four corpses, so they'll definitely strike back soon. By then, it'd be much harder for us to find him."
Izayoi looked at Sasuke with a confident smile. "Besides, don't you trust my strength by now? Would I bring you here if I wasn't sure we could handle it?"
Sasuke let out a breath, clearly relieved.
It's not that he was a coward—but it had only been three months since the Forest of Death exam in July. The memory of Orochimaru's killing intent making him vomit on the spot still haunted him.
Little did he know, with his current three-tomoe Sharingan and stronger illusions, even a fully capable Orochimaru would have a tough time nabbing him.
Land of Fields is one of the Land of Fire's neighboring nations to the north. Starting in Konoha, if you cross a forest and some grasslands—passing through the Valley of the End, where the God of Shinobi used Wood Release to shape the landscape—you'll soon reach the Land of Fields.
Even for a genin traveling at top speed, it doesn't take a full day. For Izayoi and Sasuke, both using Lightning Release chakra to boost their speed, it took only half a day.
Izayoi had perfect intel on Orochimaru's whereabouts: after leaving Konoha, Izayoi's shadow clone—assigned to protect Ranmaru—had trailed Orochimaru at a distance, watching him return to his underground base from across half the Land of Fire.
He hadn't killed Danzo right away, partly because of the Hashirama cell supply. And the plan to help Sasuke get stronger and boost Izayoi's "drop rate" also required certain moves.
Boom!
Izayoi smashed the ground with a single punch, unleashing a frightening burst of chakra that ripped open a passage leading underground.
Next thing, Izayoi and Sasuke headed in.
They had walked only a little ways when a group of Sound nin appeared in the corridor.
Izayoi turned to Sasuke with a casual smile. "Here's a little test for you. Deal with these guys, then come find me afterward."
With that, Izayoi's body seemed to vanish as though via teleportation.
A gust of wind swirled past the Sound nin.
Sasuke's three-tomoe Sharingan spun. He looked rattled, clearly having seen something astonishing. "Lightning chakra stimulation on the inside, Wind Release on the outside—so that's how he's hitting such ridiculous speeds. That guy…"
But soon Sasuke's lips curled into a smirk. "I see what he did. And once I learn Wind Release, it'll be mine!"
In a gust like flickering lightning, Izayoi zipped through corridor after corridor. Eventually, he arrived in a dimly lit chamber.
"Hey there…we meet again, Lord Orochimaru."
Izayoi raised a hand in greeting, his tone oddly warm and friendly. Meanwhile, Orochimaru—his entire body wrapped in bandages, near collapse, with blood oozing from his pores—could only stare.
~~~
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