Chapter 204 (Patreon)

In the coastal forest bordering the beach, Konoha and Kirigakure shinobi were locked in a fierce battle.

While the ordinary shinobi fought one another, the commanders faced their counterparts. Orochimaru and Danzo, the commander and deputy commander of Konoha’s Eastern Front, were battling Kirigakure’s young Fourth Mizukage, Karatachi Yagura.

Orochimaru regarded Yagura with undisguised fascination, while Danzo’s expression had darkened considerably.

There was only one reason the two of them would react so differently in the middle of such an important battle.

Yagura was using Wood Release.

Wood Release had once belonged exclusively to Hashirama Senju, the man revered as the God of Shinobi and the First Hokage of Konoha. It was a kekkei genkai that not even another member of the Senju clan had inherited.

Yet now, a young Kirigakure shinobi who had only recently become Mizukage and was still relatively unknown throughout the shinobi world possessed that very same power.

Danzo landed beside Orochimaru and spoke in a low, grave voice.

“Orochimaru, we must capture the Mizukage alive, no matter the cost.”

Orochimaru’s lips curled into a wide smile. His long, serpentine tongue slipped out and passed over them as excitement gleamed in his eyes.

“I want him as a test subject.”

Yagura did not hear their quiet exchange.

His entire body was enveloped by White Zetsu, greatly enhancing his physical abilities. As far as he was concerned, the battle was progressing exactly as he had hoped.

He alone had managed to hold back two of Konoha’s strongest shinobi. Without Orochimaru and Danzo supporting them, the remaining Konoha forces would be no match for the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.

All he had to do was keep the two of them occupied. If he could defeat them as well, victory on this battlefield would undoubtedly belong to Kirigakure.

A smile appeared on Yagura’s face.

He quickly formed a series of hand seals and unleashed the Wood Release technique Uchiha Madara had taught him.

The moment he brought his hands together, countless sharpened branches erupted from the ground, forcing Orochimaru and Danzo to leap aside.

“Konoha shinobi, how does it feel to be driven back by Wood Release?”

Neither of them answered his taunt.

They responded with ninjutsu.

“Wind Release: Vacuum Serial Waves!”

“Many Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!”

Danzo’s wind blades tore through the air while numerous serpents shot out from Orochimaru’s sleeves, one attack providing overwhelming force while the other restricted Yagura’s movements.

Yagura remained where he was.

He raised his right arm, which transformed into countless intertwined wooden tendrils. The tendrils expanded rapidly, forming a dense barrier that blocked Danzo’s Wind Release before tearing Orochimaru’s snakes apart.

“This is youth!”

Two or three hundred metres away from their battlefield, Might Duy sent one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen flying with a powerful kick before landing between them and the nearby Konoha shinobi.

Some of the Seven Swordsmen stood on the ground, while others balanced on branches or leaned casually against tree trunks. These seven elite jōnin of Kirigakure showed little concern for the strangely dressed man who had suddenly appeared before them.

The man Duy had kicked away was Jinpachi Munashi, wielder of Shibuki, the Blastsword.

“You ridiculous Konoha clown!”

Jinpachi climbed to his feet, gripping the scroll-like blade lined with explosive tags. His eyes burned with murderous fury.

“You dare catch me off guard?”

Jinin Akebino threw back his head and laughed. In his hands was Kabutowari, the Bluntsword, composed of an enormous axe connected to a heavy hammer.

Despite his confident appearance, Duy could feel the pressure bearing down on him.

Since becoming a jōnin, he had never faced opponents as dangerous as these seven.

“Everyone, fall back! Leave them to me!”

After warning the Konoha shinobi who had been preparing to support him, Duy activated the Eight Gates without hesitation.

“The Seventh Gate—the Gate of Wonder, open!”

A violent blue aura erupted around his body.

Duy immediately used Soru and vanished from where he stood. Before any of the Seven Swordsmen could follow his movement, he appeared directly in front of Jinpachi and extended his right index finger.

“Shigan!”

His finger pierced Jinpachi’s heart.

The attack had been so fast that none of the Seven Swordsmen had managed to react.

Only when Jinpachi was sent flying backward, his eyes wide with disbelief and a hole driven through his chest, did the others understand what had happened.

Their companion had been killed in a single strike.

There was no grief in the eyes of the remaining six. There was only rage at having been humiliated—and excitement at the appearance of a powerful enemy.

“This one is mine!”

Before his voice had even faded, Kushimaru Kuriarare, the fastest among them and the wielder of Nuibari, the Longsword, used the Body Flicker Technique to appear behind Duy.

The thin, needle-like blade shot toward Duy’s heart.

Sensing the attack at the last possible moment, Duy used Kami-e. His body bent sharply to the left like a loose sheet of paper, allowing Nuibari to pass within inches of his chest.

After avoiding the thrust, Duy tightened the muscles around his waist and twisted halfway around. His right leg swept through the air in a powerful roundhouse kick.

“Rankyaku!”

A compressed blade of air flew toward Kushimaru.

The counterattack came so suddenly that even Kushimaru’s remarkable speed barely allowed him to evade it.

That brief exchange erased every trace of contempt from the remaining Seven Swordsmen.

Those standing on the branches dropped to the ground, spreading out to surround Duy from every direction.

“Attack together and kill him!” Jinin shouted.

Gripping Kabutowari, he charged first.

“Teacher Kizaru, my youth is burning brighter than ever!”

Duy shouted with exhilaration and rushed forward to meet him head-on.

While Duy held the Seven Ninja Swordsmen at bay by himself, the battle between Orochimaru, Danzo, and Yagura grew increasingly intense.

Based on his own strength alone, Yagura could never have fought two Kage-level shinobi like Orochimaru and Danzo at the same time.

Wood Release was partly responsible for allowing him to keep pace with them, but the far more important factor was the White Zetsu attached to his body.

White Zetsu enhanced Yagura’s physical abilities and amplified the Wood Release granted to him. With its assistance, the Fourth Mizukage could fight Orochimaru and Danzo simultaneously without immediately being overwhelmed.

After seven or eight exchanges, Orochimaru had gained a rough understanding of Yagura’s strength.

He had no desire to drag out the battle any longer. If the fighting continued and his forces suffered too many casualties, he might end up being outdone by Jiraiya on the other front.

Orochimaru decided to reveal one of his trump cards.

So you can use Wood Release...

Then let us see how it compares to the real thing.

Orochimaru signalled for Danzo to keep Yagura occupied before retreating a short distance. He formed a series of hand seals, and a coffin bearing the character for “One” rose from the ground.

Both Danzo and Yagura immediately noticed what he was doing.

Danzo was stunned. He could not help feeling that Orochimaru was going far beyond what the situation required.

Yagura, meanwhile, became even more cautious. He widened the distance between himself and Danzo, preparing himself for whatever might emerge from the coffin.

When Yagura retreated, Danzo did not pursue him. Instead, he also withdrew and landed beside Orochimaru.

“Orochimaru, what are you planning?”

As the leader of Root, Danzo had personally helped Orochimaru collect the corpses of numerous powerful shinobi. That only made it harder for him to understand why Orochimaru had chosen to summon the First Hokage immediately.

There were countless dead experts from the Five Great Shinobi Villages. Could he not have summoned anyone else?

Why did it have to be the First Hokage?

And what if Hashirama-sama refused to return to the Pure Land after the battle?

Would that not threaten his nephew’s position as Hokage?

“Danzo-sama, aren’t you curious about this man’s true strength?” Orochimaru asked, staring at the coffin with intense interest.

Danzo looked at him as if the countless hours he had spent inside the Research Institute had finally damaged his mind.

Danzo had been Tobirama’s student. He had lived during Hashirama’s reign. Although he had been too young to witness the First Hokage fight very often, he had heard more than enough stories from his teacher.

Why would he need to be curious?

Although, if he were being entirely honest, there was still a small part of him that wanted to witness it for himself.

Only a very small part.

“Just make certain you have considered the consequences,” Danzo warned coldly, refusing to answer Orochimaru’s question directly.

Orochimaru smiled with excitement and returned his attention to the Edo Tensei.

The coffin lid opened.

Under Orochimaru’s control, the figure resting inside slowly opened his eyes and stepped forward.

Long black hair fell over the crimson armour covering his body, while a Konoha forehead protector rested across his brow.

The First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, had returned to the world of the living.

Hashirama looked around in confusion, seemingly unable to understand what had happened.

“What is going on?”

His exceptional sensory abilities soon allowed him to recognise that he was standing in the middle of a battlefield. He also sensed a faintly familiar chakra behind him.

“Oh... Is this another war?”

Hashirama covered his face with one hand and released a helpless sigh.

“Hashirama-sama.”

Danzo could not keep the emotion from his voice.

After more than thirty years, he was once again standing before the First Hokage—the God of Shinobi whom he had admired since childhood.

Hearing someone call his name, Hashirama turned around.

He stared at Danzo for several moments, and a flicker of recognition gradually appeared on his face.

“Oh! You are...”

Hashirama raised one hand and pointed at him as though the answer were on the tip of his tongue.

Danzo nodded eagerly. His excitement grew when he realised that Hashirama might still remember him.

“Who were you again?”

Hashirama placed one hand against his waist and laughed awkwardly.

Danzo’s head dropped in defeat.

After taking a moment to compose himself, he raised it again and introduced himself.

“I am Danzo Shimura, a student of Tobirama-sensei.”

“Oh!”

With that reminder, Hashirama finally recalled him.

“You have grown so old. A great deal of time must have passed.”

“It has been more than thirty years since your death,” Danzo replied, unable to hide the emotion in his voice.

“Even after all that time, people still haven’t found a way to avoid war?”

Hashirama could sense the fighting raging throughout the forest, and his expression became helpless once more.

Standing beside Danzo, Orochimaru carefully studied the First Hokage he had summoned.

Hashirama was completely different from what he had imagined. There was hardly any trace of the overwhelming dignity one would expect from the legendary God of Shinobi.

Then Orochimaru remembered Kizaru’s perpetually relaxed, almost mocking demeanour.

Could eccentricity be a requirement for anyone destined to become the God of Shinobi?

“You were the one who summoned me, weren’t you?” Hashirama asked, folding his arms. “You must have used one of Tobirama’s techniques. I warned him not to develop things like this.”

“It is indeed a technique created by the Second Hokage,” Orochimaru replied.

Hashirama stared at the unfamiliar man in front of him before glancing toward Danzo, silently asking for an explanation.

“This is Orochimaru, one of Konoha’s most gifted shinobi and a student of the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen,” Danzo explained.

“Hiruzen became Hokage?”

The mention of the Hokage immediately caught Hashirama’s interest.

“Hiruzen served as the Third Hokage. The village is currently led by the Fourth Hokage, Shimura Kizaru. He is my nephew and one of Hiruzen’s students.”

Danzo could not keep the pride from his face as he spoke of Kizaru.

“Did Hiruzen die as well?”

Since the village already had a Fourth Hokage, Hashirama naturally assumed Hiruzen had died in battle.

“No. Hiruzen is still alive. He simply stepped down and passed the position to Kizaru,” Danzo quickly clarified.

“So he is still alive? That is good to hear!”

Hashirama immediately brightened and laughed heartily.

In the distance, Yagura silently watched the Konoha shinobi reminisce. He neither spoke nor attempted to attack them.

He had clearly heard what they were saying.

The man who had emerged from the coffin was supposedly Konoha’s deceased First Hokage, Hashirama Senju.

How was such a thing possible?

Did Konoha truly possess a technique capable of bringing the dead back to life?

Yagura immediately thought of his late wife.

If the shinobi named Orochimaru could summon the First Hokage, did that mean he could also bring Yagura’s wife back from the dead?

That faint hope was enough to keep Yagura from interrupting their conversation. He wanted to observe the man who had emerged from the coffin and determine whether he truly was the First Hokage.

“First Hokage-sama, Konoha is currently under attack by Kirigakure, Kumogakure, and Iwagakure,” Orochimaru explained. “We summoned you because we need your strength to overcome this crisis.”

Orochimaru deliberately concealed part of the truth.

He did not reveal Konoha’s current military strength, nor did he explain that this war was little more than a trial for the village.

Just as Orochimaru expected, Hashirama’s expression immediately became serious.

There was only one thing Hashirama valued above everything else.

The village.

After hearing that Konoha was being attacked by three of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, and knowing that the situation had become desperate enough for him to be summoned from the dead, Hashirama naturally assumed the village was facing a crisis that threatened its very survival.

“This body is too weak,” Hashirama said after examining his condition. “It cannot draw out even half the strength I possessed while alive.”

Orochimaru was surprised.

To prepare a suitable sacrifice, he had specifically chosen a jōnin who had been imprisoned in Konoha’s prison.

“Even so, I will do everything I can.”

Hashirama turned toward Yagura.

The moment his gaze settled on the Fourth Mizukage, he sensed traces of his own power within him.

Hashirama released his chakra.

Even in this incomplete body, the pressure produced by his chakra was terrifying. The atmosphere throughout the surrounding forest changed, and the nearby trees trembled beneath its weight.

“Mizukage of the Mist,” Hashirama demanded, fixing Yagura with a fierce gaze, “why do I sense my power within you?”

As the direct target of Hashirama’s pressure, Yagura felt as though an enormous weight had descended upon him.

For the first time, he truly understood why Hashirama Senju had been called the God of Shinobi.

At the same time, another thought entered his mind.

Hashirama had been dead for more than thirty years, and this reanimated body could not wield even half his original strength. Yet his chakra alone was still this overwhelming.

Then just how powerful was Konoha’s new God of Shinobi, who was still young and had not yet reached his peak?

“I am Karatachi Yagura, the Fourth Mizukage of Kirigakure,” Yagura declared.

He resisted Hashirama’s oppressive chakra and stood his ground, refusing to surrender the dignity and pride of a Kage.

“I merely awakened the Wood Release kekkei genkai. That power does not belong solely to you, First Hokage.”

The instant Yagura finished speaking, Hashirama disappeared.

He reappeared beside Yagura and placed his right hand on the young Mizukage’s shoulder.

Yagura tried to react, but an immense surge of chakra instantly suppressed his body and rendered him incapable of moving.

“What is this thing attached to you?”

Hashirama tightened his grip and pulled.

With nothing but raw strength, he tore the White Zetsu away from Yagura’s body.

“White Zetsu?”

Danzo immediately recognised the creature in Hashirama’s hand. Kizaru had already informed him of its existence.

“Fourth Mizukage, you truly are connected to Uchiha Madara!”

“Uchiha Madara?”

The moment he heard that familiar name, Hashirama’s expression became far more solemn.

“Danzo, what is this about Madara?”

“Hashirama-sama, Uchiha Madara is still alive,” Danzo answered. “He stole your cells and used them to obtain the power of Wood Release. He has remained hidden in the shadows for decades, plotting something we have yet to uncover. Both Kizaru and I suspect that this Shinobi World War is part of Madara’s plan.”

Hashirama lowered his head and released a weary sigh.

“So he still hasn’t given up...”