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[Konoha] Chapter 301: Water Release Chakra Mode!
🕑 Added 2024-12-31 04:30:01 +0000 UTCAs the Nine-Tails vanished, Shūichi reappeared before Kakashi and the others.
Ringo Ameyuri immediately asked, “Lord Shūichi, would you say that Shisui of the Body Flicker has reached the super-Kage level?”
Shūichi nodded. “Without the Nine-Tails, he’s about on par with Uchiha Madara before awakening the Rinnegan.”
Kitsuchi inquired, “So currently in the ninja world, aside from you, Lord Shūichi, the only ones who have reached the super-Kage level are Uchiha Madara with his Mangekyō Sharingan, Lord Hashirama, and Nagato with the Rinnegan, correct?”
“Frankly, other than you, Madara, and Lord Hashirama, it seems only Jinchūriki have a chance of reaching that level.”
Shūichi nodded. “That’s a fair assessment.”
“With your talents, reaching Kage level is certainly achievable for all of you,” he continued.
“But to become super-Kage, like Nagato, Madara, or Shisui, it’s not just a matter of skill in ninjutsu—you also need a solid foundation.”
“And that foundation is a massive amount of chakra.”
Shūichi’s gaze swept over the group. “Aside from Shisui, Kakashi, Kisame, and Guy, most of you fall short in that regard.”
Guy was startled. “Huh? My chakra is considered substantial?”
Shūichi chuckled. “Not exactly. But with the Eight Gates, which extract power at the cost of life force, reaching the Seventh Gate should be enough to rival any Kage.”
“And if you open the Eighth Gate, reaching the super-Kage level shouldn’t be an issue.”
The others were shocked, but Guy scratched his head and laughed. “If you’re saying that, Shūichi, then I’ll have to work even harder from now on!”
However, no one knew that Shūichi wasn’t exaggerating—in fact, he was underplaying it.
From the original story, the Might Guy in the final battle was at least a pseudo-Six Paths level. Shūichi believed defeating Sage Mode Hashirama would be no issue for him.
Even Hashirama’s True Several Thousand Hands and the colossal Buddha statue likely couldn’t withstand Might Guy.
“Lord Shūichi,” Yugito Nii asked, “based on what you’re saying, does this mean none of us except Shisui and the others can reach super-Kage level?”
Shūichi nodded. “In theory, that’s correct.”
“Of course, you’re an exception, given your relationship with Matatabi.”
“I plan to teach you Sage Mode. By combining it with Matatabi, you won’t even need the standard Jinchūriki transformation to wield power that rivals—or even surpasses—Jinchūriki Mode. Reaching super-Kage level is entirely possible.”
“For the rest of you, solving the chakra issue comes first.”
“Fortunately, for me, solving chakra problems isn’t difficult.”
“So you don’t need to worry about that. Instead, focus on realizing your potential and finding a path to becoming super-Kage.”
“Keep in mind that chakra quantity is just a hardware requirement. Lacking sufficient chakra doesn’t mean you can’t become super-Kage, but having plenty of chakra doesn’t guarantee you will either.”
Everyone fell into deep thought.
Shūichi’s tone shifted. “Think it over carefully.”
“Next, I’ll show you the power of the God of Shinobi—strength that’s close to Six Paths level.”
“I’ll let you witness how the God of Shinobi wields his strength!”
With that, Shūichi vanished and reappeared atop a high wall.
Turning, Uchiha Shisui and the others faced the figure of the God of Shinobi, Senju Hashirama, standing a hundred meters away. Hashirama raised his hands to form seals.
Yamato shouted a warning, “Get ready—it’s Wood Release!”
Before the words fully settled, Hashirama completed his seals. Bringing his hands together, he unleashed:
“Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!”
In an instant, massive trees roared into existence, surging forward like a tidal wave to engulf the group.
Kitsuchi’s face darkened. “Earth Release is useless against such a large-scale technique.”
Konan took to the skies.
Yamato formed seals and attempted a Wood Release of his own, but his scale was utterly dwarfed by Hashirama’s.
Kakashi created a shadow clone and shouted, “We must avoid being overwhelmed by the sea of trees!”
Leaping into the air, his clone and real body connected with arcs of lightning, forming a sharp blade of electricity that cut through the advancing forest.
The lightning carved through the trees, but more grew in their place, seemingly endless.
Kisame quickly formed seals. “Creating a more favorable environment might work too.”
“Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave!”
Kisame’s gills flared as his chest expanded, and he expelled a torrent of water, transforming the area into a vast aquatic domain.
Drawing his sword, he moved swiftly across the water’s surface, slashing at the incoming vines and branches.
Sarutobi Shinnosuke and Baki coordinated with Wind and Fire Release, unleashing a sea of flames that spread across the trees. However, the rapidly growing forest quickly smothered the blaze.
“This is insane—even Fire Release doesn’t work…” Baki muttered in disbelief.
Yugito summoned Matatabi, shouting, “We have to take out Lord Hashirama! Only by cutting through this forest can we stand a chance!”
Sarutobi Shinnosuke, Guy, and others nodded, leaping onto Matatabi’s back. Shisui activated his Susano’o, cloaking Matatabi in armor.
The two-tailed beast charged toward Hashirama, its passengers using various ninjutsu to clear a path.
From above, Konan rained down a barrage of paper shuriken, detonating them and scattering wood splinters in all directions.
But the ground trembled as wooden dragons surged forth. They quickly coiled around Matatabi, binding its limbs and tail, immobilizing it.
On Matatabi’s back, Guy, Sarutobi Shinnosuke, Kitsuchi, and the others were also ensnared by vines and hoisted into the air.
“Zzzzap!”
Kakashi appeared in a flash, wielding a Chidori Sharp Spear to slice through the thick vines, freeing Guy and the others.
Yugito shouted, “Matatabi!”
“Understood!” Matatabi roared, forming a Tailed Beast Ball in its mouth.
In the air, Konan prepared to assist, ensuring no vines would interfere. But Hashirama unsealed a scroll, summoning an arsenal of ninja tools.
The tree vines were incredibly agile, entangling or hooking onto the giant ninja tools hurled at Konan, forcing her to react seriously.
“Sixth Gate, Open!”
Guy exploded with power, his entire body cloaked in green light. His fists moved at high speed, sending flames roaring out to shatter the tree vines.
Uchiha Shisui leaped off Matatabi’s back, fully activating his Susanoo. The spinning spear in his hands temporarily blocked the oncoming sea of trees.
At last, the Tailed Beast Ball was formed and shot out by Matatabi, carving a path through the forest.
Hashirama, watching, raised a hand. Wooden stakes rose up around him, wrapping and enclosing him in a spherical defense.
The Tailed Beast Ball approached but did not break through. Instead, the spherical defense expanded, and the ball gradually rose, finally being pushed upward by the force of the defense, flying into the air under the shocked gazes of the others.
Boom!
The Tailed Beast Ball exploded, sending a brilliant light expanding in all directions, incinerating everything in its path.
When the storm subsided, Kakashi and the others looked and saw the layers of wood planks parting. Hashirama stood, unharmed.
Uchiha Shisui immediately fired a spear toward him, but Hashirama clapped his hands together, and two giant wooden palms caught the spear.
Next, Hashirama used Wood Release—Wooden Man Technique. A colossal wooden figure rose up and threw a punch, forcing Susanoo back. The figure then swung its arm, sending the spiral spear flying, which crashed into the ground.
Kitsuchi shouted, “It’s even hard to fight up close!”
Sarutobi Shinnosuke glanced at Konan in the air and said, “It looks like we’ll have to rely on Konan after all.”
Darui swung his sword and cut through a tree vine, shouting, “Then we need to figure out how to get her kunai over there!”
Guy shouted, “It’s time for Konoha’s Blue Beast to make his move!”
“Seventh Gate, Open!”
Boom!
A terrifying force erupted, sending a shockwave that destroyed all the tree vines nearby.
Guy, now surrounded by blue light, shouted, “Kakashi, get ready!”
Kakashi nodded seriously. “Understood!”
“Go!”
Yugito Nii shouted, and Matatabi charged again, joining forces with Susanoo to fight against the wooden giant.
Meanwhile, Guy, having opened the Seventh Gate, seized the opportunity to rush up the wooden figure at incredible speed, covered by the others’ defenses.
“Burn, youthful passion!”
Guy shouted, leaping into the air. He then threw his Flying Thunder God kunai.
In the next moment, with a crash, Guy was struck by a tree vine and sent flying.
At the same time, Matatabi was entangled by a wooden dragon, draining its chakra.
Sarutobi Shinnosuke and the others were jumping and dodging, avoiding the relentless vine attacks.
Kakashi dodged while keeping an eye on the flying kunai.
Suddenly, he disappeared and reappeared behind Hashirama, catching the kunai that Hashirama had evaded.
Raikiri!
Kakashi’s palm pierced Hashirama’s body.
Yamato, who had just been suspended, changed his expression. “It’s a Wood Clone!”
Kakashi realized that the wooden clone had entangled him. Just as he was about to use Flying Thunder God to escape, he noticed his chakra rapidly fading.
“This isn’t good…”
Kakashi’s body weakened, and the Tailed Beast chakra quickly dissipated.
At this point, besides Konan and Shisui, who had activated the high gates of the Susanoo, the others were all suspended in the air.
Hashirama emerged from the head of the wooden dragon wrapping Matatabi and looked down at them.
Sage Mode!
True Several Thousand Hands—Summit Buddha!
The massive wooden Buddha rose, and Hashirama leaped onto its head.
The next moment, under the shocked gazes of Kakashi and the others, a barrage of fists rained down. The fully-formed Susanoo, which had just risen, was knocked down and shattered.
Uchiha Shisui couldn’t help but laugh bitterly. “As expected of the God of Shinobi, even my Kotoamatsukami doesn’t work on him.”
He couldn’t tell if this Hashirama was the real one or if it was Shūichi controlling him.
If it was the latter, then it was no surprise because Kotoamatsukami didn’t work on Shūichi.
But if it was the real Hashirama, then this was the second person who could ignore his eye technique.
Neither Uchiha Madara nor Kaguya Ōtsutsuki could do that.
...
As expected, Uchiha Shisui and the others were defeated.
Although Konan was not captured, she alone couldn’t handle Hashirama.
The battle ended, and the group stood atop the giant tree. Shūichi spoke, “The purpose of these battles was to help you gain a clearer understanding.”
“Now, who would like to share what path they should take to become a Kage, or even a super-Kage?”
Kisame spoke up, “Lord Shūichi, I believe simply mastering Water Release would be enough to become a Kage.”
“But for super-Kage, it would probably require mastering a Kekkei Genkai, right? There’s no one in the ninja world who has reached this level with just one jutsu.”
“However, developing a Kekkei Genkai seems to be not just a matter of talent, but also requires some luck.”
Shūichi smiled and nodded. “That’s true.”
“Then, Kisame, which Kekkei Genkai do you plan to train in?”
Kisame asked, “How about Ice Release?”
“But Lord Shūichi, you don’t seem to have mastered this Kekkei Genkai.”
Shūichi smiled but said nothing. At that moment, Kakashi suddenly spoke up, “It’s freezing!”
Everyone turned to look below the tree, where they saw the water that Kisame had created earlier quickly freezing over.
Kisame's pupils contracted as he exclaimed in admiration, "As expected of Lord Shūichi!"
Shūichi looked at Kisame and said, "Then your next path is to develop your Water Release to a level where it can overpower Jōnin."
"Ice Release is achieved by combining the nature transformations of Water Release and Wind Release. Therefore, you'll also need to master Wind Release."
"From now on, Baki, you'll team up with Kisame in the training within the illusion realm."
Baki was momentarily surprised but quickly nodded. "Understood, Lord Shūichi!"
He understood Shūichi's intention: to assist Kisame in developing Wind Release.
Shūichi then turned to Baki and asked, "Baki, do you have any thoughts?"
After a brief moment of contemplation, Baki replied, "Lord Shūichi, does failing to develop a Kekkei Genkai mean one cannot reach the level of surpassing Kage?"
Shūichi shook his head. "Of course not."
"In theory, any type of jutsu has infinite potential."
"Take Fire Release, for example. If you could raise its temperature to rival that of the sun, it would also surpass Kage-level."
"But that path is very challenging."
"Developing a Kekkei Genkai is also difficult, but once mastered, advancing it becomes somewhat easier because it involves creating a new nature transformation tailored to you."
"Baki, if you want to specialize solely in Wind Release, I suggest starting by developing a Wind Release Chakra Mode that suits you."
"Using Wind Release Chakra Mode as a foundation and foothold, you can then aim for even higher levels."
Baki was taken aback. "Wind Release Chakra Mode?"
Shūichi nodded. "When I sought to raise my strength's ceiling, the first problem I solved was the issue of chakra reserves."
"After that, I focused on developing A-rank and S-rank techniques. For example, one of the first I created was Fire Release."
Boom!
A blue flame chakra cloak enveloped Shūichi's body. "This is the Fire Release Chakra Mode I developed back then. It requires not only immense chakra reserves but also incredible chakra control."
As fiery lotus blossoms bloomed layer by layer across his body, Shūichi's form lifted into the air under the stunned gazes of the group and then landed on the icy surface below.
Suddenly, Baki and the others focused their gaze.
With a deafening roar, the ice shattered, and towering columns of flame erupted skyward, encircling an area spanning a hundred meters.
Next, the group saw the flames connecting to form a barrier, within which fiery lotuses blossomed one after another, targeting the enclosed area.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The air warped, and even Baki and the others felt as if space itself was distorting.
Inside the barrier, the raging sea of flames consumed the icy surface and the water beneath in an instant.
When the technique ended, only a charred and cracked expanse of dry land remained.
Shūichi spoke. "This is Fire Prison. Back then, I used chakra blades to infuse Fire Release chakra into the ground to cast it."
"After mastering Fire Release Chakra Mode, I integrated Wind Release chakra nature transformation, increasing the flames' temperature while also Baking them more controllable."
As he spoke, the chakra cloak on Shūichi's body grew more solid.
With a casual swing of his arm, a blade of combined Wind Release and Fire Release chakra roared forth, effortlessly cleaving through the icy surface and splitting the water beneath in two.
Shūichi continued, "After integrating Wind Release, it transitioned from being a combination to a fusion of two nature transformations, resulting in Scorch Release!"
The chakra cloak on his body transformed into a Scorch Release Chakra Cloak.
This developmental process was something Shūichi had once demonstrated to Kakashi as well.
"Not just Baki—this process can serve as a reference for all of you."
Shūichi explained, "Chakra Mode is a highly versatile jutsu with immense growth potential. Its only drawback is the vast chakra reserves required to sustain it."
"Darui, Kumogakure already has the Lightning Release Chakra Mode. Since you've mastered Storm Release, the requirements for learning Lightning Release Chakra Mode are reduced. You might not even need a particularly strong physique."
"Moreover, given your current age, your chakra reserves are already considerable. By adulthood, they'll be sufficient to surpass most shinobi, Baking it feasible for you to maintain Lightning Release Chakra Mode."
"Of course, Chakra Modes don’t have to mimic the Third or Fourth Raikage exactly. Develop one that suits you."
Kisame immediately asked, "Lord Shūichi, is it possible with Water Release as well?"
"Of course."
Shūichi dissipated his Fire Release Chakra Cloak and stepped onto the water's surface.
In the next moment, the surrounding water converged, enveloping his body entirely, as Shūichi's form turned fluid.
Within moments, a massive Water Golem formed.
Kisame and Ringo couldn't help but exclaim, "Water Body Technique!"
Shūichi controlled the Water Golem, lifting an arm to deliver a powerful punch, creating a massive crater in the ground.
"In aquatic environments, this is an excellent jutsu."
Shūichi said, "Even without mastering the Water Body Technique, it can still be utilized."
As he spoke, his physical form reappeared, standing within the Water Golem.
"Moreover, Water Release Chakra Mode isn't limited to just this form."
Splash!
The Water Golem collapsed, but Shūichi's body remained covered by a flowing layer of water, resembling armor.
However, the water wasn't static—it was in constant motion.
Kisame remarked in awe, "What astonishing chakra control!"
"Perhaps that’s the most challenging part?"
(End of Chapter)
