After returning ho, a hearty breakfast was already laid out on the table.
Their whole family were working people—model employees of Konoha. They ate breakfast before heading to work, handled lunch on their own, and ca back ho for dinner.
If soone was on the night shift, then that was another matter.
Seeing her son co in, Higashino gumi smiled. "Oh? Makoto-sensei just got back from class? Go wash up and co eat."
"You guys go ahead. Yamato, help take a day off—I'm not going to ANBU today."
Yamato was a bit surprised. Although this cheap older brother of his liked to slack off at work on a daily basis, he knew that was actually part of his training. He had never taken leave for no reason out of laziness.
He asked with concern, "Makoto, are you feeling unwell sowhere?"
"No, I feel great. Also, call niisan. Right now, I really am your niisan."
With a smug look, Makoto raised his hand—and a small sapling sprouted from his palm.
The whole family instantly exploded.
Yamato: It's over. This guy actually succeeded in training Wood Release. Now he's really my biological big brother… so do I call him that or not from now on?
gumi fell silent, lowering her head to look at her stomach: What exactly did I give birth to? Could it be that I also have so kind of super hidden talent?
Jirō: As expected of my son—he has the bearing of a Hokage! Hahahaha!
Just like how Makoto hadn't told Tenten to keep it a secret, he also didn't keep it from his family—because now, there was no need anymore.
If anyone dared to get any ideas, he'd just hit them with a warning via Top Transford Buddha.
Don't doubt whether a ninja who is even more ruthless than Senju Hashirama in a constant Sage Mode can pull that off.
Yamato: "You really trained Wood Release? Then why are you still taking leave? Did it affect your body? Should we go to the hospital?"
"Idiot. I'm a dical ninja myself, and Mom is too—why would we need to go to the hospital? Don't worry, it's just that my chakra is a bit restless."
After saying that, Makoto went straight to his room, leaving the other three staring at each other.
His strength had already reached a level they couldn't understand. None of them even knew what "restless chakra" ant—could chakra even be described like that?
Yamato didn't understand either. Even he didn't know how his own Wood Release worked.
It wasn't that he could use Wood Release—he was just a transporter of Wood Release chakra inside his body.
...
Inside the room, Makoto sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, beginning to sense the changes in the Yin–Yang properties of his chakra.
Perhaps due to the successful developnt of Wood Release, the Yin–Yang properties of his chakra had advanced by leaps and bounds, directly reaching the limit of the second stage.
If described nurically, the ratio of Yin and Yang had reached 99.9%, only to get stuck at the final critical 0.1%.
Makoto felt speechless. Why was it stuck now? Why hadn't it gone all the way to the end of Yin and Yang?
Had his chakra learned bad habits? Was it playing a Pinduoduo-style trick on him?
That wouldn't do. He imdiately began pushing forward, determined to close that final gap.
Ti passed quickly as he struggled against the Yin–Yang nature of his chakra.
By evening, Makoto opened his eyes and scratched his head.
He hadn't succeeded—but he had found a bit of direction.
That final step couldn't be achieved through training alone. It required a certain insight and opportunity.
Blindly forcing it would only lead into a dead end.
At that mont, his passive perception sensed quite a few people in the living room outside—familiar chakra signatures.
He had already noticed when they arrived, about half an hour ago. But since he was at ho and imrsed in pushing his Yin–Yang attributes, he hadn't paid attention.
Standing up and opening the door, just as expected, his family had returned—and both his teammates and Gekkō Kumomi were there as well.
Kushina stayed ho to take care of the child, so she didn't co. Instead, Namikaze Minato was present.
The Third Hokage, along with the two advisors Homura and Koharu, were also in his house. Unlike Danzō, these two were fundantally different—though stubborn, they still placed the village's future above personal interests.
And in their eyes, Makoto was the future of the village.
It seed that his sudden leave had made everyone concerned about his condition.
"What are you all doing here? I'm fine—no need to worry."
Yūgao looked worried. "How could we not worry? You've never even gotten sick since you were little."
Minato smiled. "Well, Yamato couldn't really explain things clearly, so we all ca together to take a look."
Makoto glanced at his parents and Yamato. As expected of ninja—keeping secrets had beco instinct. Unlike the younger Tenten, even without being told, they wouldn't casually reveal the matter of Wood Release.
But in truth, there was nothing to hide anymore. Aside from the special nature of his soul and the white natural energy—those absolutely had to remain secret—even his Sage Mode had already been told to Minato.
Makoto explained, "I successfully trained Wood Release. It caused so unexpected changes in my chakra—but it's not a big problem."
This was a huge problem.
The three elders froze on the spot. Soone had actually developed Wood Release purely through training—without transplanting First Hokage cells, without relying on bloodline—just like that.
If that wasn't a big problem, then what was?
Hiruzen asked tensely, "Makoto, are you certain you succeeded?"
"Yes, Third Hokage-sama."
Makoto raised his hand and ford a sapling.
Hiruzen and the two advisors imdiately stepped forward to examine it—and confird that it was indeed Wood Release. They were far too familiar with it.
Ever since the First Hokage's death, they had dread of restoring this bloodline ability. That was why they had blindly started human experints—only to be struck hard by reality.
Homura said, "Looks like it's a change brought about by successfully developing Wood Release. That's good. As long as you're fine."
Koharu reached out a slightly trembling hand to touch the sapling. "Makoto… is this all you can do for now? It should still need ti to grow, right?"
Makoto: "What do you an, grow? I just don't want to tear my house down."
Hiruzen asked, "Makoto, to what extent can you use it now?"
"Well… I'm not sure. I haven't seen what the First Hokage's Wood Release really looks like. But I'm probably about the sa as him. This isn't a good place to demonstrate—let's go to the back mountain."
The group gathered in a circle. With Makoto, a chakra powerhouse, present, Minato lazily took advantage of the situation and didn't need to use Flying Thunder God himself.
Everyone felt a blur—and the next mont, they were already at the foot of a mountain behind the Hokage Rock, a place Makoto often used for training.
Hiruzen wasted no ti, quickly forming hand seals and summoning a scroll.
"Makoto, this is a record of Wood Release techniques left by the Second Hokage. You can use it as a reference."
This was indeed the style of the first two Hokage—one spoke, the other recorded. The older brother handled dreams and his best friend; the younger brother handled the practical implentation.
"Thank you, Third Hokage-sama."
Makoto took the scroll and skimd through it quickly.
The scroll only recorded the hand seals and descriptions of Wood Release techniques—even those used in Sage Mode. As for the principles behind them, Senju Tobirama had only made preliminary guesses, hoping future generations could reproduce it.
He himself couldn't figure it out—despite having greater talent in ninjutsu than his brother and developing nurous forbidden techniques, Wood Release remained beyond him.
Hand seals? Those were just sothing Senju Hashirama summarized for others' convenience. He himself didn't need them—clap his hands once, and anything he wanted would appear.
Maybe even that hand clap was just sothing he did to make himself look like a ninja.
Makoto was the sa.
He clapped his hands once—and it was done.
Wood Release: Nativity of a World of Trees!
As his chakra poured into the ground, trees burst out from the soil, rapidly turning a vast stretch of land into a forest.
It didn't look particularly dangerous—but on a battlefield, any enemy inside that forest who wasn't strong enough wouldn't escape. They'd all be strung up on the trees to die.
It wasn't over.
Makoto kept his hands together, only slightly adjusting the flow of chakra within his body.
Wood Release: Wood Dragon Technique!
A massive wooden dragon grew out from the forest ahead, forming as it rose into the sky before coiling downward. Its enormous head hovered in the air, staring at the crowd.
Everyone felt imnse pressure. Regardless of whether they could win or not, just the sheer size alone was enough to intimidate.
Yamato stood there, dumbfounded. He looked at the vast forest and the majestic wood dragon… then at his own hands.
His mood instantly collapsed.
My Wood Release… is fake, right? It has to be fake, right?
Soon after, Makoto dispelled the technique.
"Third Hokage-sama, I won't demonstrate the rest. The commotion would be too big—it might cause panic in the village."
Hiruzen looked at him as if he were seeing Hashirama himself. "The rest? Makoto, I rember so techniques require Sage Mode to use, don't they?"
Makoto removed his forehead protector, revealing a celestial ring-like Sage marking on his forehead—similar to Hashirama's.
"Sage Mode? I've always been able to use it."
Hiruzen and the two advisors stared at those extrely familiar markings—and only one person ca to mind.
They unconsciously spoke his na aloud: "Hashirama-sama."
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