Later, the Third Hokage arrived, seeking to understand why Mito had released such a tremendous amount of chakra, creating a palpable pressure throughout the village.
Nawaki wasn't around when Mito conversed with the Third Hokage; he, along with Tsunade, had gone to prepare some food, and Kushina had joined them.
Kushina, despite her curiosity about the situation, tactfully refrained from asking too many questions.
Mito rejoined them after spending about half an hour talking with the Third Hokage, who eventually departed. She did not disclose the details of their conversation.
That evening, Mito's appetite was noticeably larger than usual. She consumed an amount of food that could easily feed five people.
"Grandma Mito, you're really eating a lot tonight dattebane!" Kushina remarked, both surprised and a bit concerned.
She couldn't help but wonder if Mito would face any challenges later due to consuming such a large quantity of meat, the thought alone sending a shiver down her spine...
-
-
Nawaki, upon encountering five black tigers with silky fur, each standing seven meters tall, summoned all his shadow clones to his side. These tigers appeared to possess a powerful divine art, similar to the regeneration divine art rather than an elemental one. Their formidable defense suggested either a natural robustness or an exceptional divine art. These tigers were engaged in a battle with six gray lizards and seemed to have the upper hand.
At this moment, Nawaki's shadow clones converged, encircling both the black tigers and the gray lizards. Utilizing the divine arts of fire, lightning, and wind, the clones launched a full-force assault on the beasts.
With over 400 shadow clones attacking, even these powerful magical beasts began to sustain injuries, bleeding from multiple wounds. The tigers roared in fury and concern as a black light enveloped them, forming a thin layer of black crystal over their bodies.
Nawaki and his shadow clones, their expressions cold and indifferent, intensified their assault, combining the forces of wind, fire, and lightning.
The sounds of their fists colliding with the tigers' crystal layer echoed loudly. The combined elemental forces wreaked havoc, causing cracks to appear in the crystal armor and inflicting further damage on the tigers.
Repeated impacts:
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
"Bang! ..."
11x "Thud!"
Finally, the massive bodies of the tigers and lizards succumbed, collapsing onto the devastated terrain.
Nawaki, ceasing the assault, dismissed the shadow clones to recuperate their power and created 200 new ones for the next phase.
As they watched, the bodies of the lizards and tigers dissolved into dust, leaving behind orbs. Each tiger yielded three red and three purple orbs, comparable in size and energy density to those left by the lizards. In total, they collected 15 purple orbs and 15 red orbs.
Among these, one orb stood out – a black crystal orb, about the size of two fists and containing a metallic light, similar in size to the orbs from the divine art of lizard regeneration.
Nawaki's eyes sparkled with excitement upon seeing it. 'I knew these tigers would possess some unique divine art!' he thought.
Additionally, there were two crystal orbs from the lizards' divine art of regeneration.
With another successful harvest completed, Nawaki eagerly gathered the orbs into his mental dimension, feeling a sense of accomplishment and relief.
-
-
As time progressed, Nawaki spent a total of four days in the pocket hunting dimension.
'It's almost time...' he thought to himself, aware of the four-day limit for his stay in the dimension.
While everything in the dimension was beneficial, the one downside was that he hadn't eaten in four days. Though his enhanced physical state allowed him to go without food for a few weeks, the prospect of preparing a delicious meal after capturing some lizards and sheep was appealing.
Besides, his time there had been fruitful. He had acquired 15 crystal orbs of the lightning divine art and 5 crystal orbs of what he believed to be tiger divine art, likely related to bodily defense. These were in addition to crystal orbs of regeneration divine art, and surprisingly, some orbs of lightning and wind divine arts from the sheep, which he hadn't anticipated possessing any divine art.
Moreover, he had obtained 6 Crystal Orbs of the Divine Regeneration Art.
With such a sizable haul of orbs, Nawaki was eager to exit the dimension and return to the outside world.
-
-
When Nawaki opened his eyes, he found himself in his room and closed them again. He glanced at his harvest, and a smile blossomed on his face.
"With all this, I should be able to grow stronger, right?" He still had the task of sending shadow clones to the Hidden Cloud Village in the morning. Improving even slightly before that would be ideal.
"Is Sis in the shower?" Even with his eyes shut, he sensed her presence in the bathroom and heard the shower running. He planned to discuss his findings with her later.
Nawaki gazed at the black crystal orb, deciding to utilize it first.
Before beginning, he had already started using the purple orbs, enhancing his understanding and making it easier for him to grasp divine arts.
Consequently, the image of the black divine art crystal orb vanished from his mind.
The orb transformed into a stream of black light, merging with Nawaki's body.
The black light coursed through his skin, flesh, sinew, bones, and organs, feeling like countless needles pricking every part of his body.
Nawaki inhaled deeply as he reached for another purple orb.
Purple light flew into his brain, instantly clarifying his mind.
He soon became immersed in mastering the divine art.
After using the purple orb, Nawaki's mind achieved exceptional clarity, absorbing all the divine art information.
In the dimly lit room, Nawaki sat on his bed, his body intermittently glowing with a dark metallic light.
After some time, the pain began to fade until it disappeared entirely. He had fully assimilated the divine art into his body.
Nawaki opened his eyes, which gleamed gray-green with a metallic hue. Though his physical appearance remained unchanged, there was a palpable aura of dominance around him. Tsunade, returning from her bath, sensed it too.
"A new divine art?" Tsunade surmised.
"Yes, and… Sis, I think I can use Wood Style now..." Nawaki said, his voice tinged with uncertainty.
It was merely a feeling, but since learning this body-related divine art, he sensed the potential to merge water and earth styles, creating Wood Style.
Before Tsunade could recover from her surprise, Nawaki rose to his feet, muttering, "Wood Style, transformation."
In the next moment, with Nawaki's hands forming the snake seal, dark woods sprouted from the floor, encircling him. A smokescreen billowed.
Tsunade's eyes widened in shock.
As the smoke cleared, she saw a creature on the left side, white and mangled, and on the right, pitch black with dark yellow round eyes, lacking visible sclera or pupils.
The black color didn't cover his entire body, only extending partially down his leg.
The extension, resembling a carnivorous plant, was easily distinguishable as it emerged from the sides of the creature, enveloping its head and upper body like a shield, possibly capable of opening and closing. Beneath this extension, the deformed being sported short green hair.
"Sis, this is the appearance and chakra mark of the man I mentioned earlier, if he can even be called human." Nawaki, in the guise of Black Zetsu and mimicking Zetsu's cold, evil voice, said, "This being is responsible for manipulating the villages to attack the Uzumaki Clan."
"I understand, but now revert to your original form," Tsunade urged, feeling chills upon hearing that cold, menacing voice address her as 'Sis'.
Nawaki complied, and the transformation was reversed.
As the smokescreen dissipated, Nawaki returned to his original form.
"And to think you could use the Wood Style…" Tsunade finally had the chance to express her surprise: "Sigh, Nawaki, you must keep this a secret for now. If others learn you possess the Wood Style, they might target you before you reach the stature of the second God of Shinobi." Her words were not without foundation.
The fear and respect that other villages held for their grandfather, Hashirama, was something unlikely to fade.
Should these villages discover that a descendant of Hashirama could use Wood Style, they might stop at nothing to kill or capture him.
It was best not to use this ability recklessly.
Tsunade might have been overthinking, but she believed it prudent to avoid any risk until Nawaki grew stronger.
"I understand, I'll only use it in the hunting dimension, or in secrecy, like transforming into someone for impersonation, since the wood-style transformation is nearly flawless," Nawaki replied with a small smile.
Hearing this, Tsunade felt somewhat relieved.
"That's right, if I hadn't seen your transformation earlier, I wouldn't have recognized you just now," Tsunade agreed, then asked, "What about this new divine art?"
"It's a divine art related to the body. For now, I'm calling it divine body art. It enhances my body by strengthening it, which might be why I can use Wood Style," Nawaki explained.
Tsunade pondered this. She understood that theoretically, combining water style and earth style with natural energy should produce Wood Style. However, even proficient users like Jiraiya, who had Sage Mode, natural energy, and affinities for both water and earth styles, failed to achieve Wood Style.
This suggested the necessity of a special body. She also noticed that Nawaki's Wood Style, immediately after learning the divine art, was dark, matching the aura he emitted during the learning process.
"Sis, you might have guessed it, but now, with this divine body art, I can use Wood Style. Our grandfather's body was unique, and I also possess a regenerative ability similar to his," Nawaki added.
Tsunade, listening, found his explanation plausible.
"It makes sense. With Wood Style, your efforts in the hunting dimension should be easier, right?" she asked rhetorically.
"I believe so," Nawaki said. "Using Wood Style makes it easy to trap magical beasts, allowing a clone to hold them while another eliminates them. This will significantly increase our hunting speed."
Tsunade nodded, then inquired, "How many of these divine body arts did you obtain?"
Nawaki responded, "I acquired five of the divine body arts, six of regeneration, and fifteen of Lightning Divine Art."
Nawaki offered her two regenerations, one body art, and five lightning arts. Before she could decline, he explained, "Sis, these are the maximum I can absorb tonight. Having more would be wasteful since I'll acquire more after sleeping tonight."
"...Okay." Tsunade accepted, seeing the logic in his reasoning.
"Let's start meditating. Maybe you'll be able to use Wood Style afterward!" Nawaki was excited at the prospect.
If Tsunade could also use Wood Style, it would be remarkable. Given her greater power, her use of Wood Style could be even more impactful.
Tsunade nodded, filled with anticipation. She held great admiration for her grandfather, and the idea of mastering the same Wood Style as him filled her with joy.
Several hours later, as the sun rose, Nawaki opened his eyes and looked outside. The clear sky was illuminated by the morning sun.
After utilizing all the divine art orbs, his mastery of Lightning Art had significantly improved. He sensed that it might now surpass his abilities in Wind and Fire Divine Art.
The divine body art had made him feel much stronger, as if he had undergone years of physical training, elevating his bodily strength to the level of a jonin or even higher.
Regarding the art of regeneration, Nawaki tested it by making a small cut on himself using the wind. Remarkably, his skin began regenerating even as it was being cut. The cut was barely visible, almost as if it hadn't really happened.
'I've become stronger again...' he thought to himself.
Nawaki realized that this latest enhancement was substantial. He felt capable of using 600 shadow clones without feeling overwhelmed.
He contemplated using wood clones but decided against it, at least for outside use. Heeding Tsunade's advice, it was best not to reveal his newfound powers just yet.
||- Note -||
Read 30+ chapter on Patre on!
pa treon.com/Tozoku
Later, the Third Hokage arrived, seeking to understand why Mito had released such a tremendous amount of chakra, creating a palpable pressure throughout the village.
Nawaki wasn't around when Mito conversed with the Third Hokage; he, along with Tsunade, had gone to prepare some food, and Kushina had joined them.
Kushina, despite her curiosity about the situation, tactfully refrained from asking too many questions.
Mito rejoined them after spending about half an hour talking with the Third Hokage, who eventually departed. She did not disclose the details of their conversation.
That evening, Mito's appetite was noticeably larger than usual. She consumed an amount of food that could easily feed five people.
"Grandma Mito, you're really eating a lot tonight dattebane!" Kushina remarked, both surprised and a bit concerned.
She couldn't help but wonder if Mito would face any challenges later due to consuming such a large quantity of meat, the thought alone sending a shiver down her spine...
-
-
Nawaki, upon encountering five black tigers with silky fur, each standing seven meters tall, summoned all his shadow clones to his side. These tigers appeared to possess a powerful divine art, similar to the regeneration divine art rather than an elemental one. Their formidable defense suggested either a natural robustness or an exceptional divine art. These tigers were engaged in a battle with six gray lizards and seemed to have the upper hand.
At this moment, Nawaki's shadow clones converged, encircling both the black tigers and the gray lizards. Utilizing the divine arts of fire, lightning, and wind, the clones launched a full-force assault on the beasts.
With over 400 shadow clones attacking, even these powerful magical beasts began to sustain injuries, bleeding from multiple wounds. The tigers roared in fury and concern as a black light enveloped them, forming a thin layer of black crystal over their bodies.
Nawaki and his shadow clones, their expressions cold and indifferent, intensified their assault, combining the forces of wind, fire, and lightning.
The sounds of their fists colliding with the tigers' crystal layer echoed loudly. The combined elemental forces wreaked havoc, causing cracks to appear in the crystal armor and inflicting further damage on the tigers.
Repeated impacts:
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
"Bang! ..."
11x "Thud!"
Finally, the massive bodies of the tigers and lizards succumbed, collapsing onto the devastated terrain.
Nawaki, ceasing the assault, dismissed the shadow clones to recuperate their power and created 200 new ones for the next phase.
As they watched, the bodies of the lizards and tigers dissolved into dust, leaving behind orbs. Each tiger yielded three red and three purple orbs, comparable in size and energy density to those left by the lizards. In total, they collected 15 purple orbs and 15 red orbs.
Among these, one orb stood out – a black crystal orb, about the size of two fists and containing a metallic light, similar in size to the orbs from the divine art of lizard regeneration.
Nawaki's eyes sparkled with excitement upon seeing it. 'I knew these tigers would possess some unique divine art!' he thought.
Additionally, there were two crystal orbs from the lizards' divine art of regeneration.
With another successful harvest completed, Nawaki eagerly gathered the orbs into his mental dimension, feeling a sense of accomplishment and relief.
-
-
As time progressed, Nawaki spent a total of four days in the pocket hunting dimension.
'It's almost time...' he thought to himself, aware of the four-day limit for his stay in the dimension.
While everything in the dimension was beneficial, the one downside was that he hadn't eaten in four days. Though his enhanced physical state allowed him to go without food for a few weeks, the prospect of preparing a delicious meal after capturing some lizards and sheep was appealing.
Besides, his time there had been fruitful. He had acquired 15 crystal orbs of the lightning divine art and 5 crystal orbs of what he believed to be tiger divine art, likely related to bodily defense. These were in addition to crystal orbs of regeneration divine art, and surprisingly, some orbs of lightning and wind divine arts from the sheep, which he hadn't anticipated possessing any divine art.
Moreover, he had obtained 6 Crystal Orbs of the Divine Regeneration Art.
With such a sizable haul of orbs, Nawaki was eager to exit the dimension and return to the outside world.
-
-
When Nawaki opened his eyes, he found himself in his room and closed them again. He glanced at his harvest, and a smile blossomed on his face.
"With all this, I should be able to grow stronger, right?" He still had the task of sending shadow clones to the Hidden Cloud Village in the morning. Improving even slightly before that would be ideal.
"Is Sis in the shower?" Even with his eyes shut, he sensed her presence in the bathroom and heard the shower running. He planned to discuss his findings with her later.
Nawaki gazed at the black crystal orb, deciding to utilize it first.
Before beginning, he had already started using the purple orbs, enhancing his understanding and making it easier for him to grasp divine arts.
Consequently, the image of the black divine art crystal orb vanished from his mind.
The orb transformed into a stream of black light, merging with Nawaki's body.
The black light coursed through his skin, flesh, sinew, bones, and organs, feeling like countless needles pricking every part of his body.
Nawaki inhaled deeply as he reached for another purple orb.
Purple light flew into his brain, instantly clarifying his mind.
He soon became immersed in mastering the divine art.
After using the purple orb, Nawaki's mind achieved exceptional clarity, absorbing all the divine art information.
In the dimly lit room, Nawaki sat on his bed, his body intermittently glowing with a dark metallic light.
After some time, the pain began to fade until it disappeared entirely. He had fully assimilated the divine art into his body.
Nawaki opened his eyes, which gleamed gray-green with a metallic hue. Though his physical appearance remained unchanged, there was a palpable aura of dominance around him. Tsunade, returning from her bath, sensed it too.
"A new divine art?" Tsunade surmised.
"Yes, and… Sis, I think I can use Wood Style now..." Nawaki said, his voice tinged with uncertainty.
It was merely a feeling, but since learning this body-related divine art, he sensed the potential to merge water and earth styles, creating Wood Style.
Before Tsunade could recover from her surprise, Nawaki rose to his feet, muttering, "Wood Style, transformation."
In the next moment, with Nawaki's hands forming the snake seal, dark woods sprouted from the floor, encircling him. A smokescreen billowed.
Tsunade's eyes widened in shock.
As the smoke cleared, she saw a creature on the left side, white and mangled, and on the right, pitch black with dark yellow round eyes, lacking visible sclera or pupils.
The black color didn't cover his entire body, only extending partially down his leg.
The extension, resembling a carnivorous plant, was easily distinguishable as it emerged from the sides of the creature, enveloping its head and upper body like a shield, possibly capable of opening and closing. Beneath this extension, the deformed being sported short green hair.
"Sis, this is the appearance and chakra mark of the man I mentioned earlier, if he can even be called human." Nawaki, in the guise of Black Zetsu and mimicking Zetsu's cold, evil voice, said, "This being is responsible for manipulating the villages to attack the Uzumaki Clan."
"I understand, but now revert to your original form," Tsunade urged, feeling chills upon hearing that cold, menacing voice address her as 'Sis'.
Nawaki complied, and the transformation was reversed.
As the smokescreen dissipated, Nawaki returned to his original form.
"And to think you could use the Wood Style…" Tsunade finally had the chance to express her surprise: "Sigh, Nawaki, you must keep this a secret for now. If others learn you possess the Wood Style, they might target you before you reach the stature of the second God of Shinobi." Her words were not without foundation.
The fear and respect that other villages held for their grandfather, Hashirama, was something unlikely to fade.
Should these villages discover that a descendant of Hashirama could use Wood Style, they might stop at nothing to kill or capture him.
It was best not to use this ability recklessly.
Tsunade might have been overthinking, but she believed it prudent to avoid any risk until Nawaki grew stronger.
"I understand, I'll only use it in the hunting dimension, or in secrecy, like transforming into someone for impersonation, since the wood-style transformation is nearly flawless," Nawaki replied with a small smile.
Hearing this, Tsunade felt somewhat relieved.
"That's right, if I hadn't seen your transformation earlier, I wouldn't have recognized you just now," Tsunade agreed, then asked, "What about this new divine art?"
"It's a divine art related to the body. For now, I'm calling it divine body art. It enhances my body by strengthening it, which might be why I can use Wood Style," Nawaki explained.
Tsunade pondered this. She understood that theoretically, combining water style and earth style with natural energy should produce Wood Style. However, even proficient users like Jiraiya, who had Sage Mode, natural energy, and affinities for both water and earth styles, failed to achieve Wood Style.
This suggested the necessity of a special body. She also noticed that Nawaki's Wood Style, immediately after learning the divine art, was dark, matching the aura he emitted during the learning process.
"Sis, you might have guessed it, but now, with this divine body art, I can use Wood Style. Our grandfather's body was unique, and I also possess a regenerative ability similar to his," Nawaki added.
Tsunade, listening, found his explanation plausible.
"It makes sense. With Wood Style, your efforts in the hunting dimension should be easier, right?" she asked rhetorically.
"I believe so," Nawaki said. "Using Wood Style makes it easy to trap magical beasts, allowing a clone to hold them while another eliminates them. This will significantly increase our hunting speed."
Tsunade nodded, then inquired, "How many of these divine body arts did you obtain?"
Nawaki responded, "I acquired five of the divine body arts, six of regeneration, and fifteen of Lightning Divine Art."
Nawaki offered her two regenerations, one body art, and five lightning arts. Before she could decline, he explained, "Sis, these are the maximum I can absorb tonight. Having more would be wasteful since I'll acquire more after sleeping tonight."
"...Okay." Tsunade accepted, seeing the logic in his reasoning.
"Let's start meditating. Maybe you'll be able to use Wood Style afterward!" Nawaki was excited at the prospect.
If Tsunade could also use Wood Style, it would be remarkable. Given her greater power, her use of Wood Style could be even more impactful.
Tsunade nodded, filled with anticipation. She held great admiration for her grandfather, and the idea of mastering the same Wood Style as him filled her with joy.
Several hours later, as the sun rose, Nawaki opened his eyes and looked outside. The clear sky was illuminated by the morning sun.
After utilizing all the divine art orbs, his mastery of Lightning Art had significantly improved. He sensed that it might now surpass his abilities in Wind and Fire Divine Art.
The divine body art had made him feel much stronger, as if he had undergone years of physical training, elevating his bodily strength to the level of a jonin or even higher.
Regarding the art of regeneration, Nawaki tested it by making a small cut on himself using the wind. Remarkably, his skin began regenerating even as it was being cut. The cut was barely visible, almost as if it hadn't really happened.
'I've become stronger again...' he thought to himself.
Nawaki realized that this latest enhancement was substantial. He felt capable of using 600 shadow clones without feeling overwhelmed.
He contemplated using wood clones but decided against it, at least for outside use. Heeding Tsunade's advice, it was best not to reveal his newfound powers just yet.
||- Note -||
Read 30+ chapter on Patre on!
pa treon.com/Tozoku
