Chapter 9: Descent of the Tree Realm

Just as before, the three Chu Yangs only stayed in the palace for a short while before being engulfed by the mist.

When they woke up again, they had returned to their respective worlds.

The Chu Yang of the Pirate World was accepting cheers from his crew on a pirate ship, while the Chu Yang of the Magic World was preparing for his enrollment at a new school.

In the Naruto World.

A massive war, one capable of changing the landscape of the ninja world, was about to break out.

In this era, hidden villages had yet to emerge. It was an age dominated by clans, a time where chaos and war were the main themes.

Within the ninja world, the two most prestigious clans were mobilizing their forces, preparing for a decisive battle.

The Senju Clan.

The Uchiha Clan.

The war between these two clans had been going on for many years; in a sense, their history of warfare was the history of the ninja world itself.

As the war progressed, the front lines of both clans stretched further and further, leading to a constant need for supplies.

Having just returned from the Soul Palace, Chu Yang immediately received orders from his clan to join a small squad tasked with ambushing the Uchiha Clan’s logistics unit.

This had almost become the norm in this war.

The Senju Clan’s logistics were also frequently raided by the Uchiha.

Both sides traded blows, gradually adapting to these raids during the war. With heightened vigilance, these surprise attacks had evolved into a contest of reconnaissance and counter-reconnaissance.

It took Chu Yang’s squad two full days of tracking across the grasslands to finally pinpoint the location of the enemy’s logistics team.

Night fell. The Uchiha logistics unit was stationed downstream of a small river, while Chu Yang and his team lay in ambush in a forest not far from the bank.

"Although the Uchiha Clan’s Sharingan isn't as good as the Hyuga Clan’s Byakugan when it comes to reconnaissance, it still possesses incredibly powerful observational capabilities."

"When we move, you must control your chakra flow carefully. Do not attract their attention."

The captain repeatedly warned the members of the squad.

Because this group was very young, they had little experience fighting the Uchiha.

There was even a teenager who had just joined the war.

The captain’s gaze lingered on Chu Yang, and he shook his head inwardly. Someone as young and inexperienced as him was the most likely to be sacrificed.

Under the cover of darkness, the squad quickly slipped into the river, slowly swimming toward the enemy camp.

Chu Yang, who was at the back of the line, sensed that something was wrong.

The number of enemies on night watch was very small, and they hadn't fully covered the perimeter of the camp—especially the side facing the river, where there wasn't even a shadow to be seen.

Furthermore, the camp was deathly quiet, as if everyone inside were fast asleep.

Both of these behaviors were extremely dangerous in the wild.

Chu Yang wanted to speak up and warn the captain, but the man was swimming at the very front of the formation, far away from him.

After reaching the shore, Chu Yang finally had the chance to whisper his concerns to the captain, but the captain, seeing how young he was, didn't take them to heart.

Chu Yang sighed. Since he couldn't persuade him, he would just have to be extra careful himself.

The captain quietly snuck into a tent...

The other team members scattered, waiting for the captain’s signal to strike together and wipe out the resting Uchiha clansmen.

But instead of the captain’s signal, they only heard a shrill, blood-curdling scream!

Damn it!

At the same time, firelight erupted from all directions. The entire camp was suddenly brightly lit, and black silhouettes swarmed out—there were Uchiha ninjas everywhere!

The next moment...

Chu Yang saw the captain being dragged out of the tent by Uchiha clansmen like a dead dog.

They had walked into an ambush!

"Find a way to break through!"

Someone in the squad shouted, and immediately, many ninjas began to flee in different directions in a panic.

"Idiots! Splitting our forces at a time like this is just asking for death! They’ve had this trap set for us all along!" Chu Yang couldn't help but curse angrily.

Sure enough, those Senju clansmen who tried to break out were cut down by the enemies lying in wait.

Seeing this, the remaining Senju clansmen quickly realized the situation and converged toward Chu Yang’s position.

"Attack!"

The Uchiha leader clearly didn't want to give the enemy a chance to catch their breath.

The two sides began a fierce skirmish!

After clashing with the enemies a few times, Chu Yang realized that their combat strength was far too high; they couldn't possibly be a logistics unit.

This so-called logistics unit had been a trap to lure them in from the very beginning!

"We will make the Senju Clan pay the price!"

The enemy was well-prepared. Whether in terms of strength or numbers, Chu Yang’s side was struggling to hold their own and quickly fell into a disadvantage!

However!

The Uchiha Clan had miscalculated!

Having returned from the Soul Palace, Chu Yang’s talent and power had surged to three times what they were before.

His proficiency with Wood Release and his chakra reserves were now enough to barely perform a portion of an ultimate-level Wood Release ninjutsu.

Just as the Senju clansmen were being pushed back step by step, Chu Yang stepped forward and began weaving hand seals.

The earth trembled.

Countless thick trees erupted from the ground, forming a sea of trees in an instant, completely enveloping the Uchiha clansmen.

[Wood Release: Deep Forest Bloom]

This was the only ultimate ninjutsu Chu Yang knew, but it wasn't the complete version of the Deep Forest Bloom, because even if he drained all the chakra in his body, this technique would only be a fraction of the original.

It was more like the low-spec version of the "Deep Forest Bloom" used by Yamato.

Its power didn't reach the ultimate level, falling somewhere between S-rank and A-rank.

Even so, it was more than enough to deal with these Uchiha clansmen.

Under Chu Yang’s control, the entire sea of trees turned into man-eating demons, constantly strangling or imprisoning the Uchiha ninjas.

They were submerged in the forest, with nowhere to stand; every inch of ground beneath their feet had become a battlefield.

There was no shortage of experts proficient in Fire Release among the Uchiha, and they didn't sit idly by. They unleashed a barrage of fire ninjutsu, attempting to burn down the forest with flames.

They clearly had never witnessed the true power of Wood Release.

The speed at which the flames destroyed the trees could not keep up with the speed at which the forest regenerated.

No matter how hard they tried, they were always engulfed by the endless sea of trees, a sight that filled them with despair.

And this was only the incomplete version of [Deep Forest Bloom]!

The enemy was completely suppressed, and the Senju clansmen seized the opportunity to launch a counterattack!

With the help of the other Senju, most of the Uchiha were killed within the sea of trees. In the blink of an eye, the advantage in the battle had been reversed by Chu Yang!

This was the terrifying power of Wood Release on the battlefield—it was enough to decide the outcome of a small-scale war!

After the Wood Release rampage, the remaining enemies chose to flee in terror of Chu Yang’s might, and the exhausted Chu Yang did not pursue them.

The surviving Senju clansmen gathered around Chu Yang, all of them looking at him with gratitude.

"Yang! Thanks to you this time, otherwise we all would have died here!"

"I never expected you to know Clan Leader Hashirama’s Wood Release!"

"I heard that Clan Leader Hashirama took in a group of young people as disciples to teach them his unique Wood Release ninjutsu. Could it be that you are one of them?"

The clansmen looked at Chu Yang in shock.