Chapter 258 – Ice Age vs. Deep Forest Emergence

Mashang climbed out from the wall once again, and to his frustration, he realized he had been blasted into the exact same spot as before.

Tōshirō smirked playfully:"Looks like that really was a coincidence, huh? Don't you think?"

"Did you steal the Monster Strength Technique from Lady Tsunade?"Mashang frowned. He held the same suspicions as the rest of his clan.

"I wish," Tōshirō shrugged. "She didn't want to teach me."

One day, if he ever fully fused his kekkei tōta, the Boil Release might be eliminated. When that time came, he wouldn't be able to use this kind of devastating strength anymore.

"Wanna know why I can match your Monster Strength Technique?"He asked the question just as Mashang turned to him, eyes filled with curiosity.

"What?"

Tōshirō grinned wickedly:"Not telling you."

Mashang: …

"Alright, enough talk. I've got a date with Tsunade after this fight. I don't have time to waste fighting with some big dumb guy like you."

Tōshirō's expression turned serious. He formed hand seals rapidly, gathering chakra in his mouth and converting it into fire chakra. When he released it, the fireball exploded on the ground, radiating intense waves of heat.

Huh?The Uchiha watching from the stands were slightly surprised—it wasn't one of the clan's secret Fire Style jutsu.

Still, they didn't think much of it. The Uchiha were natural masters of Fire Release, so it wasn't strange that Tōshirō had developed his own unique technique.

What they did find strange was: why was he using Fire Release at all? Didn't he know his opponent was a Water Release expert?

Using Fire Release against Water Release was like throwing a rock into the ocean—pointless and ineffective.

The logical move would be to bring out his Ice Release and quickly finish off Mashang, to help the Uchiha regain some pride.

Fire Style: Flaming Head Carving!

Mashang furrowed his brows. Another Fire Release?

Clearly, he was being underestimated.

Tōshirō thought he could hurt him the same way again?

Mashang quickly formed hand seals and countered with a Water Release technique.

With both fighters close in power, Fire Style was naturally no match for Water Style. The outcome between Water Style: Surging Wave and Fire Style: Flaming Head Carving was clear.

The fiery wave was drowned by the tide, and even turned into a counterattack.

Tōshirō leapt high into the air, dodging the surging water. But just as he landed, Mashang seized the opportunity, rapidly forming hand seals and firing a high-pressure water jet from his mouth.

Caught off guard, Tōshirō barely had time to cross his arms to block—but the powerful water blast still sent him flying backward, slamming into a wall and creating a deep crater before the attack finally ended.

Mashang clapped his hands together, fingers interlocked in a "Snake" hand seal.

Tōshirō stepped out of the cratered wall, the surface of his skin cracked and battered. But the damage quickly began to heal.

Ice Style: Armor of Ice

Tōshirō clicked his tongue.

"That Water Release was no joke. If I hadn't wrapped myself in Ice Armor beforehand, that would've been rough."

But as he was still recovering from the shock, he suddenly noticed something strange: tender green sprouts had emerged around his feet. Even more unnerving, they were rapidly multiplying and growing right before his eyes.

Seeing this scene, someone on the Uchiha side suddenly jumped to their feet in disbelief.

No way—this is Wood Release!

When did the Senju Clan produce another Wood Release user?!

The village had indeed been conducting secret Wood Release experiments—but the Uchiha had been completely left in the dark.

Seeing the Uchiha's shocked reactions, members of the Senju side couldn't help but laugh smugly.

This was the moment they'd been waiting for. Now that Mashang had fully adapted to using Wood Release and it was nearly ready for warfare, there was no longer any need to hide it. It was the perfect time to dampen Uchiha arrogance. After all, the Uchiha thought the Senju had lost their Wood Release legacy.

"Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence!"

With a low roar, thick twisting vines erupted from the earth, rapidly growing larger, thicker, and longer at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Seeing Mashang successfully use this jutsu, some members of the Senju were moved to tears. It reminded them of the glory days following Hashirama Senju.

Sure, this Deep Forest Emergence lacked the scale and power of the original by Hashirama, but it still carried the same name. Even if it was a "budget version," it was more than enough to deal with that snot-nosed brat from the Uchiha.

So what if he had Ice Release and Boil Release, two kekkei genkai?

They were just flashy gimmicks. Before the power of Wood Release, they meant nothing.

Tōshirō stared into the writhing vines, reflected in his pupils. He could feel the extraordinary life force emanating from the trees.

"So this is the legendary Wood Release? In that case…""As Uchiha Tōshirō… it's time I got serious too."

His gaze sharpened, expression becoming ice-cold. He instantly activated Sage Mode, Level Two—half his body darkened.

He raised both arms, palms hovering in the air, then suddenly tensed. Gathering energy, he formed hand seals at lightning speed. His knees bent slightly, hands separated, and his right palm slammed forcefully onto the ground.

"Hoo..."

With a sound like a soft sigh, a puff of white smoke flowed gently from Tōshirō's mouth and drifted outward in a misty haze.

Asakura, using chakra as the source of life, infused a massive amount into the ground, causing countless vines to sprout and writhe chaotically.

The vines surged in from all directions—any delay would lead to being grabbed and immobilized. The usual response should have been to use the Body Flicker Technique to dodge or the Substitution Technique to escape.

But this seemingly obvious course of action was blatantly ignored by Tōshirō, who remained utterly unmoved.

"Ice Release: Ice Age."

With that low growl, an explosive chill erupted from Tōshirō's body like a geyser. In an instant, the entire circular arena was shrouded in snowy fog, so thick that even with a god-like vantage point, the spectators in the stands couldn't see clearly. Only after the mist slowly dispersed could the scene within the arena be seen clearly.

A world of snow and ice—no exaggeration.

Seeing the vines on the ground frozen into ice sculptures, the members of the Senju Clan in the stands were dumbfounded, expressions of disbelief on their faces.

Impossible.

Tree World Descent had actually been frozen and immobilized by mere Ice Release.

Although this was partly due to the Wood Release user not being able to fully unleash the technique's potential, it still reflected just how far Tōshirō's mastery of Ice Release had reached.

As for the idea that Ice Release was inferior to Wood Release? That was out of the question. They would never admit that. So they could only blame Asakura and put the blame on his shoulders.

"To think it would be this powerful... This is my first time seeing Tōshirō go all out."

Fugaku stared unblinkingly at the man standing atop the frozen ground, his fists clenched tightly as he vowed, "One day, I will catch up to him—and defeat him."

The Uchiha Clan Leader glanced meaningfully at Fugaku beside him. He remained silent, not wanting to dampen Fugaku's determination.

In terms of talent, even within the genius-filled Uchiha Clan, Fugaku was a standout. If it weren't for Tōshirō, Fugaku would likely have been the perfect next clan head.

But having always aimed to be the clan's strongest ninja and future leader, Fugaku had the misfortune of running into Tōshirō—a goal he could chase until death, but never reach.

"So this is Wood Release, huh? Looks like it's not that big of a deal after all."Tōshirō spoke casually, though in truth, he wasn't nearly as relaxed as he sounded.

If he hadn't previously clashed Fire Release: Hardworking Head with Water Release: Water Rush, creating large amounts of steam in the surrounding air, freezing Wood Release: Tree World Descent might've been quite difficult.

Of course, it's not like Tōshirō was some prophet. It was just a habit he'd developed—always setting up traps in advance and only triggering them if needed. In this case, it had worked beautifully.

His proud Ice Release—Ice Age—had frozen the legendary Wood Release. That should be enough to send a message to those old geezers in the stands, he figured.

Thinking this, Tōshirō glanced toward the spectator stands with a provocative look, as if to say: Am I good enough to be with Tsunade now?

Sensing the provocative gaze, a few members of the Senju Clan turned to Tsunade."Is this brat always this arrogant when he's with you?"

Though some disliked Tōshirō's attitude, they had to admit—he was powerful. Naturally, they wanted to understand more about him through Tsunade.

Tsunade explained, "He's not usually like this."

"Does he always whisper sweet nothings to you?"

Thinking back on how Tōshirō acted around her, she figured that… in a way, yes. So she nodded slightly.

One clan member sighed:"Tsunade, don't blame us for trying to stop you from being with him—we're doing it for your own good."

"With our years of experience, it's obvious. This guy doesn't love you. He just wants to use your status as the First Hokage's granddaughter to become Hokage himself."

"That's not true! You misunderstand Tōshirō. He's not even interested in becoming Hokage," Tsunade defended him. "He even wants to help me become Hokage."

"Huh? He actually said that?"

One clan member froze. Was that… real? Was this really someone from the Uchiha Clan?

Seeing their attitude start to soften, Tsunade was just about to say a few more good words about Tōshirō—

When another clan member suddenly snapped back to reality:"Tsunade, don't be fooled. I almost believed it myself when you said that—let alone someone as naive as you."

Tsunade puffed her cheeks angrily. "I'm not naive! I'm already grown up!"

"In our eyes, you'll always be a child."

Tsunade didn't even know how to respond anymore."Anyway… the point is, Tōshirō really doesn't want to be Hokage!"

"Hmph. That's as ridiculous as someone saying, 'I'm not interested in money. I've never even touched money in my life.'"

Tsunade: …

"Tsunade, I'm telling you—the Uchiha Clan is obsessed with power. You won't find happiness with him."

"But from what I've seen, power isn't what's always on Tōshirō's mind."

A clan member burst out laughing:"An Uchiha who doesn't crave power? Are you serious?""What is he obsessed with, then?"

He desires… boobs.

(End of Chapter)

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