Chapter 3 Four Plants

"Wood Style. Peashooter!" Dave didn't want to perform any hand seals anymore; it was too much trouble. So, he imitated Hashirama's thought process. He simply put his hands together and shouted whatever came to mind.

A two-meter-tall Peashooter burst out of the cracked ground.

"Oh! It looks like a Summoning Beast. Is it a plant-like Summoning Beast? Dave, can you try to make it attack me?" Hashirama asked, blinking curiously at the Peashooter. The creature, with a mouth about two meters in diameter, looked confused and asked in its own way.

"Peashooter, attack!" Dave commanded, pointing at Hashirama.

The Peashooter's thick tendrils flexed backward, its mouth closed, and something seemed to swell within it.

"Pong!" In an instant, the Peashooter opened its mouth, launching massive green peas at Hashirama.

Hashirama didn't dodge. He wanted to test how powerful this thing was. As he brought his hands together, a wooden wall rose from the ground.

To Hashirama's surprise, the pea actually shattered the one-meter-thick wooden wall. Hashirama stretched out his hand to catch the projectile.

Though he managed to catch it, the sheer force of the pea sent him flying back dozens of meters. Hashirama's eyes sparkled with excitement.

Dave, who hadn't even reached Genin level, could already summon such a powerful plant. What would happen if Dave were as strong as him? Hashirama didn't dare to imagine it.

That pea could've knocked him out or at least made him cough up blood. The pea burst open and dissipated into the air, and the Peashooter also disappeared. It wasn't due to a lack of stamina; Dave made it vanish.

"Wood Style. Potato Mine!" Dave shouted again, hands clasped together. A bulging sack appeared in front of Hashirama. The sack seemed to contain something with a round head that kept flashing red.

"What kind of plant is this?" Hashirama asked. These things were too strange. Why couldn't he summon such Wood Style plants?

"It takes a while to prepare. When it shows its head, anyone who touches it will trigger an explosion," Dave explained.

They both waited for the Potato Mine to prepare.

...

Soon, a pair of buck-toothed eyes popped out of the ground, and the flashing red light on its head stopped. Hashirama was dumbfounded. What was this?

Hashirama braced himself and stepped forward, placing one foot near the mine. The Potato Mine squinted.

Pong!

It exploded, sending Hashirama tumbling backward dozens of meters. Fortunately, he had prepared himself; otherwise, he might have embarrassed himself in front of Dave. Still, he found the mine intriguing.

It was twice as powerful as an Explosive Tag, but hidden underground. Hashirama wasn't too concerned, though. This strange new plant was bound to attract attention, and curious people were likely to trigger it.

"Uncle Hashirama, do you still want to see more?" Dave shouted.

"Go on!" Hashirama replied eagerly. He wanted to see what else Dave could summon.

"Wood Style. Melon-Pult!" Dave clasped his hands together again, and a giant melon emerged from the cracked ground. The Melon-Pult was even larger than the Peashooter, almost half the size of a tailed beast.

It had one small eye and one large eye, and its downturned mouth made it look both disdainful and eager for a fight. Hashirama approached it cautiously.

"Huh?" To his surprise, the Melon-Pult made a noise and then leaped high into the air, aiming straight for him.

"Wood Style. Wood Prison Jutsu!" Hashirama exclaimed as the shadow of the Melon-Pult loomed over him. Strips of wood wrapped around Hashirama, bracing for the impact.

When the dust settled, the Melon-Pult had disappeared. Dave's chakra was nearly depleted; he couldn't maintain such plants for long, especially not ones like the Melon-Pult, which were one-time-use summons.

When the smoke cleared, there was only a pile of crushed wood on the ground and a flattened Hashirama, eyes rolled back and foam at the mouth.

Dave rushed over and pulled Hashirama up.

"Uncle Hashirama, are you okay? Don't scare me!" Dave shook Hashirama, tears welling up in his eyes.

It was only the first year of Konoha's founding, and Uchiha Madara hadn't defected yet. If he accidentally killed Hashirama, who would fight Madara's giant beast at the Valley of the End? Him? He didn't believe a melon could take down a giant beast at this point.

"I'm fine... I'm fine... There are just so many stars..." Hashirama mumbled, eyes rolling and drool escaping his mouth.

"Hashirama!" Mito, who had been watching their training, rushed over. Seeing Hashirama in such a state, she hurriedly took him from Dave's arms.

"Wood Style. Sunflower!" Dave shouted quickly.

A sunflower emerged from the ground, its face beaming as it swayed toward the sun.

Mito glanced at Dave, confused by the strange plant. She didn't understand its purpose.

"Ahem, Aunt Mito, you'll see in a moment," Dave explained.

The sunflower continued to sway, and then a golden light burst forth from it.

Dave picked up the sunlight and placed it on Hashirama's body. In Mito's astonished gaze, the light slowly seeped into Hashirama.

Dazed, Hashirama felt a warm sensation spreading through him. When he regained his senses, he found his wife holding him, Dave standing nearby, and the strange sunflower still swaying.

"What happened, Mito?" Hashirama asked.

"Uncle Hashirama, I thought... I thought... wuwuwu!" Dave burst into tears, clinging to Hashirama. After all, he was still a child and had to act like one.

"Oh, I remember now. It's okay, Dave. Uncle Hashirama was just being careless. I didn't expect your Wood Style to be so strong." Hashirama smiled, trying to comfort him.

"Wood Style?" Mito exclaimed in surprise.

"Yeah, Mito. Dave can use Wood Style like me, but his version is a little different. He can summon plants," Hashirama explained.

"Ah, so that's what the strange flower is? It spit out light, and then Dave used that light to heal you," Mito said, finally understanding.

"What? Dave's plants can heal as well?" Hashirama was shocked. He thought Dave's plants were purely offensive, but it seemed they had more versatile abilities. What about defensive plants?

"Dave, can you summon defensive plants too?" Hashirama asked eagerly.

"Yes," Dave nodded. Was his Wall-Nut just for show?

"Dave, your Wood Style is incredible!" Hashirama marveled but decided not to test it further just yet. His head still felt a bit foggy from the earlier blows. The sunflower had healed his physical injuries, but not his mental clarity.

"Alright, Dave, I'm feeling better now. Let's go for a walk around the village." Hashirama stood up, dusting himself off with a smile.

"Okay!" Dave had wanted to go out for a while now. If his father hadn't been so insistent on bonding with him all the time, he would've been exploring long ago.

The two walked hand-in-hand down the streets of Konoha.

"Eh? Madara! Madara! Over here, Madara! Why are you covering your face?" Somehow, Hashirama and Dave had wandered into the Uchiha district during their stroll.

Hashirama spotted a familiar figure and waved enthusiastically. Uchiha Madara, who was walking nearby, had an expression that clearly said, "I don't know this person," and turned away.

Hashirama ran over, draping an arm around Madara's shoulders.

"Idiot..." Uchiha Madara muttered coldly, looking at Hashirama, who was grinning beside him.

"Ooh, Madara, that's so mean! You're hurting my feelings!" Hashirama pretended to cry, while Dave watched in disbelief.

He knew his uncle was a bit goofy, but why did he become so ridiculous around Madara?

"Oh, right! Madara, this is Tobirama's son, Senju Dave. Dave, this is your uncle's friend and your father's rival, Uchiha Madara."