21- Exposing my Abilities

Today was yet another ordinary day.Me and Kushina were out on a date — nothing flashy, just walking around the outskirts of the village, holding hands, gossiping, occasionally teasing each other.The kind of stuff that would've made my old self cringe. But these days, it would feel strange if I didn't do that.

I had even pulled out a small handmade candy box from my sealing scroll… well, made in a second with Wood Style, but hey — it's the emotion that counts, right?And a clone spent an entire day making those candies — I knew she liked sweets.The sparkle in her eyes when I gave it to her? Worth it.

But of course, peace never lasts.Some bastards from Kumogakure were already hopping around trying to steal… No, I'm not being racist — Kishimoto was doing that.Whenever there's stuff like stealing in the show, if it ain't Danzo, then it's gotta be Kumogakure… I can practically hear the, "Well… Well… Well."

The date eventually ended, and Kushina had to return home.We said our goodbyes. I gave her a small forehead kiss — she nearly combusted — and with a lingering smile, she vanished into the alleys of Konoha.I didn't move, though.

My eyes had been watching somewhere else entirely — deep into the forest line east of the village.There they were: three of them. Kumo shinobi.Three chakra signatures — faint but deliberate. Masked decently, moving like shadows.

I sighed a little. 'One day, I will drop an exploding Truth-Seeking Ball on Kumo without any warning.'

Truth be told, I was wondering when these idiots would make their move.The Second Shinobi War had barely settled, and Kumo was already back to their shit. And of course, they wanted to steal Kushina — an Uzumaki, a perfect Jinchūriki candidate.

Typical Kumo.And since I'm here, suicidal too.

Honestly, I keep wondering why Naruto wasn't straight-up throwing hands at Kumogakure.They tried to steal both Kushina and Hinata — his mother and wife — and he was like, buddies with them...

Anyway, clearing my mind of other thoughts, I monitored every move through my Six Eyes.Since they're here, it's a perfect opportunity to put on a show. I've hidden my strength for far too long — let's show them what strength beyond the scope of five Kage looks like.

They were fast — already halfway to Kushina's home.One of them had Lightning Release flowing under their feet — clearly their speed-type.Another had a chakra suppression seal — likely the sensor-type.The third? Bigger build, heavy chakra — probably the main combatant.

But all three?Still ants.Yeah, I know in my vision that concludes about 99.9999% of the shinobi world, but still…

I started walking.No panic. No rush.Just casually strolling in their direction, hands in my pockets.

By the time I arrived on a rooftop close enough to see the action — they'd already made their move.A well-timed flash bomb. A silencing tag. And bam — Kushina was out cold, slung over one guy's shoulder like a damn sack of rice.

It was at this moment that one thought appeared in my mind: 'The cycle of hatred' — which was said far too many times in the original work.So, I decided to end this hatred cycle — with Kumogakure.

It was simple to do so.There would be no cycle of hatred if I didn't leave a single Kumo shinobi alive.

How dare they attack someone I care about?I know it sounds edgy and corny, and you may say they weren't targeting Kushina because she was my beloved, but because she was an Uzumaki…But did it matter?What they need to know is that they messed with the strongest guy in the world — and this guy doesn't care about world peace or his own reputation.

So I would be killing them all.

They ran fast. Much faster than they appeared.And once they were outside the borders of Konoha — outside the populated regions...

I clapped my hands together and, with a shout:

Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence.

The ground didn't shake.It roared.

Massive wooden roots exploded from beneath the earth like awakened titans.Hundreds — no, thousands — thick as tree trunks, bursting through stone, slicing through the terrain, leaving a titanic forest in its wake.

The fleeing Kumo shinobi paused mid-step.Their eyes wide with horror.

But… too late.

The forest moved faster than sound, And surrounded them.

One wrapped around the speedster's leg — crack. Bone shattered.Another wrapped around the combatant's arm, squeezing like a vice — snap. Gone.The sensor barely got to blink before he was impaled through the torso — skewered like a bug.

Screams echoed.Blood rained.

But, between all this, I showcased my god tier control via my Rikugan, not a single branch touched Kushina, she was gently caught by a wooden hand that cradled her like she was glass.

I used another jutsu, 

Wood style : Wood Dragon Jutsu.

And I stepped on the dragon, flying towards Kushina and the Kumo nin.

Well... This was just to Aura farm, besides flying on a wood dragon looks cool as hell.

The last remaining Kumo-nin — the speedster — was still alive, barely.He coughed blood as he tried to crawl away, legs twisted unnaturally, chakra drained from the wood style.

I left him alive intentionally.I crouched in front of him, raised his chin forcefully so that his eyes were level with mine.

"…Wo… Wood Style… Senju…" he whispered, horror palpable in his tone.

"So, who exactly was it that ordered this kidnapping?... On second thought, don't answer. I'd rather just kill all of them."Alright, now I felt a bit stupid for keeping him alive…

I stood up and placed my foot on top of his head.Then I crushed his skull beneath my sandal.

No hesitation. No anger.It was like squashing an annoying bug.

A moment later, Kushina stirred, confused.Her eyes fluttered open as she realized she was floating in a massive wooden palm — and then they widened as she looked around.

"M-Mahoraga?! What—" Her voice was hoarse, eyes darting from the bloodied roots to the crushed corpses, then back to me.

"You're safe now," I said, landing beside her and picking her up in my arms.

"But… Wood Style?!" she gasped, grabbing my sleeve. "You used your Wood Style in front of everyone?!"

I gave a small, awkward shrug.

"...Yeah. I guess the secret's out now."

"You did it… just to save me?"

"Umm... You do realize that saving you is more important than keeping a stupid secret, right?" I asked awkwardly.

She looked at me like I'd just flipped her world upside down — again.And then, without a word, she put her hands around my neck, pulling me into a hug.

Tight. Unrelenting.

She didn't say anything else. Didn't need to.Her trembling hands around my back were enough.

'Well… that was perfect. The entire village probably saw this escapade, and soon the entire world would know.'

I turned my head slightly — and yep, there it was. Hiruzen Sarutobi himself standing on a distant rooftop, flanked by a dozen ANBU.Tsunade was beside him, mouth half open, clearly still processing what she just witnessed — probably wondering why I didn't leave her a script beforehand.

Sorry, Sensei. Surprise.

Konoha just found out they've been housing a second Hashirama under their nose.

Well… it doesn't matter.You don't need to think about so many things when you're the strongest.

Even Hashirama could have wrecked the entire Shinobi world, and I am even stronger than him.

Anyway, I left the massive forest I created as it was — just to put on a show to… whoever's concerned — that if they tried anything funny, their home would next look like this.