Hiruzen persuaded me to die

A primal island, untouched by time, trembled beneath the weight of war.

The shinobi forces of Konoha and Kirigakure clashed amidst the towering canopies and shattered terrain. The cries of jutsu and the clash of steel filled the air. But beyond the chaos, at the edge of the battlefield, an even more terrifying force had awakened.

From the earth itself, monstrous trees surged skyward like spears of nature's wrath—reaching into the clouds.

Earlier, the battlefield had been consumed by the rampaging force of Mokuton: Deep Forest Emergence, unleashed when Hyūga Naraku and the strange White Zetsu Afei, wrapped around the reanimated First Hokage, had shifted locations.

Had they not... the entire force would've been swallowed whole by the forest now devouring the horizon.

"We can't resist this kind of power…"

Terumi Mei, her face pale with disbelief, whispered through clenched teeth. Only eighteen years old, the newly appointed Mizukage stood at the frontlines far before her time.

Give her another ten years, and she might have been able to rival such terrifying ninjutsu.

But now? Naraku's Deep Forest Emergence had already trapped nearly two thousand Mist-nin in a living prison of trees—twisting, groaning, writhing with life.

And then…

From afar, the sea of trees began contorting into something even more grotesque, more monstrous.

"Kisame... do we have to keep fighting?"Terumi dodged an incoming hail of kunai, sweat trailing her temple as she turned to her comrade.

Their enemy held the skies—Konoha's airborne support forced them into a ground war they were already losing.

Worse—Naraku alone was already worth an army.

"Heh... Mizukage-sama has her own trump cards,"Hoshigaki Kisame grinned, Samehada resting on his shoulder. "We just need to clean up here."

Meanwhile, facing the reanimated Hashirama Senju, Naraku watched with bright curiosity.

"Looks like your Deep Forest Emergence is beginning to wither."

Naraku's eyes glowed with Tenseigan chakra, peering deeply into the form of White Zetsu Afei.

Unlike the other mindless Zetsu clones, this one was... different.

It radiated power—unnatural chakra from every element, water, fire, wind, earth... and more.

In the Fourth Great War, this very Zetsu—after merging with Yamato—had displayed even True Several Thousand Hands on a small scale.

Now, fused with the Edo Tensei of Hashirama, it wielded Wood Style as if the God of Shinobi himself had returned.

"Hehehe, no choice now! Time to get serious or I'll be squashed like poop~!"

Zetsu Afei cackled as he clapped his hands together.

"Wood Style: Wood Dragon Technique!"

BOOM!

The earth exploded, giving birth to a colossal, serpentine wooden dragon, its gnarled body twisting forward with gleaming brown eyes—straight toward Naraku.

Naraku smirked.

"If that's all… you'll need more than this."

With a seal of his own, he responded.

"Wood Style: Wood Dragon Technique!"

Crack!RUMBLE!

Three dragons erupted from the earth in response—two intercepting Afei's creation midair, and the third hurling toward the origin point like a vengeance-seeking god.

"W-Wait! I'm gonna be splattered!"

Zetsu Afei shrieked, the sea of trees rearing up like a wall to defend him. But the power of Naraku's dragons smashed through it like brittle kindling.

Still, the brief delay allowed him to flee to higher ground.

"Phew! That was close!"

As soon as he raised his head—two more wooden dragons surged forward.

His earlier one had already been torn apart.

"Same jutsu again? Tsk tsk... still not enough to beat me, stinky poop-head!"

Zetsu Afei mocked as he formed another set of seals:

"Wood Style: Wooden Golem Jutsu!"

A quake tore through the island.

From the bedrock itself, ancient wood rose into the sky, shaping into a towering, moss-covered colossus.

Its design was oddly comedic—goofy brows, rounded belly—but its size was anything but funny.

Hundreds of meters tall.

The earth trembled with each step.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

The island shook.

Even the nearby mountains bowed in comparison to its size.

"W-What is that?!"

Konoha and Mist-nin alike paused, trembling as their eyes fixed upon the massive silhouette.

Even the experienced veterans staggered.

"That's... that's the First Hokage's jutsu!"Uchiha Fugaku, eyes wide with shock, gasped. "Wooden Golem Jutsu!"

The Uchiha clan's records had long warned of it.

When Madara Uchiha had used his Perfect Susano'o, it was said that only Senju Hashirama's Wooden Golem could match it in scale and might.

A hundred meters tall.

Even Tailed Beasts looked like children before it.

"Who controls it? The Fifth Hokage or the First?"Tension rippled among the Konoha forces. Both shinobi hailed from Konoha, but one was a reanimated puppet of war—no longer on their side.

"I saw that white creature earlier, the one riding the golem,"A Mist-nin with Byakugan confirmed grimly."It's not Naraku. That thing's our enemy."

"Heh... then we're finally winning,"Kisame chuckled, gripping Samehada tightly.

In the Kamui space, Obito watched with folded arms.

"Tch. So even he can use Wood Dragon Technique? But that's his limit."

He was satisfied.

Under Zetsu Afei's control, Hashirama's full power had finally been unleashed.

Even Hyūga Naraku would fall.

"Madara never managed to use Wooden Golem,"Black Zetsu added, recalling centuries of war and blood.

Even after transplanting First Hokage cells, Madara Uchiha had only reached the Wood Dragon and Deep Forest Emergence.

But this? This was on another level.

And it still wasn't the full extent of Hashirama's might.

No—Black Zetsu had seen it with his own eyes.

The True Several Thousand Hands—a titanic Buddha statue—had smashed Madara's Susano'o into oblivion.

A legend carved into his memory.

"The Hyūga are still inferior… even with chakra mutations. They'll never match Indra's descendants."

Back in reality.

Naraku cracked his shoulders, eyes gleaming with excitement as the towering Wooden Golem marched toward him.

"Finally… a target worthy of testing this jutsu."

His hands blurred.

The ground rumbled.

The forest bent to his will.

"Wood Style: Wooden Golem Jutsu!"

BOOOOOOOM!!!

A second colossus emerged—larger, denser, and more majestic.

Thicker branches. Towering height.

The island trembled as two titans faced one another across the ancient jungle.

Wood groaned.

Leaves scattered into the wind.

And then...

The giants began to march.