konoha:I'm the God of ninja world

On the side, based on the principle of leniency to those who confess, Morkel stood up.

"I'm sorry, Hokage-sama... I've been trying to control myself, but I didn't expect it to happen again..."

The Third Hokage still found it hard to believe and turned his sharp gaze toward Yamato.

"Yamato, you actually taught this kid to take the blame for you?!"

Yamato: ...

So it's my fault no matter what, huh?!

The real culprit has confessed, yet you still don't believe it. Don't you know how much I weigh? Even if I trained for another 30 years, I might not be able to create even a fraction of this sea of trees!

"Hokage-sama, it was really me..." Morkel tried to clarify.

"At that time, Mr. Yamato wanted to test my understanding of Wood Style and asked me to use my full strength. I miscalculated and lost control..."

At this moment, the Third Hokage finally started to process the situation logically. Yamato simply didn't have the ability to produce a forest of this scale.

Could it be…?

It was really Morkel who did it?!

The realization struck him hard. He was now 70% to 80% convinced that Morkel was telling the truth.

This revelation caused the Third Hokage, who had led Konoha for years, to pause in shock. What did Morkel just say?

He tried to control his power but still ended up causing this much destruction?

Which meant… this wasn't Morkel's full strength!

He actually held back?!

No, the bigger issue wasn't even that! It had only been two days since he had assigned Yamato to teach Morkel Wood Style. Yet, in just two days, this boy had learned the First Hokage's Tree World Advent—and at such an overwhelming level!

The Third Hokage took a sharp breath.

This child was terrifying!

After a moment of contemplation, his anger surprisingly faded. In fact, he even felt a little pleased. If what Morkel and Yamato said was true, Konoha might have just found its next Ninja God—someone who could rival or even surpass the First Hokage!

Still, as an experienced leader, the Third Hokage hid his shock and excitement, maintaining a stern expression in front of Morkel.

"Morkel, do you realize how much trouble you have caused?"

Morkel lowered his head, too frightened to speak.

He could already foresee himself spending decades in prison.

The Third Hokage continued to scold him.

"I warned you before! You can't use large-scale destructive ninjutsu in a crowded village! This time, you've emptied the entire village!"

"You should be thankful that only a few people were injured by falling branches and that no one was killed. Otherwise, you'd be spending your life in Konoha Prison!"

Morkel perked up at those words. Judging by the Hokage's tone, it seemed like his punishment wouldn't be too severe. He quickly replied, "Hokage-sama, I understand your lesson. I will be more careful next time."

The Third Hokage rolled his eyes.

"Still thinking about a next time?"

Morkel shrank back. "No more, no more! I will never use ninjutsu in the village again!"

The Hokage gave him a long stare. "Then think about a solution."

Morkel fell into deep thought. His initial idea was to simply blow up the entire village and then rebuild it using Wood Style. But if he voiced that thought, he'd definitely get beaten to a pulp.

Yamato interjected, "Wood Style creates real trees. Once it's used, it can't be undone. The only solution is to have the villagers cut down the excess trees and reconstruct from there."

The Third Hokage sighed, realizing that this was the only feasible option.

Then, turning back to Morkel with a stern expression, he declared, "You're not getting off that easily. As punishment, you will copy the Ninja Code ten thousand times!"

Morkel nearly laughed out loud.

Given the magnitude of his destruction, he had expected a much harsher sentence. But copying a book? That was easy!

However, as if reading his thoughts, the Third Hokage added, "And don't even think about using clones. If I catch you cheating even once, you'll do it 100,000 times!"

"No problem!" Morkel nodded solemnly.

The Third Hokage sighed and dismissed him. He had initially considered locking Morkel up for a few days, but in the end, he couldn't bring himself to do it.

After Morkel left, Yamato wasn't as lucky.

He spent the rest of the night being lectured by the Third Hokage about his "irresponsibility."

—

Meanwhile, when Morkel returned to Naruto's house, he found the small home had been lifted onto the treetops by his Wood Style.

Naruto was nowhere to be found.

For the first time, Morkel truly understood just how much of a disaster he had caused.

Feeling a sense of responsibility, he decided to take action to make up for his mistake.

With a determined look, he formed hand seals.

"Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!"

With a loud boom, thousands of clones appeared, ready to assist in Konoha's reconstruction.

From his office, the Third Hokage saw Morkel's clones rushing past and felt a sense of relief. This boy was indeed worth training.

"This child has a promising future," Yamato said sincerely.

The Third Hokage gave him a disapproving look. "Stop talking and start helping!"

—

The Next Day

Konoha Village was abuzz with reconstruction efforts. Due to the fallen trees, the Ninja Academy had to temporarily hold classes outdoors.

On a grassy field, students chatted about the incident.

"I wonder why so many trees suddenly grew in Konoha," Sakura mused.

"It must have been a Wood Style technique performed by a Kage-level ninja!" Shikamaru guessed.

Kiba scoffed. "Yeah, right. Ever since the First Hokage, no one in Konoha has inherited Wood Style at that level."

A passing ninja overheard and chimed in, "Oh? You think no one inherited it? I heard that before he defected, Orochimaru secretly experimented with the First Hokage's cells..."

"Could it be that the one who used Wood Style this time was an experiment created by Orochimaru?!"

Morkel, listening quietly, felt a chill run down his spine.

Wood Style is a bloodline limit exclusive to the First Hokage... so why can I use it?

As his classmates continued to speculate, Morkel clenched his fists.

There was something unnatural about his powers, and he needed answers.

No matter what it took, he would uncover the truth.

—

And so, the Tree World Incident would go down as one of the most bizarre events in Konoha's history. But for Morkel, it was just the beginning of an even greater mystery...

(End of Chapter 12)

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