One Piece: I am Imu

[Buzz——]

Aramaki's muscular right arm swelled with power, veins bulging and muscles knotting as if on the verge of exploding. A dark sheen rapidly spread over the surface of his arm.

He hadn't used his elemental powers to enlarge his arm.

Minato's Flying Thunder God Technique was simply too fast—there wasn't even time for his arm to grow.

But that didn't matter.

The passive ability of the Woods-Woods Fruit—photosynthesis—did more than just replenish his body's nutrients by absorbing sunlight. It also gradually enhanced his physical constitution.

That was precisely why someone like him—once a low-ranking nobody—could possess such terrifying potential.

Moreover—

The sunlight energy absorbed into his body could be actively called upon whenever he needed it. It could accelerate his regeneration, or even further amplify his strength.

Coupled with the martial arts he had honed at Army Headquarters over the years—

All of it gave this punch a devastating, unimaginable force. Aramaki was confident that with the scrawny build of his opponent, there was absolutely no way he could take it.

The moment Aramaki's darkened fist—radiating a faint green glow—shot forward, it tore through the air with a sonic boom and a ring of white vapor.

Even the ground beneath him cracked from the shockwave alone.

Aramaki roared as he hurled his punch toward Minato, who was charging in with a Rasengan. Upon seeing the overwhelming might behind the blow, Minato's expression visibly changed.

The next instant—

The glowing black fist collided with the bright blue orb of spiraling energy.

[BOOM!!]

The explosion cracked like thunder across the battlefield. A shockwave burst outward, shredding leaves and branches from nearby trees. The fractures in the ground widened.

Minato's Rasengan was shattered in a single punch, and his body was thrown back, mangled and torn.

[Poof!]

Minato's body suddenly burst into a puff of white smoke and vanished.

At the same moment, a flash of yellow light appeared behind Aramaki.

"Hmph, I saw that coming, brat~"

Aramaki didn't even turn around. A cold sneer appeared on his face. Minato could only pull his hand back helplessly and vanished from the spot in a flash of the Flying Thunder God Technique.

A second later—

A punch identical to the one that had destroyed the Rasengan slammed into Minato's afterimage.

[Swish!]

Minato reappeared atop a thick tree branch several dozen meters away.

Focusing his gaze, he noticed something strange—on Aramaki's back, at some unknown point, a third arm had sprouted. It looked disturbingly lifelike, though the parts not yet covered by the black sheen still showed the texture and color of wood.

"He knew I'd show up there…"

Minato's expression turned grim. Was this that predictive perception ability mentioned in the intel?

"Let's test it again!"

[Swish!]

Before the nearby tree branch could whip toward him, Minato vanished once more—this time not rushing to close the distance.

Instead, he began darting around Aramaki, shifting positions constantly with the Flying Thunder God and Body Flicker techniques, moving at high speed while occasionally tossing Explosive Tags or unleashing Wind Release techniques from a distance.

Amid this chaotic flurry of attacks, he would occasionally attempt to blink directly to Aramaki's side to try and retrieve Hyūga Hizashi.

But each and every time—

No matter which direction Minato came from, even if it was from Aramaki's blind spot, the man somehow predicted exactly when he would appear next to Hizashi.

Minato no longer dared to recklessly teleport to Hyūga Hizashi's side. A troubling thought had begun to take shape in his mind—he might not be able to take Hizashi away after all.

At the same time, a theory was all but confirmed in his heart.

"He's not predicting my movements—he's foreseeing them!"

Minato's mind was firm: "Could it be... this man is actually the resurrected First Hokage?"

Ever since he witnessed that overwhelming display of Wood Release, Minato had started to suspect whether Aramaki might be the legendary 'True God of Shinobi' himself—

As for appearances—

How much could anyone truly identify from a vague stone carving of a face?

What really mattered was the man's commanding use of Wood Release, his monstrous physical power, and his uncanny ability to foresee the location of Minato's teleportations. All of it matched the legends of the First Hokage.

Plus, the way this man kept calling him a 'brat' implied he was very advanced in age.

The core reason?

He had seen the power of the Dragon Veins firsthand.

Minato still knew well that the Dragon Veins possessed the power to send people from the future into the past.

Then, couldn't the reverse also be true?

Couldn't someone from the past be brought into the present?

That logic didn't seem flawed.

As for his previous sealing of the Dragon Veins—it was easy to reason through. He had only sealed the present-day Dragon Veins. Whether someone had tampered with them in the past, however, was unknown.

Which meant his seal could prevent people from this era from accessing the Dragon Veins—but it couldn't stop someone from the past.

"Are you the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama-sama?!"

Minato had sorted out his thoughts.

Dodging through the dense swarm of attacking branches with all sorts of unorthodox acrobatics and techniques, he shouted loudly toward Aramaki at the center of it all.

"...Huh?"

A look of astonishment flickered beneath Aramaki's black sunglasses.

He was just about to instinctively deny it, but then a flash of inspiration struck his mind.

Before coming here, he'd heard that Crocodile had fabricated an identity for himself in the Shinobi World. At the time, Aramaki had scoffed at the guy for being full of nonsense.

But thinking back now—

If he could pretend to be the First Hokage—the one said to be unmatched throughout the Shinobi World with his Wood Release—wouldn't that give him a direct path into this Konoha Village?

Once inside, he could take it over from within. That kind of accomplishment would definitely outshine Crocodile's!

"Yes, yes... This old man is indeed Senju Hashirama. But... what is this Konohagakure you speak of? And why do you call me the First Hokage?"

Aramaki asked with feigned confusion.

"Ah, I see now. So the First Hokage must have come from the Warring States Era, before Konohagakure was founded. No wonder he didn't recognize our forehead protectors and attacked us."

Minato suddenly understood.

"Looks like I'll need to explain what Konohagakure is, or I'll never be able to take Hizashi-san away."

Minato didn't believe he could defeat this so-called 'God of the Shinobi'.

...

Outside the borders of Rōran.

Aramaki was traveling through the desert with Namikaze Minato and Hyūga Hizashi, heading for Konoha.

What he didn't notice, however, was that a hint of suspicion still flickered deep in Minato's eyes.

After all, when he had blurted out that question—asking if the man was the First Hokage—it had stemmed from two underlying thoughts:

One, he genuinely suspected the man might be the real Hashirama, sent here by the Dragon Veins.

Two, he was holding onto a sliver of hope—if the man really was the First Hokage, then perhaps Hizashi could still be saved.

If he guessed wrong, then so be it.

He would simply have to leave, taking Chōza Akimichi, Inuzuka Gaku, and Sara back to Konohagakure.

But to his surprise—the man actually admitted to being Senju Hashirama.

At first, Minato was delighted. Not only because Hizashi had been saved, but also because it seemed possible to extract more information about Rōran and Crocodile from him.

Despite everything, Minato maintained a warm and friendly attitude on the outside.

After all, Hyūga Hizashi was now safe—and that alone was worth celebrating. What's more, he planned to escort Aramaki to Konohagakure and find a chance to quietly inform the village about the situation along the way.

If this man truly was Hashirama, then great.

If not, the village would have the manpower to take him down.

After their earlier confrontation, Minato had already realized how difficult it would be to defeat Aramaki alone. In fact, the man's immense strength was one of the very reasons Minato had suspected he might be Hashirama.

Although Minato was always humble, he was very clear on the limits of his own strength.

"Minato!"

"Ugh—why is this bastard here too?!"

It didn't take long for the group to reach their destination unimpeded—thanks to Aramaki's face as a high-ranking officer, they encountered no resistance along the way.

Soon, at the edge of the desert, they reunited with Chōza, Gaku, and Sara—the trio (plus dog) Minato had sent back earlier.

When they saw Aramaki, their expressions froze and then darkened. Each of them instinctively fell into a combat stance, fully on guard.

"Relax, he's an ally!"

Minato instantly used the Flying Thunder God Technique to appear beside them, patting their shoulders in reassurance.

He quickly explained that Aramaki was actually Senju Hashirama, a man from the Warring States era.

"W-what…"

Chōza and Gaku's jaws practically hit the ground.

Although that man's abilities did match the legends about the First Hokage's characteristics, there were too many strange things to even consider.

But when Aramaki naturally healed Gaku's wounds, he instantly fell silent. Chōza also chose to remain silent and observe.

"Well then, take me to Konoha. I'm really looking forward to seeing what kind of village I'll end up founding in the future!"

Aramaki let out a hearty laugh, clearly in high spirits.

"Yes, sir!"

"I'm sure everyone in the village will be thrilled to see the First Hokage!"

Minato replied with a smile, then took the lead, heading toward Konohagakure.

Eventually, night fell.

Everyone gathered around a campfire, and Minato took the opportunity to ask about Rōran and Crocodile.

But just as Aramaki was about to begin spinning the lies he'd rehearsed—

Minato suddenly looked like he'd just remembered something important.

With a touch of regret, he said, "Ah—I completely forgot. I should've sent word to the village in advance so the Third Hokage could prepare a proper welcome for you!"

Aramaki, briefly pulled out of his thoughts, raised an eyebrow.

After a moment's reflection, he smiled to himself.

That actually sounded pretty good.

Everyone gathered together, all at once... A perfect chance to wipe them out.

"Rawawa! It's not too late—go send the message now!"

"Yes, First Hokage-sama."

Minato stood up naturally, walked to a nearby stream, and used the Summoning Technique to call forth a small toad.

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