Chapter 9: The Legendary Wood Release and Chakra Nature Transformation
It was worth noting that Senju Morin was born with two chakra natures—Water and Earth.
As for Wind Release, he only mastered that additional nature after becoming a jōnin, through prolonged combat experience and relentless training.
Among shinobi, possessing dual chakra affinities from birth was already rare.
For the Senju clan in particular, Water and Earth carried special significance.
This discovery had once greatly excited several of the clan elders.
Even though Senju Hashirama himself had been gentle by nature, the existence of the "God of Shinobi" had immeasurable symbolic importance to the Senju as a whole.
However—
Despite carrying Senju blood,
despite being born with both Water and Earth affinities,
Senju Morin could not learn the First Hokage's legendary Wood Release, the power said to have "pacified the age of chaos."
The elders were deeply disappointed.
Morin himself was not.
He knew very well that even if he could simultaneously perform Water and Earth nature transformations and forcibly awaken Wood Release, its strength would at best reach the level of Yamato in the future.
Without the Sage of Six Paths' Yang power, Hashirama's unique Sage Body, and senjutsu, it was impossible to recreate that world-shattering Wood Release.
Rather than pouring enormous time and effort into a technique whose symbolic value far outweighed its practical value, Morin chose a more grounded path—
Mastering ninjutsu that actually worked.
With superb swordsmanship and taijutsu, combined with expert control over Water, Earth, and Wind chakra natures, Senju Morin's combat strength was anything but negligible.
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"Earth Release: Earth Flow River!"
Following his earlier large-scale Water Release, Morin instantly transformed the solid ground within his field of vision into vast stretches of sludge.
The once grassy terrain turned into a devouring swamp in moments.
Even a monster like Kinkaku—half transformed into a tailed beast—still had to obey the laws of physics so long as he couldn't fly.
Yet Kinkaku was barely slowed.
Like a true beast, he dropped to all fours.
Both hands and feet were wrapped in claw-shaped tailed-beast chakra as he charged straight toward Morin, limbs pumping wildly.
The ambush had completely enraged him.
Morin's expression didn't change.
He dropped to one knee and slammed his left hand against the ground.
In that instant, the earth beneath Kinkaku came alive.
The terrain rapidly shifted between mud and hardened stone at random.
Even on all fours, the nauseating sensation of uneven footing nearly threw Kinkaku off balance.
At the same time, Morin formed hand seals with his free right hand.
Dozens of solid, razor-sharp earthen lances erupted from all directions—thrusting toward Kinkaku's jaw, abdomen, and inner thighs.
The sheer viciousness of the attack forced even the beast-like Kinkaku to retreat.
His rear legs exploded with power as he leapt onto a nearby giant tree, kicking off its massive trunk before diving back down from above.
Morin immediately withdrew his left hand from the ground and rose to his feet.
As both hands flew through seals, his cheeks puffed outward.
"Wind Release: Dust Storm!"
The swamp from moments earlier seemed to have had all its moisture drained in an instant.
It cracked apart into parched earth, and the gale bursting from Senju Morin's mouth whipped the ground into a blinding storm of dust and sand.
Such a smokescreen was never going to truly stop Kinkaku's berserk assault.
In the very next second, his figure tore through the dust cloud—
a claw plunging straight through Senju Morin's heart.
And yet—
Not a single drop of blood spilled.
"Senju Morin's" body collapsed, liquefying into thick mud before hardening again in less than a second, momentarily binding Kinkaku's half–tailed-beast form.
In that fleeting instant—
Senju Tobirama appeared directly behind Kinkaku.
A blade of water, flowing at terrifying speed around Tobirama's right hand, slid effortlessly into Kinkaku's body. With a single swing of his arm, the cut expanded brutally, tearing open a far larger wound.
The agony triggered an explosive reaction.
The tailed-beast cloak around Kinkaku erupted with dense bubbles, its chakra rapidly darkening from crimson to deep, blood-red.
Three additional tails tore their way out of his body as if ripping flesh apart.
An unprecedented concentration of tailed-beast chakra engulfed him completely.
His original features vanished—
his eyes and gaping maw reduced to nothing but blinding white chakra light.
A pale, bony exoskeleton began to form around the monster's body.
Yes—
A monster.
Kinkaku had become something else entirely.
He no longer needed to use any ninjutsu at all.
Uncontrolled, violent chakra flooded outward in waves.
Tobirama, having struck successfully, vanished without hesitation.
The surge in power allowed Kinkaku to instantly break free of Morin's Earth Release bindings. Spinning around, he tore a massive gouge through the forest with a single swipe of his claw.
What shocked Morin was that Kinkaku still retained a fragment of awareness.
Those fox-like eyes—now little more than two white voids—locked directly onto him.
He had sensed Morin's position.
Boom!
The earth exploded apart.
Kinkaku vanished in a flash.
Morin barely had time to react—he hastily hardened his skin with Earth Release before being sent flying by a crushing claw.
If not for the grotesque trench carved into the ground behind him, Morin might have believed Kinkaku had somehow learned Tobirama's Flying Thunder God mid-battle.
Thanks to the Earth Hardening Technique, Morin suffered no immediately fatal injuries—but the moment he opened his mouth, a powerful wave of nausea surged up.
He knew the feeling well.
Internal organs had been compressed.
Touching the struck area, he felt it clearly—two of his ribs were broken.
Had an ordinary shinobi taken that blow without hardening, they would have been reduced to a cloud of blood and flesh.
Whoosh—!
A massive chakra tail lashed toward him with a piercing shriek of air.
Already prepared, Morin sank straight into the ground, evading the strike while using Earth Release to rapidly reposition beside Tobirama.
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Tobirama's face was growing increasingly pale, yet his expression remained steady, his voice calm and controlled.
"Don't worry. He isn't a true jinchūriki. His chakra reserves and physical tolerance are limited—he can't maintain this state for long."
"Every second he stays like this, he's damaging himself. What little consciousness he has left is bleeding away."
"Once he degenerates into a mindless beast and is forcibly expelled from the tailed-beast state, he'll lose most of his combat capability."
"Then we—"
Morin's expression turned strange, a spark of eager anticipation flashing in his eyes.