*Chapter 206: Hashirama Senju Isn’t That Impressive After All*

Raijin was stunned for a moment, staring intently at Kakashi. It felt like Kakashi had become more devious since joining him. But what Kakashi said was exactly what Raijin had planned to do. Since Kakashi suggested it, Raijin decided to pack a full bag from Ryuchi Cave.

When the time came, he would see what the White Snake Sage had to say. If the sage wasn’t willing to cooperate, Raijin would forcefully break into Ryuchi Cave and see if he could take control of it.

"I knew you’d think that way, so I brought it up first."

"Besides, there won't be many snakes left inside by then. If we take them to the sea, maybe they could even breed with the Sea Kings."

"If we end up with a snake the size of a Sea King that also has the abilities of a summon beast, we could make a fortune."

Kakashi chuckled.

Sea Kings in the ocean were gigantic. If they really managed to create such a creature, swallowing islands whole would be no problem.

"You're right!"

Raijin nodded in agreement. He no longer had to guide these people. One by one, they were becoming much smarter. They used to be timid, but now they were thinking about taking things home for themselves.

"By the way, what about the slug?"

Kakashi hesitated, asking if the slug was really necessary. A giant creature like that wouldn't fare well in the sea. It would be like sending the slug to its death.

"The slug can serve as a medical station! Let's bring it along. It’ll give us more options with sage techniques from two places."

"Besides, the slug is also a sage. It must have some way of avoiding the dangers of the sea."

Though Raijin knew that the slug was likely a single entity, he wasn’t sure if it could still communicate with the slugs of the ninja world once in the sea. The distance between the two worlds was so vast that even the strongest sage techniques might struggle to maintain a connection.

After the conflict between the Hidden Cloud Village and Konoha, another unit had broken through the borders of the Land of Fire.

The Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, lightly stepped on the branches, moving so swiftly it looked like he was teleporting. Behind him, dark figures flashed as a group of ninjas followed closely.

"Kazekage-sama! Up ahead, Konoha and the Hidden Cloud ninjas are fighting!"

A scout ninja stopped Rasa and reported.

"Good! It seems Konoha has exhausted its options. They've been pushed back to their gates."

"Has the Third Hokage appeared in battle?"

Rasa nodded calmly as he asked. This was their opportunity in the Hidden Sand Village. The last war had forced them into an alliance with Konoha. But part of their missions had to be handed over to Konoha, causing Hidden Sand's income to fall short. This led to a decrease in their military strength, which in turn prompted the Daimyo of the Land of Wind to cut military funding. With the decline in military spending, the quality of their ninjas suffered, creating a vicious cycle.

If this continued, the Hidden Sand Village would collapse without other ninja villages needing to make a move.

Luckily, last time, someone sold Rasa the assets of the Land of Springs, earning him a hefty profit and improving the village’s situation enough to support a war without completely draining their resources. Now was their chance to sever their alliance with Konoha and even fill their coffers.

"Uh, the Third Hokage hasn't appeared, but... it seems Konoha has sent the Second Hokage!"

The ninja in front of Rasa broke into a cold sweat, hesitating before answering.

"???"

The Second Hokage had been dead for a long time. How could they send him into battle?

Rasa felt like this guy in front of him was trying to trick him.

"It seems Konoha used some kind of forbidden jutsu to summon the dead to fight for them."

The ninja quickly explained, feeling Rasa’s deathly gaze. If he had taken any longer to respond, he might not have survived the day.

"Despicable! Only Konoha would use such underhanded methods."

Rasa felt a headache coming on. He hadn't anticipated this. The Second Hokage was no pushover. The Fourth Hokage’s Flying Thunder God technique was inherited from the Second. Namikaze Minato had made a name for himself as the Yellow Flash of the ninja world using only that jutsu. And the Second Hokage? He was Konoha's great inventor, credited with creating 90% of Konoha's forbidden techniques.

But it didn’t matter. This time, they had brought along their Jinchuriki of the One-Tail.

"Hahaha, seems I took a wrong turn. How did I end up here?"

Suddenly, a loud and careless voice echoed, drawing everyone's attention. A black-haired man with a Konoha forehead protector, clad in red armor, stood before them. His face was cracked, and he looked a little dim-witted.

"Is that... Hashirama Senju?!"

Rasa’s breath seemed to stop as he stood there, too terrified to even take a deep breath. The legendary Hashirama Senju was known for crushing the other ninja villages into submission, earning the title "God of Shinobi."

"But it looks like you guys are also invading Konoha! Sigh!"

"I can’t believe the wars haven’t stopped since my death!"

"But since Tobirama's jutsu has brought me back, I might as well help Konoha out a bit."

"I guess I'm involved in this whether I like it or not."

Hashirama glanced at the ninjas before him and instantly recognized them as belonging to the Hidden Sand Village. Since they were in the Land of Fire, it was clear what was happening. War had broken out, and there was nothing he could do to stop it now.

"Wood Release..."

Hashirama brought his hands together, a serious expression on his face.

"Retreat! Quickly!" Rasa immediately shouted, signaling his ninjas to fall back. But none of them had ever faced Hashirama Senju and had no idea how strong he truly was. Even Rasa didn’t know for sure, but he knew that anyone who had earned the title "God of Shinobi" and had forced the other villages into submission was no joke. He couldn’t let his forces be wiped out here.

"Advent of a World of Trees!!"

With a loud shout, the ground trembled as thick tree trunks erupted from the earth, growing dozens of meters high in an instant. In mere moments, the landscape had transformed into a forest of intertwining roots. The world was now enveloped in a lush green.

The thick branches, like spears, sought out their targets.

Squelch!

Squelch!

Cries of pain echoed through the forest as the blood of fallen ninjas was absorbed by the towering trees.

Rasa's face darkened as he stretched out his hand. A glimmer of gold appeared, drawing an arc in the air before shooting toward Hashirama. In midair, it split into several long spears aimed directly at Hashirama’s body.

"Gold dust, huh? The ninja world sure has changed."

A faint smile appeared on Hashirama’s face as he released another surge of chakra, causing the trees beneath him to grow even faster. In an instant, they formed a barrier before him.

Crack!

The golden spears pierced the wood, but the trunks were far thicker than Rasa had anticipated.

A roar echoed as a mighty wooden dragon emerged from the ground, with Hashirama standing on top, his expression calm.

"Gold Dust Imperial Funeral!"

Hovering midair on a cloud of gold dust, Rasa clenched his fist, summoning a massive wave of gold to engulf the wooden dragon, along with Hashirama atop it.

"Looks like Hashirama Senju isn’t that impressive after all."

Rasa grinned as he watched the gold encase the wooden dragon. He had once thought Hashirama was immensely powerful, but now it seemed he was only at this level. It looked like the previous Kages were simply too weak, allowing Hashirama to dominate them and gain the title of "God of Shinobi."

Now that he had defeated Hashirama, did that make him the new God of Shinobi?

"Hah!"

Suddenly, a powerful gust of wind roared past his ears.

Rasa’s pupils shrank as he saw a massive wooden hand coming straight for him. He had no time to react before he was slammed into the ground.

"The Wood Clone Technique is even more realistic than Tobirama's Shadow Clone Jutsu."

Hashirama scratched his head as he emerged from the trees. His chakra had been suppressed to 30%, and he had already struggled to summon a wooden dragon. Sadly, he couldn’t use the Wood Golem Jutsu right now.

Hashirama glanced at the massive wooden hand and noticed gold dust seeping out from beneath it.

"Escaped, huh? Oh well."

Hashirama Senju scratched his face and sensed Tobirama’s chakra, immediately dashing in that direction.

He had originally come out to assist Tobirama, but when he felt the concentration of chakra here, he decided to check it out. To his surprise, it turned out to be the enemy.

Since he had been summoned, he figured he might as well help Konoha deal with some of its problems.

But…

It seemed like Konoha had become much weaker.

When he scanned the village earlier, many of the familiar chakras were gone. It wasn't just the Uchiha Clan; other clans were missing too.

When he founded Konoha, there had been many clans that joined.

But now…

Hashirama sighed. None of that had anything to do with him anymore.