Even though it was just talk, Sarutobi Asuma did have the idea of going to the Ōtsutsuki Clan's base.
However, he was still far from being able to achieve that goal.
The Ōtsutsuki Clan had developed for thousands of years, and their hidden strength was probably terrifying.
...
Under the tree, Sarutobi Asuma was chatting with Senju Hashirama, Onoki, and others. The people climbing the tree also began to return one after another.
Kurotsuchi and Temari were among the first.
Each of them looked somewhat disheveled, their hair standing on end, clearly having been struck by the lightning in the troposphere.
However, for them, this was still a rare experience.
In fact, after this trip, Kurotsuchi, Temari, and the others felt their horizons had broadened even further.
As time went on, after an hour, only Naruto and Sasuke remained not to have descended.
Uzumaki Kushina couldn't help but worry and asked, "Asuma, where are Naruto and the others?"
Sarutobi Asuma replied with a hint of surprise, "They are about to leave the atmosphere, um... you could say they're about to leave Earth and enter space."
The Fifth Mizukage, Mei Terumi, exclaimed, "Could it be that the Jianmu can truly reach the heavens?"
Sarutobi Asuma smiled, "Of course."
"This is how it can absorb more nutrients to grow, without having to draw large amounts of Natural Energy from the Ninja World and deplete its potential."
As the Jianmu grew, the higher its branches and leaves became, allowing it to absorb more cosmic rays, magnetic fields, and other energies to grow.
At this moment.
Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke, working together, finally climbed to the top of the Jianmu. Standing on the crown of the tree, they gazed at this unique starry sky.
It was completely different from the starry sky seen when looking up at the night sky from the ground.
It wasn't as brilliant, but instead gave a feeling of depth, solitude, and darkness.
"I didn't expect it to be like this!"
Naruto scratched his head and asked, "By the way, how did the Ōtsutsuki Clan come to Earth?"
Uchiha Sasuke said calmly, "The Ōtsutsuki Clan members can all fly, so they can naturally travel through space."
"Moreover, they all possess space-time abilities, along with immense Chakra."
Naruto nodded, then asked, "Sasuke, can you sense Natural Energy?"
Uchiha Sasuke immediately lowered his gaze upon hearing this. After a moment, he opened his eyes, "I can sense it, but the Natural Energy here is very scarce and very dispersed."
"This is why the Ōtsutsuki Clan planted trees in the Ninja World; the Natural Energy outside is relatively difficult to collect."
Naruto clenched his fist and shouted, "Hmph, I won't let the Ōtsutsuki Clan plant that so-called Divine Tree again!"
Uchiha Sasuke snorted, "Focus on your training before saying that!"
"Once the Sage of Six Paths' power is depleted, your strength will greatly decrease."
"You have experience mastering Kekkei Genkai and seven types of Chakra Nature Transformation, so hurry up and master them to develop Truth-Seeking Balls."
Naruto immediately replied, "I know without you reminding me, and I'll definitely master it before you."
"Maybe your other eye still won't have awakened the Rinnegan by then!"
As the two of them argued, the Nine-Tails suddenly said, "Naruto, look there!"
"Huh?"
Naruto turned his head and saw a giant meteor drifting in the dark cosmic space, with a tree on it.
"It's a Sage Tree!"
Naruto exclaimed, "Sasuke, look, it's a Sage Tree! Asuma-uncle must have planted it, that's amazing!"
Uchiha Sasuke looked and also noticed it. Thinking about the powerful Azure Dragon Sarutobi Asuma had created earlier and the Jianmu beneath his feet, he immediately averted his gaze and shouted, "Let's go, back to training!"
...
Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke descended from the Jianmu, and Haruno Sakura and the others immediately crowded around to ask about their experience.
Naruto gesticulated wildly, spitting as he spoke.
Uchiha Sasuke was unenthusiastic and quickly broke away from the crowd, finding his older brother to ask questions.
His Rinnegan was forcibly awakened by the Sage of Six Paths. In terms of Chakra control and understanding of Chakra Nature Transformation, he couldn't compare not only to Uchiha Shisui but even to Uchiha Itachi.
Of course.
With the Rinnegan, his progress was also very rapid.
After all, the Rinnegan was originally of a very high level.
Soon, the crowd dispersed, and everyone left the island.
Finally, only Sarutobi Asuma, Tsunade, Senju Hashirama, and Senju Tobirama remained.
"Little Tsunade, try out your Rinnegan's dojutsu!"
Senju Hashirama said with anticipation.
Sarutobi Asuma was also very expectant.
With six tomoe in its Rinnegan, its eye power was even greater than Uchiha Sasuke's, so its dojutsu would surely be more potent.
Tsunade activated her Rinnegan and said, "The dojutsu of opening the Space-Time Door shouldn't be considered a unique one."
As she spoke, a black vortex appeared behind her.
"With my current eye power, I can return directly to Konoha."
Tsunade sensed carefully and added, "Within the Ninja World, it seems there are no problems with places I've been to."
"What about a unique dojutsu?"
Senju Tobirama asked.
Sarutobi Asuma also looked on with anticipation.
Tsunade thought for a moment, unable to explain clearly, so she said to Senju Tobirama, "Second Grandpa, attack me!"
Senju Tobirama nodded, raised his hand, and threw a kunai.
Tsunade raised her hand to block, but the kunai directly hit her arm.
Senju Tobirama's expression immediately changed, and he looked down at his arm.
He was injured too!
Sarutobi Asuma frowned, watching. "Damage transfer?"
"Or does it inflict equal damage on both the attacker and oneself?"
Tsunade pulled out the kunai, and before the wound could bleed, it healed. She said calmly, "It's equal damage!"
Senju Hashirama stroked his chin. "In that case, it's a battle of who has stronger life force!"
"This dojutsu seems a bit useless..."
Sarutobi Asuma, however, thought of the Evil God and Hidan.
Tsunade's dojutsu seemed inferior to Hidan's ability.
After all, while Tsunade's body was powerful and her recovery astonishing, she wasn't immortal.
If this dojutsu were used against the Ōtsutsuki Clan, it truly seemed a bit useless, as Senju Hashirama had said.
She couldn't use it during a mutual destruction scenario, could she?
Senju Tobirama then said, "Brother, we can't just look at the result."
"During a fight, this dojutsu can also provide a lot of auxiliary support."
"'Equal damage' means if I lose an arm, the enemy will also lose an arm."
"This dojutsu can completely come into play at extremely critical moments."
Senju Hashirama slapped his head and burst into laughter. "That's true. It's perfect for Little Tsunade to assist Asuma in battle."
"As long as the timing is precise, it can achieve a crucial effect."
Senju Tobirama continued, "I remember, Asuma, you left two Transferring Seals on Tsunade, both Izanagi, right?"
"In that case, Tsunade could completely use Izanagi to deal with multiple enemies in a short period!"
Uh...
Sarutobi Asuma froze. He hadn't thought of that.
As expected of the Second Hokage, so ruthless!
However, those two Izanagi were for Tsunade's survival.
But this dojutsu was a perfect match for his Substitution Technique.
At this moment, Tsunade revealed a smile. "I haven't finished yet."
Huh?
Sarutobi Asuma and the other two looked at Tsunade in confusion.
Tsunade smiled and said, "That was just one dojutsu. The other allows me to designate one person to share half the damage!"
Senju Tobirama immediately said, "When combined with Izanagi, enduring equal damage is still more effective."
Tsunade crossed her arms and snorted, "Second Grandpa, Izanagi also has its limits."
Senju Tobirama replied, "With current technology, mass-cultivating Three Tomoe Sharingan isn't difficult."
Sarutobi Asuma asked, "Does this 'enduring equal damage' ignore the difference in physical conditions between the two parties?"
"Of course!"
Tsunade nodded and explained, "If I lose an arm, the one who is hit by the dojutsu will also lose an arm."
"If I die, the other party will also certainly die."
Sarutobi Asuma shook his head, "There are many kinds of death."
"For the Ōtsutsuki Clan, death of the body is not true death."
"They can even back up their power and infuse it into others, then revive."
"Just like I can also revive through the Sage Cursed Seal after death."
Tsunade frowned upon hearing this. After thinking for a moment, she said, "The key to this dōjutsu is equal damage."
"In cases of light injuries… or rather, injuries that don't involve death, the severity of the same injury differs for people with different life forces."
"But if it's death, there's no difference."
"I endured the damage of death, and the opponent must also endure the damage of death!"
Causality!
Sarutobi Asuma finally understood.
Meanwhile, Senju Tobirama said, "Tsunade, you must master the Multiple Spiritualization Clone Technique that Asuma developed, and then cultivate clones."
Senju Hashirama immediately caught his brother's intention and asked, "Is it to equip the Three-Tomoe Sharingan to perform Izanagi?"
Senju Tobirama nodded, "Izanagi is undoubtedly the best choice, unless Tsunade can learn Asuma's Substitution Technique!"
"Asuma's Substitution Technique is too difficult…"
Tsunade shook her head.
It wasn't that she hadn't tried to learn it, but she hadn't mastered it yet.
Senju Tobirama said, "Then cultivate clones equipped with Three-Tomoe, or even Mangekyo, then store them in Asuma's pocket dimension. When needed, awaken and summon them, then perform Transferring Seal on the original body to store Izanagi."
"Additionally, it's best to master a Ninjutsu that can completely kill oneself, or rather, the Ōtsutsuki."
"For example, Asuma's Kekkei Mōra Dust Release, which can decompose even the soul and Chakra."
"If the soul and consciousness are both decomposed, then even the Ōtsutsuki Clan wouldn't be able to live, or reincarnate, right?"
Sarutobi Asuma immediately gave a thumbs-up upon hearing this: As expected of the Second Hokage!
At this moment, Senju Hashirama reminded him, "We cannot over-rely on this tactic."
"If the enemy finds a flaw, they might find a way to counter it that we haven't thought of yet."
Sarutobi Asuma, however, thought of the battle between Uchiha Sasuke and Danzō in the original story.
A mere Genjutsu caused Danzō to lose his life.
He immediately nodded, "First Hokage-sama is right."
"Besides Izanagi, perhaps we can comprehend and find suitable tactics."
Sarutobi Asuma still thought of his own Substitution Technique.
Perhaps it could be leveled up further?
Having understood Tsunade's Rinnegan dōjutsu, Sarutobi Asuma and the others didn't linger on the deserted island anymore.
After bidding farewell to the Azure Dragon, everyone returned to Konoha together.
That night, a fully confident Tsunade and Sarutobi Asuma battled for three hundred rounds before she begged for mercy.
The next day, time entered the second year of Daitō.
Heavy snow fell, yet under the Sage Tree, birds still sang and flowers bloomed.
So, Sarutobi Asuma took his son and daughters back to the Senju Ancestral Home to have a snowball fight and build snowmen.
For a time, laughter and joy could be heard from afar.
Time flew by.
Winter turned to spring.
In April, Nohara Rin gave birth to a son, whom Uchiha Obito named Hatake Morikazu.
Tsunade, meanwhile, became pregnant in March.
In Konoha, peers like Shiranui Genma, Might Guy, and Ebisu also gradually got married.
Clearly, in these two years, there would also be a baby boom.
...
At the end of April, Sarutobi Asuma brought Tsunade, Naruto, Yamato, his son Nawaki, and Senju Hashirama to the Land of Wind.
Nearly a year had passed, and the canals in the Land of Rain and the Land of Rivers were finally connected.
Even the water storage in the large reservoirs along the border of the two countries had reached two-thirds of their capacity.
At the same time.
The river channels connecting the two large reservoirs within the Land of Wind's territory had also been completed, with only the final connection remaining. Once that was done, the water from the two large reservoirs in the Land of Rain and the Land of Rivers could flow into the reservoirs in the Land of Wind, and then from the Land of Wind's reservoirs through artificial canals into the depths of the Land of Wind.
One route led directly to the original Sunagakure, and another led to Rōran.
From last year until now, the Land of Wind had been undertaking massive construction projects, hiring a large number of Earth Style ninjas, and excavating two massive artificial canals.
Furthermore, due to the sandstorm problem, even high walls made with Earth Style couldn't block it.
Therefore, the canals, once opened, had to be regularly maintained before the water and trees could be introduced, lest they be buried by sand.
Currently, Sarutobi Asuma was leading people to plant trees and grass.
Last year, Orochimaru had developed seeds for grass and trees suitable for the desert. Sarutobi Asuma had his clones take them to the Land of Wind for testing, and the results were indeed quite good.
Thus, the team split into two groups.
Sarutobi Asuma, along with Yamato, Haruno Sakura, and Uchiha Sasuke, was responsible for the route leading to Rōran.
Meanwhile, Senju Hashirama, Tsunade, Nawaki, and Naruto were responsible for the route leading to Sunagakure.
Land of Wind large reservoir.
At Sarutobi Asuma's command, Nagato immediately notified the Land of Rain to open the floodgates.
Instantly, a massive flow of water poured out of the large reservoir, surging into the 100-meter-wide canal, and then rushing towards the Land of Wind.
The border of the Land of Wind near the Land of Rain was not desert; it still had sparse vegetation.
Standing atop the towering wall of the large reservoir, watching the surging waves, Sarutobi Asuma had a thought.
The next moment.
On both banks of the canal, trees shot up from the ground, forming two rows like sentinels.
And between the two rows of trees, there was grass resistant to drought and sandstorms.
Simultaneously.
At another reservoir, Senju Hashirama also used Wood Release to plant trees and grass.
Once the water rushed into the reservoir and reached a certain level, the floodgates on the other side were opened, and the water began to flow towards the depths of the Land of Wind.
"Yamato, you're in charge of the left side. Three rows of trees, with grass planted in the middle."
"Little Sakura, you're responsible for supplying Yamato-captain with Chakra!"
Sarutobi Asuma ordered.
"Yes!"
Yamato and Haruno Sakura acknowledged the order, and Uchiha Sasuke followed suit.
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