Jiraiya also noticed the concentrated gazes of the crowd. He took one look and then asked:
"Do you want Kairen to restore the Forest of Death?!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't speak. Beside him, Tsunade snorted:
"From today on, the Forest of Death belongs to the Senju Clan!"
Everyone fell silent. The Forest of Death was created by the First Hokage with Wood Release when the village was built, and originally belonged to the Senju family.
Jiraiya scratched his head, trying to think of a way to break the awkward atmosphere, when he suddenly noticed the changes in Kairen's body:
"This… what is this?!"
"My—"
Orochimaru's eyes widened, staring straight at Kairen inside the crystal ball.
On the pitch-black earth stood only one man, arms spread wide, as though the entire world could contain only him.
"Curse Mark: Open!"
In an instant, the curse mark activated. Countless black seals covered Kairen's body, and his whole form was surrounded by a layer of purple chakra.
Kairen then let out another roar:
"Curse Mark Second Stage!"
The natural energy nearby surged wildly toward him. A purple whirlwind wrapped around his body, blasting the two little chubby bears far away.
When the chaotic chakra gradually dispersed, Kairen now had a pair of huge fleshy spikes, and his entire body was covered with a dark keratin layer.
Orochimaru clenched his fist with force. This was Curse Mark Stage Two, a deeper mode of the curse mark. His research on this was still only theoretical, yet Kairen had already stepped into that realm.
And Kairen's control over Curse Mark Sage Mode was smooth and natural, as easy as eating and drinking. The curse mark's erosion seemed completely beneath his concern.
"Th-this… this is Sage Art!!"
Jiraiya felt the flow of natural energy in the air and shouted in confirmation.
"Sage Art?!" Sarutobi Hiruzen's heart trembled. He hadn't expected Kairen to have mastered the power of a sage.
He looked toward his three disciples. All three of them were geniuses favored by heaven, blessed with inheritances from the Three Great Sage Lands, and eligible to learn Sage Arts.
Sarutobi Hiruzen asked:
"What Sage Art is Moku Kairen using?!"
Jiraiya pointed at the crystal ball and shook his head:
"Not from Mount Myōboku. Mount Myōboku Sage Art is gentler. Kairen's state is more like a sage mode achieved through external power."
Sarutobi Hiruzen then turned his gaze to Tsunade.
Tsunade tugged her collar, covering the golden curse mark behind her neck.
She shook her head:
"Not from Shikkotsu Forest either. I've never let Kairen sign a contract with Katsuyu!"
Tsunade had once considered letting him sign a contract with Katsuyu, but the Slug Sage refused, believing Kairen's body held too much chaos.
Plus Kairen's recovery ability was absurdly strong, so Tsunade gave up.
Everyone's eyes then turned to Orochimaru. Orochimaru smiled:
"I've never even seen Ryūchi Cave Sage Art!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen's heart was full of suspicion. If it wasn't any of the Three Great Sage Lands, then where did Moku Kairen get his Sage Art? He couldn't possibly be a born sage, could he?!
He shifted his eyes to Orochimaru. Knowing this disciple thoroughly, he knew much of what Orochimaru did—and had installed many spies around him.
Sarutobi Hiruzen knew very well about Orochimaru's human experiments: the curse mark experiments, and the experiments on the Iburi Clan…
He had secretly learned that Orochimaru had obtained a child who was naturally sage-transformed.
He also used the Iburi Clan's special Smoke Transformation bodies to experiment, attempting to reverse-engineer Kairen's smoke-style kekkei genkai. The experiments failed, killing dozens of the Iburi clan.
Orochimaru noticed Sarutobi Hiruzen's scrutinizing stare. He smiled, said nothing, and simply kept watching the scene inside the crystal ball.
His snake-like pupils narrowed sharply. Moku Kairen truly was unfathomable.
Kairen took a deep breath, then:
"First Gate of Opening: Open!"
"Second Gate of Rest: Open!"
"Third Gate of Life: Open!"
"Fourth Gate of Pain: Open!"
"Fifth Gate of Limit: Open!"
"Nine-Tails Chakra: Open!"
Such overwhelming chakra instantly surged up into a massive sphere of energy stretching a hundred meters high, churning the clouds and disrupting the heavens.
...
In Minato's home, the Nine-Tails inside Kushina's belly suddenly widened its fox eyes. It sensed an enormous chakra not far away.
This powerful chakra had already reached Tailed Beast level.
"Who is that?!"
...
Kairen clasped his hands together, all chakra focused into forming the hand seals:
"Sage Art: Wood Release: Super Deep Forest Emergence!"
"Shalala…"
The earth trembled. In the blink of an eye, the ink-gray ground beneath the Forest of Death surged upward, and massive wooden roots—like dragons and serpents—burst forth.
Twisting left and right like tens of thousands of giant green serpents emerging from burrows.
Within five breaths, a 10-kilometer radius of Forest of Death was transformed into lush greenery. Every tree was an ancient giant—ten people holding hands couldn't surround even one.
"Sage of Six Paths above! Holy shit!!"
Jiraiya sucked in a cold breath—accelerating global warming in an instant.
To create a whole forest in a moment—surely this was the power the First Hokage had in his prime!
This was power! Absolute, unrivaled power! The power of the First Hokage!
Greed surged stronger and stronger in Orochimaru's eyes, yet he forcibly pressed that greed deep down again.
Kairen's body was far too powerful. He desperately wanted it—yet he was nowhere near strong enough to defeat him.
Ugh… what a headache!
A faint smile appeared on Tsunade's face, pride rising in her heart.
"Hu…"
Sarutobi Hiruzen took a drag from his old pipe and slowly exhaled the smoke, his complex emotions fading into a distant look.
Kairen's growth was simply too fast. After only a few days apart, his Wood Release was already comparable to the First Hokage.
If one day he became unhappy and on a whim pulled Hiruzen down from his seat, swapping the Hokage at the village gate—what then?!
Sarutobi Hiruzen was troubled.
He cursed Danzo in his heart for not being ruthless enough—how could he have sent only fifteen Jōnin back then?!
He should've sent all of Root along with his entire Shimura clan to get rid of this trouble completely!
His emotions churned like a stormy sea, but in the next instant he regained his composure, a gentle smile appearing on his face. He said to Tsunade:
"To have such an outstanding descendant, I'm sure the teacher is smiling happily in the Pure Land!"
Tsunade ignored Sarutobi Hiruzen. Her watery eyes were fixed on Kairen. A romantic poem already forming in her mind—waiting for tonight, for her and Kairen to drink and sit close together.
After putting away the documents, Tsunade turned and opened the door to leave.
"Teacher, we're going!"
"Okay!"
Jiraiya and Orochimaru each collected their assigned tasks and left one after another.
Leaving Sarutobi Hiruzen alone, miserably smoking his old pipe.
He thought of a child from Root who also had a Wood Release kekkei genkai—but that Wood Release was far inferior to the First Hokage's or Moku Kairen's.
His expression hardened as he headed for the place where the Scroll of Sealing was kept.
No one can touch my power and authority. To hell with you, Moku Kairen!