"Wood Release: Pea Shooter!" Dave didn't want to bother with hand seals anymore—it was too troublesome. Instead, he imitated Hashirama's style: just clap his hands together and shout whatever came to mind.
A two-meter-tall Pea Shooter burst out from the cracked ground.
"Oh! It looks like a summon. Is it a plant-like summon? Dave, can you try making it attack me?" Hashirama blinked curiously as he examined it. The Pea Shooter, with its mouth about two meters in diameter, looked confused before responding.
"Pea Shooter, attack!" Dave shouted, pointing at Hashirama.
The Pea Shooter's thick tendrils pressed back, its mouth closed, and something seemed to bulge inside.
"Pong!" In an instant, the Pea Shooter opened its mouth, and a huge green pea shot out toward Hashirama.
Hashirama didn't dodge; he wanted to test how powerful this thing was. He clapped his hands together, and a wooden wall rose from the ground.
What surprised Hashirama was that the pea actually broke through the one-meter-thick wooden wall. He quickly reached out to catch it.
Hashirama caught it, but the enormous force from the pea sent him flying back dozens of meters. His eyes sparkled with excitement.
Even now, when Dave wasn't even a basic genin, he could summon such a powerful plant. What if Dave grew as strong as him? Hashirama didn't dare to imagine it.
He figured the pea would have knocked him away or at least made him spit up blood. The pea burst open and dissipated into the air. The Pea Shooter disappeared too—not because it ran out of endurance, but because Dave dismissed it.
"Wood Release: Potato Mine!" Dave shouted with his hands clasped together. A bulging sack appeared in front of Hashirama. On the sack... it seemed like a round head with a flashing red light was peeking out.
"What kind of plant is this?" Hashirama asked. These things were too weird. Why couldn't he summon Wood Release plants like this?
"It takes a while for it to prepare. When it shows its head, whoever touches it will trigger an explosion," Dave explained.
The two of them waited there for the Potato Mine to ready itself.
...
Soon, a pair of eyes with buck teeth suddenly appeared on the ground, and the round headlight stopped flashing. Hashirama was dumbfounded—what the hell was this?
Hashirama braced himself and stepped forward. The Potato Mine narrowed its eyes.
Pong!
It blew Hashirama back dozens of meters, sending him somersaulting before he stopped. Fortunately, he was prepared, or he might have embarrassed himself in front of Dave. But he still thought this mine was interesting.
It was twice as powerful as an explosive tag, and it was underground. However, Hashirama wasn't worried about people stepping on or touching it. After all... this was the first time such a weird thing had appeared in the ninja world, so there would definitely be curious people who wanted to poke it.
"Uncle Hashirama, do you still want to see more?" Dave shouted.
"Keep going," Hashirama replied. He wanted to see what else Dave could summon.
"Wood Release: Squash!" Dave clapped his hands together, and a melon slowly emerged from the cracked ground. The Squash was massive—bigger than a Pea Shooter, almost half the height of a tailed beast.
The Squash had one small eye and one big eye, with the corners of its mouth turned downward, looking full of disdain and begging to be smacked. Hashirama slowly approached it.
"Huh?" To Hashirama's surprise, the Squash actually made a sound, then jumped high into the air. It came smashing down toward Hashirama.
"Wood Release: Wood Locking Wall!!" Hashirama looked at the dark shadow overhead and reacted quickly. Strips of wood wrapped around him for protection.
The Squash hit the ground and disappeared. Dave's chakra was almost depleted; he couldn't maintain it forever. At least not a disposable plant like the Squash.
When the smoke cleared, there was only a pile of crushed wood on the ground and a flattened Hashirama with his eyes rolled back and foam at his mouth.
Dave hurried forward and pulled Hashirama up.
"Uncle Hashirama, are you okay? Don't scare me!" Dave kept shaking Hashirama, tears in his eyes.
It was the first year of Konoha—the time when the village had just been founded, and Uchiha Madara hadn't defected yet.
If he crushed Hashirama to death, who would fight the Gundam with Uchiha Madara in the Valley of the End? On whom? Him? He didn't believe a Squash like his could crush a Gundam right now.
"It's okay, it's okay... just... so many stars..." Hashirama drooled, as if a few stars had popped out on his forehead.
"Hashirama!" Mito had been watching their training from the side and saw the whole thing. She ran over, took Hashirama from Dave's hands, and shouted.
"Wood Release: Sunflower!" Dave sighed and shouted hurriedly.
A Sunflower rose from the ground, smiling and swaying toward the sun.
Mito looked at Dave in confusion, wondering why he'd summoned this strange plant and what it meant.
"Ahem, Aunt Mito, you'll see in a moment," Dave said quickly.
The Sunflower kept swaying toward the sun, and then a golden sun burst out from it.
Dave picked up the sun and placed it on Hashirama's body. In Mito's amazed eyes, the sun gradually entered Hashirama's body.
The dizzy Hashirama felt a warm sensation. When he came to, he saw his wife holding him, his nephew Dave, and a strange flower swaying beside him.
"What's going on, Mito?" Hashirama asked.
"Uncle Hashirama, I thought... I thought... wuwuwu," Dave suddenly lay on Hashirama's body and cried loudly. After all, he was a child now, so he had to act like one.
"Oh, I remember. It's okay, Dave—it was Uncle Hashirama who was careless. I didn't expect your Wood Release to be so strong," Hashirama recalled the scene before he fainted and quickly comforted him.
"Wood Release?" Mito exclaimed from the side.
"Ah, that's right, Mito. Dave has Wood Release just like me, but his is a little different from mine. He can actually summon plants," Hashirama explained.
"Ah, I see. Is that what this strange flower is? Just now, I saw it spit out a sun, and then Dave took it and put it on you, and you got better," Mito said, relieved.
"What? Dave's plants actually have healing effects? Huh?" Hashirama was a bit confused. He thought Dave's plants were only for attacking, but they could heal too. What about defensive plants?
"Then, Dave, can you summon defensive plants?" Hashirama sat up and asked eagerly.
"Yes." Dave nodded. Joking aside, was his Wall-nut just for show?
"Dave, your Wood Release is so strong!!" Hashirama sighed, but he didn't want to try it right now. He was still a little dizzy. Dave's Sunflowers could repair physical injuries, but not the mental fog.
"Okay, Dave, I'm fine. Let's go for a walk in the village." Hashirama stood up, patted the dust off his body, and said with a smile.
"Okay!" Dave had been itching to go out and explore. If his cheap old dad hadn't kept him up all night talking to "enhance their father-son bond," he would have gone out to play a long time ago.
The two of them held hands and strolled carefree through the streets of Konoha.
"Eh? Madara! Madara! I'm here, Madara! What do you mean by covering your face?" Somehow, while wandering, Hashirama and Dave ended up at the Uchiha clan grounds.
Hashirama spotted a familiar figure, waved his hand, and shouted loudly. Over there, Madara wore an expression that screamed "I don't know this guy" and turned away.
Hashirama ran over and slung an arm directly over Uchiha Madara's shoulder.
"Idiot..." Uchiha Madara glanced at the giggling Hashirama beside him and said coldly.
"Uuuuu, Madara, you said that to me? I'm so sad," Hashirama pretended to cry, leaving Dave behind him dumbfounded.
Although Dave knew his cheap uncle was a bit silly, why did he turn into such an idiot in front of Madara???
"Oh, by the way, Madara—this is Tobirama's son, Senju Dave. Dave, this is your uncle and your father's friend, Uchiha Madara."