Wood Release.
That was the First Hokage Hashirama Senju's signature ninjutsu—an imprint burned deep into Kurama's soul, equal parts humiliation and fear.
The figure in crimson armor, half like a god and half like a demon, seemed to rise before his eyes once more. Kurama had once been unstoppable, yet that man had used his peerless Wood Release and the towering True Several Thousand Hands to pin him down with absurd ease, as casually as plucking a flower.
Even now, Kurama could still remember the helplessness of being trapped in the giant palm of that wooden Buddha, unable to move at all. He could still hear Hashirama looming over him, saying something infuriatingly calm along the lines of, "Nine-Tails, your power is too dangerous."
Across the long stretch of years, very few things had ever truly made him afraid. But the First Hokage's Wood Release, the Uzumaki clan's sealing arts, and the Uchiha's Sharingan were unquestionably the three things he feared most.
And now this brat in front of him actually dared to question the very nature of Wood Release. Worse, he had thrown out a hypothesis so absurd it bordered on heresy.
Seeing Kurama rear up, hot breath hissing from between his fangs, Naruto knew he had succeeded in hooking the ancient beast's interest. He stopped playing coy, folded his legs beneath him, and began laying out his theory with crisp clarity.
"I suspect the First Hokage's Wood Release wasn't just a simple bloodline limit formed from Earth Release and Water Release. I think it might actually have been a Kekkei Tota—something created from Earth Release, Water Release, and Yang Release from Yin-Yang Style all fused together."
Naruto raised three fingers as he continued. "The first clue is heredity."
"Bloodline limits—whether they're ocular lines like the Uchiha clan's Sharingan and the Hyuga clan's Byakugan, or elemental lines like Ice Release and Lava Release—can usually be passed down in a stable way. That's how powerful bloodline clans form in the first place."
"But if you look at bloodline eliminations, they don't seem to create stable family lineages at all."
He immediately produced the example that best supported his argument. "The most typical case is Iwagakure's Dust Release."
"Dust Release was the bloodline elimination created by the Second Tsuchikage, Mu. It came from fusing wind, earth, and fire."
"The Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, wasn't Mu's blood relative, but as Mu's disciple he still learned Dust Release. On the other hand, Onoki's own son, Kitsuchi, as his direct descendant, can't use Dust Release at all."
"That proves Dust Release can be learned—but not inherited."
After laying out that foundation, Naruto brought the topic back to Hashirama Senju. "Now look at Wood Release. After Hashirama, no one among his direct descendants—or even within the entire Senju clan—was ever able to use true Wood Release, the kind that carried living vitality."
"That doesn't fit the inheritance pattern of a normal bloodline limit. It fits the trait of bloodline elimination much better: learnable, but not passable."
"Hashirama's seemingly limitless life force, his instantaneous healing, and the way his Wood Release could create things brimming with life… all of that goes way beyond simple earth-and-water fusion. It feels more like an extremely advanced Yang Release was mixed into it."
In Naruto's eyes, Wood Release was absolutely the most unique and overpowered technique in the entire ninjutsu system. Its versatility was so outrageous it practically qualified as a bug.
It could suppress an entire battlefield on a huge scale, yet it also possessed terrifyingly refined control. It was a perfect union of offense and defense, a technique with almost no weaknesses anywhere.
And Hashirama Senju's True Several Thousand Hands in particular had already crossed the line into something irrational. The giant Buddha was so enormous that a single hand was bigger than the Nine-Tails in his full form, and the sheer visual pressure of it alone was enough to drive an enemy into despair.
The Senju and Uzumaki clans shared the same root. Both were descendants of Asura, the younger son of the Sage of Six Paths.
Hashirama Senju and Naruto Uzumaki, in turn, were both reincarnations of Asura's chakra.
In Naruto's understanding, that so-called "reincarnation" was closer to a fragment of chakra carrying part of a will, attaching itself and manifesting across different eras. It was not the same as a soul entering a cycle of rebirth the way traditional myths described reincarnation.
If it had really worked like soul-reincarnation, then Asura, Hashirama, and Naruto should all have shared one and the same soul. But in the original story, Hashirama's soul could still be summoned by the Impure World Reincarnation while Naruto was alive.
That alone was enough to convince Naruto that his judgment was correct.
Knock, knock, knock.
A clear, steady rapping at the door cut across reality like a stone thrown into still water. It pierced straight through the sealed space and interrupted the discussion between Naruto and Kurama at its hottest point.
Naruto stopped mid-thought, annoyance and resignation flashing through him at once. As expected, they had come.
He spread his hands helplessly toward the still-restless beast behind the bars. "Someone's here. It should be the Third Hokage. I'll deal with him first."
Before the last word had fully fallen, his consciousness was yanked out of the damp underground world like a receding tide. The giant iron cage, the pair of scarlet eyes, and even Kurama's lingering shock over the nature of Wood Release were sealed away once more in the depths of his mind.
In the real world, Naruto lay on his bed with his eyes shut for a beat longer before his lashes trembled and lifted.
He sat up in one smooth motion, wearing a drowsy expression, yawned, and then padded quickly toward the door.
"Coming! Coming!"
He called out while reaching for the handle and pulling the door open.
A gust of cold air slipped inside with the figure standing beyond it.
Just as he expected, the person outside was none other than the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, dressed in his Hokage robes and hat. He carried a fairly large package in his hands, and his lined face wore that familiar gentle smile that looked especially warm against the snowy night.
"Grandpa, what brings you here?"
Naruto's face instantly filled with just the right amount of surprise and delight. He hurriedly stepped aside and opened the door wider. "Come in, come in!"
As he spoke, he led the Third Hokage into the cramped little living room with practiced enthusiasm, invited him to take a seat, and naturally snatched the coat that had been draped over the chair back out of the way.
The Third Hokage smiled warmly as his gaze swept across the tidy room before coming to rest on Naruto. His tone was full of an elder's affection. "Nothing special, Naruto. Grandpa just missed you, so I came to see you."
As he spoke, he set the package on the table and pushed it toward him. "Oh, right. I picked up a new winter outfit for you on the way here. The weather keeps getting colder. Do you like it?"
"Really? Thank you, Grandpa Third!"
Naruto's eyes lit up at once, and he put on exactly the kind of eager excitement a child his age ought to show as he reached for the parcel.
When he opened it, the contents were simple enough: a thick kraft-paper envelope and a neatly folded set of black winter clothes.
"Wow!"
Naruto stared at the new clothes on the table and let out an openly delighted cheer. His blue eyes widened, sparkling with an innocence so convincing it looked completely natural.
Seeing that joy, the wrinkles at the corners of the Third Hokage's eyes softened. Stroking his goatee, he smiled and said, "Try it on, little Naruto. If it doesn't fit, Grandpa will buy you another set."
"Okay!"
Naruto nodded hard and immediately moved.
He peeled off the old winter outfit he had been wearing, the one that was obviously too short on him now, with the cuffs and pant legs both riding high. As the outer layer came off, the thermal clothes underneath—already stretched tight from how much his body had grown—were exposed to the Third Hokage's eyes without the slightest concealment.
Naruto didn't hesitate for even a moment. He quickly picked up the new dark blue winter clothes, slipped them on with nimble movements, zipped them up carefully, and smoothed down the hem.
The new set fit him perfectly. It was warm, comfortable, and snugly wrapped around him from neck to ankle.
But as the Third Hokage took in the old clothes and the too-tight thermal layer beneath them, the smile on his face slowly began to fade.