Chapter 58: Recognition from Three Hokage, Byakuya's Powerful Strike!
"Edo Tensei!"
"Release!"
Hearing Byakuya shout the name of the technique, Orochimaru felt a flicker of panic.
"Impossible!"
Orochimaru's face was full of disbelief as his control over the First and Second Hokage grew weaker and weaker.
Until it vanished completely!
"How is this possible!"
Orochimaru's eyes were wide with shock.
Someone had actually managed to suppress him in the field of Edo Tensei.
Moreover, since when could the 'Edo Tensei: Release' be used to undo someone else's Edo Tensei?!
Orochimaru had studied Edo Tensei for half his life.
He was familiar with the Edo Tensei: Release technique.
However, that technique was supposed to be performed by the reincarnated soul itself.
The technique could sever the contract between the reincarnated body and the summoner, allowing the soul to break free from the summoner's control.
But since when could this technique be used to interrupt another person's Edo Tensei?
At this moment, it was as if Orochimaru was encountering the Edo Tensei technique for the first time.
"Orochimaru, did you think you were the only one who could master these Forbidden Jutsu?"
Compared to Byakuya, Orochimaru's understanding of Edo Tensei...
...was lacking, to say the least.
Byakuya's Edo Tensei had been at max level from the very beginning.
That was the value of a unique Gold-tier Trait.
He simply didn't deign to use such Ninjutsu normally.
But not using it didn't mean he didn't know how.
Orochimaru wanted to flee, but it was already too late.
"Four Red Yang Formation!"
Byakuya pressed his palms together.
Single-handedly, he provided four portions of Kage-level Chakra, manifesting a red, transparent, flaming rectangular barrier in the four cardinal directions—East, West, South, and North—isolating the target from the outside world.
"Is that the Four Red Yang Formation??"
Kakashi's jaw dropped in shock.
One must know that the Four Red Yang Formation required four Kage-level Ninja to continuously provide Chakra.
In other words, Byakuya was currently providing four Kage-level portions of Chakra all by himself!
This was unimaginable to Kakashi, who frequently found himself low on Chakra.
"Byakuya, what are you planning to do?"
Everyone was completely baffled by Byakuya's actions.
Byakuya just gave a faint smile.
"Stay back. This next move will be very cool, and very powerful!"
Byakuya used the Four Red Yang Formation specifically to ensure the following Ninjutsu wouldn't destroy Konoha.
Otherwise, one Konoha wouldn't be enough to withstand the aftermath of Byakuya's power.
"I see. I was still one step behind!"
Facing his impending death, Orochimaru had completely come to terms with it.
There was no way he was surviving this.
Even though he had the Cursed Seal of Heaven, he would likely just be killed by Byakuya again even if he were resurrected.
The familiar red steam appeared.
"The Gate of Death of the Eight Gates... you really think highly of me!"
Orochimaru smiled bitterly.
Before the Gate of Death, he probably wouldn't even leave behind an intact corpse.
The red steam outside Byakuya's body had now taken the form of a dragon's head.
If he hadn't used the Four Red Yang Formation to lock himself and Orochimaru together...
...this terrifying aura alone would have forced everyone else to retreat.
"I really regret becoming your enemy!"
Even though he was about to die at Byakuya's hands...
...Orochimaru still looked at Byakuya with a sense of admiration.
He hadn't expected Byakuya to have mastered Edo Tensei as well.
How wonderful it would have been to have a person like him as a teammate!
What a pity!
"Night Guy!"
After Byakuya opened the Gate of Death of the Eight Gates, red steam erupted from his entire body.
He then gathered Chakra, condensing the red steam into a massive red dragon head. He charged at Orochimaru with extreme speed, with a power so great it could distort the space around the battlefield.
"Boom!"
The powerful red steam pierced directly through the entire Four Red Yang Formation.
Those outside the Four Red Yang Formation could only see a blinding flash of red.
Subsequently, the entire Four Red Yang Formation began to open.
The smoke dissipated, and everything returned to tranquility.
"Byakuya's mastery of the Eight Gates has already reached unimaginable heights!"
Might Guy was completely shocked by the Night Guy technique unleashed by Byakuya.
It is not difficult to unleash the strongest strike of Night Guy.
The difficulty lies in how to control Night Guy with precision.
One second, Byakuya was carrying overwhelming pressure, and the next, everything returned to normal.
This is a performance only possible when one has mastered the Eight Gates to the pinnacle realm.
(Uchiha Madara had seen the Eight Gates, so it should have existed during his era.)
(I don't know who invented it, so I've attributed it to the Second Hokage.)
"This... Tobirama, is this the Ninjutsu you developed?"
Wait!
This voice belongs to... the First Hokage!
Everyone looked toward the source of the voice in astonishment.
They saw that the First Hokage and the Second Hokage did not disappear after the Edo Tensei was released.
Instead, they had regained control over their bodies.
"I say, Tobirama, don't develop such dangerous Forbidden Jutsu next time."
"But then again, Tobirama, since you could develop such a strong Ninjutsu, why haven't I ever seen you use it?"
"Phew!"
Tobirama let out a long sigh. If he weren't familiar with his older brother's personality...
...he would truly think his brother was mocking him.
Did he have to completely master every Ninjutsu he invented?!
"Monkey, is that person your student?"
Senju Hashirama looked at Byakuya with a face full of admiration and asked.
Even the Second Hokage was equally curious.
"Teacher!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi was quite embarrassed; he truly wished Byakuya was a student he had taught.
But that wasn't the case!
"First Hokage, Byakuya is a leading figure of Konoha's younger generation, and like you, he possesses the Senju Clan's unique Kekkei Genkai."
"Wood Release!"
When Hiruzen Sarutobi said those words, the Second Hokage's eyes instantly lit up.
"Are you saying Byakuya has also awakened the Wood Release that only my brother possessed?"
Senju Tobirama's expression became incredibly serious.
But then he remembered something; he and his brother had already been dead for many years.
"For the Senju Clan to be able to awaken Wood Release again after several decades, I have no regrets!"
Senju Tobirama said with relief.
"However, Monkey, it seems you are also about to follow in our footsteps."
Senju Tobirama hadn't expected to see his own student following in his footsteps with his own eyes.
Once the Reaper Death Seal is activated, the caster is destined to die; the same applies to canceling the technique.
On the other side, after dealing with Orochimaru, Byakuya returned and arrived before everyone.
"Young man, are you Senju Byakuya?"
Senju Hashirama looked at the Byakuya before him with immense admiration.
"I am Byakuya!"
Faced with the First Hokage's inquiry, Byakuya behaved neither humbly nor arrogantly.
However, from the moment Byakuya used Wood Release, the Senju Clan bloodline within him had completely awakened.
Before the Senju bloodline, even the current prestigious Hyuga Clan of Konoha had to yield.
"Young man, I leave the future of Konoha to you."
"Tobirama and I don't have much time left."
"Tell that fellow Tsunade for me that we old guys miss her very much."
With the death of Orochimaru, the Reaper Death Seal technique was also about to dissipate.
Byakuya wasn't too surprised by this scene.
"Young man, the future of Konoha depends on you!"
Senju Tobirama gave Byakuya an admiring look, then turned back to look at his student, Hiruzen.
He was a very observant person.
Just from the expressions on the faces of the many people around, he could tell that Byakuya was highly respected by them.
Moreover, Hiruzen was also about to die; the burden of Konoha would ultimately be handed over to Byakuya.
"Child, I hope you can become the Hokage!"
In the final moments before disappearing, Senju Tobirama spoke his last words.
After he finished speaking, everyone present turned to look at Byakuya.
"I'm not interested!"
Byakuya shook his head calmly.
As for the position of Hokage, it was only after he truly understood it that he found he wasn't that interested.
"Byakuya, cough cough!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's figure gradually wavered.
Even though he had canceled the Reaper Death Seal, he could not recover the life force he was steadily losing.
"I leave the heavy responsibility of Konoha to you!"
"Become... the Hokage..."
After saying his last words, this Third Hokage, whose reputation was a mix of praise and blame, finally died in battle.
"Byakuya!"
Kakashi, Might Guy, and a group of Anbu all looked up at Byakuya.
At this moment, due to the high praise from the three Hokages...
...combined with the strength Byakuya displayed during this Chunin Exams, his prestige had instantly reached its peak.
"What should we do now?"
Kakashi and the others did not make decisions on their own but waited for Byakuya to issue orders.
Anyone with eyes could see that the First, Second, and Third Hokages all hoped Byakuya would become the next Hokage.
"Kakashi, Might Guy, the two of you are responsible for assisting Ibiki Morino at Konoha's East Gate to clear out the Sand Ninja."
"The remaining Anbu will be divided into two groups."
"One group will continue to clear the Sand Ninja near the Chunin Exam arena, and the other will be responsible for clearing the Sand Ninja in the center of the village."
"What about me, Byakuya?"
Seeing that Byakuya hadn't mentioned her name, Yūgao Uzuki volunteered and asked.
"Yūgao, you can go around and gather the other Konoha examinees who have gone missing."
Although Yūgao wanted to be with Byakuya more...
...she would certainly complete the task Byakuya gave her with all her heart.
In the next second, Byakuya's sensory field expanded completely.
The entire Konoha had turned into a chaotic mess.
The scattered Ninjas from the Hidden Sand Village began to disperse and infiltrate Konoha.
Many Ninjas had gone to pursue them.
After sensing several points, Byakuya's figure vanished directly from everyone's sight.
"Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!"
Hinata struggled to defeat a Sand Ninja.
However, she was still surrounded by three Hidden Sand Village Ninjas whose strength was similar to hers.
"It's the Main House of the Hyuga Clan!!"
"It's actually someone from the Hyuga Clan's Main House!!"
The Sand Ninjas were extremely excited when they saw Hinata.
One must know that the Byakugan was an existence in the entire Ninja World that was not inferior to the Sharingan.
And the key was that the usage conditions for the Byakugan were not as harsh as the Sharingan.
There wouldn't be a situation where it continuously consumed one's internal Chakra.
"Gouge out her eyes!"
Several Sand Ninjas showed cruel expressions.
Normally, they could never get close to the Hyuga Clan's Main House.
These people were each more cowardly than the last, but they didn't expect to unexpectedly run into someone from the Hyuga Clan's Main House today.
"Don't even think about it!"
"Gentle Step Twin Lion Fists!"
Facing the threat of the Sand Ninjas, Hinata tried her best not to be afraid.
She then gathered a large amount of Gentle Fist Chakra in both hands and applied shape transformation, forming two ferocious lion heads, before preparing to launch an attack.
5.3 "So you're here!"
An indifferent voice came from behind.
"Whi... Byakuya!"
When Hinata saw Byakuya appear, it was as if she had seen a savior.
"Wood Release: Smothering Binding Technique!"
Tree branches began to grow and extend around, binding the enemies' bodies, and then tightened forcefully.
Several Sand Ninjas died right then and there.
At this moment, the taut string in Hinata's mind finally relaxed.
Even if Hinata put on a brave face, she would still feel afraid because of the scene just now.
"Why are you here?"
Byakuya looked around, wondering why Hinata would appear here at this time.
Logically speaking, as the daughter of the Hyuga Clan's Main House, how could Hinata come to such a dangerous place?
"Be-Because, I saw that everyone needed help, so..."
Having calmed down, Hinata tucked her head tightly into her chest.
It was hard to imagine that Hinata, at her age, was already capable of such a feat.
And Sakura nearby... sigh, forget it, let's not talk about it.
After dealing with the enemies here, Byakuya reached out, intending to teleport Hinata out.
Unexpectedly, Hinata reflexively shrunk her head back again.
"I, I..."
Byakuya didn't mind; he knew this was just Hinata's personality.
Moreover, Byakuya could see that she seemed to have shrunk her head out of fear.
It seemed Hinata had been frightened by him back in the Forest of Death.
Within Byakuya's perception, there were still several places that required his intervention.
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