— — — — — —

A moment later

"I've made up my mind! I'm going with Wood Release and the Sharingan! Just wait—one day, I'll master both and crush that cat-and-mouse duo. I could feel the disdain in their eyes earlier."

"And I'll show Grandpa and Uchiha Madara just how powerful my Wood and Sharingan can be! Hah! I'll be invincible!"

Nawaki struck a proud pose, clearly full of himself.

Renzo chuckled and shook his head. "Hey, it's good to have ambition, but you've got a long way to go. Talk to me again when you awaken the Mangekyō, alright?"

Beat Tom & Jerry? Kid, you're dreaming way too big.

"Here—take the serum! Just inject it now."

Without waiting for a reply, Renzo casually pulled out two syringes and jabbed them straight into Nawaki's arms, injecting both serums on the spot.

The so-called Wood Release serum wasn't just about creating trees—it was more accurate to call it a Hashirama Bloodline Serum.

It contained Hashirama Senju's Sage Body and the genetic basis for Wood Release.

If developed to its full potential, it could truly bring someone close to Hashirama's level.

"AAARGHHHH!"

The very next second, Nawaki let out a blood-curdling scream. His whole body felt like it was on fire, like a swarm of tiny insects were chewing through every one of his cells.

The pain was so intense he collapsed and rolled on the ground, howling in agony.

"H-Hey! Are you sure this is okay?" Tsunade and Kurenai both jumped in alarm, watching Nawaki writhe in pain. "Can you really inject two different bloodline serums at the same time like that?"

"Relax, he'll be fine. The pain'll pass soon," Renzo said, casually shaking his head.

And just like he said, Nawaki stopped rolling around after five minutes.

Instead of pain, he now felt a soothing warmth coursing through his body.

His physique and chakra were growing rapidly.

Even the grass around where he'd collapsed started sprouting and spreading at an unnatural speed.

Tsunade and Kurenai were stunned.

They could feel the vibrant life force radiating from Nawaki's body—it was getting stronger by the second.

Then, Nawaki's eyes started itching.

Within thirty minutes, his eyes had transformed—fully awakened Sharingan with two tomoe in each eye.

And even then, the power in his eyes was still building.

Now he started panicking a little.

He quickly reported what he was feeling to Tsunade and Renzo, then asked nervously, "Is this… normal? This feels kinda ridiculous. I'm not about to, like, explode or something, right?"

His power was rising way too fast!

Since when was it this easy to awaken the Sharingan? Even Uchiha couldn't do it this casually!

Tsunade looked to Renzo, clearly wanting an explanation.

"Don't worry. He's fine," Renzo replied calmly. "There's a reason I gave him both bloodline serums at the same time."

"They complement each other. During the injection and transformation process, they actually help stimulate one another."

"One of my shadow clones did the same thing with Uchiha Tom back in the lab!"

"That's how Tom's Sharingan awakened so easily. In fact, he's already awakened the Mangekyō."

"You're seriously lucky, kid. There are Uchiha who live their whole lives and never awaken the Sharingan!"

"This is the easiest Sharingan awakening in history."

"Hehehe, thanks a ton, bro-in-law!" Nawaki grinned and gave a heartfelt thanks, clearly not the type to miss a good opportunity.

Tsunade, however, looked absolutely stunned as she turned to Renzo. "Wait… did you say you gave Uchiha Tom both the Wood Release and Sharingan serums too?"

"Then why didn't he awaken Wood Release?"

Just how many crazy experiments had this guy done without telling anyone?

"Nope, not exactly," Renzo shook his head. "What my clone gave him wasn't Wood Release or the Hashirama Sage Body. It was a purified Sage Body serum—a more advanced version developed from the standard Sage Body serum."

"It's on par with the Hashirama Sage Body in potential, but it doesn't include Wood Release. That's all."

As he said that, Renzo turned to Kurenai. "Oh right—Kurenai, your Sage Body's development is almost at its peak. You should get the advanced serum next. It'll unlock even more potential."

"Mhm! I'm all in!" Kurenai smiled and nodded enthusiastically.

Then she asked, "Should we upgrade Kakashi and the others too?"

"Kakashi and his crew, huh?" Renzo rubbed his chin. "We can tell them the serum exists, but if they want it, they'll need to trade village merits for it. No freeloading!"

"They're not you, after all."

"True!" Kurenai agreed. "I think that's fair."

To be honest, from what she knew, Kakashi, Obito, Rin, and Asuma didn't want to just freeload forever.

They'd never forgotten the favors Renzo had done for them all these years—and they were always looking for a way to repay him.

They just hadn't found the right opportunity yet.

Just then, Nawaki perked up excitedly, "Sis! Bro-in-law! I think—I think I can actually use Wood Release now!"

By this point, his transformation was mostly done. The deeper cellular-level adaptation would still take a few days, but he could already feel the difference. His face lit up with excitement as he turned to them.

"Oh really?" Tsunade asked, her voice laced with both surprise and anticipation. "Then give it a try. You remember the hand signs for Deep Forest Emergence, right? Just don't overdo it."

"Of course I do!"

Nawaki took a few steps forward, then formed the seals—still a bit rusty, but manageable. He crouched low and slammed both palms against the ground.

"Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence!"  (Nativity of a World of Trees)

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Thick tree roots burst from the earth, twisting and growing rapidly into massive trees. In seconds, the area was overrun with greenery.

But... he'd clearly overdone it. The jutsu didn't stop at just a few trees—it was dozens already, and they were still sprouting!

"Whoa—!" Renzo quickly waved his hand and raised a barrier, just in time to stop Nawaki from wrecking the courtyard and taking the whole wall down with it.

Realizing what he'd done, Nawaki quickly cut the chakra flow and turned back with a sheepish grin. "Heh... kinda lost control there. Used a bit too much chakra. Sorry about that!"

Still, he couldn't help but feel exhilarated. So this was what it felt like to use Wood Release... no wonder his grandpa had been such a legend.

Plus, his chakra reserves felt insane now—bottomless, even.

"You idiot," Tsunade scolded. "You seriously need to work on your chakra control! That was awful. And here I thought you'd inherited even a fraction of my precision!"

"Hey, come on!" Nawaki groaned. "I'm your brother, not your kid! How would I inherit your chakra control?! That doesn't even make sense!"

"What was that?" Tsunade's brow arched dangerously.

"Uhh... n-nothing! You're totally right, sis! My bad!" Nawaki instantly folded, throwing his hands up in surrender.

"Hmph. That's better."

Satisfied, Tsunade turned to Renzo. "Alright then. Inject me too—I'll take the same combo as Nawaki."

"As for the Uchiha... that's your problem. You better make sure none of them come bothering me over this. If they do..." She cracked her knuckles meaningfully. "My punches don't pull punches."

Renzo chuckled. "Don't worry, I've got it covered."

With a casual flip of his hand, he summoned two more vials of serum and injected them into Tsunade on the spot.

Her body adapted even more smoothly than Nawaki's—no surprise there. She was already Kage-level without enhancements.

After the injection, she awakened a complete Senju Sage Body, full-fledged Wood Release, and even opened her Sharingan right away.

Sure, the Mangekyo was still a ways off, but her overall strength had jumped several levels in one go.

Not stopping there, Renzo also gave both Tsunade and Kurenai a vial of the 300-year life extension serum.

Their appearances and figures immediately reverted to their peak condition—youthful and radiant.

Kurenai also received a dose of the advanced Sage Body serum, which only added to her power. Both women were beyond satisfied.

---

News of Renzo's return spread like wildfire through the upper ranks of Konoha.

Naturally, Uchiha Fugaku heard about it.

Without wasting time, he showed up at Renzo's front courtyard in person—bringing along Itachi and 12-year-old Sasuke, who was about to graduate.

Renzo welcomed the trio at the garden pavilion.

"Sensei!" Itachi greeted respectfully, bowing the moment he saw him.

That's right—Itachi had officially become Renzo's student.

Even though Renzo's main body had been gone for years, his shadow clone had continued to teach Itachi without fail.

Under Renzo's guidance, Itachi had already awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan and reached elite Kage-level strength—stronger even than Fugaku.

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