Naruto: Drop System

"To be seeing the world of the living again…"

As Hashirama Senju stepped out of the coffin, he sighed, exasperated. "It's that technique of Tobirama's again, isn't it? I kept telling him not to develop jutsus so recklessly… Now, it's causing trouble for those in the future."

"Well, don't be so hard on your brother. Your cells, First Hokage, are a rare find themselves—I had to go to great lengths just to get a vial of Hashirama cells," Hundred Faces teased, casting a sly look at Uchiha Obito beside him. "Originally, I wanted to arrange a reunion for some old friends, but duty calls."

This guy…

Noticing the look in Hundred Faces' eyes, Obito cursed inwardly. It was becoming all too clear that Hundred Faces was suspicious of his true identity again. He was beginning to think this man had known he wasn't Madara Uchiha for some time and had simply been playing along.

"Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence!"

Hashirama, now stripped of his consciousness and acting purely as a puppet, clapped his hands together and activated his signature Wood Style technique.

This Edo Tensei Hashirama was a half-completed version that contained cells from White Zetsu rather than fully authentic materials. If it were a perfect resurrection of Hashirama using White Zetsu's cells, controlling him would have been a challenge even if he didn't know the release seal for Edo Tensei. Only Yagyu's true form might have had a chance against him, as even Orochimaru had struggled to control the First Hokage in the past.

As a half-formed Edo Tensei, however, Hashirama was easily controlled by Hundred Faces, possessing strength far beyond what Orochimaru faced in the fight against Hiruzen Sarutobi.

The ground quaked violently as thick branches broke through the earth, writhing like a horde of unleashed serpents. They grew into towering trees, swelling into a vast green ocean of foliage that surged toward Teams 7 and 8.

The sight was awe-inspiring and overwhelming. Faced with an enormous wave of trees, too fast and extensive to escape, evasion seemed impossible—unless one could take to the skies.

"Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence!"

Yagyu clapped his hands, conjuring his own ocean of trees to meet Hashirama's forest head-on.

In an instant, the once-vast plain transformed into a sprawling forest—a permanent change to the landscape.

"Wood Style: Wood Clone Jutsu!"

Before the ground even stopped shaking, Yagyu formed hand seals again, channeling chakra into the forest to produce four remote wood clones.

"Ninja Art: Four Red Yang Formation!"

The four clones shouted in unison, and four transparent red barriers rose in the directions of north, south, east, and west, creating a massive prison.

"This formation… The Four Red Yang Formation that only the Five Kage can use!"

Chiyo, who had seen much in her time, exclaimed in shock.

"He's grown this strong?"

Kakashi, having already lifted his headband to expose his Sharingan, looked at Yagyu, who hadn't even drawn his main body into the battle. Despite his awe, he felt a profound sense of security, as did Sakura beside him.

At that moment, Kakashi felt as though he'd traveled through time to the founding era of Konoha, gaining a taste of what their ancestors might have felt.

Each of the four wood clones possessed Kage-level chakra, able to perform this large-scale technique. No wonder no force in the shinobi world had been able to contend with the First Hokage.

"You all go around the barrier and move on. I'll handle these guys."

Yagyu turned and instructed Teams 7 and 8 before vanishing into the barrier.

"Leave it to you, Yagyu!" Naruto shouted, his eyes having shifted to red with slit pupils.

Knowing Yagyu could use the Flying Thunder God Technique, Team 8 felt no need to worry about his safety and obediently nodded.

With that, Teams 7 and 8, along with Chiyo, circled around the red flaming barrier and continued toward the mountains of the Land of Rivers.

"The Four Red Yang Formation… created by his wood clones…"

Inside the cave, Zetsu's usual cheeky tone vanished, replaced by disbelief. "This Wood Style user… Could he have reached the level of the God of Shinobi himself?"

Black Zetsu remained silent, equally shocked.

Only sixteen years old and possessing this level of chakra—this reincarnation of Asura was proving more fearsome than Hashirama ever was.

As for Sasuke Uchiha's power, Black Zetsu doubted it could even compare to one of Yagyu's wood clones.

For the first time in millennia, Black Zetsu had seen such a vast difference in strength between the reincarnations of Asura and Indra.

"Are you all trapped? Do you need me to perform the Astral Projection Jutsuagain?"

Through the Rinnegan, Pain could see what was happening and directed the question at the three, though his gaze rested firmly on Obito.

"Leader, leave it to me!"

Obito spoke up boldly. "I'll use my trump card to help Hundred Faces and Itachi escape the barrier!"

"Just go without me," said Hundred Faces, his eyes brimming with fighting spirit. "I want to stay and exchange blows with this Wood Style user."

"Understood!"

Within the barrier, Obito used Kamui to teleport himself and Itachi away, while Hundred Faces and Yagyu began their clash in earnest.

There was no other option. If Yagyu didn't possess the Flying Thunder God Technique, he could have avoided this encounter altogether. However, he hadn't anticipated that Tsunade would have him abandon his S-rank mission to support Team 7.

Now that he was here, Yagyu would have to force Hundred Faces to reveal his trump card to justify his own presence as a support role.

And so, an intense showdown erupted between Yagyu and Hashirama within the barrier.

The fierce quakes from their battle reverberated even as Teams 7 and 8 reached the end of the forest, nearing the mountains.

"Well, well… Konoha's shinobi, we've been waiting for you."

As they arrived at the edge of the plain, the familiar, mocking voice of Obito rang out.

Teams 7 and 8 looked up, surprised to see Obito and Itachi waiting for them as if they'd been there all along.

"What are you doing here?" Naruto demanded.

"Obviously, my trump card got me here!" Obito said, puffing his chest with pride. "A mere barrier could never hold back someone who's graduated from intern to full member."

"You creep, take this! Rasengan!"

Naruto, on the edge of losing control, was enveloped by a faint red chakra and charged at Obito with a Rasengan.

"Naruto, calm down!"

Seeing Naruto losing his temper, Kakashi recalled his recent conversation with Jiraiya and quickly followed him, hoping to bring him to his senses.

Kurenai glanced at her Team 8 members and gave a silent nod.

A clash began at the entrance to the mountainous region of the Land of Rivers.

Just as in the original storyline where others intercepted Sasuke and Itachi, Obito played with a frenzied Naruto, along with Kakashi and Sakura, who were supporting him, by using Kamui to evade their attacks. Before long, though, he switched opponents with Itachi.

Itachi now faced Team 7, while Obito took on Team 8.

"This guy's scent keeps vanishing, and he's immune to all attacks. This technique isn't Invisibility; it's a space-time jutsu," Shino observed, after attempting several times to attack Obito's intangible form with his swarm of insects.

"Kurenai…" Kurenai looked over at Yakumo Kurama, who shook her head.

"I can't invade his body with my Yin chakra in time to pull him into a genjutsu space," Yakumo said.

"His chakra isn't particularly strong," Hinata said, watching closely with her Byakugan. "Itachi's chakra is only slightly stronger than Kurenai-sensei's… They aren't the real bodies!"

"A special clone technique?" Kurenai said, frowning. "Their goal must just be to hold us here."

"Avoid this guy; let's focus on Itachi," Kurenai directed.

"Yes!" Team 8 changed their strategy immediately, but even though they were only dealing with the clones created by Pain's Astral Projection Jutsu, both teams were held off for more than two hours.

After successfully implanting the crow carrying Kotoamatsukami into Naruto, Itachi allowed himself to be "defeated" by Naruto's Rasengan. Seeing Itachi go down, Obito pretended to panic, allowing himself to be hit by Hinata's Gentle Fist strike, which immobilized his chakra points, followed by Sakura's punch that shattered his clone.

"Leader, Itachi-senpai and I have been defeated," Obito reported, sounding disappointed, from within the cave.

"With the remaining time and distance, we still have over two hours, which is more than enough," Pain replied, looking toward Hundred Faces. "Hundred Faces, how are things on your end?"

"I'm managing fine; my chakra reserves are holding up well," Hundred Faces said with a slight grin. "The Wood Style user from Konoha seems intent on sealing Hashirama's body instead of using the Flying Thunder God to leave. If that's all, I can hold him for a few more hours."

"Thank you," Pain nodded, then turned to Sasori and Deidara. "When the sealing is complete, I'll have Tobi come to assist you with your retreat."

"Understood," Sasori replied, though his true thoughts remained concealed.

Two more hours passed.

At last, after three days and nights of continuous effort, the Akatsuki managed to extract Shukaku, sealing it within the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.

Boom—

Just as the sealing completed, a violent tremor shook the mountain.

"The barrier has been breached; hurry," Pain said, forming seals to teleport the Demonic Statue, which vanished in a massive cloud of white smoke that filled the cave.

As the smoke dissipated and daylight flooded the cave, several figures stood at the entrance, facing off against Sasori and Deidara, who guarded Gaara's body.

The showdown was imminent.

Meanwhile, the battle between Hundred Faces and Yagyu raged on under the watchful eyes of White Zetsu. Utilizing Hashirama's reanimated body, Hundred Faces, and Yagyu's main body engaged in a fierce Wood Style duel that steadily expanded the forest, covering most of the grasslands.

"Wood Style: Silent Strangle Jutsu!" Yagyu seized an opening created by Hundred Faces, binding Hashirama's body with Wood Style just as Pain withdrew the Demonic Statue.

"Edo Tensei—Release!" Without hesitation, Hundred Faces dispelled the reanimation, allowing Hashirama's body to dissolve into white dust.

"Enough games." Hundred Faces left that final remark before releasing his own astral projection and transforming back into an ordinary ninja.

The White Zetsu clone monitoring this scene fled in fear.

"Acting is exhausting…" Yagyu thought, exasperated, as he sensed the departure of the White Zetsu clone.

Fortunately, Gaara—his soon-to-be brother-in-law—and Naruto, his long-time classmate, were the only jinchuriki whose tailed beasts held such unique importance.

Gaara's role as a "key" was irreplaceable, while several methods existed to compensate for the loss of the Nine-Tails if necessary.

With Yagyu's cooperation, the Akatsuki now possessed the means to activate the Demonic Statue. Securing the remaining tailed beasts would be easier from here, and Yagyu could simply wait for the Fourth Shinobi War.

In an instant, Yagyu disappeared, reappearing not beside Sakura or Hinata but atop a cliff. He used the Red Eye Illusion to mask his presence as he observed the cave below, watching from a distance.

Inside, only Hinata, Sakura, Chiyo, and Sasori remained, with the three women pitted against him. Meanwhile, Kurenai, Shino, and Yakumo had gone to support Kakashi and Naruto, helping retrieve Gaara's body.

Yagyu didn't interfere, opting instead to observe Hinata and Sakura's battle.

Sakura and Hinata were now locked in combat with Sasori, and unlike in the original story, the two displayed overwhelming power.

Activating their Yin Seal, both women's chakra surged tremendously.

Sakura charged in, Hinata supporting from the side, with Chiyo assisting from the rear.

Even Sasori, with his army of puppets and proficiency in poison, struggled to gain any advantage.

Sakura and Hinata dispatched Sasori's puppets one by one with punches or by using Hinata's Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm from a distance.

When Sasori unleashed a wave of poisoned needles, Hinata deflected them all with a single Rotation.

Originally, Chiyo was the main combatant against Sasori, but this time, she could barely keep up with the two.

Finally, after a relentless onslaught by the two, Sasori—who had even converted his own body into a puppet—was thoroughly outmatched. Hinata and Sakura shattered his heart with a punch, leaving him no time to utter a final word.

Their crushing victory was spectacular, Yagyu watching with pride.

A powerhouse in brute strength and another in a refined mix of styles, Hinata and Sakura had become like young versions of Tsunade herself—only with the added benefits of Gentle Fist and a Kekkei Genkai.

Together, they already displayed Kage-level strength. Yagyu could only imagine the power displayed if they were to team up with Karin, Ino, and the others.

On the other battlefield, the conclusion was also swift.

Unlike the original story, where Deidara feigned death by self-destructing, he hadn't yet escaped with Gaara's body when the world around him began to change drastically.

The once-clear world started stuttering, the flowing rivers and clouds freezing in place.

Realizing he was trapped in a genjutsu, Deidara tried to disrupt his chakra flow but couldn't escape, even with his left eye trained to break Sharingan genjutsu.

For the first time, he felt true panic.

Distracted, he lost his other arm to Kakashi's Kamui, which wrenched it from his body.

Deidara's strength plummeted without both arms, and he soon fell from the sky under a barrage of natural disasters created by Yakumo's illusions.

Without his hands, Deidara couldn't use his clay clones or Earth Release to hide underground as he had before. Worse, he couldn't even self-destruct.

The moment he hit the ground, the earth beneath him softened into a swamp, trapping him. Soon, a swarm of insects engulfed him, draining his chakra.

With the combined efforts of Yakumo, Kakashi, and Shino, Deidara fared even worse than Sasori, nearly being defeated on the spot.

However, Yakumo, inexperienced as she was, ended the genjutsu the moment she saw Deidara captured.

As they returned to reality, a spiraling vortex appeared, and Obito, in his Tobi disguise, flew out.

"Deidara-senpai, I'm here to rescue you!"

"Tobi!!"

Obito whisked Deidara away quickly, with Deidara's previously desperate expression turning to one of immense relief.

If he still had arms, Deidara would have hugged Obito tightly.

Deidara didn't fear death, but he certainly didn't want to die so humiliatingly.

The two vanished, leaving Team 7 frustrated and Yakumo feeling remorseful, as her Team 8 comrades offered comfort.

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