Chapter 166 : Lord Gen's Wood Release

"It must be successful!"

With his eyes closed, Danzo managed to complete the injection. His experiments had claimed the lives of innumerable individuals, both ninjas and innocent civilians. The forgotten orphans of the ninja world became the targets of this sinister endeavour, concealed in the shadows.

Little did I foresee that today I would be paving the path of my sole relative with my own hands. Danzo and righteousness seldom crossed paths, yet a profound sorrow gripped my heart.

Devoid of the adaptive cells of Troy to defy rejection, prevailing technology scarcely subdued the intercolumnar cells. The mere theoretical prospect was preposterously slim.

What was the mortality rate of this cell transfusion? Danzo held a notion within him. Silently, he retreated and turned around.

"Ahhhh-!!"

As anticipated, not long after the injection, Lord Gen convulsed as if hordes of mice scurried beneath his skin. His body grotesquely swollen, a frightful visage taking shape.

"Genshiro! Hold fast!"

Danzo's heart turned cold, and he hastily administered tranquillizers and antibiotics. Yet, his heart was already enshrouded in gloom.

"Help! Cough... Swiftly, end me!"

Lord Gen's eyes turned white, his countenance contorting hideously, his frame inflating like a grotesque balloon.

Healing wounds was far from a boon. It signalled the hyperactivity of the intercolumnar cells, their control slipping away.

As a quasi-Kage-level force, Lord Gen held out longer than ordinary folk, surpassing all others. Nonetheless, he could never attain the stature of Hashirama, sealing his fate.

"Pfft—!"

With the rupture of the first sarcoma, copious tissues metamorphosed into rampant foliage. Other regions—limbs, back, chest—ruptured as well, Lord Gen transmuting into a wooden tree.

"No!" Danzo cried out, though Lord Gen persisted in life, he could scarcely utter a sound. His consciousness began to blur.

On his cranium, yet another sarcoma burgeoned. Once it ruptured, Lord Gen's demise was certain.

"Ye-!"

However, at this juncture, perhaps driven by despair, an object within Lord Gen's garments was inadvertently crushed by wood, unveiling fragments of the Gelel Stone previously acquired.

Tobirama had not discerned the fragment's value prior. Indeed, its effects were inconsequential, prompting him to leave it behind.

In this moment, as a profusion of branches erupted from Lord Gen's chest, they fortuitously absorbed the fragment, incorporating it into his form.

Wood Release possessed the capacity to consume chakra, instigating the ruthless destruction of host cells. Simultaneously, the Gelel Stone fragment evolved into the catalyst for metamorphosis.

As though encountering a lone beacon in obscurity, every cell within his body avidly assimilated the Senjutsu chakra encapsulated in the Gelel Stone fragment.

A verdant luminescence emanated, flowing into his heart. In the direst of straits, the Hashirama's cells harmonized with Lord Gen's own, thwarting their complete consumption.

Remarkably, Lord Gen, teetering on the precipice of becoming a wooden husk, was resurrected!

"Roar--!"

The manifestation of this monstrous Lord Gen underwent a radical transformation. His stature expanded to three meters, his eyes void of reason, exuding boundless ferocity.

"Genshiro, how are you?"

Danzo was taken aback, Lord Gen the sole survivor of the first-generation cell transplantation, yet his current state was perilous, teetering on the brink of uncontrollability.

"Roar! Agony, boundless agony! Slaughter!"

His attire rent asunder, his epidermis rough akin to ancient bark, his limbs akin to sinuous tree roots adorned with branches.

Upon his back, countless sharp tendrils sprouted, the entirety of his upper body resembling an expansive canopy.

The true visage of Lord Gen remained a tenebrous blur; his voice mimicked the grating of metal sheets. A visage even appeared upon his left chest—the semblance of the First Hokage!

"What manner of monstrosity is this?!"

A contingent of ANBU hastily rushed in upon hearing the uproar. Witnessing Lord Gen, they were staggered. Without hesitance, six ANBU advanced.

"Annihilate this abomination, safeguard Danzo-sama!"

"Halt! He is..." Danzo was aghast, but intervention was already too late!

"Shhhhh-"

Countless kunai intertwined with explosive tags impaled Lord Gen's legs. An immense explosion ensued. The ANBU's lair was roused, and countless shadows converged upon the site.

"Roar - Cursed insects, your dare hurt me!"

Lord Gen's legs were dismembered, his foundation—resembling an tree's roots—wavered precariously.

"What?!"

The ninja's blade punctured his chest, chakra-infused light glinting, but the penetration amounted to a mere four or five centimeters. For the three-meter-tall Root, a figure clad in toughened hide and flesh, the sensation resembled that of a mere toothpick prick.

"Perish!"

Lord Gen roared, innumerable sharp branches sprouting across his body, his shadowy expanse transforming into a hornet's nest.

"Well...!"

The ninja bled from myriad orifices, his form suspended like a crimson gourd. His end was nigh.

"What a formidable Wood Release!"

Danzo was taken aback; the prior attack was akin to a A-rank ninjutsu! More astonishingly, Lord Gen employed Wood Release without employing any hand seals whatsoever.

ANBU, charging forth, bore twin daggers crackling with electricity. Yet, before they could close the distance, the wooden ingot wall stood shattered, and Lord Gen was unaccounted for.

"Watch your rear!"

Lord Gen's colossal form abruptly materialized beside the shattered wooden ingot wall, his colossal hand descending with merciless force.

"Pfft—!"

This mighty slap surpassed the impact of a mace. Ill-fated ANBU was reduced to a mangled mess.

"Boom!"

The resultant devastating force obliterated the wall entirely, light streaming into the subterranean chamber. The harrowing spectacle unveiled itself to all.

"What... what is this?!"

A cacophony of gasps echoed. Chaos ensued, yet ANBU's discipline remained unwavering, preserving this arena.

"This is, Wood Release! Such an aura...!"

From a distance, Nightingale bore witness to the horrific scene. Though her initial intent was to report, a visceral sensation guided her departure.

"Orochimaru's claims were correct! Must I too become like this?"

"Roar! You shall all meet your doom!"

Lord Gen remained relentless, extricating his form from the remnants of the wooden ingot wall. His leg, obliterated moments earlier, began to regenerate. Thinner than before, bereft of bifurcations, it exhibited newfound liberation.

"We cannot kill him—retreat, summon aid!"

Danzo sought refuge to no avail, while the surviving quartet of ANBU prepared their exit.

"Stay not your feet!"

A radiant cyan light erupted from Lord Gen, wind-infused chakra wrapping around his corporeal frame.

Upon transmutation, he could not only summon the power of Wood Release, but also harness his previous ninjutsu.

This mirrored the wind-infused chakra mode wielded against Takeshi.

"Boom!"

Empowered by profound vigour, Lord Gen vaulted with astonishing velocity, akin to a projectile launch. The terrain sundered beneath him; his tons-heavy form hurtled toward ANBU at improbable speed.