SWNOVELXO Chapter 17: The jutsu's.(EDITED)
Time Skip – Two Months Later
Two months passed in a quiet blur — Academy during the day, intense training by night. The others might have seen me as just another Academy student, but I was on a mission.
Each evening after class, I returned to the Senju compound, practiced relentlessly, and pushed my limits.
And finally, I did it.
I'd mastered every jutsu on the scroll Tsunade gave me.
C-Rank Wood Release Techniques:
Circular Prison – Encasing enemies in a rising ring of wood pillars. Useful for containment, especially during training spars.
Body Transmission – Let me morph my limbs into roots or wooden whips. Not flashy, but incredibly versatile in mid-range combat.
Wood Dome Wall – A solid dome of wood for defense. I could form it instantly, protecting myself from all sides.
Tree Wall Barrier – A directional wooden shield, best when bracing for frontal attacks.
Four-Pillar House Prison – An imaginative construct jutsu. It allowed me to shape a wooden house or prison at will. I even made a miniature dojo once, just for fun.
Some were meant for trapping, others for protection — but each one made me feel more like the shinobi I wanted to become.
And while I trained Wood Release, I also took time to explore my other affinities.
Elemental Jutsu – Earth and Water
Earth Style:
Earth Wall – A dependable defensive move.
Muddy Swamp – Great for slowing down multiple enemies. I paired it with Wood Root techniques for control.
Stone Spikes – Dangerous. Effective for eliminating clones or attacking at mid-range. One wrong calculation and it's a killing blow.
Water Style:
Wild Water Wave – Unleashed a stream of water strong enough to knock back foes.
Gunshot – A fast, concentrated shot of water. Could be launched from my palm or mouth. Felt more like using a high-pressure sniper bullet.
I wasn't a master of either nature yet, but my control was solid. I could mix and layer them into combinations. And with Wood Release being a blend of Earth and Water, the synergy made training easier.
Even the Body Flicker technique, which many considered basic, became one of my favorite mobility tools. When paired with taijutsu and deception, I could slip in and out of fights like a shadow.
But just as I was starting to feel content… Tsunade handed me another scroll.
No lecture. No long explanation.
"Master this until you can perform it without a single hand sign," she said, then turned and walked off.
I blinked, curious.
I opened the scroll.
And for a moment, I forgot how to breathe.
Wood Release: Tree Travel (Mayfly Technique)
A-rank. A technique once used by Zetsu — an entity created from Hashirama's cells.
This jutsu allowed the user to merge completely with the earth, travel underground through root systems, water veins, and natural flora. No chakra signature. No detection. Not even Karin's sensory skills could detect the user while in travel mode.
"Tsunade… did you really just give me this?"
This wasn't just a movement technique. It was perfect stealth. Perfect espionage.
I had the chakra, and now I had the potential to become invisible.
Time Skip – Two More Months
I didn't waste a second.
For two straight months, I trained the Tree Travel technique relentlessly. Dozens of shadow clones practiced simultaneously. Every failed merge, every false sink — I corrected them all.
And now?
Now I could activate the technique with a simple thought.
No hand signs. No chakra surge. Just focus and release.
When I sank into the roots of a tree, my body completely vanished. My chakra masked itself to zero.
I tested it first near the Academy.
Merged into the roots behind the training field, I popped my head up just slightly from beneath the earth. Guy was still there, training alone like always, his youthful spirit burning like a torch.
He didn't notice me. No one did.
Flawless.
I returned to the Senju compound, hidden the entire time.
No one knew I'd left.
And that's when the real idea struck me.
If I could use Tree Travel, then I could send a Wood Clone to go anywhere, completely undetected.
Even the Root Headquarters — Danzo's secret base hidden beneath the Hokage's tower.
I knew the location from my memories of the anime, but timelines were already shifting. I was a variable now. I needed to know if Danzo had noticed me. If he was planning anything.
And I didn't plan to stop with Danzo.
Even Hiruzen… the Third Hokage. He wasn't evil, but he was dangerously complacent. His blind spot for Danzo, his hesitation to act decisively — those things led to catastrophe later.
"I need to know. I can't trust anyone fully yet. Not in this world."
That night, I stood beneath the Senju compound's old sacred tree, the one with deep, ancient roots.
I placed a hand on the trunk. My chakra flowed. I disappeared into the earth.
It's time for me to become the shadow… that protects the Leaf.
I wasn't just training anymore.
I was preparing for war.
Author's Note:
Ren's development is progressing rapidly, but now we're entering a new stage of his journey—intelligence gathering and strategic planning. With Tree Travel and Wood Clones, he's becoming a true Shinobi — silent, unseen, and dangerous. The future is changing.