Man-eating Tree

"I learned it from the notes left by my ancestors!"

A mocking smile curled at his lips. "Don't tell me you've been deceiving yourselves into thinking that simply locking down information within your clans would prevent it from leaking out!

In the ninja profession, intelligence comes first. Intelligence analysis is the most basic skill.

According to the records left by our clan's ancestors, the First Hokage's growth could roughly be divided into three stages. The Wood Style he used in his youth was merely ordinary wood, its strength equivalent to other Kekkei Genkai. But the Wood Style he used after reaching adulthood possessed vitality, and even that Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence could attack enemies on its own.

As far as we know, only Yang Release can grant life to inanimate objects. Therefore, the Wood Style from that period must have fused with Yang Release, becoming a Three-Element Kekkei Genkai Elimination.

And during the battle at the Valley of the End, the First Hokage even displayed the legendary power of senjutsu. These things are obvious. Anyone who thinks about them a little can reach the answer."

At that point, Shimura Kentei glanced at Uchiha Mikoto on the other side. "Back then, brothers Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Izuna would casually bring out their Susanoo to sweep across the battlefield. It's not as if everyone else was blind; naturally, records of it were left behind.

That thing was clearly a pure energy construct. At present, only Yin Release, which creates form from nothing, has such characteristics—and it would have to be an extremely advanced Yin Release.

All of this can be figured out with a brain. Don't treat everyone else like idiots. It only makes you look stupid!"

"You..."

That final word, stupid, provoked Uchiha Mikoto. The single tomoe in her Sharingan spun faster, making Shimura Kentei think it was about to evolve into a two-tomoe Sharingan.

"Your Shimura Clan is far too curious about our Senju and Uchiha!"

Her beautiful eyes narrowed slightly, and the expression on Tsunade's face became increasingly hostile. Her wariness toward the Shimura Clan deepened, and she raised her assessment of them another level.

"Our Shimura Family isn't only curious about your two clans. We're curious about every ninja clan in the shinobi world. We simply have the greatest interest in the Senju and Uchiha because each of you produced an existence beyond normal standards. I imagine the other ninja clans feel much the same.

Like I said, don't treat everyone else like idiots. It makes you look stupid."

Shrugging, Shimura Kentei ignored Tsunade's threat. As the Pot Kage's son, he feared nothing in Konoha.

Besides, it was the truth. The entire shinobi world was now deeply interested in the Senju Clan and the Uchiha Clan. Everyone wanted the invincible power possessed by the First Hokage and Uchiha Madara.

Even many people within Konoha were interested in it, which was why the Wood Style Experiment came later.

"We've rested enough. Let's set out. Suzune, please activate your Byakugan along the way and check whether there are any trees with chakra around us. I need the First Hokage's kind of power to treat my illness."

"Is Kentei sick?"

Hyuga Suzune looked at him with concern. She had a favorable impression of this teammate, and hearing that he was ill immediately made her nervous.

"I was born prematurely. Not only did my chakra fail to fully develop within my mother's womb, but my meridians and acupoints were also underdeveloped and underwent certain mutations, leaving me unable to perform ninjutsu through hand seals."

Shimura Kentei did not hide it and stated the matter calmly.

He truly wanted to find a tree with Wood Style properties, but he did not want Tsunade or even the entire Senju Clan watching him, thinking he was trying to steal the power of Wood Style. That was no joke.

Everything he had said earlier was mainly to prepare Tsunade mentally and prevent any misunderstandings.

"What nonsense. How could a fetus have chakra!"

Uchiha Mikoto curled her lips disdainfully. She did not agree with Shimura Kentei's explanation and believed that he was fooling them again.

Shimura Kentei did not care. Instead, he smiled and asked, "Chakra is indeed formed from the fusion of our spiritual energy and physical energy, but why are some people unable to cultivate chakra while others can?"

As a man who had watched Naruto through to the end, he understood chakra's nature very well. This thing did not originally belong to this planet; it was an outside power.

Furthermore, the members of the Ninja Creed during the Sage of Six Paths' era were not his descendants. Their chakra came from what the Sage of Six Paths shared with them. They then used that shared portion of chakra as a seed, merging it with their own spiritual and physical energy to form more chakra.

There was another point. The original Naruto story had said that when a Nine-Tails Jinchuriki gave birth, the chakra in her body would flow into the fetus, weakening the seal. This proved that fetuses also possessed chakra.

And his own condition proved that chakra's innate attributes developed within the mother's womb. Therefore, as someone born prematurely, he had no innate attribute.

"Children do indeed possess chakra, though it is very weak. Our chakra extraction technique uses that innate chakra as a foundation, fusing it with our own physical and spiritual energy to create new chakra."

Tsunade spoke up to explain, showing that she agreed with Shimura Kentei's view, though her emotions were rather complicated.

"Perhaps the Shimura Clan has already surpassed our Senju in certain areas!"

It had to be said that ever since meeting this little pervert, she had been repeatedly shocked and had gained plenty of entirely new knowledge. For example, that theory about innate and acquired chakra attributes was extremely novel and resolved many of her past doubts.

She herself had cultivated Yin Attribute chakra, but it was far weaker than her Yang Release chakra. She had always been confused, thinking that she simply was not suited to cultivating Yin Attribute chakra. Only after meeting that brat did she understand where the root of the problem lay.

And this was only the tip of the iceberg that the Shimura Clan had revealed. Who knew how much new knowledge they had researched in secret?

They were blazing new trails and innovating, while the Senju were living off their old foundations. They had not even made good use of those old foundations. This situation was very bad.

"At the center of the Death Forest, there is a man-eating tree. That thing should be able to help you."

Leaving behind those words, Tsunade's Shadow Clone leaped away and continued hiding in the shadows.

"Then our target is the center of the Death Forest. Let's go!"

A smile tugged at Shimura Kentei's lips as he waved for them to move out, preparing to head toward the center of the Death Forest.

Now that they had a clear target, there was naturally no need to waste time searching the outskirts. They could simply head straight for it.

"Kentei, wait for me!"

Slipping her backpack onto her back, Hyuga Suzune hurried after him.

Uchiha Mikoto also got up reluctantly, though she was quite confused inside.

Why was she, a member of the Uchiha Clan, being completely crushed by Shimura Kentei in terms of knowledge?

Was the problem with her?

Or was it with her clan?

The Death Forest was enormous, with a diameter of twenty kilometers. Reaching its center required crossing ten kilometers of dense forest.

If it had merely been an ordinary forest, it would not have been a problem. But over the years, many wild beasts and venomous insects had moved in. Shimura Kentei, clad in his armor, did not care about such things, but Hyuga Suzune and Uchiha Mikoto could not ignore them.

They could only slow down as much as possible, while the two girls repeatedly activated their Dojutsu to observe their surroundings. Even so, danger remained impossible to guard against completely.

A venomous snake the same color as the branches suddenly shot out and bit toward the passing Uchiha Mikoto. It was incredibly fast, and Uchiha Mikoto happened not to have her Sharingan activated at that moment.

Hyuga Suzune, behind her, reacted a beat too slowly to warn her in time. Although she had her Byakugan activated, it could only observe chakra, and this venomous snake clearly had no chakra.

"Damn it!"

Sensing danger, Uchiha Mikoto instinctively leaped aside, but the heavy backpack on her back slowed her by a fraction.

Just as the snake's fangs were about to bite into her fair, slender calf, they suddenly stopped in midair. Its head seemed to have been pierced by something, and its body twisted and struggled violently.

"Chakra Threads!"

Uchiha Mikoto, who had finally activated her Sharingan, focused her gaze and discovered that a Chakra Thread had pierced through the snake's head, saving her from disaster.

The discovery filled the girl with gratitude. She had seen illustrations of this venomous snake during her time at the Ninja Academy. Its venom was extremely potent and was a rare neurotoxin. Once bitten, one's nerves would suffer permanent damage. Even if she carried antidotes, they would be useless. Her leg would probably have been crippled.

This was a great favor!

"Your vigilance is this poor? Are you really the number one female genius of the Uchiha's younger generation? Are all Uchiha geniuses this pathetic?"

Shimura Kentei looked over the girl behind him, pondering whether he should really make her a sponsor representing the Uchiha. Her abilities seemed rather lacking.

His Black Cauldron Space was limited, and the number of people he could replicate was naturally limited as well. He could not waste it.

If someone lacked sufficient talent and ability, it was better to have none at all.

Those words lodged the thanks Uchiha Mikoto had been about to say in her throat. She glared at him instead, and the single tomoe in her Sharingan spun even faster.

This bastard!

"Give me your backpacks. We must reach the central area before nightfall!"

Ignoring the girl's anger, Shimura Kentei looked up at the sky. He manipulated Chakra Threads to pull over the large backpacks of Uchiha Mikoto and Hyuga Suzune, slinging them onto his own back before turning around and continuing to clear the way with the Great Sword in hand.

"Bastard, I won't thank you!"

Uchiha Mikoto muttered before quickly following him. At the same time, she drew two kunai, remaining ready for any danger that might appear.

Hyuga Suzune at the rear also became more vigilant, frequently activating her Byakugan despite the chakra consumption.

"Kentei's armor is so strong!"

Several venomous insects gnawed and stung Shimura Kentei's armor to no effect, and Hyuga Suzune was filled with envy.

Not only was this armor unbelievably handsome, its defensive power was also exceptional. During his battle with Teacher Tsunade at the Ninja Academy last time, it had not even received a scratch.

And today, it completely ignored the attacks of countless venomous insects. It was simply too practical.

"It's useless even if you envy it. None of us can afford that thing!"

Hearing her close friend mutter behind her, Uchiha Mikoto said gloomily.

After learning what kind of materials that thing was made from, she had given up on the idea of making a set for herself.

Not to mention anything else, the price of those materials alone was enough to make anyone despair. Even if they emptied out the entire clan, they might not be able to afford it.

And that thing weighed a full ton. She could not carry it. Or rather, it had clearly not been made for ninjas at all; its whole style was completely different.

But using other materials as substitutes would be meaningless. The core of that armor was the Sealing Crystal. Without the Sealing Crystal, a single Fire Release from her could heat it red-hot and roast that guy alive.

Besides that, its main material was an extremely dense heavy metal. Its immense density gave the metal extraordinary hardness and toughness, making it almost impossible to destroy through physical force alone.

The combination of those two things created that nearly unsolvable suit of armor.

She really did not know how that guy had come up with such bizarre armor.

"Mikoto, are you also practicing that Body Strengthening Secret Technique?"

Hyuga Suzune quickened her pace slightly until she was walking beside Uchiha Mikoto, then asked quietly.

"Mm! I've already finished practicing the E-Rank Body Strengthening Secret Technique, and I'm currently practicing the D-Rank one. What about you?"

Uchiha Mikoto nodded without hiding it. Ever since her fiancé Fugaku Uchiha had brought back the complete set of Body Strengthening Secret Techniques, she had begun practicing them.

With her considerable chakra reserves and already decent physical condition, she had quickly mastered the E-Rank set. She was now practicing the D-Rank Body Strengthening Secret Technique.

"I'm practicing the D-Rank one too!"

Hyuga Suzune nodded as well. She found this Body Strengthening Secret Technique astonishing and truly did not know how the Shimura Clan had created such a technique. It had nearly broken the conventions of the shinobi world.

"Stop!"

Shimura Kentei, who was walking at the very front, suddenly called for them to halt. The two girls immediately became alert.

--

(If you think this book is good, please add it to your favorites so you won't lose it later. Also, please cast your valuable votes—recommendation votes, monthly votes, I want them all. Please cast your valuable votes. Your support is my greatest motivation!)