Man-eating Tree

"I learned it from my ancestors' notes!"

A sneer touched his lips as he said, "You don't seriously believe that by just keeping it within the clan, you can prevent it from spreading, do you!

In the ninja profession, intelligence is paramount, and intelligence analysis is the most basic ability.

According to the records of our clan's ancestors, the First Hokage's growth can be roughly divided into three periods. The Wood Style he used in his youth was simple wood, with a strength equivalent to other Kekkei Genkai. However, the Wood Style he used as an adult possessed vitality, and even that Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence could attack enemies autonomously.

As far as we know, only Yang Release can imbue inanimate objects with life. Therefore, the Wood Style at that time must have fused with Yang Release, becoming a three-attribute Kekkei Tōta.

Furthermore, in the battle at the Valley of the End, the First Hokage even displayed the legendary power of Sage Mode. These are all obvious, and the results can be analyzed with a little thought."

At this point, Shimura Kentei glanced at Uchiha Mikoto on the other side and said, "Back then, Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Izuna would use Susanoo to sweep the battlefield at the slightest provocation. Others weren't blind, so naturally, they would have left relevant records.

That thing is clearly a pure energy body. Currently, only Yin Release, which creates form from nothing, has this characteristic, and it must be an extremely advanced Yin Release.

All of this can be figured out with a brain. Don't treat everyone else like fools, or you'll just look stupid!"

"You..."

The last word, "stupid," provoked Uchiha Mikoto. The speed at which her single-tomoe Sharingan spun increased, making Shimura Kentei think she was about to upgrade to a two-tomoe.

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

Her beautiful eyes narrowed slightly, and her expression grew more displeased. Tsunade's wariness of the Shimura Clan deepened, and her evaluation of them rose another notch.

"Our Shimura family isn't just curious about your two clans; we're curious about all the ninja clans in the Ninja World. It's just that our interest in you Senju and Uchiha is the greatest. It's because you each produced a super-spec individual. I imagine other ninja clans are similar to us.

As I said before, don't treat everyone else like fools; it'll make you look stupid."

Shimura Kentei shrugged, ignoring Tsunade's threat. As the son of the Pot Kage, he feared nothing in Konoha.

Besides, these were all truths. The entire Ninja World was currently very interested in the Senju Clan and the Uchiha Clan, all wanting to possess the invincible power of the First Hokage and Uchiha Madara.

Even many people within Konoha were interested in this, which led to the subsequent Wood Style experiments.

"We've rested enough. Let's set off. Sister Suzune, could you please activate your Byakugan to check for any chakra-infused trees around? I need the First Hokage's power to heal my illness."

"Kentei-kun is sick?"

Hyuga Suzune cast a concerned glance his way. She had a good impression of this teammate and became nervous upon hearing he was ill.

"I was born prematurely. Not only did my chakra not fully develop within my mother's womb, but my meridians and acupoints also developed incompletely, resulting in a certain mutation. I cannot release Ninjutsu through hand seals."

Shimura Kentei revealed this without hiding anything, speaking very frankly.

He did want to find trees with Wood Style characteristics, but he didn't want to be targeted by Tsunade or the entire Senju Clan, who might think he was stealing Wood Style power. That would be no joke.

The reason he said so much earlier was mainly to give Tsunade a heads-up, to avoid any misunderstandings.

"Nonsense, how can a fetus have chakra!"

Uchiha Mikoto scoffed dismissively, strongly disagreeing with Shimura Kentei's statement and believing he was trying to fool them again.

Shimura Kentei didn't mind this and instead smiled, asking, "Chakra is indeed formed by the fusion of our spiritual and physical energy, but why can some people not cultivate chakra while others can?"

As a man who had watched Naruto up to the finale, he knew the essence of chakra. This thing didn't belong to this planet; it was an external power.

The members of the Ninja Sect during the Sage of Six Paths' era were not his descendants. Their chakra originated from the portion shared by the Sage of Six Paths. Then, using that shared chakra as a seed, they fused it with their own spiritual and physical energy to form more chakra.

Another point was that the original work of Naruto had once stated that the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki's chakra would flow to the fetus during childbirth, weakening the seal. This proved that fetuses also had chakra.

His own situation proved that the congenital attributes of chakra were formed within the mother's womb. Therefore, as a premature baby, he lacked congenital attributes.

"Infants do indeed have chakra, though it is very weak. Our chakra refinement technique is based on the innate chakra they possess, fusing it with their own life and spiritual energy to form new chakra."

At this moment, Tsunade spoke up, explaining and agreeing with Shimura Kentei's viewpoint, while her thoughts were quite complex.

"Perhaps the Shimura Clan has surpassed us Senju in some aspects!"

She had to admit that since meeting this little pervert, she had been continuously shocked and gained a lot of new knowledge. For example, the viewpoint on innate and acquired chakra attributes was very novel and had resolved many past doubts.

She herself had cultivated Yin-Release chakra, but it was much weaker than her Yang-Release chakra. She had been confused, thinking she was just not suited to cultivating Yin-Release chakra, but after meeting that kid, she finally understood the root of the problem.

And this was just the tip of the iceberg of what the Shimura Clan had revealed. Who knew how much new knowledge they had secretly researched.

They were pioneering and innovating, while their clan was living off past glories, and not even doing a good job of that. This situation was not good.

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

Leaving those words, Tsunade's shadow clone leaped away, continuing to hide in the shadows.

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

A smile touched Shimura Kentei's lips as he waved his hand, signaling them to depart and prepare to head to the center of the Forest of Death.

Since they had a clear target, there was no need to waste time searching the outer areas; they could head directly to the destination.

"Kentei-kun, wait for me!"

Slapping her backpack on, Hyuga Suzune quickly hurried to catch up.

Uchiha Mikoto reluctantly got up, feeling quite confused internally.

Why was she, who came from the Uchiha Clan, being intellectually crushed by that Shimura Kentei?

Was it her problem?

Or the clan's problem?

The Forest of Death was vast, spanning twenty kilometers in diameter, meaning they had to traverse ten kilometers of dense forest to reach the center.

If it were just a normal forest, it wouldn't be much of an issue. However, over the years, many ferocious beasts and venomous insects had made it their home. While Shimura Kentei, clad in his Battle Suit, didn't care about such things, Hyuga Suzune and Uchiha Mikoto were not so fortunate.

Thus, they had to slow their pace as much as possible. The two girls even activated their Dojutsu from time to time to observe their surroundings. Even so, it was hard to guard against everything.

A venomous snake, its color blending with the branches, suddenly lunged out, striking at Uchiha Mikoto as she passed. Its speed was incredible, and at that moment, Uchiha Mikoto hadn't activated her Sharingan.

Hyuga Suzune, behind her, was also a beat too slow to warn her. Although she had her Byakugan active, it could only detect Chakra, and this venomous snake clearly had no Chakra.

"Damn it!"

Sensing the imminent danger, Uchiha Mikoto instinctively dodged, but the heavy backpack on her back slowed her down by a fraction.

Just as the snake's fangs were about to sink into her fair, slender calf, they suddenly stopped in mid-air. The snake's head seemed to have been pierced by something, and its body writhed and struggled violently.

"Chakra Threads!"

Finally activating her Sharingan, Uchiha Mikoto looked closely and saw a Chakra Thread piercing the snake's head, allowing her to escape the danger.

This discovery filled the girl with gratitude. She had seen diagrams of this type of venomous snake in the Ninja Academy; its venom was extremely potent, a rare neurotoxin that would cause permanent nerve damage if bitten. Even with antidotes, it would be useless. She estimated that her leg would be crippled.

This was a great kindness!

"Your vigilance is this poor? You're truly the Uchiha clan's top young female genius? Are all Uchiha geniuses this weak?"

Sizing up the girl behind him, Shimura Kentei pondered whether he should take her on as a sponsor representing the Uchiha. Her abilities were somewhat lacking!

His Black Cauldron Space was limited, and the number of people he could replicate was also limited, so he couldn't afford to waste it.

If their aptitude and abilities weren't up to par, he'd rather have none than settle for less.

These words caused the "thank you" that was about to leave the girl's lips to get stuck in her throat. She glared at him, her single- tomoe Sharingan spinning even faster.

This bastard!

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

Ignoring the girl's anger, Shimura Kentei glanced at the sky, then used his Chakra Threads to pull the large backpacks from Uchiha Mikoto and Hyuga Suzune onto his own back. He turned and continued to clear the path with his greatsword.

"Bastard, I won't thank you!"

Muttering under her breath, Uchiha Mikoto quickly followed, pulling out two Kunai with both hands, ready to defend against any potential danger.

Hyuga Suzune, at the very back, also became more vigilant, frequently activating her Byakugan despite the Chakra drain.

"Kentei-kun's Battle Suit is so strong!"

Watching several poisonous insects bite and sting Shimura Kentei's Battle Suit to no avail, Hyuga Suzune was filled with envy.

Not only was the suit incredibly cool, but its defense was also formidable. The last time she fought with Tsunade-sensei in the Ninja Academy, it hadn't even received a scratch.

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

"It's no use envying it; we can't afford that thing!"

Hearing her best friend's quiet muttering from behind, Uchiha Mikoto said dejectedly.

Once she understood what kind of material that thing was made of, she had given up the idea of crafting one for herself.

Putting aside everything else, the sheer cost of the materials alone was enough to make anyone balk. She estimated that even emptying out her clan wouldn't be enough to afford it.

Not to mention that the suit weighed a ton, which she couldn't carry. Or rather, that suit wasn't designed for ninjas at all; the overall style was completely different.

However, if other materials were used as a substitute, it would be largely meaningless. The core of that Battle Suit lay in the Sealing Crystal. Without the Sealing Crystal, a single Fire Release jutsu from her could turn it red-hot and cook him.

In addition to that, its main material was a highly dense Heavy Gold. Its immense density gave the Heavy Gold high hardness and toughness, making it almost impossible to destroy with physical force alone.

The combination of the two created that nearly invincible Battle Suit.

She really didn't know how that guy came up with the idea of creating such a bizarre armor.

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

Walking quickly to catch up and be side-by-side with Uchiha Mikoto, Hyuga Suzune asked in a low voice.

"Yes! I've finished the E-Rank Body Strengthening Secret Technique and am now practicing the D-Rank one. How about you?"

Nodding, Uchiha Mikoto didn't hide anything. Ever since her fiancé, Uchiha Fugaku, brought back the complete set of Body Strengthening Secret Techniques, she had begun practicing them.

With her decent Chakra reserves and naturally strong physique, she quickly mastered the E-Rank technique and was now practicing the D-Rank one.

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

Hyuga Suzune also nodded. She was amazed by this Body Strengthening Secret Technique. She truly couldn't imagine how the Shimura Clan had created such a secret technique, which almost broke the conventions of the Ninja World.

"Stop!"

Shimura Kentei, who was walking at the front, suddenly called out to stop. The two girls immediately became alert.