The Flower Tree Fruit

Tree climbing for ninjas involves gathering Chakra in the least sensitive part of your feet and then sticking to an object.

There was nothing inherently wrong with that; both of them had already mastered it. However, Shimura Kentei was different now. He was wearing his Battle Suit, which, even without his boots, weighed nearly a ton.

To be able to climb a tree while carrying almost a ton of weight, his Chakra control was truly astonishing.

"You two finish the second stage of tree climbing training first. Once you can complete the tree climbing while carrying a hundred kilograms, I'll teach you the second stage of water walking training."

Flipping and landing on the ground, Shimura Kentei spoke as he put on the boots he had previously removed.

His current Chakra control was still a bit lacking. Under the interference of the Sealing Crystal, he could only condense Chakra into threads to extend outwards; simple Chakra diffusion was not yet possible, which was why he needed to remove his boots.

"Second stage? Does that mean there's a third stage of training?"

Uchiha Mikoto's bright eyes widened again, having caught the implied meaning in his words.

Hyuga Suzune, standing beside her, also widened her eyes. Wasn't this considered the ultimate tree climbing training?

"I've said that there's no limit to Chakra control training. Practice slowly, and don't get too tired. This isn't your clan's territory. Don't let me come back and find you've become a snack for some wild beast."

Attaching his shield, bow, and Great Sword to the special clasps on his Battle Suit, Shimura Kentei gave them a reminder before stepping towards the central area of the Death Forest.

The outpost they had chosen was five hundred meters away from the area covered by the poisonous gas, so they would reach it soon.

Today, he was going to the central area to investigate, to see if that flower tree was indeed a man-eating tree as Tsunade had said, and what its condition was.

"Should I have my main body train this later?"

Tsunade, hidden in the shadows, watched Shimura Kentei enter the central area and pondered.

That second stage of tree climbing training was indeed interesting. Even with her current Chakra control, it was difficult to reach Shimura Kentei's level; it required specialized training.

It wasn't that she couldn't do it, but rather that she had no concept of it before.

After all, no one in reality would be foolish enough to carry a ton of weight while climbing a tree!

"Aren't you going to follow and watch?"

Turning to the masked Shimura Clan ninja beside her, Tsunade inquired.

She had noticed this person's presence long ago. He was likely sent to protect that little pervert. It seemed Danzō Shimura cared a lot about his son, after all, he was his only heir, which was understandable.

"That tree won't last many more years!"

The Shimura ninja's cold voice conveyed his deep knowledge of the flower tree in the center of the Death Forest. The pollen gas had been continuously weakening over the years, and at this rate, it would become completely ineffective in at most ten years.

"Indeed, it won't last many more years. If you want it, you can have it."

Tsunade replied nonchalantly, not paying much attention to the flower tree. Although it was a creation of her great-grandfather's Wood Style, her Senju Clan had plenty of Wood Style creations. Even more than half of their houses were built using Wood Style, and the secret archives even preserved her great-grandfather's Wood Style Chakra.

Her grandmother often resided in the secret archives, using the Wood Style Chakra there to better suppress the Nine-Tails' power.

Being wealthy and powerful, they naturally didn't care about a single flower tree, especially one that was nearing its end and would become an ordinary tree in a few years.

Most importantly, the Wood Style Chakra within it had long been depleted. Even if the Shimura Clan obtained it, they wouldn't be able to research Wood Style power from it.

Receiving Tsunade's response, the Shimura ninja said no more and leaped forward, chasing after Shimura Kentei.

He was sent to protect the young master's safety, and especially after learning of the young master's interest in the flower tree, he had the clan procure a set of special equipment sufficient to mitigate the toxicity of the pollen.

Meanwhile, Shimura Kentei, wielding his Great Sword, cut through the undergrowth and quickly reached the edge of the central area.

He stopped and tossed a venomous snake he had casually grabbed along the way. The snake, upon hitting the ground, instinctively tried to slither away quickly, but its movements became slower and slower, until it finally collapsed on the ground, motionless.

"It seems this place is a no-go zone for animals!"

Retracting his gaze, Shimura Kentei continued to stride forward, entering the pollen-covered area.

Previous experiments had shown that this pollen was very unfriendly to animals. Even that venomous snake couldn't withstand it for more than a few seconds. It was likely that there were basically no other animals inside, which would mean fewer troubles.

However, he didn't let his guard down. As he walked, he expanded his Chakra Threads, probing the surrounding trees to avoid anything with Wood Style characteristics.

"Tsk tsk... this is quite tragic!"

Stopping, Shimura Kentei looked at a skeleton tightly bound by the roots of a large tree. His heart skipped a beat, and he gained a further understanding of the danger here.

The forehead protector on the skeleton's head was still present, but it wasn't a Konoha forehead protector. It was from the Stone Village. Anyone who could reach this place must have had considerable strength, at least at the Special Jonin level.

Yet, even so, this person had met their end here, which showed the terror of Wood Style.

"This Death Forest is said to have been created by the First Hokage to resist Uchiha Madara. This kind of trash would have absolutely no way to intervene in that battle. That means they came to investigate after the battle at the Valley of the End.

After such a long time, the trees here can still kill enemies on their own. Truly worthy of being called a cheat in his era!"

After a moment of contemplation, Shimura Kentei continued to advance, and soon the scenery opened up, leading him to the edge of a clearing. In the center of the clearing stood a super giant tree.

The trees in the central area of the Death Forest were much taller than those in the outer areas, generally over a hundred meters. However, the super giant tree in the center of the clearing was at least one hundred and fifty meters tall. At its very top was a red flower, continuously emitting clouds of pollen.

The surrounding pollen was so dense that it even affected visibility, like thick fog, allowing only a blurry view.

"Man-eating tree, let's see if you can still eat people!"

He took a wild rabbit he had caught off his waist and forcefully threw it over.

This wild rabbit was caught before he entered the central area, and like the unlucky venomous snake, it was intended for testing.

The rabbit, already paralyzed by the pollen, was powerless to resist. Its blood-red eyes stared intently at Shimura Kentei, the culprit, as if cursing him for lacking something.

As the rabbit flew over, a dark shadow burst from the ground, wrapped around it, and then retracted back underground.

"Not too fast, well within my reaction speed!"

Making his judgment, Shimura Kentei decisively stepped into the clearing and walked towards the Flower Tree in the center.

As if sensing the intruder's arrival, a root broke through the soil and swept towards him like a long snake.

"Hiss!"

A flash of sword light cut the root in two instantly.

Without the boost of Wood Style Chakra, these roots were just ordinary roots, not very strong, and naturally couldn't withstand the sharpness of the Great Sword.

This sword strike seemed to enrage the Flower Tree, and more roots broke through the soil, sweeping towards him like a tide of snakes, making one's scalp tingle.

However, Shimura Kentei was unfazed. He brandished the Great Sword in his hand, swiftly cutting down the incoming roots one by one.

After cutting the first root, he had observed it carefully and found that it didn't have regenerative abilities.

This meant that as long as he cut all the roots underground, he could approach the Flower Tree.

Of course, being a lumberjack wasn't easy. After persisting for a minute, Shimura Kentei decisively retreated from the clearing.

Although the roots had lost the boost of Wood Style Chakra and their hardness was greatly reduced, and they didn't have regenerative abilities, they were still not to be underestimated.

Even he could only contend with them by relying on his reaction speed enhanced by the Super Speed Technique and his strength enhanced by the Super Strength Technique. Otherwise, he would definitely be dragged underground, which would be a disaster.

He couldn't hold his breath for too long right now.

"This Lord Kentei has plenty of time to slowly wear you down!"

Gazing at the giant Flower Tree in the clearing, obscured by the dense pollen, Shimura Kentei turned and left, quickly exiting the central area covered by the pollen.

He came to the riverside, and while disassembling and cleaning the two small air filters, he recovered the Chakra he had lost.

These two air filters were very small and didn't last long in that pollen-filled environment. If the pollen on the filter mesh wasn't cleaned off promptly, it would become clogged and lose its effectiveness.

Fortunately, he also needed a relatively quiet environment to recover his lost Chakra, so cleaning the filters at the same time was convenient.

An hour later, after his internal Chakra had recovered, Shimura Kentei re-entered the central area.

In this manner, after spending three days and three nights, he finally cleared away all the numerous roots and reached the base of the Flower Tree.

"It's so big!"

Looking up at the Flower Tree before him, Shimura Kentei became even more certain that Senju Hashirama's Wood Style must be related to the God Tree.

This was because the ultimate form of this Flower Tree was extremely similar to the ultimate form of the God Tree, which was a bare trunk with a flower at the top and a giant Rinne Sharingan in the middle.

This Flower Tree was now identical to it, except it lacked the God Tree's Rinne Sharingan.

This near-identical resemblance was no coincidence; it was clear that Senju Hashirama's Wood Style had some connection to the God Tree.

"Thump thump!"

"Is it dry?"

He stepped forward and hit the trunk forcefully. The echoing sound made him frown.

He had just experimented with Chakra Threads and found that this Flower Tree had completely lost its Wood Style characteristics and could not absorb external Chakra.

He even dug out the rabbit that had been dragged underground. He discovered that the poor rabbit had simply suffocated to death; the roots had not penetrated its body to absorb life force or anything similar.

It was evident that this Flower Tree had also reached its end, and he was naturally very disappointed.

"I hope you can give me a little surprise!"

Looking up at the giant flower at the top of the tree, Shimura Kentei did not rashly ascend. He turned and left the central area.

His Chakra was almost depleted, and the two filters also needed to be cleaned as soon as possible. Ascending now would not be a wise choice.

Moreover, the closer he got to the flower, the denser the pollen became, and the greater the pressure on the filters. He had to prepare himself before going up.

An hour later, after recovering, Shimura Kentei returned again. He climbed directly up the thick trunk towards the top, and in a short while, he leaped onto the flower.

Although it was a flower, its petals were extremely hard, supporting his weight in his Battle Suit without even a slight wobble.

"God Tree Fruit?"

Looking at the red fruit in the center of the flower, Shimura Kentei was stunned. His first thought was of the God Tree's fruit.

"No, it should just be a simple fruit. After all, it's instinctual for trees to bear fruit. I estimate that most of this Flower Tree's life force was gathered into that fruit."

With that thought, Shimura Kentei became even more interested in the fruit of the Flower Tree. Although it was definitely far inferior to the God Tree's fruit, it was undoubtedly many times stronger than ordinary fruit.

If nothing else, its size alone was astonishing, larger than himself.

After confirming there was no danger around, Shimura Kentei leaped into the flower and swung his sword at the connection point between the fruit and the Flower Tree, preparing to take it with him.

But at that very moment, as if triggering some mechanism, the petals, which had been like dead objects, instantly closed. More vines coiled around and bound Shimura Kentei tightly, in a posture of extreme shame.

"Damn it, could Senju Hashirama have been an old pervert? How can the Flower Tree he left behind be used for Shibari bondage techniques?"

This shameful posture made Shimura Kentei curse in anger. It was too embarrassing!