B-Rank Ninja Tool: Nature Mask!

Numb!

Nara Kaikei stared at the item description on the panel, and his mood could only be described with two words.

Completely numb!

It wasn't as if he had never guessed that the wood used to make Chakra Paper possessed unusual properties.

For example, it might have come from some kind of "mutated tree."

After all, even toads, slugs, and snakes could mutate, so why couldn't trees?

At most, Nara Kaikei had thought this tree was some special wood created with the First Hokage's Wood Release back when he was conquering the land.

He never expected...

This wood was not only from a "mutated tree," but was also related to "Wood Release."

Not just any Wood Release, but its ancestor—the Divine Tree!

Information about the Divine Tree surfaced in Nara Kaikei's mind.

"The sacred object of the Otsutsuki Clan. It absorbs a planet's energy to bear Chakra Fruit, the original source of Chakra, the true form of the Ten-Tails..."

Nara Kaikei looked at the SSS-Rank miscellaneous item, [Divine Tree Branch], before him and jerked his hand back as if shocked.

"How could something like this be bought so casually from a store?

"It's not some Six Paths Artifact!"

Nara Kaikei felt like he had meant to grab a paperweight for his book, only to pull out an Infinity Gem instead.

Even if he knew that [Divine Tree Branch] was worlds apart from the real Divine Tree;

Even if he knew that its SSS-Rank evaluation was definitely wildly inflated;

The urgent matter was still to figure out where this [Divine Tree Branch] had come from!

Two possibilities!

Nara Kaikei grabbed the [Divine Tree Branch], casually created two [Shadow Clones] to clean the house and train themselves, then ran out the door without looking back.

First possibility: this [Divine Tree Branch] really is a product of Big Pillar's Wood Release from back then. And Wood Release's true classification isn't a Kekkei Genkai or a Kekkei Tōta, but the legendary Kekkei Mōra!

Second possibility: the source of this [Divine Tree Branch]... is the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path!

With restless thoughts swirling in his heart, Nara Kaikei quickly arrived at Manten Hall.

It was close to midnight, and aside from the owner, there was no one else in Manten Hall.

"Hmm, this customer?"

The owner looked warily at the Aburame Ninja who had returned carrying a piece of wood.

"How may I help you?"

"This wood."

Nara Kaikei placed the [Divine Tree Branch] on the counter.

"Where did you get it?"

"What do you mean by that, customer?"

The owner dropped the pretense entirely, folding his arms with a cold expression.

"Our supply channels are the crucial secrets that keep this little shop alive. Do you think I can just reveal—"

"I'll pay more."

"You really are a great judge of character, customer!"

After accepting a considerable tip, the Manten Hall owner spoke in a low voice.

"This special wood used for making Chakra Paper is a new variety discovered only in the past few decades.

"At first, everyone thought this kind of tree grew only within the Land of Fire. But later, they unexpectedly found trees with similar effects in the Land of Iron as well."

Nara Kaikei pressed, "So where did this piece of wood come from?"

"Now you're making things difficult for me, customer."

The Manten Hall owner forced a smile.

"I'm just an ordinary Ninja Tool Shop owner. If you ask me which country has what specialty products, I can tell you a thing or two.

"But how could I possibly tell whether a piece of wood grew up in the Land of Fire or the Land of Iron?"

Nara Kaikei picked up the [Divine Tree Branch] and examined it from every angle.

The Manten Hall owner watched the Aburame Ninja's strange behavior. Considering the tip he had just received, he chose not to say anything.

Are Aburame Clan ninjas really this rich? Looks like I was too conservative when I raised the price before...

Just as the Manten Hall owner's mind drifted away—

"Boss, one bottle of Catnip Drink. I'll pay."

"That'll be fifty ryo."

Nara Kaikei pulled out a coin. After paying, he left Manten Hall with the [Divine Tree Branch] and the Catnip Drink.

So in the end, I still found nothing... Well, not completely nothing. At least I got an answer involving the Land of Iron.

The special trees within the Land of Fire probably correspond to Hashirama Senju's Wood Release.

But the Land of Iron? What does the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path have to do with the Land of Iron?

Or did Uchiha Madara hide in the Land of Iron during the decades after faking his death?

After returning home.

Nara Kaikei placed the Catnip Drink in a storage compartment near the entrance, then took the [Divine Tree Branch] back to the training room.

Although he had yet to determine the specific origin of the [Divine Tree Branch].

Nara Kaikei still intended to follow his original plan and use this [Divine Tree Branch] to make a [Nature Mask].

"Am I wasting something precious by using an SSS-Rank item for practice?"

For his first mask, Nara Kaikei did not have particularly high standards for precision.

He cut a wooden board nearly five centimeters thick from the [Divine Tree Branch]—the [Nature Mask] also needed a certain level of defensive capability—and tentatively infused his own Chakra into it.

But the small amount of Chakra he poured into the [Divine Tree Branch] was like a stream flowing into the sea, causing no reaction whatsoever.

"Looks like the [Divine Tree Branch] doesn't react specially to Chakra the way Chakra Paper does... though that's only natural."

"But in that case, a [Nature Mask] made from the [Divine Tree Branch] should also be quite effective against pure Chakra attacks, right?"

Nara Kaikei casually took out a kunai and lightly tapped the wooden board a few times.

The collision produced several very dull thuds.

"The physical defense is pretty good too. It isn't as fragile as I imagined."

Nara Kaikei devoted himself entirely to polishing and crafting the [Nature Mask]. A rough, plain wooden mask gradually took shape beneath his hands.

"Considering the abilities I possess, I'll make the first mask Earth-natured!"

Nara Kaikei rubbed the wooden mask in his hand while resonating with the [Chakra Crystal] on his right index finger. He continuously generated Earth-natured Chakra with the [Chakra Crystal] and infused it into the mask.

After charging it for a while, the first mask was finally completed.

The panel almost immediately displayed a notification.

[Detected B-Rank Ninja Tool: Nature Mask!]

[B-Rank Ninja Tool: Nature Mask]

[Ninja Tool Description: A wooden mask made from a Divine Tree Branch and infused with nature Chakra]

[Ninja Tool Effect: 1. The Nature Mask contains a B-Rank amount of Earth-natured Chakra, which can be transferred back and forth for personal use;

2. The Earth-natured Chakra contained within the Nature Mask can be transformed into the B-Rank Jutsu Earth Style: Earth Spear to defend the user]

[Ninja Tool Evaluation: Everyone wears a mask... I merely made one for myself]

"The first [Nature Mask] I made has an unexpectedly high item rank!"

Nara Kaikei examined the wooden mask in his hand. Its natural wood-colored surface bore no unnecessary patterns, with only two eyeholes carved into it.

"I wonder if a [Shadow Clone] can use it."

A figure emerged from Nara Kaikei's shadow, and he casually tossed the [Nature Mask] to it.

But before he could speak, the [Shadow Clone] slapped the [Nature Mask] onto its face first.

"I'm no longer human, Main Body!"

"I knew it..."

Nara Kaikei sighed, rubbing his forehead.

"Try out the effect."

[Lacquer Eye] appeared as two shadow blades shot out from beneath his feet, tearing through the air as they slashed toward the [Shadow Clone] before him.

[Shadow Stitching Technique]!

Clang! Clang!

The sharp shadow blades struck the [Shadow Clone], but they did not instantly disperse the clone formed from Yin Release Chakra. Instead, they merely produced two crisp sounds.

Looking closely, a deep black coloration had appeared on the surface of the [Shadow Clone]'s body at some point. It was precisely the characteristic of Earth Style: Earth Spear.

"[Shadow Clones] can use [Nature Masks]!"

Nara Kaikei's eyes lit up.

"And that defense is seriously good!"

He had not used [Shadow Stitching Technique] with his main body just now. His main body was still lying inside the shadow!

A [Shadow Clone] whose ability level approached that of an Elite Jonin had used the B-Rank Jutsu [Shadow Stitching Technique], yet it had failed to break the [Nature Mask]'s defense. The result was already quite impressive.

"Give me the [Nature Mask]. Let me see how much Chakra it has left after taking that hit."

Nara Kaikei caught the [Nature Mask] tossed back by the [Shadow Clone] and silently sensed it.

"The Chakra consumption is acceptable too. One mask can probably withstand five slashes of that level."

Nara Kaikei knew that [Shadow Clones] could shift between tangible and intangible states, so they basically did not need to worry about physical attacks.

But his main body still had to take such matters into account.

Now that he had [Nature Masks], his main body's defense had risen drastically as well.

As long as he did not encounter a targeted Lightning Style attack, the defensive power demonstrated by the [Nature Mask] meant that even if Nara Kaikei's main body lay within the shadows, he would not need to worry much about being accidentally injured in battle.

"Of course, [Nature Masks] also have extraordinary significance for [Shadow Clones]."

"[Shadow Clones] are created from Yin Release Chakra and can only use the main body's Yin Release ninjutsu. But now that they have [Nature Masks], [Shadow Clones] can use the corresponding nature ninjutsu as well!"

Nara Kaikei had wanted to strike while the iron was hot and make two more [Nature Masks] with Wind and Fire attributes.

But seeing that it was nearly midnight, he chose to go to bed and keep to his usual schedule.

Yet in his sleep, Nara Kaikei failed to notice the new message that appeared on the panel.

[Within one natural day, you did not engage in any energy-consuming activity aside from satisfying your physiological needs... Your Strength attribute has increased!]

[Strength +24]

[Strength: E- → D-]

A brief explanation of currency in the ninja world.

Some readers are not very familiar with this.

In the ninja world, .

It is not the usual conversion where one ryo equals one yen.

Also, regarding the Catnip Drink that appeared in this chapter.

The original work never mentioned its price.

But there is a reference point.

A bottle of cola sold at Ichiraku Ramen costs fifteen ryo.

Furthermore, the connection between Chakra Paper and the Divine Tree is merely this novel's original setting.