Tamura Hiroshi flew to the Sacred Tree and pressed his palm against the trunk to sense it. Within the tree, he felt a powerful, abundant Life Force, somewhat similar to Wood Release Chakra and somewhat similar to the power of the Tailed Beasts.
This discovery only strengthened his conviction that the Sacred Tree was connected to the Ten-Tails God Tree of ancient times.
Certain of this, he brought the Creation Immortal Lotus out of the Sealing Space and guided its roots into the Sacred Tree, where it began devouring the Life Force and Origin Power within.
The Creation Immortal Lotus, now infused with Wood Release, clearly favored this energy. The moment it touched the tree, it eagerly rooted itself inside and began to absorb it.
"Wood Release?"
Kakuzu came over across the water and eyed the strange plant with a grave expression. He could feel the power of the First Hokage emanating from it.
"It has some of the First Hokage's chakra in it, giving it a degree of Wood Release power."
Tamura Hiroshi didn't hide the truth, but didn't say much more. Kakuzu tactfully refrained from asking further and simply watched with curiosity.
"It's grown this much already."
Shikaku Nara and the other two stared at the lotus in astonishment. They knew that Tamura Hiroshi had managed to nurture the lotus seed he'd obtained from the Temple of Fire until it sprouted, but they hadn't expected it to grow to this size.
"Senior, do you mind if I devour this Sacred Tree?"
Tamura Hiroshi looked at Kakuzu. He wanted to devour the entire tree and maximize the Creation Immortal Lotus's growth.
"Do as you please. I haven't been a Takigakure ninja for a long time."
Kakuzu didn't care. It was just as well if the place was destroyed; then