Seed of the Divine Tree

"Campus bullying is absolutely forbidden."

Walking side by side down the corridor, Class Monitor Ai Nao pushed up her glasses and patiently reminded Akihi Yu.

"If Yamamoto and the others give you trouble again, make sure to tell me."

"Do I look like the kind of person who gets bullied?"

Yu felt rather helpless about this.

The girl beside him meant well, but to the current "Akihi Yu," her words placed him in the position of the "weak."

What a joke! Before transmigrating, whenever he had a grudge, he settled it on the spot. It was not as though he had never encountered bullying. On the contrary, because he developed late, he had consistently ranked among the top three shortest students when lining up in elementary and middle school. Every time he changed schools, he encountered bullies.

From the lowest-level mockery of his clothes, to dumping cleaning duty on him alone, to even demanding "membership fees."

And then?

He beat up whoever took the lead, and everything became peaceful.

When students fought, it came down to courage first, strength second, and skill third.

As long as one got past that mental hurdle, who was really stronger than whom among students? Grab a brick, and you could knock down the strongest guy in class.

When facing bullying, the most important thing was whether one had the courage to say "no."

Put simply, it was whether one dared to draw one's sword!

Now, as a transmigrator, Yu's courage went without saying. If not for a lingering concern, he would have been almost completely unscrupulous. His strength was somewhat lacking, but only slightly below average. As for skill, in his previous life, the punching bag at home had been what he used to burn off excess energy in his spare time.

Beating up a few pieces of trash who only knew how to bully classmates would be effortless!

He would not even need the system to step in.

"But you..."

The female Class Monitor hesitated. To be fair, Yu's uncle and aunt from the Akihi House had died in a traffic accident, leaving Yu-kun mentally dazed and much thinner. On top of that, his grades were good, and his looks were... In short, he was the perfect target for the boys' exclusion and jealousy.

However—tilting her head to carefully examine Akihi Yu beside her,

Ai Nao suddenly realized that while he was still the same person, his temperament had completely changed.

His tightly pressed lips carried a little more coldness, while his aggressive gaze made the girl afraid to meet his eyes, her heartbeat unconsciously quickening.

"Have you already moved past your grief?"

"Of course."

The memories in his mind had long since been absorbed—or rather, completely fused.

Whether "Akihi Yu" wanted it or not, he could only live on under this identity, so:

"I can't keep drowning in grief. I have more important things to do."

"Is it Sora?"

The Class Monitor lowered her eyes. As his childhood friend, how could she not know what the boy beside her cared about?

"Enough of that. Let's get to class first."

While chatting as they walked, the two had already reached their classroom. The moment they stepped inside, all their classmates glanced at them more or less openly before turning away to whisper among themselves, making Yu shrug.

"See, Class Monitor?"

"If you keep hanging around with me, most people will end up excluding you too."

On the faces of these students, who had no idea how to hide their emotions, Yu could tell at a glance who was indifferent, who was gloating, and who was jealous and hostile.

As someone with strong mental fortitude, the scene before him did not make him uncomfortable in the slightest. Instead, it seemed somewhat...

Cute?

Once one entered society, it would be hard to see such "pure" expressions again~~

"What does it matter?"

Ai Nao pushed up her glasses.

"I'm the Class Monitor. If bullying happens in class, I can't ignore it. And besides..."

She secretly glanced at Akihi Yu again before turning away.

"He's still Akihi."

For a moment, the classroom filled with an ambiguous atmosphere. Even a blind man could tell that the two shared an unusual relationship. The envy and hostility in the covertly observing gazes around them abruptly intensified by several degrees.

But when Yu's gaze swept over them, they all hurriedly looked away.

So that was it.

Yu could not help rubbing his chin.

Besides, this was a third-rate public school. Most of them did not have the ability to get into university, and they knew their families could not afford the cost of university either. So they spent their spare energy on things that seemed more interesting, such as games, romance, and bullying.

Thus, it was not difficult to understand the former "Akihi Yu's" situation.

"Sit properly. Class is starting."

At that moment, the homeroom teacher entered the classroom with lesson plans tucked under his arm and tapped the blackboard.

A homeroom teacher was basically equivalent to a class adviser. Although this public high school had plenty of delinquents, things had not reached the point where students openly defied teachers.

Seeing the homeroom teacher arrive, the gathered students returned to their seats. There were clearly still three empty seats. Yet both the students and the teacher naturally skipped over them, as though it were completely routine.

"Everyone, open your..."

As the teacher began the lesson, Yu sat by the window in the back row, resting his chin on one hand as he studied his transmigration cheat.

Seed of the Divine Tree

This was the cheat every transmigrator came with, originating from the World of Fire. Its essence was:

The Ten-Tailed Beast!

The Ten-Tailed Beast was both the sapling of the Divine Tree and the origin of all chakra.

In the setting of the World of Fire, the origin of all ninjutsu came from the "Otsutsuki Clan."

This was a wondrous race that crossed the universe in the flesh, possessed immortality, and constantly sowed "seeds" across planets. They planted entities known as the "Ten-Tailed Beast" on planets, absorbing the energy of the entire planet so it could take root, sprout, flower, and bear fruit.

The resulting "fruit" would be eaten by the "Otsutsuki Clan," allowing them to evolve without end until they became incomparable "gods."

The good news was that the "Seed of the Divine Tree" in Yu's possession did not require an Otsutsuki clansman as a living sacrifice.

The bad news was that Yu himself was not an Otsutsuki clansman either!

"Plant the Divine Tree, me?"

After learning the nature of his cheat, Yu was stunned.

"Yes, Host. Once the seed is planted, the Divine Tree's roots will spread to every corner of the planet, absorbing the chakra of all life on it. When this planet's energy has been completely drained, the Divine Tree will bear an enormous Divine Tree Fruit."

Playing with the "Seed of the Divine Tree" in his hand, which only he could see, Yu wore a speechless expression.

As his transmigration cheat, Yu could clearly sense the immense energy contained within this seed. If it erupted, it could blow this entire school into the sky in an instant! But—

That was all.

It was only a seed, not even a "sapling."

"No, no, no. I'm not a real Otsutsuki clansman. If I dare plant the tree today..."

Tomorrow, he would be lying on the operating table of the "Five Good Guys"!

The "Otsutsuki Clan" would have something to say about that too. Every member of our clan has Kekkei Mōra, and everyone can manipulate space and time;

What level are you, transmigrator? You dare come plant a tree? Can you even plant one?

You can't. You don't have the ability, understand?

"Ding. Host has obtained D-rank chakra and unlocked the Three Body Technique and all D-rank ninjutsu."

"Each time the Host uses techniques in battle, a certain amount of proficiency can be accumulated. Once proficiency reaches a certain level, Kekkei Genkai, Kekkei Tōta, and Kekkei Mōra can be unlocked to protect the Divine Tree as it grows stronger."

"I'll have been cut up for research before then!"

Yu could not help shaking his head at the system prompt. If the timeline had been seventy or eighty years earlier, with the Three Body Technique and all D-rank ninjutsu, he could have thrived anywhere. By constantly fighting to accumulate experience, it would not have been impossible to eventually sweep across the world.

But—

"Now the sky is full of satellites, and surveillance cameras are everywhere. Where am I supposed to practice ninjutsu?"

Antarctic?

Even if he had obtained every D-rank ninjutsu,

How many times could he use them with D-rank chakra?

Against modern heavy firepower, unless he came with some bloodline or tailed-beast cheat, at his current level right out of school, it was only a matter of how long he could struggle.

Besides, this damned system required him to "use ninjutsu in battle"! Yu had only just transmigrated to Tokyo in this parallel world without any supernatural power and resolved to begin a new life, yet suddenly he had to start fighting and killing...

The tone was all wrong!

Shouldn't he have gotten something like a "Tycoon System" or an "Entertainment System"?

Wait!

Thinking of a possibility, Yu rubbed his chin.

"System, as the controller of the Seed of the Divine Tree, can I grant other living beings chakra?"

The chakra of the World of Fire had originally come from the Divine Tree.

There was no reason his cheat could not do the same.

"Yes."

"The Host may freely grant chakra or ninjutsu to any other living being."

"At the same time, the Host has the authority to reclaim chakra and ninjutsu at any time. Those stripped of them will immediately die."

Good!

Since that was the case,

Even in this high-tech parallel world, Yu could openly "use techniques in battle."

If one person possessed supernatural power, they would naturally be feared, hunted, and imprisoned by the entire world.

But what if "many" people possessed supernatural power?

Yu turned to look out the window. Everywhere he looked stood towering buildings.

Tokyo was far too urbanized.