Unlike Tyrant King's Moon, the Tree of Life could not absorb flesh and blood. It could only absorb intangible energy such as life force and chakra.
When using the Tree of Life, Hayato had to form the Rat hand seal and remain standing still.
Sarutobi Hiruzen, who stood closest, bore the brunt of it. He knelt on one knee, one hand braced against the ground, gasping for breath. If the earlier Sarutobi Hiruzen had merely been an old man with age spots all over his face, then now his hair was completely white, his eyes cloudy and pale. He looked at least eighty.
The Bringer-of-Darkness Technique vanished, and so did the dense forest created by Deep Forest Emergence.
The trees slowly withered, their emerald leaves turning yellow.
After the trees withered, they began to rot. After the leaves turned yellow, they dried up and browned.
Orochimaru ran, speeding away from Hayato. He had already reached the edge of the barrier, where he felt the loss of life force and chakra begin to slow.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough."
Orochimaru spewed a storm from his mouth toward the motionless Hayato.
The gale that seemed capable of destroying everything turned into a fierce wind as it neared Hayato, then a strong breeze as it drew closer, and by the time it reached him, it had become a gentle wind brushing against his face.
Though it was not as absurd as the Absorption Seal's ability to rapidly absorb ninjutsu, the Tree of Life could reverse elemental ninjutsu, restore it to its most primitive chakra, and absorb it.
"Damn it!" Seeing what had happened to his Wind Release, Orochimaru roared furiously and threw out the Kusanagi Sword.
Hayato moved, dodging the Kusanagi Sword.
To Orochimaru's delight, he discovered that although his life force and chakra