Moonlight Reckoning and the Reawakening of the Root System

"Who exactly are you?"

The rescued Konoha scout braced himself against the wall to stand, his gaze fixed on the corpse beneath Chiba's palm before shifting to the dark roots spreading across the camp.

"A Konoha ninja."

Chiba took the Amegakure chunin's ninja tool pouch and tossed the headband, still identifiable, to the scout's feet.

"The body is yours, and the credit is yours. You haven't seen me tonight."

The scout opened his mouth to speak, but his injured leg gave out, his knee striking the wet mud.

"Wait, you saved me. You have to at least leave your name."

"Knowing my name won't do you any good."

Chiba stepped into the woods, the roots near his feet retracting into the ground as he left, leaving only three rebel ninja corpses in the ruined outpost.

The scout's voice called out from behind.

"Wood Release can't be hidden in Konoha. Do you really think no one will guess?"

Chiba did not look back.

"Then let them guess."

He changed his route back to the village twice, using stream water along the way to wash the border mud from the soles of his shoes.

The hidden sentries outside the clan grounds had shifted positions; the insect chirping that had stopped on the withered tree resumed, and there were new, crushed tiles on the roof ridge.

The Anbu team from the day was still there.

The people from Root had returned as well.

Chiba circled to the back wall, slipped into the courtyard through a collapsed gap, and reached out to push aside the rotten wood leaning against the wall.

Under the rotten wood lay a thin vine—a marker he had set before leaving.

The vine was snapped in two, the cut clean, with no signs of dragging or tearing.

"They searched the house and even checked for traces of Wood Release."

Chiba pushed open the door. The room's layout remained unchanged, but the tile hidden under his pillow had been turned.

The intruder had touched his bed and inspected the blood-stained clothes he had changed out of.

To enter the clan grounds under the surveillance of the Third Hokage's direct Anbu, the intruder either had tacit permission or had mastered the gaps in the Anbu patrols.

The Root under Danzo clearly possessed both.

"The guy who escaped should have already delivered the intelligence about the Poison Vine."

Chiba sat on the floor, dumping several kunai and a roll of blank scrolls from his ninja pouch.

"The three who came last night had limited combat experience, and their frontal capabilities were only at the genin level, yet their mission allowed for silencing witnesses."

They were expendable materials used for testing.

If they succeeded, they would take Chiba; if they failed, they would still expose his trump cards.

Danzo lost a few subordinates, but the intelligence he gained was incomplete.

Root only saw the Poison Vine; they did not see the Root System Water Absorption, nor did they know of the existence of the Infinite Evolution Template.

"He won't send people to seize me by force in the short term."

Chiba hid the kunai in the cracks of the floorboards and stuffed the blank scrolls into the bottom of the wardrobe.

"Wood Release is already exposed. If they come again, the Third Hokage won't be able to keep pretending he doesn't see it."

A light sound of tiles came from outside the door.

Chiba immediately hunched his shoulders, grabbed a quilt to wrap around his body, and deliberately let his breathing become ragged.

"Don't come to catch me, Grandpa Hokage said he would protect me."

The sound on the roof vanished.

Chiba waited for a moment before looking up from the quilt.

Tomorrow, these words would be delivered to Hiruzen Sarutobi. A child who had been attacked and was now afraid was far more reassuring than a Senju orphan who could calmly analyze the situation.

As for Danzo, he would interpret this fear as weakness.

"Keep watching."

Chiba walked into the courtyard and pushed aside the weeds next to the abandoned well.

"The more you think you can control me, the more time you leave for me."

The abandoned well had long since dried up, but the well walls were damp, and the sound of flowing groundwater could be heard at the bottom.

He knelt on one knee and pressed his right hand into the soil outside the well rim.

"Wood Release."

Fine roots drilled into the soil layer, extending downward along the moisture.

At first, he could only detect scattered water, but as the root system delved deeper, a stream of cool water flowed back through the Wood Release.

The weeds in the courtyard fell to both sides.

Dark brown roots spread from the well, coiled around the broken stone pillars, and drilled into the wall cracks, growing more steadily than they had during the border battle.

[Root System Water Absorption has been activated.]

[Underground water source connection successful. Wood Release growth consumption has begun to decrease.]

Chiba raised his left hand. A poison vine sprouted from his palm, its purple veins clearer than before, with a few rice-grain-sized flower buds forming at the tips.

Water could fuel growth, but the toxin concentration had not decreased.

This meant he could treat the underground water source as a continuous supply; as long as his roots were buried deep enough, Wood Release could replenish itself during combat.

"Keep probing deeper."

The roots crossed the moist soil layer and hit a hardened rock stratum.

A normal root system should have stopped, but one of the fine roots squeezed into a rock crevice, bringing back a strange warmth.

Chiba's chest grew hot.

The Sage Body began to circulate on its own. The chakra that had been more than half-depleted began to recover, and a faint, tingling itch wandered beneath his skin.

[Unknown energy detected entering the host's body.]

[Analyzing composition.]

[This energy coexists with soil moisture and possesses biological activity. Preliminary determination: trace amounts of natural energy.]

Chiba stared at the poison vine by the well; the flower buds were opening one by one.

"Can the root system absorb natural energy?"

[Current absorption efficiency is below the stability standard.]

[The host's Sage Body is adapting. Forcibly expanding the absorption range may cause energy imbalance.]

"What happens if it's imbalanced?"

[At best, Wood Release will go out of control; at worst, the host's tissues will undergo lignification.]

Chiba did not stop; instead, he urged the roots to continue through the rock crevice.

The warmth flowing into his body increased, and several light green veins emerged beneath the skin of his right arm.

A faint cracking sound came from beside the courtyard wall.

A thick vine pushed up the floor tiles and coiled around half a stone lamp, dragging it out of place.

Chiba raised his hand and cut off the chakra.

All the vines stopped growing, and the light green veins on his right arm gradually faded.

"A little stronger, I can still handle it."

[Sage Body compatibility increased.]

[Signs of secondary awakening detected. Current conditions insufficient.]

"What are the conditions?"

[Requires higher concentration of natural energy or cell samples possessing natural energy characteristics.]

Chiba thought of the senjutsu of Ryuchi Cave, Orochimaru's Cursed Seal, and the Sound Ninja who would appear in Konoha in the future.

These targets were still far from him, but the Root System Water Absorption had provided another path.

As long as he found a place where natural energy gathered, he could accelerate the awakening of the Sage Body.

"On the surface, I'll continue to be a student. Taijutsu and chakra control cannot stop."

Chiba snapped off a poison vine bud, wrapped it in cloth, and hid it in his sleeve.

"In secret, I'll look for chunin targets, prioritizing cell samples. I'll test the Root System Water Absorption daily, but I cannot let the lignification go past my arm."

[Evolution plan recorded.]

"Delete it."

[Records are only open to the host.]

"I don't need you to make arrangements for me."

The system did not respond further.

Chiba retracted the roots spread throughout the courtyard and scooped up muddy water from a vat, splashing it onto his freshly changed clothes.

Afterward, he ruffled his hair, sat back on the threshold with his knees pulled up, and let the watchers hiding in the distance see clearly a child who was too afraid to sleep all night.

The sound of fabric rubbing came from behind the roof ridge, and a presence quietly departed.

Chiba hung his head, but his palm pressed against the underside of the threshold.

A strand of roots there had not obeyed the recall and was extending toward the Senju ancestral hall.

The next moment, deep beneath the long-abandoned hall, a clear pulse echoed back.