"Who are you?"
The rescued Konoha scout pushed himself up against the wall. His gaze fell on the corpse beneath Chiba's hand, then shifted to the dark roots covering the camp.
"A Konoha Ninja."
Chiba took the Amegakure Chunin's equipment pouch and tossed the Forehead Protector, still identifiable, at the scout's feet.
"The bodies are yours, and so is the credit. You never saw me tonight."
The scout opened his mouth, but his injured leg gave way first, his knee slamming into the wet mud.
"Wait! You saved me. You have to at least leave me your name, right?"
"Knowing my name won't do you any good."
Chiba stepped into the woods. The roots at his feet withdrew underground, leaving only the three rogue ninja's corpses sprawled in the damaged outpost.
The scout shouted after him again.
"You can't hide Wood Release in Konoha. Do you really think nobody will figure it out?"
Chiba didn't look back.
"Then let them guess."
He changed his route back to the village twice, and even rinsed the border mud from his soles in a stream along the way.
The hidden sentries outside the clan grounds had changed positions. The insects that had been chirping in a dead tree fell silent for a while, and fresh chips had appeared on the roof tiles.
The Anbu team from earlier that day was still there.
Root's people had returned, too.
Chiba circled around to the back wall, slipped through a collapsed gap into the courtyard, and reached out to move a rotting log leaning against the wall.
A thin vine lay beneath it, a marker he had left before departing.
It had been cut in two. The cut was clean, with no tears from being dragged.
"They searched the house and checked for traces of Wood Release, too."
Chiba opened the door. Nothing in the room had changed, but the tile hidden beneath his pillow had been turned around.
The intruder had touched his bed and inspected the bloodstained clothes he had changed out of.
To enter the clan grounds under the watch of the Hokage's own Anbu, they either had permission or knew the gaps in the Anbu's patrols.
Danzo's Root clearly had both.
"The one who escaped must have already reported what he knew about the Poison Vine."
Chiba sat down on the floor and emptied a few Kunai and a blank scroll from his equipment pouch.
"The three who came last night had little combat experience and were only Genin-level in a head-on fight, yet their mission allowed them to kill me."
They were expendable probes.
If they succeeded, they would take Chiba away. If they failed, they would still learn what he could do.
Danzo had lost several subordinates, but the information he gained was incomplete.
Root had seen the Poison Vine, but not Root System Water Absorption. They also knew nothing about the Infinite Evolution Template.
"He won't send anyone to seize me by force again anytime soon."
Chiba hid the Kunai in a crack in the bedframe, then tucked the blank scroll beneath the bottom of the wardrobe.
"Wood Release is already exposed. If it happens again, the Third Hokage won't be able to keep pretending he doesn't see it."
A tile rustled outside the door.
Chiba immediately hunched his shoulders, grabbed the blanket, and wrapped himself in it, deliberately making his breathing uneven.
"Don't come get me. Grandpa Hokage said he'd protect me."
The sound on the roof stopped.
Chiba waited a moment before peeking out from under the blanket.
By tomorrow, those words would reach Hiruzen Sarutobi. A child who had been attacked and was starting to grow afraid was far more reassuring than a calm Senju orphan analyzing the situation.
As for Danzo, he would interpret that fear as weakness.
"Keep watching."
Chiba went into the courtyard and brushed aside the weeds beside the abandoned well.
"The more you think you can control me, the more time I'll have."
The well had long since dried up, but its walls were still damp, and he could hear water flowing underground at the bottom.
He dropped to one knee and pressed his right hand against the dirt outside the well's rim.
"Wood Release."
Fine roots burrowed into the soil, stretching downward toward the moisture.
At first, they could only find scattered traces of water. But as they reached deeper, a cool current flowed back through the Wood Release.
The weeds in the courtyard bent to either side.
Dark brown roots spread from the well, wrapped around a crumbling stone pillar, and burrowed into cracks in the wall. They grew more steadily than they had during the border skirmish.
[Root System Water Absorption activated.]
[Underground water source connected. Wood Release growth costs are beginning to decrease.]
Chiba raised his left hand. A Poison Vine sprouted from his palm. Its purple veins were clearer than before, and several tiny buds had formed at its tip.
Water could spur its growth, but the poison's potency hadn't diminished.
That meant he could use the underground water source as a steady supply. As long as the roots reached deep enough, Wood Release could replenish itself during battle.
"Keep going deeper."
The roots passed through the damp soil and met a layer of hard rock.
Ordinary roots should have stopped there, but one thin root squeezed through a crack in the rock, carrying back a strange warmth.
Chiba's chest warmed in response.
His Sage Body began to work on its own. His chakra, already more than half depleted, started to recover, and a faint tingling sensation crept beneath his skin.
[Unknown energy detected entering the host's body.]
[Analyzing composition.]
[The energy coexists with soil moisture and possesses vitality. Preliminary assessment: trace Natural Energy.]
Chiba stared at the Poison Vine by the well. Its buds were opening one by one.
"Can the roots absorb Natural Energy?"
[Current absorption efficiency is below the stable threshold.]
[The host's Sage Body is adapting. Expanding the absorption range by force may cause an energy imbalance.]
"What will happen if it's imbalanced?"
[In mild cases, Wood Release will run out of control. In severe cases, the host's tissues will become woody.]
Chiba didn't stop. Instead, he urged the roots to push farther through the crack.
More warmth flowed into his body, and faint green lines appeared beneath the skin of his right arm.
A brittle crack sounded beside the courtyard wall.
A thick vine forced its way up through the paving stones and coiled around half of a stone lantern, dragging it out of place.
Chiba raised his hand and cut off the chakra.
All the vines stopped growing, and the faint green lines on his right arm gradually faded.
"I can handle a little more."
[Sage Body compatibility has increased.]
[Signs of a second awakening detected. Current conditions are insufficient.]
"What are the conditions?"
[A higher concentration of Natural Energy or a cell sample with Natural Energy properties is required.]
Chiba thought of Senjutsu from Ryūchi Cave, Orochimaru's Cursed Seal, and the Sound Ninja who would one day appear in Konoha.
Those targets were still far beyond his reach, but Root System Water Absorption had opened another path.
As long as he found a place where Natural Energy gathered, he could advance his Sage Body's awakening ahead of schedule.
"Keep playing the student in public. I can't neglect Taijutsu or chakra control."
Chiba plucked a Poison Vine bud, wrapped it in cloth, and hid it up his sleeve.
"Look for Chunin targets in secret. Cell samples come first. Test Root System Water Absorption every day, and don't let the woodification spread past my arm."
[Evolution plan recorded.]
"Delete it."
[Records are accessible only to the host.]
"I don't need you making plans for me."
The system didn't respond.
Chiba withdrew the roots spread throughout the courtyard, then scooped muddy water from the water jar and splashed it over the clean clothes he had just changed into.
Then he mussed up his hair and sat on the threshold, hugging his knees, letting the distant watcher see a child who had been too afraid to sleep all night.
Fabric rustled behind the roof ridge, and a presence quietly slipped away.
Chiba lowered his head, but kept his palm pressed against the underside of the threshold.
A single root there hadn't obeyed his recall. It was stretching in the direction of the Senju Shrine.
The next moment, a clear pulse came from beneath the long-abandoned shrine.
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