"They've started searching the clan grounds."
Before the school bell had even finished ringing, Chiba left through the side gate, circled around two streets, and climbed into his backyard.
The weeds outside the shrine had been trampled, and a fresh scratch marred the rusted lock.
Whoever had come hadn't forced their way in.
The Senju Shrine still held traces of an old seal. If an ordinary shinobi touched the doorframe, the Hokage's direct forces would quickly receive an alert.
Root could only search for an entrance from outside.
"Last night's pulse came from underground. Did they sense something, too?"
Chiba pushed open the shrine door, and the smell of dust accumulated over many years crept into his nose.
Damaged murals covered both walls. They still showed Senju warriors clad in armor, but much of the paint had peeled away, leaving only hands gripping swords and half of the clan crest.
Cobwebs hung behind the offering table, and several wooden plaques bearing names lay overturned in the dust.
Chiba set them upright one by one without offering a prayer.
He had no memories of these people, but he had taken on Senju Chiba's identity and inherited this clan ground.
From now on, anyone who entered would at least need his permission.
"System, scan the underground structure."
[The Infinite Evolution Template does not possess conventional sensory scanning capabilities.]
"Last night, the roots already reached it. You can record evolution energy, but not the route?"
[Wood Release traces can be connected to.]
[Reactivate the remaining root system?]
"Activate it. Restrict its growth range."
A faint sound came from beneath the floor. The fine roots left behind last night revived in the soil and spread along their old path, deeper into the shrine.
Chiba closed his eyes and used the roots' feedback to sense changes in the soil.
There was a hollow space beneath the offering table. A heavy stone slab sealed its entrance, and several layers of chakra patterns coiled around it.
"Found you."
He moved the offering table aside. Only a few cracked bricks were visible on the floor.
Roots slipped through the cracks and lifted one of the bricks. Beneath it lay a rusted metal ring.
Chiba gripped the ring and pulled. Half the floor lifted, revealing a narrow stone staircase leading underground.
A chill carrying the smell of rotting wood wafted up.
Sealing symbols covered both sides of the stairs. Some had already faded, but the closer Chiba got to the bottom, the clearer the chakra response became.
Instead of stepping onto the stairs himself, he sent a vine into the passage first.
The moment it passed the third step, the wall lit up red.
"Intruder. Retreat."
A hoarse voice came from within the stone wall. Sealing power sliced the Poison Vine into several pieces on the spot.
Chiba withdrew his chakra.
"It can identify people and still attack."
[High-intensity sealing structure detected.]
[The seal combines bloodline verification and chakra identification. The probability of forcibly breaking it is below the executable threshold.]
"I have Senju blood."
[The host's soul and body have fused stably. Bloodline verification will pass, but chakra identification has unknown conditions.]
Chiba bit his fingertip and dripped blood onto the clan crest on the first step.
The blood flowed along the carved lines. Red light spread from nearby to far away, and the force repelling him from underground weakened.
"Descendant of the Senju, state your name."
The voice sounded again from within the stone wall.
"Senju Chiba."
"Which branch of the paternal line?"
"I don't know."
"Which branch of the maternal line?"
"I don't know."
"Where is your inheritance mark?"
"No one gave me one."
The seal's light flickered repeatedly throughout the passage. The voice within the wall fell silent for a while.
"Where is the clan's seal-bearer?"
"Dead, missing, or simply unwilling to return."
"Where is the clan head?"
"There is no clan head."
"How many Senju remain?"
Chiba looked at the tightly shut stone door at the end of the stairs.
"I'm the only one left on the clan grounds in Konoha."
The sound of wooden wheels turning came from within the wall. The first layer of the seal receded, but the stairs beyond remained covered in red light.
"Bloodline verification passed. Inheritance qualification insufficient."
"What would be enough?"
"Possess the clan head's seal, earn the elders' recognition, or awaken the Tree of Inheritance."
"I have neither of the first two. Where's the third?"
"Insufficient permissions."
Chiba placed a hand against the stone wall. Poison Vines probed along the carved lines, and the red light flared again, scorching the vine tips black.
"System, analyze the seal."
[Beginning comparison of energy structures.]
[The main seal contains Uzumaki Clan techniques, a Senju bloodline mark, and an unknown Wood Release totem.]
The skill tree of the World Tree unfolded in his mind.
At the center of the branches that had already lit up, its main trunk gradually aligned with the sealing patterns at the end of the stairs.
Chiba opened his eyes.
A flourishing tree was carved into the surface of the stone door, its canopy holding the sun and moon, its roots reaching deep into the mountains and rivers.
It had the same trunk pattern as the World Tree in the Infinite Evolution Template. Even the points where its roots crossed were identical.
"Why are they the same?"
[Insufficient data. Unable to answer.]
"You said you were a template. You never mentioned any connection to the Senju Clan."
[Insufficient data. Unable to answer.]
"Then where did you come from?"
[Insufficient permissions.]
Chiba stared at the system panel until the skill tree faded from view.
This thing had been driving Wood Release's evolution, but it had never explained where it came from.
It had appeared along with him when he crossed over, but that didn't necessarily mean it belonged only to him.
Perhaps this World Tree had existed within the Senju Clan all along, and it had only fused with his soul after the original owner died.
"What is the Tree of Inheritance?"
Chiba asked the stone wall.
"The source of Wood Release, the root of the Senju."
"Was it left behind by the First?"
"It began before the First and was completed by his hand."
"What does it preserve?"
"Insufficient permissions."
"Then let me ask something else. How do I awaken it?"
"Make the withered roots grow again."
This time, the wall gave him an answer.
Chiba crouched and pressed the fine roots produced by Root System Water Absorption against the first step.
The seal didn't attack.
The fine roots passed through the clan crest and continued down along the inside of the wall, soon touching a section of withered wood.
It lay buried behind the stone door, its size far beyond the reach of his senses.
Root System Water Absorption activated on its own.
Underground water was drawn in and carried along the fine roots into the withered wood. Traces of Natural Energy in the soil flowed in as well.
One leaf on the World Tree carved into the stone door lit up.
[High-concentration Wood Release residue detected.]
[Unknown Senju cell sample detected.]
[The World Tree skill tree is resonating. Attempting to connect to a new evolution node.]
Chiba cut off his Wood Release at once.
But the withered wood behind the door didn't fall silent. Instead, it drew chakra from the remaining roots.
More leaves lit up one after another.
"Stop."
[Connection has been taken over by external energy.]
The underground passage began to shake. The memorial tablets on the offering table knocked against one another, and dust fell from cracks in the murals.
A fissure opened in the center of the stone door.
A pale root poked through and stopped by Chiba's feet, its tip slowly lifting.
The voice that had slept for many years within the wall spoke again.
"The Tree of Inheritance has confirmed the bloodline. Candidate for Senju clan head, return to your place."
The pale root immediately wound around Chiba's wrist, and for the first time, the system panel displayed a bright red warning.
[Warning: Another Infinite Evolution Template holder detected.]
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