Divine Fruit in the Belly, Fifteenfold Stone Fist Breaks Through

The golden shower of light lasted a full quarter of an hour before slowly fading.

The entire secret realm was bathed in warm gold.

Everyone tilted their heads back, staring fixedly at the row of fist-sized golden fruits atop the crown.

Their skins were translucent, with aurora-like patterns flowing inside. Their fragrance drifted down on the wind, and a single breath made everyone's bones itch.

"Those are the fruits of the Healing Mother Tree?" Leorio swallowed, his eyes wide. "They even smell different. If we eat one, will we ascend on the spot?"

"Get real." Killua rolled his eyes, though anticipation lurked in them too. "We have to climb up and pick them first."

That was easy to say.

Only when they reached the foot of the Mother Tree did they realize how hard it would be.

The trunk was so thick they couldn't see around it, its bark was slick as oil, and the higher they climbed, the stronger the gravity became.

After barely a dozen meters, the gravity had already doubled.

Gon clung to the trunk, his arm muscles taut as he gritted his teeth and edged upward.

"This tree has gravity too?"

"Of course." Kurapika sent a chain around a knot high above and pulled himself up. "The Mother Tree is the heart of the entire secret realm. It has its own gravitational field. Did you think its fruit would be easy to pick?"

All five used their own methods.

Gon relied on brute strength, digging his fingers into the bark and inching up one step at a time.

Killua rode his lightning, leaping between protruding knots. He was the fastest.

Kurapika's chains flashed out, catching the sturdiest foothold every time.

Leorio brought up the rear, occasionally hauling up someone who couldn't climb any farther. Sweat poured