The Truth of Fishbeam Tree

Compared to the others, Masayo was the calmest. After putting everything away with storage scrolls, Kurenai Yuhi and Ebisu still could not calm down. It felt like a dream; the Will of Fire and everything else had been completely forgotten.

"Red Sis, Senior Ebisu, I suspect Fishbeam Village may have been making narcotics or something similar. We absolutely can't leave that scourge behind!"

The narcotics Masayo spoke of were what drugs were called in the world of Naruto. Their potency did not compare to those he remembered from his previous life, but they were just as harmful. He hated such things from the bottom of his heart.

Upon hearing this, Kurenai Yuhi and Ebisu also reined in their smiles. After the three left together, Masayo used his Wind Sense Technique to discover an active cellar containing more than a hundred crates of narcotics.

Masayo had guessed correctly. Fishbeam Village had been running this business in secret. Their greed had known no bounds, and in the end, they had been beguiled by the otherworldly monster Chi, leading to the deaths of the entire village.

Without the slightest hesitation, Masayo, Kurenai Yuhi, and Ebisu decided to destroy the batch of narcotics!

Of course, destroying drugs was not as simple as setting them on fire. One reason Masayo had disliked watching television dramas and movies in his previous life was this. So many directors treated viewers like fools, casually burning drugs. How could drugs possibly be burned directly? Were they all idiots? They could have done some research and looked up the relevant information beforehand, so the reason was obvious.

As the sun set, Masayo, Kurenai Yuhi, and Ebisu arrived at Fishbeam Forest. Earlier, Miroku had told Masayo that the answer lay within Fishbeam Forest.

Ebisu gently adjusted his sunglasses, but the smile on his face never faded. He was practically delirious with joy.

"Masayo, take it slow. Lady Miroku said before that you need to calm yourself. The truth is in Fishbeam Forest."

Kurenai Yuhi continued, "That's right. Ebisu and I will stand guard outside for you."

"Alright, I'll leave it to you two!"

Masayo vanished in a Body Flicker and appeared at the very center of Fishbeam Forest. He sat cross-legged, took a deep breath, and slowly calmed himself.

"Calm down. The answer is in this Fishbeam Forest!"

Masayo could not help muttering as he emptied his mind of all thoughts—sorrow, unease, and even the joy of gaining more than a billion in money—until his entire body was still.

Kurenai Yuhi and Ebisu stood guard outside Fishbeam Forest, ensuring Masayo would not be disturbed. They would have done so even before, let alone now that the three of them were on the same side.

By the latter half of the night, Kurenai Yuhi and Ebisu had begun taking turns watching over Masayo. It was now Kurenai Yuhi's turn.

Kurenai Yuhi sat before the campfire, her gaze occasionally drifting toward Masayo, who remained cross-legged at the center of Fishbeam Forest. Six hours had already passed, yet Masayo had not moved at all.

"Will Masayo become even stronger?"

Kurenai Yuhi murmured softly. She was now considering how to spend the enormous sum in her hands. Asuma's underground bounty was only thirty-five million ryo—how many Asumas' worth of money did she have?

Whoosh...

A cool breeze passed through. Under the moonlight, Fishbeam Forest seemed to sway as though dancing. The human faces growing from the trunks were particularly eerie, making one's scalp tingle.

Kurenai Yuhi raised her head. A full moon hung in the sky, dotted with starlight. The vast, boundless night sky caused a gleam to flash through her eyes.

"The moon is so round tonight!"

Kurenai Yuhi smiled. Her beauty was like a lotus rising from clear water, and her long black hair fluttered in the breeze, forming a breathtakingly beautiful scene.

Suddenly, Kurenai Yuhi's pupils constricted. She rubbed her eyes in disbelief, wondering if she had seen wrong. It seemed that the moon had just emitted a silver wave of energy.

"Did I see that wrong?"

The instant Kurenai Yuhi finished speaking, the Fishbeam Trees began to flicker with silver radiance. Streams of chakra suddenly erupted, forming a violent shockwave.

"It's chakra!"

Kurenai Yuhi, the campfire, and Ebisu, who was sleeping in the tent, were all blasted away in an instant.

Just before hitting the ground, Kurenai Yuhi twisted her body and landed steadily.

Ebisu, however, was not so fortunate. Still asleep, he suffered this unexpected disaster. By the time he came to his senses and woke up, it was already too late. He slammed face-first into the ground, leaving behind a large human-shaped crater.

Ebisu crawled out. Even under such circumstances, the sunglasses he always wore had not shattered. He shakily rose to his feet.

"W-what exactly is going on?"

Stillness. Calm himself. This was not difficult for Masayo. He had been patient enough to persevere for six years. Aside from training to build a solid foundation, he also took naps and rested. He particularly enjoyed sleeping in hammocks hung in the woods, because he possessed extraordinary affinity with the wind. He could learn Wind Attribute ninjutsu at a glance.

The wind blowing through Fishbeam Forest made Masayo feel incredibly comfortable, relaxing his body and mind as though the forest's breeze had carried him somewhere wondrous.

Suddenly, as though glass had shattered, unknown images imprinted themselves in Masayo's mind like slides.

"This... this is the origin of Fishbeam Forest!"

Within Masayo's mind, the slide-like images depicted a colossal God Tree. That God Tree transformed into a huge, one-eyed monster—ugly, indescribable, incomprehensible—with ten tails growing from its back. At the end of every tail was a hand like that of a human.

"The Ten-Tails, so that's how it is! No way... this Fishbeam Forest was actually once where the God Tree grew!"

Masayo clicked his tongue. He understood now. He understood why Chi had come here before. It had likely coveted the lingering power left within Fishbeam Forest.

The scene changed. Roots entrenched beneath the earth began to grow, and the God Tree's roots had once used humans as sacrifices. Those Fishbeam Trees were humans who had fallen under the Infinite Tsukuyomi but had not turned into White Zetsu!

Buzz!

Once the scene in his mind finished playing, it vanished like bubbles without leaving any trace. This was the truth Masayo had discovered through the Wind Sense Technique, as well as the secret of Fishbeam Forest.

In the outside world, Masayo opened his eyes and hurriedly stood. He used Wind Body Flicker repeatedly to leave Fishbeam Forest, landing beside Kurenai Yuhi and Ebisu, who was straightening his clothes.

"Ohohoho..."

Fishbeam Forest let out a trembling roar. Masayo, Kurenai Yuhi, and Ebisu hurriedly covered their ears as the Fishbeam Trees, amid mournful and resentful cries, turned into dust and vanished completely before the three of them.

Kurenai Yuhi said, "It disappeared. Fishbeam Forest is gone!"

Ebisu asked, "What happened? Masayo, why did Fishbeam Forest suddenly disappear?"

Masayo rubbed his slightly numb legs and gave a simple explanation. "These Fishbeam Trees were ghosts that could not return to the Pure Land. They have all departed now."

"What?!"

Kurenai Yuhi and Ebisu's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

"So the legends about Fishbeam Forest were actually about ghosts!"

Ebisu cried out in shock.

Kurenai Yuhi looked at Masayo worriedly and asked, "Masayo, did you find what Miroku spoke of?"

Masayo smiled and nodded. Besides learning the truth of Fishbeam Forest, the slides in his mind had also allowed him to see, from the God Tree's perspective, the complete training method for something identical to the Rasengan.