Uchiha Hikaru's faint interest in exploring vanished, and he instantly accelerated.
When he reached the true core, he saw a towering tree, as dreamlike as an illusion. Uchiha Hikaru was as tiny as an ant before it!
And upon closer inspection, the great tree was practically a living planet, complete with traces of an entire ecosystem upon it.
The awkward part was that countless fallen leaves and remnants were now floating around the tree.
Several thick branches had even snapped off completely.
From the side, they clearly had not decayed and fallen away on their own. They seemed to have been forcibly broken off, and blue, blood-like fluid was constantly flowing from the fractures.
"Wuwuwu..." Uchiha Hikaru seemed to hear a sound like human weeping.
It seemed that the great tree was in terrible pain from being so badly damaged.
One had to know that such cries might very well have come from the depths of its soul.
Even Uchiha Hikaru could not possibly torment such a powerful being into this state in such a short time.
A trace of apprehension rose in his heart.
Closing his eyes, Uchiha Hikaru spread out his senses, trying to see everything happening upon the tree and locate the battlefield.
Yet he could not sense anything at all!
That could only mean one thing: either the enemy had anti-detection abilities, or they were beyond the range of his senses.
Either way, they were fucking powerful!
With no other choice, Uchiha Hikaru followed the direction of the broken branches and searched one by one.
It was not easy to find. The traces of battle disappeared midway, but Uchiha Hikaru found an entrance leading into the interior of the tree.
Looking at the enormous hole before him, as though someone had opened a skylight, Uchiha Hikaru