Before she lost consciousness completely, the last sensation Shingetsu registered was Madara Uchiha lifting her into his arms. Hōkaku, Tōka, and several strangers kept shouting in her ears, but their voices sounded dull and hoarse, as though they had been crushed beneath wheels and hooves.
She had no idea how she endured it. Half her consciousness seemed to linger while the other half slipped away, and her body, too, seemed split in two. One half was being endlessly drained, while the other was continually shattered and rebuilt. Even in the deepest unconsciousness, the pain remained.
Amid this seemingly endless agony, Shingetsu's consciousness sank and fell, plummeting ever downward until it reached the very depths of her soul.
When her muddled consciousness cleared again, Shingetsu was already standing at the bottom of this sea of consciousness, seemingly abandoned by time.
On this desolate land, only a single strange tree stood firmly rooted. Unlike before, however, Shingetsu could clearly sense that the God Tree had grown again.
The God Tree she remembered as a tiny sapling had now become a small tree.
Shingetsu measured it with her hand and discovered that the God Tree, once shorter than she was, now towered well above her. That was hardly remarkable, though. This little tree was neither lush nor tall, but it stood straight and strong, already showing the beginnings of a towering giant.
Having absorbed enough chakra and yang power from Hashirama, the God Tree had entered a new growth cycle. It seemed to bask in the light of dawn, its branches covered in rich, vibrant green.
When Shingetsu approached, there was no wind in the consciousness space, yet the greenery stirred all the same. The rustling leaves seemed to welcome her arrival.
Looking at this wretched plant that had caused her so much suffering, Shingetsu no longer felt her old teeth-grinding hatred, much less the urge to chop it down.
After weathering this crisis together, Shingetsu discovered that she no longer disliked her annoying lodger quite so much. She had even begun to feel a sense of companionship.
Though the God Tree was as stingy as a capitalist and often took advantage of chaos to stir up trouble, it really had saved her life earlier and granted her tremendous power.
In that respect, this miserly, rotten tree had far more conscience than a capitalist. Though she had given up a great deal, at least she received something in return.
Besides, their lives had always been bound together. Neither could survive without the other.
At that thought, Shingetsu reached out and gently stroked the God Tree's rough, fish-scale-like bark. Looking at this companion that, in a sense, shared her roots and grew alongside her, she felt a vague swell of emotion.
"You've grown up, too."
When Shingetsu finally startled awake from her long slumber, she discovered that she was back in her bedroom, covered by a quilt, holding the Black Cat Plush in her arms, with a damp cloth warmed by her body heat resting on her forehead.
Outside the window, the breeze was gentle and the sunlight bright. Everything was so peaceful that the brutal battle still lingering in her mind seemed like nothing more than a nightmare.
She had no idea how long she had lain in bed. Shingetsu felt utterly wilted, her head muddled and her eyes hazy, as wan as a pear blossom about to wither in a storm. Yet her chest heaved violently, and in that instant of waking, she could not tell whether she was dreaming or back in reality.
"Mm..."
Shingetsu struggled to direct her unfocused gaze upward, but all she could see were broad patches of dull gray. Only after a long while did she finally recognize that the ashen expanse was the ceiling above her.
After struggling to catch her breath for a while, Shingetsu finally gathered a little strength and tried to push herself out of bed. But as her scattered vision came back into focus, she realized with a shock that scarlet death lines filled her sight!
These careless scrawls left by the god of death, deeper and clearer than before, stained her vision with clots of blackened red. Dizziness swept over her like a tide, and needle-sharp pain returned to her body, twisting her insides into knots.
Shingetsu's vision kept darkening. The world spun in a wild frenzy, and the limbs in which she had painstakingly gathered strength went utterly limp again, as though numb and unable to bear even their own weight. Instinctively, she wanted to call for help, but her weakened body could not muster the slightest strength, and her hoarse throat hurt too much to speak.
At that critical moment, an unfamiliar yet wonderfully compatible power arose from deep within her organs and flowed through her blood, easing the pain, dispelling the dizziness, and suppressing the Sharingan's sudden rampage.
At an unbelievable speed, Shingetsu's body, which moments earlier had seemed like an old machine about to fall apart, suddenly felt brand-new, as though someone had replaced every component inside and out.
When Shingetsu opened her eyes again, the maddening apocalyptic landscape before her had vanished completely.
The cool power in her blood had healed not only her weakened body but also the weakness in her limbs. Shingetsu climbed out of bed without trouble, vaguely recalled what had happened before she passed out, and lowered her head to stare at her hands in confusion.
Did I successfully awaken Wood Release?
The thought that such a rare, precious, powerful bloodline ability had awakened within her made Shingetsu feel like a lucky citizen who had suddenly won a million in the lottery. Beyond wild joy, she felt giddy and utterly incredulous.
The Wood Release the Senju Clan spent all those years hoping for awakened in me. Hehe, wouldn't Tobirama Senju be furious enough to drop dead if he heard?
Wahahaha, I really do have a protagonist's destiny!
Unaware that Tobirama Senju had indeed nearly died of rage, Shingetsu gleefully prepared to test her Wood Release at once. Her gaze roamed the room before finally settling on several dying plants on the balcony.
Wood Release was a ninjutsu that used the user's chakra as nourishment to make plants lying dormant in the earth grow rapidly.
Shingetsu walked over to the balcony and reached toward the potted plants there, feeding chakra into them as she imitated the sensation she remembered. When she felt her chakra, she startled herself. That gentle, vibrant chakra was completely different from its former cold, sinister feel!
It was this warmth that truly convinced Shingetsu she had awakened Wood Release.
Soon, the chakra brimming with life flowed through her hands into the plants she had nearly killed through her care.
Shingetsu controlled her chakra, urging the plants to grow rapidly and take on the form most familiar to her subconscious, the one she most desired.
Soon, the nearly withered plants shed their yellowed leaves and dead branches, sprouting lush vines and green foliage anew. Their tender new leaves stretched joyfully toward the sunlight.
The little plants, which had once huddled miserably inside their pots, soon outgrew them and threatened to take over the entire balcony. Tiny fruits appeared on their branches, quickly developing into little snow-white wild berries. As Shingetsu continued feeding in Wood Release chakra, they transformed before her astonished eyes into round, bright red, tantalizing fruits!
Th-these were-
Strawberries!!!
Shingetsu's eyes sparkled. Looking at the strawberries' vivid red color, she could not help swallowing. Her mouth watered uncontrollably, and her fiercely burning sweet tooth could not possibly resist such temptation.
Having only just awakened after sleeping for who knew how long, she was already ravenous. Unable to resist, she immediately picked a strawberry and moved to pop it into her mouth. But looking at that irresistibly tempting, enormous strawberry, she soon found herself torn.
Could I actually eat fruit grown with Wood Release?
Remembering how the strawberries' growth had clearly defied the laws of nature, Shingetsu shook her head worriedly, thinking she should at least test them before eating. But as their sweet fragrance reached her nose and she recalled their sweet-and-tart flavor, her mind suddenly went blank. By the time awareness returned, she had already stuffed a huge strawberry into her mouth and instinctively taken a bite.
Sweet and tart. So delicious!
Instantly casting all her troubles and worries aside, Shingetsu chewed in bliss. The strawberry's fragrance seemed to seep straight into her heart, rousing every craving in her belly. With delicate, absorbed, undivided attention, she bit into the strawberry, and cool, sweet-and-tart juice immediately filled her mouth.
Faced with these sweet, delicious strawberries, Shingetsu lost all self-control. She tossed one strawberry after another into her mouth without pausing for even a moment, completely forgetting that they were products of Wood Release.
Bang-
Just as Shingetsu was happily eating, the bedroom door swung open, revealing Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju behind it. Both froze at the sight of Shingetsu finally awake, but their surprise quickly turned to pure joy.
Madara Uchiha rushed forward almost immediately. His figure vanished before the other two's eyes, and an instant later, he appeared in front of Shingetsu and pulled her tightly into his arms.
Caught off guard by the embrace, Shingetsu, still clutching a strawberry, felt as though Madara Uchiha's arms were strong enough to crush her. She could barely breathe. But when she felt his body trembling slightly, guilt filled her heart. She raised her other hand, the one without a strawberry, and patted his shoulder with some difficulty.
"Master, I'm all right."
"..."
Madara Uchiha said nothing. He only held her tighter.
Seeing that his niece had finally stopped insisting on playing Sleeping Beauty after sleeping for nearly an entire month, Hashirama Senju had initially been delighted, too.
But when he saw the strange fruit clutched in Shingetsu's hand, the juice at the corner of her mouth, and the plants clearly grown with Wood Release, he let out a wail and rushed forward, interrupting the tender reunion between master and disciple.
"Shingetsu, you can't eat things grown with Wood Release! Spit it out!"
"I can't eat them?!"
Looking at Hashirama Senju's anxious face, Shingetsu's mind went blank. She stiffly turned to look at the strawberry plants she had already picked half bare. Remembering that every one of those strawberries was now in her stomach, she felt her stomach churn, as though the sky itself were about to collapse.
No wonder Hashirama Senju never used Wood Release to farm. He couldn't grow edible crops with it in the first place!
Before you continue