Main World.
Summer, Year 29 of Konoha.
Deep Forest Ancient Vine Star, Tree Domain Kingdom, Royal Palace.
The Royal Palace had not been "built," but "grown." The branches of ancient trees intertwined to form walls, vines wound together into roofs, and roots rose into steps. There were no bricks or stone, no timber, no metal. Only "living trees." But in the deepest part of the Royal Palace, there was a secret chamber. The chamber had not been "grown," but "dug." Roots had been severed, vines cleared away, and earth excavated. Glowing minerals were embedded in its walls-green jade marrow ore, wood-grained hardstone, and withered glory crystal. Their light intertwined in the darkness like a silent net.
At the center of the chamber was a cocoon. Translucent dark green, it resembled solidified tree sap, slumbering amber, sealed-away time. Fine patterns flowed across its surface like blood vessels, like roots, like the veins of the earth. A human figure was faintly visible inside. Neither its face nor its form could be made out, nor whether it was alive or dead.
The king stood before the cocoon, holding a scepter entwined with vines. His face was expressionless, but his eyes held an indescribable complexity-not sorrow, but "waiting." Behind him stood Toyotomi Yinglang. His moon-white Kariginu shone with a cold white sheen in the minerals' light. His gaze rested on the cocoon, calm and untroubled.
"May I ask how long your cultivators normally live?" Toyotomi Yinglang asked calmly.
The king fell silent for a moment.
"Two hundred years."
A faint smile curled Toyotomi Yinglang's lips.
"Why do I get the feeling... you have old monsters who've lived for five hundred years?"
The king's pupils contracted slightly. He turned to look at Toyotomi Yinglang. His eyes held wariness, surprise, and an understanding that said, "You