From the fact that White Zetsu Tobi could also use Wood Release, the decisive factor seemed to be the Divine Tree. Asura and Hashirama, as Asura's reincarnation, had inherited something from it. There was even an existence called Otsutsuki Shibai in old records, who became a god by consuming countless Chakra Fruits and gained Divine Techniques that could be called rules.
Perhaps Divine Trees and Chakra Fruits grown in different worlds were different complex formulas, and consuming them was a way of completing oneself. Turning oneself into a formula, even into data, in order to grasp the concepts and rules of the world. It was a mad guess, and if others knew it they would surely think it absurd.
But when everyone thinks you are insane, that means you are not far from the truth of the world.
"Let me verify it," Yunchuan Hyuga narrowed his eyes and silently willed the extraction of the core formula of Wood Release from the White Zetsu and the flesh, and to fill it into his own Otsutsuki Bloodline. The response came back, saying it could not be manifested.
He frowned, wondering whether his guess was wrong or whether it was because it could not act directly on himself. Objects could be manifested, Ninjutsu could be manifested, but bloodlines could not. After a long pause, he raised his head with a glint in his eyes and adjusted the command, to manifest the extraction of the underlying formula of Wood Release from the flesh and the White Zetsu and convert it into a technique.
He added that the cost should not exceed 4254 points, since he only had 14254 left and needed to be careful. The voice in his mind hesitated briefly before continuing, saying it would cost 4500 Reality Points and asking for confirmation. He pursed his dry lips, noted the pity of it, and agreed to manifest.
Another prompt confirmed the deduction, leaving his Remaining Reality Points at 9704. In the next instant, the world before his eyes changed. Countless fine, cold threads emitting faint glows of different colors filled his vision, and the world shed its familiar shape to become a vast, precise structure woven from flowing, intertwining threads that were constantly forming and vanishing.
Feeling the chill as some threads brushed across his face, he realized they represented the concept of wind. Everything was merely phenomena produced by these threads operating under specific rules, things he could not yet touch or change. Until he noticed, in the crack between two walls, a patch of vivid green and a stem extending downward several times longer than expected.
It was just a wild blade of grass, no bigger than the tip of a needle, fragile and weak. Two pale yellow leaves clung stubbornly to life in the narrow crack, surviving on meager nutrients in a struggle destined to end early. Feeling something stir, Yunchuan Hyuga reached out and gently touched it.
In the next moment, it was as if he had plucked a string. The feeble grass instantly spread its withered leaves, shedding their dull color and turning a lively green. The thin stem shot upward, more leaves sprouting and unfurling, while roots extended downward and branched at a frantic pace.
At that moment, Yunchuan Hyuga finally understood what he had gained. It was an instruction, an instruction that interfered with rules. It was incredibly weak for now, but it touched the essence of the world. Growth.
This was divine authority, a primordial divine technique. The core inherited by Wood Release from the Divine Tree was actually a rule of the world itself. As he stood there stunned, another notification suddenly sounded in his mind.
It declared that his lie had been judged as deception on a grand scale, causing Gamamaru to experience intense emotional fluctuation and reach a state of shock and doubt, granting him 8000 Reality Points. His Remaining Reality Points soared to 17754.
Looking at the suddenly skyrocketing points, Yunchuan Hyuga was completely stunned. He wondered what lie he had even told, and then froze as he realized the name Gamamaru. The old toad who liked to play at being mysterious.
Northwest of the Land of Rain lay Iwagakure in the Land of Earth. High mountains and rolling hills ringed the area, forming a natural fortress around a secret stronghold tied to Zetsu. This terrain became a natural barrier that protected Iwagakure from the outside.
At a glance, as far as the eye could see, the village buildings were mostly forged from stone and took on a dark gray tone. The structures looked heavy and solid, matching the harsh land they stood on. Everything gave off a sense of endurance shaped by rock and dust.
At this moment, cries of pain echoed nonstop from inside the hospital of Iwagakure. The sounds rose and fell in waves, making passersby slow their steps. It was clear that someone inside was suffering badly.
"Ow, my waist! Easy, easy! Ah!"
"Tsuchikage-sama, please hold on a little longer! It will be done soon!"
On the hospital bed, several nurses pinned down the limbs of a short old man, while a large and sturdy head nurse pressed firmly against his lower back. The old man buried his face in the pillow and struggled, his body tense under their hands. His protests only grew louder as they worked.
"You make it sound so simple, I… ow!!"
kacha!
With a crisp sound, the short old man suddenly lifted his head from the pillow and let out a howl mixed with pain and relief. His eyes widened as the sensation shot through his body. The sound echoed sharply through the room.
"All done."
The head nurse clapped her hands with practiced ease and looked at the old man lying face down, smiling helplessly. Her tone carried a hint of complaint as she spoke. "Tsuchikage-sama, please stop moving around."
"Your last back injury has not healed yet. We told you to rest in the hospital, you refused, and we told you again to recover properly at home. It has only been a few days and you hurt your back again. You really do not take care of yourself."
If she had not said it, no one would have believed that this old man lying on the bed, groaning softly in discomfort, was the Third Tsuchikage of Iwagakure. His current state made him look more like a stubborn patient than a legendary figure. Age showed clearly in every movement he made.
As the grandson of the First Tsuchikage and the direct disciple of the Second Tsuchikage, his strength was once considered overwhelming. He bore the name Onoki of the Two Scales, mastered Earth Release, and could even use Kekkei Tota above ordinary Kekkei Genkai, known as Dust Release. Even so, he could not escape the slow erosion of time.
"What do you know?"
Feeling that his authority had been challenged, Onoki wrinkled his large red nose and forced himself upright as he complained loudly. "I am not even eighty yet. I am still in my prime. This little injury is nothing worth mentioning."
"Iwagakure cannot function without me. You… ow!"
While Onoki continued to rant, the burly head nurse ignored him and directly fixed a brace onto his lower back. The sudden pressure made the old man cry out again. His voice cracked as the pain surged.
"Yes, yes, Tsuchikage-sama. Everyone in Iwagakure knows you are our pillar."