"Remember this feeling well, and don't let your mind wander." Bai Mo reminded Temari.
Although this was not something that could only be experienced once, the first time was certainly the most deeply imprinted on everyone's memory.
If Gaara and Temari wanted to increase their strength and become members capable of fighting the Ōtsutsuki Clan, then they absolutely had to master the offensive use of Natural Energy.
Otherwise, to an Ōtsutsuki who could absorb ninjutsu and chakra at will, they would just be human-shaped power banks.
Temari's ability was pure Wind Release.
If she didn't want her only highlight later on to be just fanning Uchiha Madara away, causing him to enter his second stage of ninjutsu, then she needed to take this seriously.
"I wasn't letting my mind wander..." Temari was about to stubbornly refute him, but she realized that Bai Mo's hand, which had been resting on her shoulder, had already slid down her arm and was now touching her hand, causing her body to instantly stiffen.
"Y-y-you, what are you doing?!"
"You can't move right now; I'm helping you open your fan."
Unlike Gaara controlling sand just now, Temari was accustomed to using her Three-Star Fan for her Wind Release. Since she couldn't move now, Bai Mo naturally had to grab her hand to open and swing the fan.
Whoosh—Bai Mo, holding Temari's hand, swung out a hurricane.
The wind centered on Bai Mo and the others, continuously expanding.
The surrounding sand was constantly being swept up into it.
In the Blood Dragon Eye arc, a Bloodline Limit shinobi from the Land of Water appeared, specializing in Typhoon Release.
His displayed ability was that, when fully exerted, he could block a single slash from Sasuke's Susano'o for a few seconds.
That name seemed a bit wasted on him.
When this Typhoon Release shinobi was young, because of his Typhoon Release, he was treated as the source of disaster, bullied, and driven out of the Village.
It could only be said that he was truly wronged.
The energy contained in the smallest typhoon in just one hour would be equivalent to the explosion of thousands of atomic bombs.
His Typhoon Release was essentially just a slightly more powerful Wind Release, without any other special effects.
The only difference was that his Wind Release was obtained through an innate bloodline.
A Bloodline Limit is not necessarily acquired innately, but what is acquired innately is definitely a Bloodline Limit.
In short, if there absolutely had to be a "Typhoon Release," then the Wind Release currently being utilized by Bai Mo, while manually controlling Temari, was the only power that could barely be called Typhoon Release.
This was the true might of Natural Energy.
One minute later.
Bai Mo and his group descended onto the bedrock below.
—They were located in the eye of the storm and indeed suffered no attack, but the sand beneath their feet began to collapse and sink as the surrounding sand was swept away.
At this moment, only a thin layer of sand remained beneath them.
But everyone's attention was focused on something else.
After the sand was cleared, a massive root system was revealed before their eyes.
At the tip of the root system was the seal of the Dragon Veins.
"This is a severed root of the Divine Tree. Now we understand what the Dragon Veins are all about."
Bai Mo put down Temari, whom he had held during the descent, and stepped forward to examine it.
He pressed his hand onto it and sensed its depth.
This root extended very deep into the bedrock.
"What is going on here?" Gaara asked seriously.
This concerned the lifeblood of the Land of Wind, and he could not afford to ignore it.
A tree root plunging deep underground, combined with the story Bai Mo had previously told about the Sage of Six Paths's mother planting the tree, gave him a bad premonition.
"It's pretty much what I previously speculated."
Bai Mo turned around and looked at everyone. "This root system of the Divine Tree broke off here, and over the millennia, it has continuously absorbed the Natural Energy of this land, preventing the land from self-repairing. That is why the Land of Wind has always been a desert."
"What?! Are you saying that without this thing, the Land of Wind could have been as fertile as the Land of Fire ages ago?" Temari asked in astonishment.
"That's the gist of it."
Bai Mo nodded.
The Shinobi World's Earth was just that special.
The fruit born from the Natural Energy of a small area of the Land of Wind was enough to cause a qualitative change in Ōtsutsuki Kaguya's strength.
If this root system hadn't remained here, preventing the Land of Wind region from self-repairing, the Shinobi World might have directly become a sustainable tree-planting plantation.
Of course, the Ōtsutsuki Clan would never think that way; they would only think that since the Shinobi World's Earth was so powerful, the fruit obtained by draining it all at once would definitely be even stronger.
"Actually, there's one more thing, which is somewhat ironic."
Bai Mo looked up at the sealed area above, thought of something, and suddenly smiled.
"Huh? What is it?" Temari was curious.
"Actually, after the Sage of Six Paths's biological mother ascended, even if this thing had truly broken off underground, it would have withered and rotted away in the ground shortly after losing its power source.
But I don't know which genius at the time set up a seal above it, forcibly blocking the life essence from draining out of this root.
As a result, this root system functioned like the Divine Tree, continuously absorbing the Natural Energy from this region and converting it into chakra for millennia.
The massive amount of chakra filling its roots led people to mistake it for the 'lifeblood of the Earth,' or the Dragon Veins."
Bai Mo had already guessed part of this outcome.
After all, since the Dragon Veins contained "chakra," it was fundamentally impossible for them to have formed naturally.
"So what do we do now?" Gaara asked.
"Pull the root out and destroy it."
Bai Mo provided the solution. "If we don't deal with it, even if you master the ability I just demonstrated for you, which can accelerate the recovery of the land, it will be like trying to put out a fire with a cup of water.
It would be like draining water from a pool while simultaneously adding water.
Conversely, if we eliminate it, the land will eventually recover, even if we do nothing, provided there is no other external interference."
"The Dragon Veins contain so much chakra; destroying it directly will cause a natural disaster, won't it?" Gaara frowned deeply.
"That's right, the local legends weren't wrong about that point. Destroying the Dragon Veins will indeed cause the ground to collapse. Therefore, before destroying it, it's best to absorb as much of the chakra inside as possible."
Just as Bai Mo finished speaking, he saw Uchiha Hikari walking silently toward the root.
As she raised her hand, preparing to press it against the root, Bai Mo appeared in front of her, and her hand landed on Bai Mo's chest.
"Uchiha Great-Grandma, you are not alone now. Don't always think about bearing everything by yourself. Discuss it with everyone; how do you know there isn't another solution?"
Bai Mo grabbed the hand pressed against his chest and slowly lowered it.
"You are right, I... Wait a minute, what did you call me?!"
Hikari was preparing to apologize with a look of shame, but she suddenly froze.
"Is there a problem?" Bai Mo shrugged innocently.
"...No. Pro. Blem!"
Uchiha Hikari gritted her teeth, let out a huff, stomped her foot, and ran off to sulk on the side.
She was clearly still a young girl, both physically and psychologically, yet just because she was senior in lineage, she was called Great-Grandma. It was outrageous!
....
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