socalfunplaces Chapter 379 The Color of a Person
Chapter 379 The Color of a Person
Chapter 379 The Color of a Person
He knew it was useless. The soil was filled back in, but the roots were still there. The lime, the clay, and the seal were all just temporary fixes. The roots were more than a hundred meters underground, embedded in the rock strata, in the earth's veins, and beneath the entire land stretching from the western border to the southeastern border of the Land of Fire.
Perhaps not only the Land of Fire.
Perhaps the roots of the divine tree lie beneath the entire continent.
White mushrooms don't sprout from the ground. They grow from the roots. Just like mushrooms grow from mycelium, as long as the mycelium lives, the mushrooms will continue to grow.
Chi Quan turned around, walked to the campsite, sat by the fire, and drew his knife from behind his waist, placing it across his knees. The fire wasn't big, but it was warm on his face. He stretched his hands close to the fire, his fingers translucent in the firelight, revealing the scar between his thumb and forefinger that stretched from the back of his hand to his palm—red, raised, like a wound that hadn't fully dried.
Xiao walked over and sat down opposite him.
"Lord Chiquan."
"Um."
Do you think the White Zetsu have already appeared?
Chi Quan looked at the firelight.
"have no idea."
"If they've already come out, then—"
"Then kill them," Chi Quan said. "Kill them one by one, kill them all the way through. Kill them until they're completely withered."
Xiao remained silent for a while.
Will the roots wither?
Chi Quan didn't answer the question. Because he knew the answer, and so did Xiao. The roots wouldn't wither. As long as the Divine Tree remained underground, as long as the remnants of the Ten-Tails slumbered somewhere unknown to him, the roots wouldn't wither. You could kill White Zetsu, a thousand, ten thousand, but they would keep growing back. Like cutting chives, one crop after another grows back.
Chi Quan took the knife off his knees, pressed his thumb against it, and pushed it out of its sheath an inch. The blade flashed in the firelight, illuminating half of his face—pale, thin, with dark circles under his eyes.
He pushed the knife back.
"Owl".
"exist."
"Tomorrow, you will take some men and thoroughly search Pheasant Feather Valley. Use your Byakugan to scan every inch, from the surface to two hundred meters underground. Mark all abnormal reactions. Don't dig, just mark them first."
"Understood."
"I'm returning to Konoha to report to Lady Tsunade."
Xiao nodded. He stood up from the fire and went to arrange the night's sentry posts. Chi Quan sat alone by the fire; Akamaru wasn't there, Ya wasn't there, and Akamaru's little bundle of warmth wasn't in his arms. He looked down at the chest of his coat; it was empty, with only a few mud marks left by Akamaru.
He pulled his coat tighter, held the knife upright against his leg, and put his hands in his pockets. His left pocket was empty, but his right pocket contained half a rice ball, as hard as a rock, which he didn't take out.
The firewood in the bonfire collapsed halfway through its burning, sending sparks flying that flickered upwards in the darkness, extinguishing themselves at the height of pine branches. Chi Quan watched those sparks; their appearance and disappearance lasted anywhere from less than a second to two or three seconds.
He watched them perish.
Then I watched as new ones splashed up.
Then it went out again.
He sat there all night.
The next morning, Izumi returned to Konoha.
When he arrived at the Hokage Building, Tsunade was having breakfast. A bowl of rice, a bowl of miso soup, and a dish of pickled radishes. She paused for a moment when she saw Izumi push the door open and come in.
"You look even worse than when you left."
"The roots of a divine tree have been discovered in Pheasant Feather Valley," Chi Quan said directly without any pleasantries.
Tsunade put down her chopsticks.
Chi Quan described the situation in Pheasant Feather Valley: the grayish-white root-like substance underground, its depth, density, surface structure, and the abnormal reaction of the brand on the back of the neck. He spoke quickly, without any unnecessary words, as if reading a mission report.
After listening, Tsunade remained silent for a long time.
"The brand reacts to the Yan Water. Your brand cooled down in Pheasant Feather Valley, which means there is Yan Water there."
"right."
"The roots of the Divine Tree and the Derivative Water are unrelated. The Divine Tree is the Divine Tree, and the Derivative Water is a bloodline limit; they are two different systems."
"I know."
"Then why is your branding cold?"
Chi Quan leaned back in his chair, looking at the ceiling.
"Two possibilities. First, beneath Pheasant Feather Valley lies not only the roots of the Divine Tree, but also the Derivative Water. Someone buried the Derivative Water there, or it flowed there along underground water veins. Second—" He paused, "the roots of the Divine Tree are absorbing the Derivative Water."
Tsunade's pupils contracted slightly.
"The Divine Tree absorbs the Derivative Water? The Derivative Water is a bloodline limit, not chakra."
"The Divine Tree absorbs more than just chakra," Izumi said. "It absorbs life. Yan Shui is a living thing. Where there is water, there is life. The Divine Tree's roots spread underground, and when they encounter Yan Shui, it absorbs it as nutrients."
Tsunade stood up and walked to the window. The Hidden Leaf Village outside was quiet in the thin winter light; some people were sweeping the streets, some were hanging clothes to dry, and children were chasing each other in the alleys. Everything was the same as usual; nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
"If the Divine Tree Root can absorb the Water of Derivation, then it can also absorb other bloodline limits. Ice Release, Lava Release, Magnet Release, Wood Release 1," she turned around, "The essence of all bloodline limits is a special expression of life force. If the Divine Tree Root can treat them as nutrients, then it is not growing roots, it is eating."
"They're devouring the entire ninja world," Izumi said.
Tsunade placed her hand on the windowsill, her knuckles turning white.
Are you sure?
"I'm not sure. But I don't dare wait until I'm sure before I take any action."
Tsunade turned around, walked back to the table and sat down, pushing the bowl of now-cold miso soup aside.
"What do you want to do?"
"Two things. First, conduct a thorough investigation of any abnormal chakra activity underground within the Land of Fire. Use the Byakugan to scan every inch. Not just the borders, but the entire Land of Fire. Second—" Izumi paused, "Second, I need to see someone."
"Who?"
Orochimaru.
Tsunade frowned.
"Are you going to find Orochimaru?"
"He studied the Divine Tree. After the Fourth Shinobi World War, he obtained a sample of the Divine Tree's tissue. If anyone in this world knows how to kill the roots of the Divine Tree, that person is Orochimaru."
Tsunade gritted her teeth.
Orochimaru isn't in Konoha. He's at his base in the northern part of the Land of Rice Fields. And he might not even help you.
"He will help," Chi Quan said, "because he is also curious whether the divine tree can be killed."
Tsunade stared at him for a long time.
"Who are you taking with you?"
"I'm not bringing anyone. I'm going alone."
"no."
"Lady Tsunade—"
"What's the difference between you going to Orochimaru alone and suicide? Orochimaru won't kill you, but he'll keep you for experiments. You have two bloodline limits in your body, making you the perfect research material for him. What will you do if you go and he won't let you leave?"
Chi Quan remained silent for a second.
"Then I'll take his research findings with me."
Tsunade took a deep breath and then exhaled.
"I'll send Shikamaru with you. Shikamaru is smart enough. Even if Orochimaru is crazy, he'll be more normal when talking to intelligent people."
"Shikamaru is writing a plan for distributing farm tools."
"The farm tool allocation plan can be written two days later. You can die two days later if you want."
Chi Quan opened his mouth as if to say something, but then closed it again.
Tsunade stood up, walked to the door, opened it, and called out into the hallway.
"Shikamaru!"
Shikamaru's voice came from afar, coming from the end of the corridor. It sounded distant and muffled because it was separated by several doors.
"Here it comes, here it comes."
Footsteps approached. Shikamaru appeared in the doorway, a pen in his hand, a small ink stain on his sleeve. He glanced at Tsunade, then at Ikezumi, and tucked the pen behind his ear.
"What kind of mission are we going to have this time?"
"Go find Orochimaru," Tsunade said.
Shikamaru's pen fell off his ear. He bent down, picked it up, and put it back on his ear.
"Looking for Orochimaru? What for?"
"Kill the God Tree," Chi Quan said.
Shikamaru looked at him, waited a few seconds, and made sure he wasn't joking.
"Your injury hasn't healed yet."
"It has nothing to do with the injury."
"Your left hand stitches haven't been removed yet."
"It's been demolished."
Chi Quan unwrapped the bandage on his left hand, revealing his palm. The stitches had been removed, and the wound was healing well, but a deep, red scar was still visible, running diagonally from his palm across his lifeline and extending to his wrist. He opened and closed his left hand repeatedly.
"Can hold a knife."
Shikamaru looked at the scar on his palm without saying anything.
Tsunade slapped the table.
"Stop looking. Ikezumi, Shikamaru, we're leaving tomorrow. Prepare today. Shikamaru, go find out the latest location of Orochimaru's base, and Ikezumi, go to the medical department to get Shizune's medicine. You two have three days to be back. If you're not back, send a signal."
Chi Quan stood up.
"What if Orochimaru isn't at the base?"
"Then let's find it. We'll keep searching until we find it," Tsunade said. "The roots of the Divine Tree won't run away, but they will grow. Every day you delay, it grows an inch. Every year you delay, it grows from the western border to the gates of Konoha. By then, you won't need to look for Orochimaru anymore; Orochimaru will come to you himself—to see how Konoha was overturned from below by the tree roots."
Chi Quan tucked the sword back into his waistband and walked towards the door. Shikamaru followed behind him, and the two of them left the Hokage Building one after the other.
The corridor was quiet, and the morning sunlight streamed in through the windows, drawing bright squares on the floor. Izumi walked in front, and Shikamaru followed behind, their shadows stretched long by the sunlight, cast on the corridor floor like two parallel lines that would never intersect.
Shikamaru suddenly spoke.
"Chiquan."
"Um."
"You were talking to Lady Tsunade about White Zetsu, but you didn't finish."
Chi Quan didn't stop walking.
"What didn't you finish saying?"
"You said White Zetsu appeared. How many?"
Chi Quan remained silent for a few steps.
"They haven't appeared yet. But secretions from the White Zetsu have been found near the roots. They've hatched, but haven't come out to move around yet."
"It will come out."
"meeting."
"When?"
"I don't know. Maybe tomorrow, maybe next year. Maybe during these three days when we go to find Orochimaru."
Shikamaru put his hands in his pockets, pressed his thumb against the pen cap, and pressed it repeatedly, making a soft clicking sound.
"Then we need to hurry."
"Um."
The two stepped out of the Hokage Building, a blast of cold wind hitting them. Izumi's coat collar was turned up, billowing like a sail as the wind blew in. Shikamaru pulled his scarf up, covering half his face.
In the open space in front of the building, several children were playing tag. A little girl in a red cotton-padded jacket ran in front, her braids flying like two black butterflies. The boy chasing her was sweating profusely, two buttons of his jacket undone, revealing a plaid shirt underneath.
Chi Quan walked past them.
The little girl stopped, panting, and looked up at him.
Are you Uncle Chi Quan?
'
Chi Quan looked down at her.
"Yes."
The little girl took a piece of candy out of her pocket and handed it to him.
"Here you go. My mom said if you eat this candy you'll be afraid of bad guys when you go fight them."
Chi Quan looked at the candy. It was wrapped in cellophane, red, and shone like a small flame in the winter sun. He took it, didn't unwrap it, and put it in his coat pocket.
"Thanks."
The little girl smiled, turned around, and ran back to find the boy. Her braids flew up again, and the butterflies flew away.
Shikamaru stood to the side, watching Ikezumi put the candy into her pocket.
"How much stuff do you have in your pockets?" Shikamaru asked.
Chi Quan thought for a moment.
"Two rice balls. One piece of candy. And a cloth bag given to me by an old lady."
"When were the rice balls made?"
The day before yesterday.
"Is it still edible?"
"It's hard. But it's still edible."
Shikamaru glanced at him but didn't ask any more questions.
On the other side, in the Land of Fields, a northern stronghold.
The air underground was damp and cold, like a wet towel pressed against the skin. Every dozen or so steps, a lamp was embedded in the wall—not an electric light, but one of those small glass jars filled with some kind of liquid. The flames inside were blue-white, burning without smoke, but emitting a faint, sweet, fishy smell, like rotting fruit. The corridor was narrow, barely wide enough for one person to walk through. Pipes crawled along the walls on both sides—copper, iron, some unknown alloys—some as thick as a person's waist, others as thin as chopsticks. A fine layer of water droplets condensed on the surface of the pipes, shimmering in the blue-white light.
Kabuto walked at the front, the hem of his white coat swaying at his knees. His leather shoes clicked softly on the concrete, each step steady like a metronome. Behind him followed two masked figures—not the masks of the Dark Guard, but white ones, completely blank, smooth as two eggs. They walked silently, their breathing inaudible; if they weren't moving, one would mistake them for wax figures.
At the end of the corridor was a round iron door, like a bank vault door, with a large rotary handle in the center. Dou took out a bunch of keys from his pocket—not just one, but a dozen or so keys of varying sizes attached to a brass ring, jingling as he walked. He chose the third key, inserted it into the lock, turned it three times, heard a click from inside, then changed to the sixth key, turned it twice more, and changed again. Three keys, five and a half turns—the door opened.
The space behind the door was vast, resembling both a warehouse and a laboratory. The ceiling was so high that the light couldn't reach it, leaving behind a pure, thick darkness. The walls were lined with shelves filled with bottles and jars; some large jars contained whole human or non-human objects, while others were small, filled with strangely colored powders or liquids. In the center of the room was a stainless steel table, upon which lay something.
The shape of that thing resembled a person, but its color was not that of a person.