Later in Night,
Whoosh…
Izuna jumps on the top of the roof.
"Light Release: Camouflage Cloak"
He hides his presence as he surveys the village.
'There is nothing noteworthy about this village, maybe except that giant-ass tree.'
Izuna turns towards the giant tree in the center of the village.
The tree is lit up with a faint blue hue as shallow moonlight shines on the tree.
Izuna raises his head and stares at the almost round moon visible from the giant crack in the mountain.
Two villagers are continuously pumping their chakra into the tree.
'Earlier, while pumping chakra in this tree, I noticed the unusual flow of chakra. The tree directs only a small percent of the chakra towards the barrier, it directs the rest somewhere else. Either these villagers are scheming something or they are being used by someone else.'
Izuna shakes his head.
Swoosh…
He takes out the intel scroll from his scroll.
"9 o'clock from the tree will lead to a small stream; move along the stream and a small cave will appear in vision.
There is a small pond in the stream filled with glaze snow lilies. Dive in the pond.
There is a small secret passage hidden at the bottom of the pond. Enter the passage and swim for five minutes.
After five minutes, a small exit will appear which will lead you to the other side of the pond. Meet me on the night of the full moon, I will wait for you there."
"It's still three days before the day of the full moon. Maybe till then, I can research this village."
'Sharingan'
He activates his Sharingan and jumps on top of another house.
Whoosh…
In a small house at the other end of the Shangri-La Village,
"I have an odd feeling about this village."
Konan gazes out of the window as she looks at the giant tree in the center of the village.
"Somehow, this giant tree reminds me of the God tree from the Legend of the Sage of Six Paths."
Being a part of Akatsuki. she has paid close attnetion to the history of the shinobi world especially with the emergence of Izuna Uchiha. Akatsuki has been stifled to the point that they dare not make a move after the previous Uchicha Incident. Thus, to seek advantages she had turned to shinobi history to seek some legends and myths.
Scribble… scribble…
Konan manipulates some paper sheets and creates a replica of the giant tree.
Scribble… scribble…
She manipulates more papers and creates another paper origami of a giant tree.
"Madara revealed the details of the plans to Nagato. But… Nagato never mentioned the details to me."
Whoosh…
A gust of wind blows as an enchanting fragrance wafts in the air.
Konan closes her eyes as the image of a young Nagato and Yahiko appears in her memories.
"YAHIKO! You left me all alone in this cruel world."
A teardrop drips from her eyes as her hair flutters in the wind.
"Yahiko! Nagato… I was the support that holds our bridge up. Yet, unknowingly I became the weak link which led to the collapse of that bridge."
She closes her eyes as the memories of Yahiko's death floods her mind.
The enemy captured and held her as a hostage, forcing Nagato and Yahiko in a disadvantageous position.
"At your deathbed… I made a promise to myself!... A promise to never leave Nagato's side; no matter the circumstances."
Swoosh…
Konan takes out a small orange paper flower.
"But… but Yahiko… I failed the promise. Nagato has become an empty husk devoid of emotions."
More tears fall from her eyes as she continues to reminisce about her past.
"With each passing day… Why do I always feel like Nagato is getting farther and farther away from me? Why do we have to shoulder the burden of world peace?"
Sob… sob…
Konan hugs the orange flower to her bosom as she lets out her emotions.
"Yahiko! I miss you. I feel empty without you. There is no such thing as hope in this world, only pain and suffering. If only was not so useless back then."
Haah…
She wipes her tears and returns to her emotionless state.
Swish… swish…
She makes some hand signs and releases a handful of paper butterflies from the window.
The butterflies flutter through the window and disperse in the village.
"I have to gather the intel on this village. There seems to be something suspicious about this village."
She makes a hand sign and controls the movements of the butterflies.
Whoosh…
Izuna jumps on top of another house as he records the true identity of the resident in his memory.
"No matter what technique you use to hide your identity, I can see through it with my eyes."
He turns towards another house as he uses his X-ray vision to peer in the house. He notices a pair of husband and wife in the house.
Fwish…
The wife has a whip in her hand as she whips her half-naked husband.
"WOW! Now that's a rare sight. The wife is an S, and the husband is an M."
He turns towards another house.
Hmm…
"Interesting… now that's something unusual. I can see two different people in this house, but both of them have the same chakra signature but have different physical bodies. Is that a shadow clone?"
"Mangekyo Sharingan"
He activates his Mangekyo Sharingan to see through the clone.
"Oh! So, that's how it is. No wonder he can fool these villagers.
Mud Release!… he possesses the unusual Mud Release Kekkei Genkai. It is a nature transformation of Water Release and Earth release, the same as Wood Release; but the chakra proportion of Mud Release and Wood Releases are different.
Wood Release is so famous and legendary. Courtesy of First Hokage, that the Mud Release is considered a hoax. I never expected to come across it here of all places."
He copies the details of the Mud Releases with his Mangekyo.
'Though, I won't use it. But maybe it might help me in some rainy days.'
Swoosh…
A gust of wind blows as an enchanting fragrance wafts in the air.
Sniff…
The fragrance enters his body as a feeling of sorrow and guilt overcomes him. He tries to resist the feeling.
'What?!… what is this?'
He raises his guard and warily looks around.
'Is it some sort of genjutsu? But I am immune to most types of genjutsu thanks to my Sharingan!'
He continues to look around for the source of the fragrance. His gaze stops on the pond located in the center of the village, near the giant tree.
Swoosh…
The glaze snow lilies flutter in the wind as they release small microscopic pollens in the air.
"I see."
Izuna activates his micro vision as he inspects his body. There are various microscopic white pollens stuck in his lungs and windpipe.
The pollens have a purple hue as they release a strange chakra in his body.
"These glaze snow lilies are the source of all trouble. During the day, these lilies release pollens which induce happiness, and during the night the pollens induce sorrow and remorse."
Swish… swish…
He makes some hand signs as purple lightning flickers in his hand.
Bzzz…
He infuses the purple lightning in his body.
Cough… cough…
He coughs out black smoke from his nose and mouth.
"I hate this method, but at least it gets the job done."
He gets rids of all the pollens from his body.
"I have never heard or read about such kind of flower in any archives. Not even the land of Medicine has any information on them."
Aaah…
"Harder… Harder Daddy Harder!…"
"…"
Loud moans fill his ears as he slowly turns towards the house with the couple.
The Husband whips his wife as she moans loudly.
"My eyes… WHAT DID I SEE?!"
Izuna rubs his eyes as he is flabbergasted by the situation.
"What the heck? This pollen reversed their personality. Now the husband is an S, and the wife is an M.
Scary!!… This flower is scary. I will pick a few samples of this flower to research them."
Whoosh…
He flickers away towards another house.
An hour later,
He returns to his house and dispels the camouflage.
"This village is more interesting than I imagined.
First is this mysterious tree located in the center of the village. Then there is this weird flower of deceit that influences emotions. What other secret does this village hide?"
He muses to himself.
"There are exactly sixty-nine people in this village, including us. Most of them are deserters who fled here in the hope of a better life. Almost all of them are in Bingo Book and have a huge bounty on their head.
But!!… What I never expected was to come across Konan here? I wonder what Akatsuki is up to?"
Sob… sob…
"Angel-san… please relive me from this pathetic life. I am a monster who has killed countless people. Please kill me."
Kimimaro grabs his legs and wails in sorrow.
Sigh…
'I see. So, this flower has a different effect on different people. For some, it brings out their insecurities and manipulates their behaviors.
For others, it manifests their worst fears. Truly, a scary flower.'
Bzzz…
Purple lightning flickers through his right hand as he places it on Kimimaro's chest.
"It might hurt a little, but bear with it."
Three days pass in the blink of an eye,
On the night of the full moon,
Whoosh…
Izuna flickers out of his house as the full moonlight casts its serene brilliance on the village.
'The moon seems to be a bit bigger today.'
Izuna raises his head and takes a glance at the moon.
"It's about time to meet with the informant."
He flickers towards the pond as various thoughts pop in his mind.
'After spending four days in this village, I am unable to solve the mystery of this village.
The more I ravel about this village, the more mysterious it becomes. Given the nature of this village, so far… I can't trust anything here.'
Izuna takes out the intel scroll from his pocket.
'This scroll seems to be nothing more than a farce, but I am curious to learn about the nature of this village. Still, I will take some precautionary measures."
Izuna closes his eyes and stretches his right hands in front of him.
"Shinra Banshō"
Five dense purple orbs manifest in his palm.
Swoosh…
He wills the orbs to float behind him.
'To a certain extent these orbs are infused with an extent of my will; so, they can operate autonomously to protect me.'
Whoosh…
Izuna hides his presence as he flickers towards the designated location.
--
Swish… swish…
Multiple paper butterflies gather on top of a house in the village. The butterfly morphs into Konan.
She takes out a scroll from her pocket.
'It's about time to meet with the informant.'
Whoosh…
The butterflies disperse as Konan disappears from her place.
--
Hmm…
Izuna appears near the pond marked on the map. Multiple glaze snow lilies are floating in the pond as they shine with a fitful silvery hue.
'The passage is beneath this lake.'
Swish…. Swish…
He makes some One-hand signs.
'Water Release: Air Water Bubble'
Izuna forms a water bubble around his body as he dives into the pond.
Swirl…
The water swirls around him as he propels forward.
'This pond is quite large than I expected. It is more of a lake than a pond.'
Izuna continues to travel across the pond as he surveys the pond. After diving deeper for a while, a small water passage appears in front of him.
'This must be it.'
Whoosh…
The water-air bubble wraps around his body as he enters the passage.
Haah…
Izuna exits from the other end of the passage in yet another pond.
Swoosh…
A deep, enchanting fragrance greets him.
Hmm…
'These are…'
Whoosh…
He jumps out of the water as various glaze snow lilies are floating in the pond.
"No… something is different about them."
Izuna scrutinizes them.
'The number of petals differs from the previous ones. There were 20 petals in the previous lily, whereas this has 23 petals. Also, there is a pink hue on their petal tips compared to the other lilies.'
Izuna picks up the lily as he inspects it curiously.
'Its fragrance differs greatly from the previous flower.'
"Sharingan!"
He activates his Sharingan to look for the pollens of the lily.
"Hmm… No pollens!! That's quite surprising."
Swoosh…
Izuna stores the lily in his storage scroll and walks deeper into the passage.
--
After half an hour,
"What's going on? I have yet to arrive at the marked location."
Izuna's expression turns ugly as he warily looks around.
"Is this some sort of genjutsu? I feel like I am moving in circles."
He activates his Mangekyo Sharingan and inspects his chakra flow.
"My chakra flow is normal. I can't see any disruption in my chakra. Then what else could it be?"
Swish… swish…
Izuna makes some hand signs.
'Light Release: Light Sabre'
He creates a light saber.
Buzz… sizzle…
Izuna carves a symbol on the wall of the passage as he moves forward.
"At least this way, I won't move in circles. Time to move forward."
Half an hour later,
Whoosh…
He reappears at the same place as the symbol appears in his vision.
"Hmm… so I am moving in circles."
Izuna closes his eyes as he tries to sense the surrounding space.
'I will just teleport back to the village.'
"It's odd. I can't sense my seals. There seems to be a powerful barrier distorting my sense of time and space."
He opens his eyes and takes a deep breath.
'I don't know what sort of trouble I have invoked, but I don't have time to waste here.'
Izuna stretches his arm and wills the Shinra Banshō orb.
Whoosh… whirl…
The orb changes slightly as a small ring appears around it.
Izuna points it towards the ceiling of the passage.
BOOOMM*
The orb drills a hole through the ceiling.
Whoosh…
Izuna jumps out of the hole.
ROOOAARRR*
An intense scram of agony greets him as the deafening roar rings in his ears.
Rumble… rumble…
The ground beneath Izuna trembles and he loses his balance.
Shoom…
Izuna infuses some chakra in his feet and sticks to the wall.
"What the hell?! What's going on?"
Izuna activates his Mangekyo Sharingan as he inspects the walls of the passage.
Slosh… slosh…
The rock walls of the passage transform into flesh as various veins appear on them.
Thump… Thump… Thump…
A loud heartbeat echoes in the surrounding.
Splash…
A rapid stream of blood flows through the body of the giant creature.
Whoosh…
Izuna jumps and hangs on the ceiling as he avoids the gust of blood.
Slosh…
The hole in the wall regenerates quickly as the wound closes.
"This… this looks like a blood circulatory system of some kind of giant creature."
ROOOAARR…
Another roar echoes in the surrounding. Izuna closes his ears as the roar disrupts his senses, leaving him dizzy.
"What a powerful sound-based attack? This roar was infused with an enormous amount of chakra. I have to quickly get out of this place?"
Swoosh… swoosh…
Izuna directs his Shinra Banshō orbs towards the inner walls of the creature as he creates one hole after another in the creature's body.
ROOOARR…
The creature screams in agony as its inner blood vessels explode one after another.
Slosh… Slosh…
The blood vessels regenerate rapidly as Izuna jumps quickly out of the body of the beast.
Whoosh…
He breaks through the outer shell of the beast and lands on top of its body.
Rumble… Rumble…
The giant monster shakes its body rapidly to ease the pain.
Hmm…
Izuna inspects the outer shell of the beast.
"This shell is made of the mountain rock. Let me take a clear look at it."
Whoosh…
Izuna flies in the air. After reaching enough altitude, he takes a clear look at the form of the beast.
"Holy Shit! This is a giant mountain Torterra."
Izuna levitates in the air as the giant creature appears in his vision.
Rumble… Rumble…
Dust and debris rise in the air as the giant creature slowly stands up.
There is a giant tree on the back of the creature and there are three stony extensions in the shape of mountain peaks on the creature's stony shell.
The creature has large red beady eyes with black rims around them. The mouth of the creature is jagged, giving it an appearance of a giant turtle. Its legs are thick and have four toes in the shape of jagged stones.
ROAARRR…
The creature releases another powerful roar as it searches for the source of its suffering.
Rumble… Rumble…
It lifts its rocky neck and notices Izuna floating in the air.
ROAR…
Anger blazes in its eyes as it notices the purple orbs floating being Izuna.
Shoom…
The creature opens its mouth as it gathers large amounts of chakra in its mouth. Large numbers of red and dark blue chakra orbs gather around its mouth as it compresses them into a small orb.
"Crap! It is about to fire a tailed-beast bomb."
Whoosh…
Izuna directs his Shinra Banshō orbs to stop the beam.
BOOOOOMMM*
The orbs and the tailed beast collide with each other as a giant explosion rises in the air.
BOOOM…
Shockwaves travel through the air as it hurls Izuna into the sky.
Whoosh… Shoom…
Izuna topples in the sky as he continues to gain altitude.
"Susanoo"
Giant silver humanoid constructs with golden bracers and shoulder pads form around Izuna and he regains balance.
Whoosh…
The Susanoo opens its wings, and it flies towards the giant turtle-like creature.
BOOM…
The giant turtle is pushed back by the explosion and it slams into a nearby mountain.
Swoosh…
Izuna reappears in front of the creature as he maintains a safe distance from the creature.
"I don't know if you can understand me or not, but I need to know where are the residents of the Shangri-La village."
'Kimimaro is still in the village. I can't abandon him after coming this far.'
ROAR…
The creature angrily roars at Izuna as its eyes turn a darker shade of red.
Rumble… Rumble…
The ground trembles as the creature charges towards Izuna.
"Fine! I will search for them myself."
The Susanoo unsheathes its Katana as it points it towards the charging beast.
"Reality Slash"
'Reality Slash'
The Susanoo swings its giant Katana towards the creature.
BOOMM…
The Katana releases a massive surge of chakra which travels through the ground, parting a major chunk of land in half. The swing of the blade forms a bottomless rift as the chakra wave travels towards the giant turtle.
BOOM… BOOM…
Large pillars of black flames rise from the ground.
BANG…
The blast hurls the beast in the air.
BOOM…
The giant turtle topples over and lands sideways on its body.
BAM… BAM…
The Susanoo slowly walks towards the giant turtle and points its Katana towards the turtle's neck.
'This giant turtle is similar to 'Genbu' of Kumogakure. I wonder if it is related to the island turtle of Kumo.'
Izuna scrutinizes the giant turtle and wonders about the possibility.
'Shinobi World is truly wondrous. This mountain turtle and the island turtle of the Kumogakure are even more ancient than the history of the shinobi itself.
They must be at least 10,000 years old, or perhaps even older.'
He shakes his head and threatens the giant turtle.
"Listen! I don't have any feud with you, but I need to know the location of Shangri-La village. The village was supposed to be somewhere on your back, but I can't sense the chakra signature of the villagers.
Tell me where are they and I won't harm you further."
Izuna questions the giant turtle as he thinks about Kimimaro.
'I can't sense my Flying Thunder God seal on Kimimaro. There are only two possibilities, either there is a powerful space-time barrier disrupting the space or someone has tempered with my seals and erased it.'
ROAR…
The giant turtle roars angrily as it struggles to gain balance. The turtle angrily stares at Izuna as it opens its mouth wide.
Swoosh…
Dark red and blue chakra bubbles gather around its mouth as the beast charges up another tailed-beast bomb.
"Very Well…"
Whoosh… Bang…
The Susanoo flickers on top of the turtle and kicks its head, preventing it from charging up the attack.
"Since you won't cooperate, I can only get rid of you to prevent any further catastrophe to the land."
Swish…
The Susanoo lifts its giant Katana and swings it towards the turtle's neck.
"ANGEL-SAN! STOP!!"
A loud yell echoes in Izuna's ear as Kimimaro jumps out from behind the giant turtle's back.
Huff… huff…
Kimimaro pants heavily as he lies against a giant rock on the turtle's back. His clothes are badly tattered and there is dust and dirt smudged on his body.
Swoosh…
Izuna disperses his Susanoo as he flickers to Kimimaro.
"Are you ok?!"
Izuna notices the haggard appearance of Kimimaro.
"What happened to you?!"
Izuna inspects Kimimaro's body.
"Angel-san! Please don't hurt this turtle."
Kimimaro begs Izuna.
'There are no injuries on his body.'
Sigh…
Izuna takes a deep breath as he uses Mystic Palm Technique to heal Kimimaro's wounds.
The wounds on Kimimaro's skin close as glow returns to his body.
"Thank you, Angel-san!"
"It's ok."
Izuna shakes his head and asks him.
"Describe the entire incident to me. Tell me what happened after my departure?"
"Yes, Angel-san!… But before that…"
Kimimaro turns towards the giant turtle.
Whoosh… whoosh…
Kimimaro jumps towards the giant turtle's ears and whispers something.
Hmm…
Izuna curiously stares at their interaction.
"Don't tell me… Kimimaro can somehow communicate with this giant turtle."
ROAR…
The giant turtle releases another roar as it turns towards Izuna.
The giant turtle nods its head as Kimimaro continues to whisper something in his ears.
Rumble… Rumble…
The giant turtle lies down on the ground.
Whoosh…
Kimimaro flickers towards Izuna.
"Angel-san… please help this giant turtle. He is in so much pain. Please help him."
Hmm…
"About that… explain everything in detail to me. I would like to know each and everything before I take any action."
ROAR…
The giant roars and nods his head.
"Angel-san… After your departure, a strange scent spread throughout the entire village. Before I could react to it, my head felt dizzy, and I lost my consciousness."
Hmm…
Izuna nods his head.
"It might be the work of those glaze Snow lilies. Maybe they induced some sort of genjutsu and induced sleep in the villagers…" Izuna remarks as he ponders.
'But who could be the instigator of these events? Is it Akatsuki? The image of Konan appears in his mind.
It could be them, or else why would Konan appear in a remote place like this village. But what could be their motive? I have shut down their activities and suppressed them."
Izuna ransacks his thoughts as he signals Kimimaro to continue.
"… Later, I regained consciousness and found myself tightly bound in a giant metal cage with the other villagers.
The villagers were under some sort of genjutsu and I was unable to dispel the genjutsu…"
Kimimaro helplessly shakes his head as he continues.
"Those metal cages were made of an unknown metal which restricts my chakra and I was unable to infuse any chakra.
So, I used my bones to break free from the cage and escape from the imprisonment."
Kimimaro describes the series of events to Izuna and how he escaped from his imprisonment.
"I see. So, it looks like someone is plotting something in Shangri-La."
Izuna turns towards the giant turtle and questions.
"So… what about this giant turtle? What's the deal with him and you?"
Kimimaro scratches his head and answers.
"Umm… when I was escaping from the prison; I heard a miserable cry filled with pain in my head. So, I followed the direction of the scream and found my way out."
Kimimaro points towards the giant turtle.
"Somehow, I can understand this giant turtle."
Eh!
Izuna has an incredulous expression on his face.
'Should I call him a Pokémon Trainer now?'
Cough… cough…
Izuna coughs slightly as he discards these unnecessary thoughts.
"So… what does this giant turtle has to say? He can understand me, right?"
Izuna turns towards the giant turtle.
Roar…
The giant turtle nods its head.
"I see…"
Izuna walks near the giant turtle and questions him.
"Before I agree to help… I would like to learn more about you."
Roar…
Kimimaro nods his head in consentas he acts as a translator.
"My name is Reiki. I am also known as the spirit turtle or the mountain turtle."
The giant turtle introduces itself.
Hmm…
Izuna nods his head as Reiki continues.
"Before the era of the shinobis; this land was inhabited by many giant creatures. I was one such being who roamed freely in this world.
Back then, humans don't have access to chakra. As such the humans of that era treated me like a deity and called me 'Mountain Turtle'."
However, various other creatures terrorized humankind and attacked their cities.
So, the Sage of Six Paths fought against these creatures. Most of them died under his hands, others sealed; only a few including me and my brother Genbu signed a pact with the Sage."
Hmm…
'So that's the origin of the Mountain's graveyard. A place filled with the remains of various unknown creatures.'
"GENBU!! Isn't that the name of the island turtle of the Kumogakure? So, he is your brother."
Izuna questions the Mountain turtle.
"Island Turtle!!... I see that's what you humans call my younger brother. I am glad he is still alive and well."
Reiki nods his head as he continues.
"After the death of the Sage of Six Paths; all of us hid from the world, according to the pact."
Reiki finishes his introduction.
"I see…"
'Damn! He is a living fossil… I can research his body to learn more about the Nature energy and its origin.'
Kimimaro pauses as he waits for Izuna's response.
"… so why are you restless after so many years?"
Izuna questions him.
Sigh…
The giant turtle heaves a sigh ofrelief as he turns towards the giant tree on its back.
"This entire mountain range is a part of my body, including the various creatures which inhabit my body.
However, this giant tree on my back is like a malignant tumor. The roots of this tree have spread throughout my body and are continuously draining my vitality as we speak."
The giant turtle points at various dark black spots on its body.
Hmm…
Izuna surveys the black spots.
"This is similar to aging. This tree is draining your vitality and life essence. At this rate, you will die within the next few years."
Izuna warns the giant turtle.
"Still… how come you never get rid of this tree? You could easily get rid of this tree when it was still a seedling… but now it has grown to such an extent that it has become a part of you."
He questions the giant turtle.
"About that… this tree induces a large scale genjutsu on me, rendering me immobile. I am unable to resist the control of this tree. The genjutsu is quite powerful."
The giant turtle remarks.
'No wonder! Casting such a large-scale genjutsu to hide a small village was quite suspicious. The true motive of the perpetrator was to suppress this turtle.'
Izuna nods his head in understanding.
"Earlier, your attack severed one of the major roots which were directly linked to my mind, and as such, I was able to break free from my restraints."
The giant turtle turns towards Izunaas he begs for help.
"Oh human! You possess the bloodline of the Sage of Six Paths. I request you to get rid of this calamity."
The giant turtle lowers its head.
"…"
'Dude! A few moments ago, you were hell-bent on getting rid of me.'
"Yare! Yare!"
"Fine! I will do it."
Izuna nods his head.
He turns towards Kimimaro and instructs him.
"There is some kind of barrier blocking my sense inside the body of this turtle. Either it is the work of the Giant tree or someone else is messing with our senses. Either way, be on your guard."
He warns Kimimaro.
"Yes, Angel-san."
Kimimaro nods his head.
Whoosh… whoosh…
Both of them flickers towards an opening on the surface of the Giant turtle's body.
"Our priority is to search for the missing villagers. There might be some relation between them and this giant tree. Fortunately, my seals aren't the only things which can help me with the tracking."
Izuna makes some hand signs and slams his palm on the ground.
"Shock Release: Detection Wave"
Izuna releases low-frequency body waves from his hands. He places his ears on the ground to hear the reflected waves.
'Shock Release allows me to manipulate body and surface waves on Earth. I can release low-frequency seismic waves to study the composition of the earth. These waves can travel further along the ground and will bounce back.
Or, I can release High-frequency seismic waves to create landslides and earthquakes.
These body waves differ from the naturally occurring body waves since I infuse some of my chakra in these waves.'
Shoom… Shoom…
Izuna continues to release the chakra-infused surface waves throughout the cavern.
Wham…
Izuna senses one of his reflected waves.
"I can sense a presence up ahead at 8 o'clock. Let's check it out."
Whoosh…
Izuna flickers towards the location as Kimimaro follows after him.
They enter one of the many tunnels inside the cavern as a rock wall appears in front of them.
Hmm…
"There is someone bound behind that wall."
Izuna activates his Sharingan and inspects the rock wall.
There are multiple green-colored veins on the surface of the rock wall as they tightly bind a person.
Hmm…
"This is one of the many roots of the giant tree."
Swish… swish…
Izuna makes a hand sign.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu"
He spews out a giant fireball to burn the root.
Sizzle… Sizzle…
Smoke rises from the root as the fireball fails to burn it.
"Huh! This is some sturdy material. It is highly resistant to fire. Then what about this?"
Izuna makes some hand signs and stretches his palm.
"Inferno Release: Searing Flames"
White flames cover his palm as Izuna directs them towards the root.
Crackle… crackle…
Smoke rises from the root as it slowly turns into ashes and frees the prisoner.
Bam…
A familiar figure falls on the ground as Izuna recognizes the person.
"Fusao!"
Izuna inspects Fusao's body.
"Hmm… He is under a powerful genjutsu. It is similar to the barrier around the village. Looks like it is the work of one of those lilies."
Swish… swish…
Izuna makes some hand signs as purple lightning crackles in his hand.
Bzzz…
He zaps Fusao and purges the pollens from his body.
Ugh…
Fusao slowly opens his eyes as he slowly recovers from the genjutsu.
"Where… where am I?"
Fusao groggily opens his eyes as Izuna and Kimimaro appear in his vision.
"Akihito-san! What's going on?"
He questions Izuna.
"Well!… I am not so sure. But apparently, it has something to do with that giant tree." Izuna shakes his head.
"I would like to know your recount about this tree. Maybe it might help us escape from this situation." Izuna questions Fusao.
"I… I… Honestly, I know little about the tree." Fusao shakes his head as he recounts his tale.
"Twenty-five years ago, the flames of the second shinobi war were yet to go cold when my entire village was massacred in one single night. My father and I were the only few lucky survivors.
It was the work of an evil cult. The members of the cult murdered our entire village to create a Forbidden Jujutsu."
Fusao narrates his story to Izuna.
'Hmm… background stories like his aren't that rare. Almost every shinobi from smaller nations suffers the same fate as him. Still, I am slightly interested in the evil cult and their Jujutsu.
Various Evil cults are operating in shadows in this world. Some of these cults worship an unknown God and pay a tribute to the said 'God' to gain power.'
An image of Hidan appears in Izuna's mind.
Hidan is a member of the Jashin cult, which offers the human sacrifice to their God to earn his favor. In exchange for the ritualistic sacrifice of many people; Jashin grants them Immortality.
'As enticing as the idea of immortality may sound; there must be a sort of catch to this offer. The members of the Otsutsuki clan are God-like in the eyes of the shinobi. But they are just a bunch of cosmic parasites leeching life from one world to another.
Maybe this Jashin is also a similar being.'
Izuna ponders as the image of the purple cloaked figure appears in his mind.
'Can Jashin be somehow related to that unknown being?… No!… Right?!"
Izuna shakes his head to discard this thought.
'For now, I should focus on the matter at hand.'
He turns towards Fusao, who continues his story.
"… later, Father found about this village from a passer-by and since then I have grown up in this village. Father died three years ago, leaving me all alone in this world."
Fusao solemnly shakes his head.
"I… I see. I am very sorry for your loss." Izuna awkwardly nods his head.
'I just want to get some information about this God-damn tree; so, I could prepare against any surprises.'
Izuna helplessly stares at Fusao.
"This entire village is a trap. There is no haven in this village; instead, this entire village is situated on top of a giant ancient turtle.
Supplying chakra to the Giant tree to maintain the barrier around the village was just a pretense; their real aim is to cast and maintain a genjutsu on the giant turtle."
Izuna informs Fusao as he ponders.
'So, this tree was planted twenty-five years ago; perhaps after the Second Shinobi War.'
Shoom… Shoom…
Izuna continues to use Shock Release to look for the traces of the villagers.
Wham…
"Found them! At 2 o'clock."
He quickly dashes in the direction.
Whoosh…
Kimimaro and Fusao follow after him.
"This is…"
Surprise appears on Izuna's face as he stares at the state of the village. Multiple tall trees and vines populate the village.
The long and thick light green vines tightly bind the villagers. They form a giant network around the village as the vines wrap around each other to create a giant cage.
Izuna activates his Sharingan and inspects the vines.
There are multiple spikes and thorns on them as these thorns' pierces in the bodyof the villagers and rapidly drain chakra from their body.
"Angel-san! This is the place."
Kimimaro reminds Izuna as he flicks his arm and draws a bone sword from it.
He walks towards the vines to free the villagers.
"FALL BACK!"
Izuna yells to stop him.
Whoosh…
He grabs Kimimaro's arm and dragshim back.
Clang… clang… clang…
Multiple thorny spears shoot out from the ground as they try to pierce Kimimaro's body.
"Shinobi Rule No:1 Never let your guard down," Izuna warns him.
Swoosh… Swoosh… Swoosh…
Multiple thorn spears attack the group from all directions.
Swish… swish… swish…
Izuna makes some hand signs as he faces the spears.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu"
Izuna spews out a giant fireball to incinerate the spears.
Swoosh… Swoosh…
The spears pierce through the fireball as they aim for his vital spots.
Tch…
"Looks like fire release is useless against them."
Whoosh…
Izuna jumps back and avoids the spears.
Clang… Clang…
The spears pierce the ground aspoisonous fumes rise from it.
Izuna monitors his surroundings as he searches for the tracks of the attacker.
'I can't sense the presence of the attacker.'
He fails to sense the chakra signature of the attacker.
"Mangekyo Sharingan!"
Izuna activates his Mangekyo Sharingan to look for the location of the attacker.
"Strange!!… The attacker can avoid my detection. Let me inspect the surrounding area and these trees and vines."
He continues to inspect the large vines and trees as something clicks in his mind.
"I see. It makes sense now."
Izuna deactivates his Mangekyo as he slowly walks towards the villagers.
Swoosh… Swoosh…
Multiple thorn spears attack him from all directions.
Whoosh…
Izuna skilfully avoids the spears as he closes the gap.
"I have figured out your secret."
Izuna stops in front of a small tree in front of the cage.
"I will give you three seconds to reveal yourself or else…"