Naruto's civilian cannon fodder starts with the three-body technique

Chapter 392 Fruit of the Sacred Tree
“Chi——!!!”

Samehada let out an unprecedentedly painful and piercing hiss, its massive body convulsing violently, and even strange white smoke rose from its surface, as if it were being corroded by strong acid.

It writhed wildly, trying to expel the energy, but it found it extremely difficult. The dragon vein energy surged and crashed within its body, bringing not nourishment, but terrifying erosion and destruction.

Clearly, while dragon vein energy is delicious, there is also some energy that cannot be absorbed well.

Umino Sasuke immediately severed the connection between Samehada and the Dragon Vein, retracting the aching Samehada. He frowned, realizing that Samehada, which could even devour and transform the chakra of tailed beasts, was reacting so violently to the power of the Dragon Vein.

After a moment of contemplation, he decided to try it himself. In any case, with the Body Revitalization Technique, even if he faced the power of Bloodline Elimination, his life would not be in danger.

Samehada Chakra Transfer!

He stretched out his right hand, palm up, and let Samehada transmit a strand of the dragon vein power that had been separated from him into his body.

The moment the energy entered his body, Sasuke Umino shuddered.

An extremely violent and chaotic feeling instantly swept over his senses.

First, there was a vague, distorted, and chaotic feeling, as if time and space had undergone tiny folds and faults in this energy. Although it was weak, its essence was extremely high. If he had not been proficient in the Flying Thunder God Technique and sensitive to space, he would have hardly been able to detect it.

Immediately following, a wild, chaotic, and primal force roared and surged within him, constantly attempting to assimilate and tear apart his meridians and cells. This was a highly concentrated and extremely active mysterious energy, far more violent than the mysterious unknown factors absorbed by the Breath of the Wind technique, and almost impossible to absorb and utilize directly.

What truly chilled Umino Sasuke to the bone was a faint, yet terrifyingly powerful force mixed within the first two. It was cold, lifeless, and seemed capable of annihilating everything, making both matter and energy appear utterly fragile in its presence.

The total amount of this power is negligible, perhaps not even a trace of the energy of a dragon vein, but its "quality" is frighteningly high. Umino Sasuke felt that even if Onoki's bloodline limit was fused with it, there would still be a considerable gap between them.

"The power of annihilation?" Sasuke Umino was shocked, and a bold guess surged into his mind.

It's easy to understand that the earth gives birth to the power of spacetime and violent natural energy, but this high-quality annihilation power makes one wonder. Considering the vast desert of the Land of Wind, the legend of the ancient divine tree's descent, and the fact that the Goddess Uzuki is a real person...

"The Loulan Dragon Vein, could it be that it's not a so-called earth vein energy node at all?!"

Sasuke Umino's eyes flashed with a sharp light. "And it's highly likely that in ancient times, these were remnants of the Divine Tree's roots, channels through which the Divine Tree absorbed the earth's energy?! It was precisely because of the Divine Tree's roots' frantic absorption that the Land of Wind lost its vitality, turning into endless yellow sand. And that terrifying annihilation power within the Dragon Vein energy is the bloodline limit power left behind by the Divine Tree's roots. After millions of years of time and the neutralization and dilution by the earth's energy, its 'quantity' has become negligible, and its 'quality' has also decreased to the level of bloodline elimination?!"

Once you understand this, many problems become clear.

Why is the energy of the dragon vein so difficult to utilize? Because it is essentially "contaminated" earth energy, mixed with the power characteristics of the divine tree.

The spacetime power and violent natural energy within it are remnants of the earth's energy being forcibly extracted and transformed, while that trace of annihilation power is a tiny imprint of the divine tree's own supreme power.

It seems that directly absorbing the energy of the dragon vein into one's body in an attempt to become a "dragon vein jinchūriki" is simply courting death. Unless one possesses a high-level sage body like Hashirama Senju, even the powerful vitality and sealing physique of the Uzumaki clan would inevitably lead to their existence being slowly and completely disintegrated by that annihilating power over a long period of time. This is simply not a power prepared for the bodies of the Otsutsuki clan.

Ordinary ninjas can't even withstand the corrosive power of tailed beasts, let alone the power of the Dragon Vein. Sasuke Umino knows that he is quite strong, but in terms of the strength of his body and bloodline, he is only equivalent to an ordinary member of the Uzumaki clan. He is still a bit short of becoming a Dragon Vein Jinchuriki. If he can awaken Wood Release, he might be able to give it a try.

"The energy level is too high, this is a bit difficult to handle."

Sasuke Umino fell into deep thought. Such a huge and dangerous energy source, should we just watch it go, or use it crudely like Centipede to drive puppets? Wouldn't that be a waste?

Suddenly, a flash of insight struck him.

"Since the dragon vein might be formed from the roots of the divine tree, containing the imprint of the divine tree's power, what if we transplanted the cloned miniature divine tree here?!"

Once the idea took hold, it could not be contained.

The divine tree grows by absorbing the energy of the planet. The dragon vein may not be poison to it, but the most perfect nutrient. This annihilation power is a deadly poison to others, but to the divine tree of the same origin, it may be a great tonic.

“It’s worth a try!”

Sasuke Umino immediately took action, unleashing the Flying Thunder God Technique, his figure vanishing instantly from beneath Loulan.

The next moment, he appeared in the underground laboratory of the Land of Waves.

In the enormous Grell Stone cultivation tank, a strange tree about the height of a person stood quietly. It was the counterfeit little divine tree that he had cloned and cultivated using wood chips from the Chikamatsu puppet. Even after absorbing a massive amount of Grell ore, its growth was still extremely slow.

Sasuke Umino carefully removed the cloned divine tree along with the growing medium at its roots, then activated the Flying Thunder God Technique again, returning to the core of the Loulan Dragon Vein.

He chose an area where the dragon vein energy flowed out most gently, carefully dug up the ground, and placed the roots of the cloned divine tree there, allowing its roots to directly contact the soil that was soaked by the dragon vein energy.

A miracle happened.

The moment the roots of the cloned divine tree came into contact with the dragon vein energy.

Om-!
The sapling seemed to be alive, frantically absorbing the dragon vein's energy. Its trunk, which had been growing slowly, began to grow taller and thicker at a speed visible to the naked eye. Its roots, like a giant python awakening, greedily burrowed downwards, devouring the dragon vein's energy even more frantically.

In less than half an hour.

This cloned divine tree, which was originally only as tall as a person, has grown to a height of over nine meters. Its trunk has become extremely thick, and its canopy has spread out like a canopy, emitting powerful and vibrant energy fluctuations that create a delicate balance with the raging dragon vein below.

Sasuke Umino felt a surge of excitement, but then a slight disappointment followed: "Only nine meters? Compared to the legendary Divine Tree that stretches to the heavens and the earth, it's far too small. It seems this clone is ultimately an incomplete version and cannot compare to the real Divine Tree at all."

However, just as this thought flashed through his mind, the cloned tree, which had stopped growing, suddenly underwent a new change. Its branches and leaves moved without wind, and the shimmering white light gradually converged inward, gathering at the tips of the branches.

Then, to his astonishment, flower buds slowly bloomed at the ends of several main branches on the tree canopy. However, perhaps due to the influence of the power of time and space, these buds were only fleeting, and soon condensed into nine small fruits.

In less than half a day, it grew to the size of a fist and became a purple fruit with strange patterns on its surface.

These nine fruits exuded indescribable energy fluctuations, containing both incredibly pure life energy and a subtle allure that made one unable to resist devouring them.

"Could this be the fruit of the Divine Tree?!" Even with Sasuke Umino's composure, he couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, his eyes blazing with intense light.

But soon, his strong reason suppressed this fervor. He carefully observed the nine fruits and shook his head.

"No, this is not the real Divine Tree Fruit that Kaguya ate. It is far inferior in both size and energy quality. The real Divine Tree Fruit is the essence of most of the energy of the entire planet, and it is unique, with only one of its kind."

"These nine fruits before us are at best 'pseudo-fruits' or 'several inferior fruits' formed by this fake divine tree after absorbing the energy of the dragon vein. Their effects may be less than one-tenth of those of real fruits, or even less."

Nevertheless, Sasuke Umino's heart was still filled with surprise and anticipation.

Even if it's a counterfeit version of the Divine Tree fruit, it's still something that the Divine Tree produced, and its value is absolutely immeasurable!

It must contain unimaginable power, which can play an unimaginable role in research, improving strength, and even perfecting immortal techniques and exploring the path of bloodline limit!
The nine fruits, as soon as they ripened, exuded an enticing aroma. Sasuke Umino's eyes immediately lit up with a burning desire, his appetite like a wildfire that was difficult to suppress.

It was an attraction stemming from an instinctive life force, as if his very soul was trembling. He almost instinctively reached out and plucked the closest one.

The fruit felt warm and smooth to the touch, pulsating slightly as if it were alive. Its exotic fragrance made his mouth water and his mind go blank for a moment, as if he were under a super S-class seductive illusion. Without any hesitation, he followed his most primal impulse and put the fruit in his mouth.

The moment the fruit enters your mouth, it doesn't have the texture of ordinary fruit, but transforms into an indescribable nectar that instantly slides down your throat and reaches the depths of your soul.

It was an ultimate enjoyment that surpassed all other delicacies in the world, as if one had tasted the very essence of life and power.

The ultimate pleasure brought by the deliciousness had not yet subsided when the strong urge to devour it struck again. Umino Sasuke's eyes were slightly intoxicated, and he subconsciously reached out to pick a second one.

Just as his fingertips were about to touch another fruit.

A chilling sense of alertness, like a bucket of cold water poured over his head, instantly jolted him out of his dazed state.

"No! I was too reckless!" he thought in horror. "This is the fruit of a mutated divine tree nurtured by a dragon vein. What if it's poisonous or has some terrible side effects..."

He immediately tried to circulate his chakra to induce vomiting, but it was too late.

As soon as the fruit entered his body, it spread rapidly, combining with every cell in his body without any rejection. An unimaginably vast amount of pure energy erupted within him like a flood bursting its banks.

boom--!
Umino Sasuke felt his meridians instantly filled with immense energy, and his chakra level soared at an unprecedented speed. In just a few breaths, he could clearly feel that his total chakra level had increased by more than 30%, and this rate of increase showed no signs of slowing down.

At the same time, his physical condition was also undergoing tremendous changes. His cell activity increased dramatically, his muscle fibers became tougher, and his bone density increased. It was as if his entire body was undergoing a transformative evolution, almost like the awakening of an immortal.

Time passed little by little.

When nearly half of the fruit's energy was consumed, the total amount of chakra in his body had reached more than three times that before he swallowed it.

This rate of improvement is simply astonishing.

However, even more wondrous changes were yet to come. The remaining majority of the fruit's energy did not continue to simply and crudely increase the "quantity" of chakra, but instead accelerated its effect on the "quality" of chakra. It seemed to contain some higher-level power, and began to profoundly transform and sublimate the original nature of his chakra.

Among them, the Ice Release and Magnet Release bloodline limits he mastered changed the most drastically and rapidly. The essence of these two powers was constantly purified, strengthened, and expanded, and their power limit was rising wildly, increasing by more than tenfold. He felt that he could now create far more cold ice crystals or control a larger area of ​​metal sand sea with a casual wave of his hand.

After an unknown amount of time, when the last wisp of fruit energy was completely absorbed.

Sasuke Umino slowly opened his eyes, a glint of light flashing in them. His aura became increasingly profound and restrained, yet contained a terrifying power.

He sensed something and subconsciously opened his left palm.

laugh--!
A vibrant green sprout, brimming with life, miraculously grew from his palm, quickly branching out and spreading its leaves, transforming into a small tree in the blink of an eye.

"Wood Release Awakening?!" Sasuke Umino was stunned at first, then overjoyed.

The power of this counterfeit divine tree fruit completely activated and perfectly fused the White Zetsu cells in his body, finally allowing him to successfully awaken the Wood Release Kekkei Genkai.

After the initial surprise, he carefully sensed the power contained in the small tree in his palm, and couldn't help but feel somewhat disappointed.

"It's much weaker than I expected," he muttered to himself. He felt it was only slightly better than Yamato's real estate techniques, and it was nowhere near the level of Hashirama Senju's Wood Release, which suppressed tailed beasts, let alone awakening a bloodline limit.

He shook his head and chuckled, realizing he had been a bit greedy. After all, this was just a secondary fruit from a cloned, counterfeit divine tree, and nine of them had grown at once. The fact that it could bring such a huge boost was already considered heaven-defying. Not only did his total chakra increase several times over, finally making him Chakra, but it also greatly increased the power of Ice Release and Magnet Release, and he even awakened Wood Release.

With his current strength, although he is not as powerful as Madara Uchiha or Hashirama Senju in their prime, he should be able to put up a fight against them if they do not use their Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan and top-tier Wood Release Sage Techniques.

(End of this chapter)