Shun and Kaguya followed the stone path deeper in. Their footfalls clacked crisply, mingling with birdsong and the sound of wind.
They passed tier upon tier of palaces whose walls were carved from white jade and engraved with the ancient legends of the Ōtsutsuki clan. Though some doors and windows were damaged, the former grandeur was still plain to see.
Beyond the final palace lay an area wrapped in a black barrier. Dense, dark Chakra coiled across its surface, exuding a cold, oppressive air.
This was the Ōtsutsuki Forbidden Land, the place where the Progenitor god tree dwelt.
According to Shibai's final words, the Progenitor god tree had developed a malicious will that devoured all life-energy, and so he had sealed it here.
"The sealing power of this barrier is quite a bit stronger than the Holy Land's."
Shun glanced at the black barrier and frowned. "The Chakra inside is dark, gloomy, and heavy. Clearly the one who laid the seal was far from pure of heart."
He raised a hand, gathering golden Chakra. A brilliant halo flared around him, isolating him from the corrosive energies. Then he compressed that Chakra at his fingertip, spinning it into a golden speck no larger than a grain of rice.
He tapped the barrier lightly and spoke a single calm word, "Break."
Crack… Crack…
A clear shattering rang out.
The black barrier fractured like brittle glass, dissolving into countless motes of darkness. The oppressive aura vanished instantly.
The scene inside the barrier was revealed at once.
A colossal tree shot skyward, its trunk so thick it would take tens of thousands standing hand in hand to encircle it.
The bark was a deep, dark gold, etched with ancient spirals through which golden Chakra flowed like the tree's very blood.
Its branches spread wildly, blotting out the sun and casting the entire Forbidden Land into shadow.
Among the leaves hung countless crystal-clear buds that gave off a faint, sweet scent.
The Progenitor god tree soared a hundred thousand meters high, a pillar propping up the sky, radiating terrifying power.
Yet around the very center of the trunk coiled innumerable black sealing chains. They were inscribed with eerie blood-red runes that pulsed, releasing dark energy to bind the tree's will deep within the trunk. Whenever a wisp of golden Chakra tried to escape, the runes instantly forced it back.
Shun's gaze sharpened and golden Chakra erupted around him, forming a radiant shield.
His eyes opened slowly, the golden Rinnegan appearing as the tomoe spun rapidly, peering into the essence of all things and taking in every detail of the tree.
"Kaguya, I've found the tree's consciousness."
He warned, "The truth is hidden deep within it. Stay here and watch for any movement, I'll be back in a moment."
With that, a spiritual body turned into a streak of golden light and shot straight into the trunk, vanishing.
Deep within the tree's consciousness lay a chaotic golden space. Countless golden motes drifted there, each holding pure Chakra.
At the very center hovered a figure bound by countless black chains.
She wore a long green gown that shimmered like moonlight, its hem spangled with golden star-patterns.
Her hair reached her waist, strands tinged with soft gold. Her skin was snow-white, her features the perfect handiwork of a creator.
Most striking were her eyes—twelve-tomoed Golden Rinnegan, the whites pale gold and the tomoe slowly circling like living things.
Slowly those eyes opened, dazed from long slumber.
Curiosity quickly replaced the daze as she fixed her gaze on the intruder, Shun.
"Young man… who are you?"
The Progenitor god tree had been sealed away for millennia. Unused to speech, her words came haltingly.
She tilted her head, long hair drifting as she studied Shun carefully.
Her gaze lingered especially on the golden Rinnegan in his eyes. "This is my consciousness space, no one has entered for a very long time."
"Call me Shun, a man who likes to meddle."
Shun inclined his head slightly. He had never trusted Shibai's words, so he felt no hostility toward the Progenitor god tree.
Shun said, "I came to uncover the truth behind your seal."
"Earlier, I met Ōtsutsuki Shibai. He claimed you'd developed a malicious will that endangers the Universe, so he sealed you here."
He paused deliberately, studying her reaction, trying to read the truth in her expression.
At the name Ōtsutsuki Shibai, raw hatred flashed through the woman's eyes.
The halo of her Twelve-Tomoe Rinnegan turned violent and the golden energy particles around her writhed. The black chains binding her groaned as if on the verge of snapping.
"A malicious will? That's the excuse he invented for his own despicable deeds."
She drew a long breath, forcing down her surging emotions. The hatred in her gaze cooled into sorrow as she slowly revealed the buried truth.
"I am the Progenitor god tree, born at the dawn of the Universe, nourished by the essence of the Universe."
"When I reach one hundred thousand meters in height, my body enters an energy-burst phase and can devour an entire planet's energy in moments."
"Shibai discovered me by chance. Coveting my power, he won my trust with sweet words and used the Chakra within me to get stronger, ultimately obtaining the Shinjutsu Omnipotence."
"Once he gained that strength, he drained vast quantities of my Chakra and sealed me here."
"He claimed my normal consumption was so enormous that, left free, I would eventually drain the Ōtsutsuki Planet dry, so he had no choice but to imprison me."
Her voice carried sorrow, her eyes brimming with disappointment toward the Ōtsutsuki clan.
"To sustain the god trees, they plunder other planets, planting trees and bringing back the ripe Chakra Fruit. After I reclaim the fruit's energy, I enhance their power, so it was considered mutual benefit. Yet I yearned for freedom and sunlight, and these chains have held me for a thousand years."
With that, she shifted slightly and the black chains tightened, leaving faint red marks on her skin.
A muffled groan escaped her as pain and memory flickered across her gaze.
Shun's eyes grew colder, a faint killing intent rising around him.
Shibai's vileness exceeded his expectations. Not only had the man deceived and exploited the Progenitor god tree, he had shifted all blame onto her, turning the entire Ōtsutsuki clan into the Universe's public enemy.
He spoke slowly, voice solemn, "I can break your seal and give you back your freedom."
A spark of joy lit the woman's eyes, quickly followed by caution.
She regarded Shun warily. "You would help me? Nothing in this world is free."
"Especially in the world of the Ōtsutsuki, every favor carries an ulterior motive."
"What do you want? My Chakra, or some other use for me?"
Having been betrayed once, she trusted no one easily, even though this man felt devoid of hostility.
"I need your Chakra to break through my current level." Shun replied bluntly, without the slightest concealment.
"My goal is to resolve the cosmic crisis the Ōtsutsuki have created, I need greater power."
"In return, I will separate your consciousness with Mental Energy, freeing you from the god-tree body so you can reincarnate and live a life of your own."
"As for this hundred-thousand-meter god-tree body, I will transfer it to a chosen dead world."
"That dead world holds no life, only endless barren energy, enough to sustain its consumption and keep it from endangering any living planet."
Hearing this, the hesitation in her eyes faded. "Agreed. As long as I can escape this endless imprisonment and be reborn, any price is worth it."
To her, breaking the seal and the tree's shackles to gain a life of her own was already the greatest gift.
With her consent, Shun wasted no time. A vast golden vortex formed, sweeping in all the golden energy particles around them.
His Nine-Tomoe Rinnegan spun wildly, the tomoe accelerating without pause.
He began to absorb the Progenitor god tree's pure Chakra at a frenzied pace. His aura soared visibly, the pressure he exuded making the entire mental space tremble.
As Chakra poured in, the number of tomoe in his eyes began to change. The nine tomoe split and re-formed, each becoming more condensed.
They finally became a Twelve-Tomoe Golden Rinnegan, the pupils swirling with a cosmos-deep radiance, as though containing the laws of the Universe itself.
When the vreakthrough ended, Shun reined in his aura, the light of his Twelve-Tomoe Rinnegan dimming slightly.
With a wave of his hand, golden Chakra condensed into a gleaming longsword.
Shiing—
A light slash against the black chains and the unbreakable fetters snapped like rotten wood, dissolving into black motes of light.
The moment the seal broke, the woman inhaled deeply, savoring her first taste of freedom in ages, eyes brimming with elation.
Shun gathered a thread of golden Mental Energy and touched it gently to her brow, slowly drawing her consciousness out of the god-tree body.
He softly said, "Go. Begin your new life."
The extracted consciousness became a streak of golden light, pierced the barrier of the mental space, and sped toward the ancestral planet for reincarnation.
After dealing with the Progenitor God Tree consciousness, Shun withdrew from its depths and returned to the real world.
He landed beside Kaguya, gave her a slight nod, and said flatly, "Done."
With that, he raised his hand and swept it toward the hundred-thousand-meter-tall Progenitor god tree.
Countless golden Chakra threads gushed from his palm, wrapping the entire tree like a spider's web. The threads tightened steadily, compressing the colossal tree. In the end, it shrank into a basketball-sized streak of golden light.
Shun flicked his fingers, and the golden ray pierced the spatial barrier, sent by him onto a lifeless planet he had chosen long ago.
That dead planet was enormous, its surface pitted with volcanic craters and filled only with desolate energy, enough to sustain the God Tree's consumption.