Chapter 237 : Extracting Indra's Chakra
Uchiha Sasuke, Uchiha Itachi, and Hyuga Neji had been staying in Amegakure for three days. During this time, they had barely seen Uchiha Taiga.
Not on the first day, nor the second. It wasn't until the third day that he finally appeared before them again.
Uchiha Itachi sat on the tatami mat in the living room, a cup of tea resting in front of him. The tea had already gone cold. He looked up, watching Uchiha Taiga walk through the doorway. He hurriedly stood up, hesitated for a moment, and then spoke.
"Taiga-sensei, that tree..."
He paused, swallowing the rest of his words. He carefully weighed his phrasing, hesitating over whether he should even ask.
Three days ago, on the very day they arrived in Amegakure, that tree had abruptly appeared in the distant mountains.
At first, it wasn't conspicuous. It was just a small patch of green sprouting from the mountains, like a newly germinated seedling.
But it quickly caught people's attention because the tree grew taller and thicker, its canopy expanding at an astonishing rate.
One day, two days, three days.
By today, the tree was already over a thousand meters tall, towering above all the surrounding mountains. Its canopy was so massive that it obscured half the sky. Moreover, its growth showed no signs of slowing down. It kept growing and growing, drawing the astonished gazes of countless onlookers.
As a ninja, Uchiha Itachi immediately sensed that something was wrong.
The energy fluctuations radiating from that tree were far too intense—so intense that they could be felt even from within the village.
It wasn't chakra, but rather a denser, purer, and more concentrated form of energy. It felt like a mass of gas compressed to its absolute limit, continuously emanating from the direction of the tree.
Although he had never truly come into contact with natural energy, his ninja instincts told him that this tree was extraordinary. Highly extraordinary.
That was why he felt compelled to ask.
Uchiha Taiga didn't hide anything from him. He walked over to the low table, sat down, and took a sip from his teacup.
"That is the God Tree."
His voice was casual, so casual that it sounded as if he were discussing something entirely mundane.
"Something I spearheaded the development of."
Uchiha Itachi's expression shifted slightly.
His brow furrowed, a glint flashed in his eyes, and his lips parted slightly.
Uchiha Taiga looked at him, the corners of his mouth curling up.
"Do you know something?"
Uchiha Itachi took a deep breath. Instead of answering immediately, he glanced at Sasuke beside him.
Uchiha Sasuke took the initiative to speak.
"I saw it on a scroll. Legend has it that a long time ago, the Rabbit Goddess planted a tree in the ninja world, which was also called the God Tree."
Uchiha Taiga raised an eyebrow slightly.
"What scroll?"
His voice carried a hint of curiosity.
Uchiha Sasuke glanced at Uchiha Itachi, who remained silent for a moment before nodding. Without further hesitation, Sasuke raised his hands and formed a hand sign.
Poof!
With a muffled pop, a cloud of white smoke burst outward.
As the smoke cleared, three scrolls appeared on the tatami mat in front of him.
The scrolls weren't large. Their pages were yellowed and the edges curled, clearly showing their age.
Uchiha Sasuke picked up the three scrolls, holding them with both hands, and offered them to Uchiha Taiga.
Uchiha Taiga took them, unrolled the first scroll, and scanned its contents. His expression shifted from casual to peculiar.
After reading through all three scrolls, he rolled them back up and placed them on the low table.
"I see. Someone has been recording my actions."
He paused, his smirk widening.
"Hmm, and some hidden secrets of the ninja world as well. Not bad at all. Some of these events are recorded in great detail."
He picked up his teacup and asked casually, "Where did you get these scrolls?"
Uchiha Sasuke explained the origin, roughly detailing how he got them from the old man at the shrine in the Uchiha compound.
Uchiha Taiga nodded in sudden realization.
"Ah, it's that old fossil, Uchiha Setsuna."
His tone was completely dismissive.
"Is he not dead yet?"
Uchiha Sasuke was confused; he didn't know the significance behind the name Uchiha Setsuna.
But upon hearing the name, Uchiha Itachi frowned.
"Taiga-sensei, are you referring to the Uchiha Setsuna who inherited Uchiha Madara's will?"
Uchiha Taiga nodded.
"Yes, that's him."
Uchiha Itachi's frown deepened.
Uchiha Taiga looked at him and chuckled.
"Don't worry. An old geezer like him no longer has the ability to stir up any real trouble."
He paused, the corners of his lips curling up.
"At most, he can only play some petty schemes and tricks with others."
Uchiha Itachi didn't share Uchiha Taiga's nonchalant attitude. It wasn't that he doubted Taiga's words, but he knew that sometimes, schemes and tricks could be far more terrifying than a direct confrontation.
Uchiha Taiga didn't dwell on the topic. He turned his head to look at Uchiha Sasuke.
"You're not bad."
His voice carried a hint of approval.
"What do you want to learn?"
He paused, a smirk forming on his lips.
"I'm in a good mood right now, so I can teach you a few things."
Uchiha Itachi snapped back to reality and quickly shot a glance at Uchiha Sasuke. The meaning in his eyes was obvious: *Agree quickly.*
Beside them, Hyuga Neji also looked like he wanted to speak. He opened and closed his mouth several times, hesitating.
Uchiha Taiga glanced at him and smiled.
"Alright, stop staring. You can join in too."
Hyuga Neji's face instantly lit up with joy, and he bowed deeply to Taiga.
"Thank you, my lord!"
His tone carried an irrepressible excitement.
Uchiha Taiga waved his hand dismissively, paying it no mind. He turned back to Sasuke, the corners of his mouth curling into an enigmatic smile.
"I can teach you, but before that, I need to take something from you."
Uchiha Sasuke froze, his brow furrowing.
"Take what?"
Uchiha Taiga looked into his eyes, his gaze perfectly calm.
"A type of chakra."
He paused.
"Not yours, but the chakra of someone else."
Uchiha Itachi's expression changed drastically.
"Taiga-sensei, Sasuke has someone else's chakra inside his body?"
His voice tightened, laced with an uncontrollable tension.
Uchiha Taiga nodded, not denying it.
"Don't worry. It's not just Uchiha Sasuke. In fact, Uchiha Madara also had someone else's chakra inside him."
He paused, looking at Itachi.
"The two of them are of the same kind."
Uchiha Itachi's frown deepened severely.
Uchiha Sasuke sat there with an uneasy expression. Clearly, hearing these words from Uchiha Taiga put him under immense pressure.
Uchiha Taiga didn't give him any more time to process the information. He reached out, bringing his index and middle fingers together, and tapped Sasuke on the forehead.
His fingertips lightly brushed against Sasuke's brow. There was no force behind it; it was just a gentle touch.
But that single touch was enough to send Uchiha Sasuke into a daze, leaving him looking completely vacant.
Then, Uchiha Taiga's hand moved downward, shifting from the forehead to the chest. He opened his palm, his five fingers slightly curved. His hand hovered just above Sasuke's chest, less than an inch from his clothes.
The next moment, he thrust it forward, plunging his hand directly into Sasuke's body.
His fingers phased through Sasuke's clothes and skin, sinking deep into the muscle. Yet, there was no blood, nor was there any wound. It was as if his hand had been submerged in water.
Uchiha Sasuke's body suddenly stiffened. His eyes widened, his pupils contracting violently. His mouth hung slightly open, and his lips trembled.
Uchiha Itachi abruptly stood up. His fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white and the veins on the back of his hands bulged.
He leaned forward, looking as though he were about to charge in, but he didn't move.
Because he knew very well that he couldn't stop whatever Uchiha Taiga intended to do. Moreover, the current situation didn't seem to be inherently malicious.
Taking a deep breath, Uchiha Itachi sat back down, though his eyes remained fixed unblinkingly on the scene unfolding before him.
Uchiha Taiga's hand lingered inside Sasuke's chest for a few breaths, as if searching for something.
Before long, he raised an eyebrow and smiled.
"Found it."
Uchiha Itachi was incredibly tense, staring intently at Uchiha Taiga's every move, terrified that this might have some adverse effect on Uchiha Sasuke.
On the other hand, Uchiha Sasuke looked as though he had fallen asleep, his eyes half-closed and his expression dazed.
The next moment, Uchiha Taiga withdrew his hand from Sasuke's chest. Pinched within his palm was a cluster of mist-like substance.
"It was hidden quite deeply."
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