"No need. In my current state, I'm beyond saving. You should leave as soon as possible."
Peach Immortal slowly shook his head, his tone sorrowful. Yet his eyes unconsciously glanced toward a nearby ceramic jar.
"…Oh, right."
As if remembering something, he quickly added,
"You can take the medicine in that jar. It's a fake immortality pill made by Peach Man.
It won't grant eternal life, but it can instantly heal wounds. It's far more effective than ordinary herbs. It should be useful to you."
Retsu glanced at the jar and said calmly,
"Didn't you say that eating human-faced fruit makes people controlled by the demon tree?"
"As long as you don't eat the fruit or its core, it's fine," Peach Immortal hurriedly explained, a trace of urgency in his eyes.
"Is that so?"
A look of interest appeared on Retsu's face.
Seeing this, Peach Immortal felt a surge of joy. He was just about to urge them to leave when Retsu's expression suddenly changed.
Scarlet Mangekyō Sharingan instantly appeared in his eyes.
"Too bad… I don't believe you."
Before the words even faded, the Mangekyō spun rapidly. An invisible genjutsu enveloped Peach Immortal.
His body stiffened. His eyes went blank as he fell completely under illusion control.
Whoosh—!
At the very moment Peach Immortal was trapped in genjutsu, the human-faced fruit tree, which had been standing silently, suddenly shook violently.
The ground split apart with a thunderous crack. A thick root shot out like a venomous serpent, slicing through the air as it stabbed toward Retsu's chest!
Just as it was about to pierce him, Retsu's figure vanished like a ghost.
At the same time, Kikyo had already drawn her bow to its limit.
A purifying arrow glowing with sacred light shot out like a meteor and struck the tree's trunk dead center.
Boom!
Holy power exploded. The human-faced fruit tree was cut in half at the waist. Its broken crown crashed onto the cliff's edge. Countless fruits rolled down, scattering along the steep rock face.
"Decisive as ever. Looks like we really think alike," Retsu said with a grin as he reappeared beside Kikyo.
Kikyo lowered her bow and shot him an annoyed glance.
"Such an obvious lie would only fool children."
Retsu chuckled softly. Peach Immortal's story had been full of holes.
In his version, he was merely a betrayed master, while all the evil deeds belonged to his disciple.
He claimed everything began a month ago after Peach Man found the Shikon fragment. But there was no way this massive demon tree had grown in just one month.
When Retsu and Kikyo were below the cliff earlier, they had already seen rotten human-faced fruits that had clearly existed for a long time.
That meant Peach Immortal had been feeding people to the tree long before Peach Man obtained the fragment.
Moreover, the miniature bonsai world inside the building—with its villages, fields, and rivers—could never have been created in just one month.
Those were clearly Peach Immortal's work. Peach Man had merely continued his methods.
Most importantly, through Sage Mode, Retsu had sensed that Peach Immortal and the demon tree shared the same origin, with an even deeper connection.
That was why he had stopped Kikyo from destroying the tree earlier.
"Hm?"
Suddenly, Retsu raised an eyebrow. He sensed Peach Immortal's aura rapidly weakening inside the jar.
He looked toward the remaining stump of the demon tree.
Although it had only been cut in half, Kikyo's spiritual power had completely purified its demonic energy. It was already dead.
Clearly, with the tree's death, Peach Immortal was also reaching the end of his life.
Retsu rushed to the immobilized Peach Immortal and demanded urgently,
"What's the cultivation method for immortals? Is there a manual? Where is it hidden?"
"Under… the human-faced… tree's roots…"
Peach Immortal finished the sentence with difficulty. His breath stopped at once.
The dwarf peach tree beneath him withered rapidly from the roots upward.
Seeing this, Retsu gathered chakra at his fingertips and lightly swung his hand, severing the old man's head along with the massive blossom. He sealed them into a scroll.
If he couldn't find the manual, he planned to try summoning Peach Immortal later using the Edo Tensei.
"So it's under the roots?" Kikyo said, frowning as she looked at the stump. "Should we dig it up?"
"No need to make it that troublesome."
Retsu smiled and formed seals, slamming his palm onto the ground.
"Earth Style!"
He didn't use any complicated technique. He simply manipulated the earth with chakra.
Soon, soil and rocks around the stump churned like flowing water. The remaining trunk and its deeply buried roots were forcibly lifted from the ground, exposed before them.
"There!" Kikyo's sharp eyes quickly noticed something unusual. She pointed toward a spherical space wrapped tightly by tangled roots.
Through the gaps, the outline of a wooden box was faintly visible.
Retsu stopped channeling chakra and walked over with Kikyo.
With chakra condensed at his fingertips like a blade, he sliced through the roots and pulled out an ancient-looking wooden box.
It wasn't locked, only secured by a simple clasp.
They exchanged a glance, took a breath, and gently opened it.
On top lay a stack of worn papers filled with densely written, heavily revised notes.
Retsu picked them up and frowned. They were formulas for making "immortality pills" from human-faced fruit.
With a snort, he handed them to the curious Kikyo.
Then he looked deeper into the box.
Beneath the papers lay a yellowed, thread-bound ancient book.
On its cover, five traditional characters were written:
The Blood Sacrifice Wood-Nourishing Art.
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