Chapter 121: The Verdant Spark and the Ghost's Approval
The three-day waiting period was not just a test of patience for the clans in Konoha; in Uzushiogakure, it was a period of intense cultivation.
Rimon didn't want Nawaki to return to the border as a victim. He wanted him to return as a statement.
Deep within the restricted "Ancient Grove" at the center of the island, the air was thick with the scent of pine and raw, untamed energy. Rimon stood at the edge of a clearing, watching as Nawaki sat cross-legged before a towering stone pillar.
On top of that pillar, Madara Uchiha sat like a statue of ancient obsidian. His arms were crossed, his eyes closed, but his sensory range was locked entirely onto the boy below.
"You are hesitant," Madara's voice echoed, cold and sharp. "You carry the cells of the man I fought for a lifetime, yet you treat your power like a burden. Hashirama didn't 'ask' the forest to grow. He commanded it. If you cannot dominate the nature around you, you will be consumed by it."
Nawaki's face was slick with sweat. He bit his lip, his hands forming the ram seal. "It's not... it's not as easy as the scrolls say!"
"Because you are looking for the 'Will of Fire' to guide you," Rimon interrupted, stepping into the clearing. "Fire burns the wood, Nawaki. Stop trying to be a Leaf shinobi. Be a Whirlpool."
Rimon walked over and placed a hand on the back of Nawaki's neck. There, glowing with a soft, bioluminescent green, was the Verdant Crown Seal. This was the gift Rimon had given months ago—a masterpiece of sealing and genetic science designed to stabilize and amplify the Mokuton which Rimon brought from system using 5,000 SP.
"The Verdant Crown doesn't just give you chakra," Rimon whispered. "It acts as a filter. It strips away the 'parasitic' nature of the First Hokage's cells and forces them to harmonize with your soul. You aren't Hashirama's shadow. You are the architect of a new forest."
Rimon pulsed his own chakra into the seal.
Suddenly, the green glow erupted. A shockwave of life-energy blasted outward. The grass around Nawaki grew a foot in seconds. Flowers bloomed and died in the span of a heartbeat.
Nawaki's eyes snapped open. They weren't just brown anymore; they had a ring of vibrant emerald light. He slammed his palms onto the ground.
"Mokuton: Deep Forest Emergence!"
The ground groaned. Massive, twisting roots erupted from the earth, but they didn't look like the gnarled, messy wood of his previous attempts. These were sleek, silver-barked trees, reinforced with the Uzumaki's natural longevity and the seal's structural perfection. They rose fifty feet into the air, weaving together to form a defensive dome that hummed with chakra.
Madara opened his eyes. He looked at the silver trees, then at the boy who was panting but still standing. A ghost of a smile—something truly terrifying to see on Madara's face—flickered for a fraction of a second.
"Better," Madara grunted, leaping down from the pillar. He landed without a sound. He walked up to a silver tree and pressed a hand against the bark. "It's different from Hashirama's. His wood was soft, full of vitality. This... this is dense. It's like iron disguised as a tree. You've added a 'Science' to the miracle, Rimon."
"It's the evolution of the bloodline," Rimon said, standing beside Nawaki. "With the Verdant Crown Seal, Nawaki won't just rebuild forests; he can grow the very infrastructure of Uzushio. He is the bridge between our science and the old legends."
Nawaki looked at his hands, feeling the steady, calm hum of the forest in his mind. The fear of his own power, the fear that had plagued him in Konoha, was gone.
"I can feel them," Nawaki whispered. "Every tree on this island... it's like they're part of a network."
Rimon said. "And in two days, you're going to use that network to bypass every sensor in Konoha. We aren't going to walk through the front gate, Nawaki. We're going to appear in the center of their secrets."
Rimon turned to the horizon, his "King of Thieves" title thrumming with anticipation. The three days were almost up.
"Prepare yourself," Rimon said, his voice dropping to a low, commanding tone. "The Uchiha and Hyuga have spent their lives in the dark. It's time we showed them the light of the Whirlpool."
"Brat after your mission you will train under me. I want see how Good Hashiram's grandson is."
Rimon smirk.
Nawaki's eye widen "You will train me?"