"Kasage, come with me—we need to save them!"
Seeing the panicked figures pouring out from the collapsing debris, Kikyo called out urgently and rushed forward without hesitation.
"No need to go through all that trouble," Uchiha Kasage replied, shaking his head.
Before she could react, he brought his hands together.
"Wood Release!"
The ground surged violently.
In an instant, countless flexible branches burst from the earth like living serpents.
Guided by the precise perception of Sage Mode, the branches weaved skillfully through the chaos—avoiding falling rocks and shattered wood—before wrapping firmly around each fleeing person. One by one, they were lifted and gently thrown toward a safe, open area nearby.
Within moments, everyone had been rescued.
Kikyo slowed to a stop. Watching the scene settle, she turned and walked back toward him.
"Let's go," she said calmly. "We should leave this place."
Kasage raised an eyebrow slightly.
"I thought you'd want to guide them out of the mountains."
Kikyo glanced at the shaken survivors in the distance.
Their clothes were clean, their bodies strong—far better off than ordinary villagers suffering from war and famine.
She lowered her gaze slightly.
"Although they were raised as nourishment for a yokai tree… they lived in comfort inside that bonsai world. Some of them might even have believed they were on the path to becoming immortals."
Her voice softened.
"We destroyed everything they depended on. They may not feel grateful… they might even resent us."
Kasage looked at her with mild surprise. He hadn't expected such a clear understanding of human nature.
Kikyo seemed to sense his thoughts and spoke quietly:
"This is not uncommon. Because I often help strangers… I've seen enough to understand how complicated people can be."
She paused briefly.
"After all… Naraku became what he is because of the darkness in his own heart."
Kasage exhaled lightly.
"…Then let's go."
Without hesitation, he reached out and took her hand. The familiar warmth lingered at his fingertips.
With a single thought—
They vanished.
---
"...So this is spiritual power?"
Kasage opened his eyes slowly, murmuring to himself as a faint, hazy white glow gathered in his palm.
It felt… different.
Gentle. Pure.
Unlike chakra—which was a fusion of physical and mental energy—this power seemed to originate from the depths of the soul itself.
Nearby, Kikyo sat cross-legged, focused.
She was following the method described in *"Blood Sacrifice to Nourish Wood,"* attempting to merge natural energy with her own spiritual power—to form the so-called *power of immortals.*
Sensing the fluctuation of energy from Kasage, she opened her eyes and smiled faintly.
"Congratulations," she said softly. "You've become a mage."
Kasage looked at the weak glow in his palm and let out a self-deprecating chuckle.
"I can only say… talent really matters when it comes to spiritual power."
"I've followed the method for so long, and this is all I've managed to produce."
He paused briefly.
"Though, to be fair… this technique was originally meant for 'nourishment.' Its effects were never meant to be strong."
With a flick of his hand, the faint spiritual energy dispersed.
He stretched lazily.
"But it doesn't matter. I'm not planning to use spiritual power for combat anyway. Even if it's weak, as long as I can use it to cultivate immortal power—that's enough."
His ability to awaken spiritual power at all was thanks to that cultivation method—the one designed for humans treated as "fertilizer."
It was, essentially, a forced method. One that allowed those without talent to develop spiritual power later in life.
But the result was… underwhelming.
The energy within him was so weak it could barely be used—perhaps only for minor tricks, certainly not for battle.
Worse still, once spiritual power had been generated, the method no longer had any effect.
In this world, spiritual power could not truly be cultivated. It only grew naturally over time.
Which meant…
For Kasage, reaching a level where it could be used in combat might take an unknown number of years.
Still—
That wasn't his goal.
After studying the *Blood Sacrifice to Nourish Wood* method, he had already understood its core principle:
By fusing the yokai power of monsters with human spiritual power, one could create the so-called *power of immortals.*
In essence, these "immortals" were humans merged with yokai power—not true immortals of legend, but beings with greatly extended lifespans and access to yokai techniques.
In a way, they were the opposite of Sage Mode.
In his original world, Sage Mode granted immense power—but did little to extend lifespan.
Here, it was the reverse: power was modest, but lifespan could rival that of yokai.
And that—
That was exactly what Kasage wanted.
In his previous world, achieving longevity was incredibly difficult. But here, by following this method and refining spiritual power into immortal power, he could obtain a lifespan comparable to that of a yokai.
As for why the technique specifically used a tree yokai…
The reason was simple.
The Human-Faced Fruit Tree, born from human corpses, lacked full intelligence. Compared to other yokai, it was far easier to control—making it the most stable "container" for yokai power.
However—
Neither Kasage nor Kikyo intended to follow the method as written.
Putting aside the decades required to cultivate such a tree, even success would come with serious risks.
If the tree were destroyed, the user would suffer severe backlash. Worse, there was always the danger of the yokai turning against its master.
For them, there was a better path:
Instead of relying on yokai power directly, they would borrow the *principle* of energy fusion—combining natural energy with spiritual power.
It was safer. More stable.
Since returning to the shrine, they had both been attempting this.
But progress was slow.
Kikyo could sense natural energy, but she had only recently begun learning how to control and absorb it. Integrating it into her spiritual power proved extremely difficult.
Kasage, on the other hand, had mastery over natural energy through Sage Mode—but lacked sufficient spiritual power to attempt the fusion.
That was why he had turned to the "fertilizer method."
And after a long period of effort… he had finally obtained his first wisp of spiritual power.
Kikyo walked over and sat beside him, her expression slightly troubled.
"Compared to my own spiritual power… natural energy is far more difficult to control," she admitted.
"Even when I draw it into my body, I can't perfectly merge it with my spiritual power."
Kasage smiled reassuringly.
"Don't rush it. Just keep trying."
He tilted his head slightly, a playful glint in his eyes.
"Besides, even if it fails, there's no real danger."
"You don't know how risky Sage Mode training is. If something goes wrong… you can turn into a stone frog."
Kikyo couldn't help but glance at him, half amused, half exasperated.
"…I suppose that is worse."
She exhaled softly, then looked at him with quiet anticipation.
"It will take me more time to succeed."
A brief pause.
"But you…" she said, her voice softer, yet filled with curiosity,
"I really want to see this 'Sage Power.'"
Her eyes met his.
"Try it."