Chapter 11

"So that's it!" I said out loud in the same cavity I stayed for at least one week now

I know I said I will research plants in the long run but this tree is unique and I don't want to come back here later when I could do everything now.

The Eye Medicine Plant was a fabled medicine in the future, people weren't aware of its existence for sure but now I have it right in front of me.

This tree produces fruits, the strange eyeballs and when you pick one of them from it the tree would make a sound similar to a scream...Now I thought it was only some mandragora who had this ability, maybe they have the same ancestor.

Then I discovered that the roots were linked everywhere in the valley's ground but not a single part would be seen on the surface unless you destroy it, and takes the nutrient of anything that falls in the valley.

The mist is produced by some glands inside the tree's fake mouth and had different abilities, it was used to make anything getting down here lost, can take silhouette consisting of black humanoids and it also worked as an enzyme so it's easier to digest whatever stayed there for too long.

The most terrifying thing though was the presence of a 'core' below the tree and the so-called core was a pitch-black humanoid without eyes fully incorporated with the tree.

It's almost like this tree was a living being before and I guess it explains why the silhouettes are all the same.

But then why one of them was tangible? Was it a projection of the core itself? How come the Kunais they sent were real? I will never know unless I find him again and it's not something I'm interested in.

Doing my research inside the cave forced me to constantly have a cloak of wind chakra around me to not be digested alive, the process is extremely slow so it has no danger if you stay for a day but I passed at least one week already so I had to protect myself.

As for the fruits...They are not edible at first because of a shell-like exterior, they are similar to walnuts in a way.

You can open them by the black spot and it will reveal a colorless viscous liquid inside but if you let the liquid have contact with the outside for around five minutes it will darken and become inedible.

To know this I captured some wild animal outside the valley and came back in a flash because I let a tag up there and in the cave to teleport.

The animal was fine when he drank the liquid colorless but died when it was darkened.

Now I did not see any positive effect it could have, I did not find any blind animal to cure so I will need some guinea pig with Dōjutsu to test the effect later because I'm sure it will do something to the eyes.

I got everything I need to study the tree so I will be on my way.

I teleported outside of the valley, it was noon according to the sun so I decided to move until the night arrives to build a wood house and wash properly.

The next day I was once again on my way to my next destination and I did not know in what land I was currently in.

I know I passed by Amegakure at some point but I had nothing to do here for now.

Right now I was in a mountainous area with fir trees everywhere.

At some point, I sensed the presence of two humans and I could see a halted carriage on the road.

Curious I decided to go and see.

I found myself in front of a civilian who seemed troubled "Excuse me sir, may I know where you are heading?" I asked

"Hum? A traveler? A strange outfit you have don't you." he first said seizing me up

Maybe because I was clothed in a completely black outfit, a long black coat, boots, and trousers with my coat opened at the top showing off my chest.

I was already tall for my age too, 175 cm (around 5'9).

"I was supposed to be heading to Hachimitsu town to bring my merchandise but my hired guard fell sick on the way and now he's unconscious." he replied annoyed

"In this case, you could hire me for your protection, I'm a mercenary ninja and I am indeed traveling but I do not know where I am right now could you tell me on the way?" I said

"I guess it's better than nothing, alright get in." he said

And so during the slow travel, I was right beside an unconscious Iwa shinobi who was surely hired for the mission and talked with the merchant who's named Seno Hiroya.

I learned that we were currently in the Land of Honey and that he was a merchant selling mostly mead and honey-based products to the main city of the land.

This picked my interest because apparently, bees that the Kamizuru Clan use come from this land.

Also, the Land of Earth is the nearest of all five great shinobi countries.

Now I want to get my hands on a wild hive and maybe bring them to Konoha and with times we could also have bee users or just be able to produce honey but more importantly...Mead.

In case only someone from the Kamizuru clan can use them in combat I will 'save' one who 'luckily' survived...If I have to.

I'm sure Tsunade will enjoy mead.

During the ride I suddenly sensed something coming at us from the woods.

"Stop the carriage, something is coming from the front." I said to him with my hand on his shoulder

"A-alright." he replied

I stepped down of the carriage and waited for the wild animal to come.

*GROWL*

And what appeared was a giant yellowish bear.

"It's a Beehunting Bear! They are extremely ferocious and can kill a human with one swing of their paws! It's hard to injure them because of their thick skin, be careful!" he loudly told me

I don't think Winnie the Pooh would be hard to deal with thought...

So I spread wind chakra around my hand and did a swift vertical movement, turned my back to him, and a second later the bear was sliced in two.

"What the- How strong are you?!" said Seno suprised

"It was just too weak..." I replied

And it was true, I guess this land's civilian are scared by the beast because it could tear apart anyone, but Jōnin can deal with it with ease.

We then continued until the sun was nowhere to be seen and I protected the camp for the duration of the night.

I don't know when the Iwa shinobi will wake up but I don't care, I know they are and will be the ones with which Konoha has the most conflicts so I did not show any of my medical prowess.

The merchant also said that the payment will be mine instead of the Iwa guy because I had to defend him while he did not do anything before getting unconscious.

I did not need any money thought so I proposed that he gives me some of his product, mostly mead, in exchange as well as where they can be bought.

*The next day*

We had luck for the rest of the journey because we did not encounter any other wild beast worth attention and no cliché mountain bandits.

The town was quite a sight because it had colorful trees and even the house had a multitude of different bright colors.

A lot of merchants were also present on the alleys we passed through.

We stopped at the local infirmary to at least have the Iwa shinobi healed but he would have to pay for it once he wakes up.

The destination of Seno was a big shop selling a variety of sugar products I accompanied him until he sold most of the barrel he had minus one.

"There take this with you it's full of mead, that's what you wanted right?" he said with a smile on his face

"Perfect thank you!" I replied

"Oh and in case you come back around here you know where I live approximately so don't hesitate to visit me." he said

"Sure no problem, goodbye!" I replied

I did some shopping, mostly food, as well as information gathering about the land then I stayed in the inn Seno recommended to me for the night.

The next day I could finally go to a specific forest in this land that was never truly visited by humans because it was far too dense and dangerous insect species lived in it.

Luckily for me, trees aren't an issue but are a blessing for me to find bee species inside the forest.

And when people said it was dense they weren't lying...I couldn't enter it by normal means so I had to ask the trees to make me some space to get in.

And the place was indeed a paradise for bees, most were the same sadly until I found an interesting hive.

The bees were considerable, 1 cm in length (0,4 inches) and wings 1,5 cm (0,6 inches) longs, they had a reddish-brown color and thick yellow bands on the abdomen as week as yellow patches on the head between the eyes.

[A/N: I took this species as the main reference]

What surprised me is the subtle electricity they could produce around them indicating an affinity to lightning that may be used in combat.

'Gotta catch 'em all I guess'

And so I used my pokeb- I mean a sealing scroll that could contain living beings inside, only of small size but with enough space for all the hive.

'I wonder how Shikuro will react if I show him such species of insect'

I still tried to find other seemingly useful species but nothing was eye-catching so I left the forest to find a proper place to sleep and be on my way to my next destination once I wake up.

====================

The place I was now heading to was in the Land of Bears and more precisely Hoshigakure.

I was going there to steal the meteorite which holds a special chakra that when used gives the ability to manipulate your chakra in a variety of shapes.

And if I get my hands on it the village future shinobi would no longer die from the radiation effect so I'm helping them in a way...

I also don't need the meteorite for its amount of chakra because I passively gathered the surrounding one in me since I'm born in this world.

I want to see if I could shape it more than what is currently feasible. But it will stay sealed until I can take care of the radiation side effect.

I passed through thick forest until I reached the Devil's Ravine, a canyon full of poisonous gas, and to easily pass it I again made a cloak of wind chakra to protect me from the gas.

I also concealed my presence and waited for the night to come because tonight was a new moon meaning that it would be even harder to see me.

I was able to effortlessly get to Hoshigakure where only a few shinobi were patrolling.

The place was relatively small, less than twenty houses but one was larger, the Hoshikage's Residence.

I then saw a stair path behind the residence that should take me to the Crater where they built a training ground around the meteorite.

Once I saw the building in question what surprised me was the complete lack of guards, it seems like they had complete trust in the natural barrier the canyon provided.

I stayed careful in case some tags were to be present but there was nothing...

Once inside I was facing the Meteorite who had an absurd amount of purple chakra seeping out of it on a weird pedestal taking the form of an orange eagle's paw.

I took out one of my sealing scrolls and locked it inside then teleported outside of the crater with the 'Flying Thunder God Technique' on a tagged wood made from my release to make it disappear without any evidence.

Now, this was not one of my main reason for my travel but still something useful for later.

My next stop is the first main objective I had in mind, even though it's nothing but a guess.

It is in the Land of Iron where I want to find a sword fitting for me.