After planting the withered wood in the flowerpot, Hakushi began to examine this piece of wood extracted from the body of the Divine Tree.
After successfully trading arms with the Hidden Rain Village, Obito transported this piece of withered wood back to the Land of Demons and went traveling with Lin.
For this piece of withered wood stripped from the Divine Tree, Hakushi also considered it very precious, having extremely high research and utilization value.
This looked like just a piece of long-withered wood, flowerless and leafless, bare, but when directly staring at this piece of withered wood, Hakushi still felt a slight shiver.
It wasn't surprise at the life force within this withered wood, but rather a feeling towards that completely unknown domain.
In terms of life force, the slug body of the Shikkotsu Forest was the most intensely concentrated existence he had witnessed.
That abyss-like sage art chakra, in front of human power, is so minuscule.
Hence, it can be seen what immense power the Great Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku possesses.
"How is it, Ruri, Ayane, can you see anything with your Sharingan and Byakugan?"
Hakushi looked at Ruri and Ayane beside him.
The two of them respectively activated their Mangekyo Sharingan and Byakugan to observe this piece of withered wood from start to finish.
Ruri glanced with her Mangekyo Sharingan for a moment, then closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, they returned to normal, black and white.
She slowly shook her head and said, "No, I can't see the essence within this piece of wood, nor can the Sharingan resonate with it. The feeling it gives me isn't much different from when I first met Madara and saw the exterior of the Divine Tree."
Truth be told, aside from the abundant life force, this piece of withered wood doesn't differ much from other withered branches by the roadside.
Then she looked at Ayane.
When it comes to seeing the essence of things, the Byakugan is more outstanding than the Sharingan.
In this aspect, even the Mangekyo Sharingan cannot compare. Moreover, Ayane's Byakugan has absorbed the nurtured 'dark' power of Moryo, elevating its donjutsu to another dimension compared to ordinary Byakugan.
"The situation is the same on my side; aside from the abundant life force, there's nothing useful to discern. Perhaps because the Ten-tailed Divine Tree hasn't fully awakened, for now, it seems like a piece of wood with strong life force."
Ayane's speculation is not unreasonable. Currently, the Divine Tree is merely an empty shell, its internal essence already stripped away by the Six Paths Sage thousands of years ago, separated into the current Nine Great Tailed Beasts.
It has the corpse of a body without a true inner soul.
"That does make some sense, but maybe the Rinnegan is necessary."
The Ten-tailed and the Rinnegan are closely connected, and also relate to the so-called 'Infinite Tsukuyomi' jutsu. These entities should inherently exist as a whole.
Because he knows this, Nagato didn't mind using this piece of withered wood in trade with him.
He's certain the Land of Demons, lacking in Rinnegan, cannot decode the real secrets of the Ten-tailed.
However, Hakushi wasn't necessarily looking to unravel the secrets of the Ten-tailed. He acquired such withered wood from Nagato to further delve into the secrets of Wood Style.
The application of Wood Style is reflected not only in combat but can indeed significantly improve the vegetation environment of barren areas.
That's his true purpose.
At his level, techniques such as ninja techniques and kekkei genkai, or even the more special Wood Style, hold no distinction of superiority to him.
They are all derivative jutsu formed from basic chakra.
Once the essence of the jutsu is understood, deciphering Fireball Technique and Wood Style Jutsu is essentially equivalent in difficulty.
Given his limited energy and time, it is impossible to master everything completely.
"Do we need to observe further?"
Ruri inclined her head and asked.
"No need, let's stop here. I originally intended to give it a try. Since neither the Mangekyo Sharingan nor the Byakugan can see through it, I suppose trying other methods would yield the same results."
This outcome was anticipated, so Hakushi wasn't particularly disappointed.
Peering into the secrets of the Rinnegan is not a simple task.
He lacks too many materials on his side, unable to even simulate it.
This concept is completely different from simulating the jutsu in Mount Myoboku's Fake Sage Talisman.
"Seems like I'll be busy later on; meanwhile, I'll leave outside matters to the two of you. The Underground Black Market previously dissatisfied with the suppression actions by the Land of Demons might take a radical approach, sneaking into the territory of the Land of Demons to stir trouble."
Hakushi expressed his conjecture.
A group of lawless bounty hunters, when their profits are at risk, coupled with big figures behind the black market platform inciting, it's not surprising to see them engaging in extreme behavior.
The massive interests involved behind the Underground Black Market are vast; those in the west, having suffered substantial damage, are certain to seek an explanation from the Land of Demons, attempting to disturb its peace.
Except for military threats, Hakushi couldn't imagine these desperados using any other means to coerce the Land of Demons.
In the end, they are an underground organization unable to see the light of day. Even if they can unite, to the current Land of Demons, they are at most a troublesome mob to clean up.