"So, is there anything different about that tree compared to ordinary ones?"
Standing before a village, Minamikawa Yuu gazed at the towering Divine Tree ahead and inquired.
Seven years had passed since he arrived in this world, and Minamikawa Yuu was now quite different from his past self.
Now seventeen years old, he stood tall with an upright posture. Clad in a long robe, he naturally exuded an air of noble elegance.
His features were handsome, and his lazy demeanor carried an undeniable presence that drew the gaze of many just by standing there.
In these few years, his changes had been significant.
This wasn't just true for the changes in the Land of Ancestors, but also for himself.
Through testing, Minamikawa Yuu discovered that his original body seemed to influence his reincarnated form.
This was evident from how his current appearance increasingly resembled his original self.
Beyond that, the Chakra that had gradually begun to appear within his body was also vital proof.
Indeed, after several years, Minamikawa Yuu was now able to refine Chakra.
Although the difficulty of refining it was much higher than it had been for his original body, he could indeed do it.
This also led Minamikawa Yuu to discover a new rule of reincarnation: the reincarnated body and the original body influenced each other.
As time passed, the reincarnated body would gradually align with the original, undergoing brand-new changes.
This was the reason Minamikawa Yuu dared to lead people out of the Daimyo's palace at will.
After all, for someone who had mastered the power of Chakra, the threat posed by ordinary people was negligible.
The so-called Demons of this world were also nothing special.
As long as he remained cautious, in this world without Ninjas, even if he couldn't win a fight, he could always escape.
"Lord Daimyo, that Divine Tree is just ahead..."
Before him, the local village chief, with a respectful expression, invited Minamikawa Yuu inside.
That day, he came before the Divine Tree.
The Divine Tree was massive, looking far more spectacular than any of the ancient trees Minamikawa Yuu had seen in his past life.
"Such vigorous vitality..."
Gazing at the Divine Tree before him, Minamikawa Yuu sensed it carefully, marveling in his heart.
In his perception, the Divine Tree before him was brimming with immense life force.
That life force was so vast that even a slight sensation of it filled him with wonder and dread.
How could a mere tree possess such colossal vitality?
He was somewhat puzzled.
Looking down at his surroundings, he easily discovered a fact.
With the Divine Tree as the center, the surrounding vegetation had completely vanished, and even ordinary wild animals were nowhere to be found.
It was as if some mysterious existence was secretly devouring all life, plundering every bit of vitality.
The entity plundering that life was undoubtedly the Divine Tree before him.
"Interesting..."
Standing there, Minamikawa Yuu pondered: "A Divine Tree that can plunder the life force of other beings to benefit itself?"
No, it probably wasn't just the life force of the surrounding life.
There was only so much vegetation around; even if it were all sucked dry, it wouldn't be enough for this tree to grow so large.
For this Divine Tree to grow to this extent in such a short time, it must have also absorbed life force and energy from other places.
"A Divine Tree capable of absorbing life force and Natural Energy?"
Standing there, looking at the Divine Tree, Minamikawa Yuu frowned as a strange sense of déjà vu suddenly surfaced in his heart.
For some reason, he felt as if this scene was somewhat familiar.
But when he tried to recall it carefully, he couldn't remember exactly what it was.
After a moment, he shook his head and decided not to dwell on it. He turned to the village chief beside him: "How many people are in your village?"
"Only about five hundred."
The village chief was somewhat confused: "Among them, there are about three hundred young people."
"Good."
Minamikawa Yuu nodded: "From now on, send twenty people to guard this Divine Tree on a regular rotation. I want to know about every change this tree undergoes."
"As a reward, the agricultural taxes for these twenty people can be waived."
Although he didn't know the origin of this Divine Tree, Minamikawa Yuu instinctively felt that it must be very important.
He couldn't watch the tree every moment, so letting these locals help keep an eye on it was a good choice.
As for protection, it wasn't really necessary.
With such a tall and thick Divine Tree, Minamikawa Yuu estimated it would be a hassle even for himself to chop it down. If someone could actually steal or cut it down, he would have to tip his hat to them.
He'd consider them truly capable.
Minamikawa Yuu left the village but did not depart the area.
His time was precious, and opportunities to go out were rare.
Since he had finally managed to get out, he couldn't waste time.
Taking this chance to inspect the situation in various places seemed like a good idea.
Thus, he prepared to conduct a thorough investigation of the region before returning to the Daimyo's residence.
However, just a few days into his inspection of the surrounding area, an accident occurred.
One night, the heavens suddenly changed.
At that moment, a strange sense of trepidation suddenly rose in Minamikawa Yuu's heart.
He stepped out of his lodgings and into the open.
Looking up at the sky, he saw brilliant starlight shining there. A streak of light appeared, illuminating the long night.
"It's a star..."
Beside him, an attendant responsible for serving him spoke respectfully: "Looking at that direction, it seems to be right around the Divine Tree."
"The Divine Tree..."
Minamikawa Yuu's heart stirred as he suddenly realized something.
"Pass down my order."
Without any hesitation, he stood up and gave the command: "Everyone, move out together. We're going to take a look."
As the words fell, he mounted his horse and led his attendants forward.
Since they were not far from the Divine Tree, it only took a moment for them to reach their destination.
However, once they arrived, they saw no trace of the falling star's impact.
"How can there be nothing?"
The surrounding attendants were full of confusion.
Knowing Minamikawa Yuu's purpose, the attendants and Samurai had been secretly motivating themselves to find that fallen star.
As Minamikawa Yuu's servants, they knew the Daimyo was always generous. If they found what he wanted, the rewards would surely follow. Thus, they were all searching diligently.
But no matter how they searched, they found no trace in the end.
The ground was empty; there was absolutely no sign of a meteorite strike.
But how could that be?
"It was clearly this direction..."
A Samurai, having searched for a long time without success, was full of bewilderment.
But in the next moment, his expression suddenly changed, and he looked toward a certain direction ahead: "Who's there!"
"Who is there!"
"Protect His Highness!"
As the words fell, everyone gathered around Minamikawa Yuu, staring ahead with tense expressions.
In the next moment, under their watchful eyes, the figure of a woman slowly stepped out from ahead.
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