[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/QDoCJRn.png[/img]

[img]https://i.imgur.com/mlG2SR2.png[/img]
[b][color=black][sub]Nagi Shinrikyo - [@Savato]
Aragami Tsubaki - [@Rabidporcupine]
Soryu Shinano - [@J8cob]
Jikangai Yūhi - [@Tuujaimaa][/sub][/color][/b][hr][/center]

As Yuhi fluttered off towards the tree, he’d find the opening hidden carefully by some near-dead leaves, conveniently placed at the bottom part of the tree to allow for easy access. Once Yuhi entered the tree, however, he’d be met with a sight that didn’t quite match any known information about any god-tree, ever. The tree was completely black inside, the walls covered with a tar like substance. Branches grew from the walls inwards towards another wall, spiralling up the length of the tree to allow Yuhi to move upwards. There was really no other way to proceed, because the moment he stepped foot inside, the tree closed behind him, the bark closing him into the tree with no exit in sight. Was it a mistake to come here? Probably. You’d have to be some kind of braindead to run off into an unknown god-tree… of immeasurable power… an object so powerful that space shinobi lust after it… on your own, with no team to back you up… Well, braindead, or really really brave. Regardless, there was only one thing to do – push onwards! 

Similarly, Soryu seemed to have just made a grave mistake, one he’d likely not repeat if offered the chance. Upon touching the plant, his eyes would be forced wide open and he’d throw his head back into his neck, staring into the sky. To anyone looking at it, he’d seem slightly troubled in the mental department perhaps, but in truth Soryu was no longer in control of his body. Whatever this was, it was trying to connect with his nerve systems, as if the plant was trying to take control of him and his body. To some degree it was successful, though the resistance Soryu was no doubt going to offer put a quick stop to that, and while Soryu battled with the plant for control of his own body, images flashed before his eyes while he peered into the endless abyss of the sky.

There were no people or voices, or anything similarly sinister in these images. Rather, they were sort of… soothing. With a calm pace his mind would seem to leave his body, though in reality it was just the temporary realization that Soryu was literally a thousand things at once, and a great nothing in comparison. It’d hurt – just a little bit, a throbbing pain and sudden jab into his brain, like a kunai being jabbed there, but not resulting in the death that’d most likely follow after that. And then his mind completely disconnected and he travelled through a nerve system that ran deep under the swamp-jungle. Mentally, that is. Physically, he was still sitting there, seemingly ignoring the fact that his comrades were fighting a giant mud monster while he stared into the sky for no good reason. The images were very, very confusing to Soryu, there would be no doubt about that, as a human’s mind simply wasn’t made to suddenly become part of a hivemind-like nerve system. But there was one thing that was very distinct and easy to see…

A shower of stone debris, not large enough to hurt but large enough to be bothersome, then hurled over Soryu, as the very comrade he seemed to be ignoring destroyed the large stone boulder thrown at them. Nagi’s attempt at destroying the boulder had been successful – very much so, as her genjutsu-avoidance had allowed her to see that the boulder wasn’t even coming from directly in front, but rather slightly to the right. A realization that could’ve meant life or death. 

When she shot off her lasers however, the creature disappeared, almost as if he was body flickering all over the place, seemingly getting closer before appearing slightly further away. The small amount of lasers that did hit the creature seemed to go largely ignored. Mud didn’t burn well, and the pieces of mud that were scraped off simply regenerated. It seemed like Nagi had met her match, and then some. A creature that, just like her, shrugged off damage like that. 

Suddenly the creature stood in front of both Nagi and Tsubaki, appearing [i]literally[/i] out of nowhere. From the way the genjutsu worked, it would’ve been very reasonable to assume that at least one of the four team members would’ve been able to see this attack coming if they’d maintained a proper spread. But at that point, only Tsubaki and Nagi were there – and so, the mud monster slipped through the cracks in their proverbial armour, and raised it’s gigantic mud fist into the air, before swinging it from left to right.

The sudden appearance paired with it’s weirdly fast speed meant that it was a guaranteed hit, and the giant mud fist simply smacked them out of the way like they were playthings. But it didn’t hit them in the side, no. That’d have been too easy. The genjutsu made it [i]seem[/i] like the creature was in front, but the fact that they were hit in the back dictated otherwise. Luckily for both Tsubaki and Nagi, the mud monster was simply playing with them while Soryu was off picking flowers and Yuhi was exploring his new treehouse. The hit wasn’t too hard, and simply batted them into the distance, headed for some trees at a high speed – but if they were to put some effort into it, they could minimize the damage and avoid taking even more if they landed on their feet.

The monster waited, didn’t attack at all. It almost seemed to be taunting them, waiting for them to make a move, [i]any[/i] move. And with only two shinobi present to fight it – any move could be a wrong move.

Soryu could see it clearly now – another opening into the god-tree. The plants that were secreting the gas were all connected to the god-tree, confirming to Soryu what was only a wild speculation to his partner, Yuhi. And there was more – this entire jungle, from the trees to these weird plants to the wildlife that roamed around here. It was all connected to the god-tree somehow, either through the roots of the plants, to a faint signal in the wildlife’s heads. And the mud-monster? It was connected to the god-tree as well, with a very strong connection residing directly in it’s chest. And although it seemed somewhat unbelievable, there was a similar energy coming from within the tree, an energy which was not possessed by a mud monster and was entirely free for the taking. Was this a famous chakra-fruit?

Once he’d seen the opening to the god-tree, the god-tree’s nerve system seemed to realize he was an intruder, and ‘kicked him out’, severing the connection between itself and the plant Soryu had grabbed, causing the plant to instantly deteriorate – if he were wise, he’d pocket it for some kind of analysis by one of those science-y looking fellows. Now he knew where he [i]could[/i] go, the choice was more where he [i]would[/i] go. Help his friends, offer them a chance to at least play even with this mud-monster? Or find the source of the problem deep in the god-tree?

[i]“Who is this?”[/i] was the first thing Yuhi heard when he stepped into the main chamber of the tree. [i]“I see. How interesting.”[/i] Slowly, the wall he’d stepped through closed, and if he was quick, he’d be able to make it out, avoiding getting locked into the tree. But, to put it bluntly, [i]Yuhi wasn’t fast enough.[/i] By the time the wall began closing he was already under the influence of some sort of hallucinant drug, or another genjutsu – one he wouldn’t be able to dispel. It dulled the senses and his vision would begin to blur. [i]“It will be fortuitous…”[/i] the voice continued, before it became slightly distorted.

[i]“I’ve come to seek your blessing, Yuhi,”[/i] another voice now spoke. This one was clearly younger, but equally distorted as it neared the end of it’s sentence, and it too drowned out eventually. Yuhi wouldn’t see images – and the realization of what these sentences were referencing likely hadn’t set in yet. [i]“I wish to represent… knowledge. Knowledge. Knowledge.”[/i] The voice began to boom as it repeated that word a few times, before it faded, distorted and disappeared again. [i]“Do you require… knowledge… from me before I leave?”[/i] By now, if Yuhi had understood what these sentences were trying to reference, he’d realize that they were very far from what had actually been said. 

[i]“I only ask that you understand, my child, and that you behave… knowledge!”[/i] Where the sentences had previously made sense, to a degree, they were beginning to make less and less sense, and ultimately over a period of a multitude of minutes began devolving into literal gibberish. One returning variable was the mentioning of knowledge. His vision turned from blurry to a bright light, and before Yuhi could even think to react, he threw his head back into his neck forcibly, similar to what had happened to Soryu. He didn’t even get a chance to fight it – he was too close to the source of this all and the power was too overwhelming. It didn’t matter anyway. Unlike Soryu, Yuhi wasn’t burglarizing his way into the neural network. He was an invited guest, a guest of honor even. 

It was quite clear now where the god-tree had gotten all the fragmented sentences from, as it seemed that this particular genjutsu or drug was linking him to the tree itself, if only slightly. But now that he was entirely linked into the tree, he began seeing the same as Soryu – the entire network of the tree. It covered literal kilometres, growing from it’s roots a little bit every day. The wildlife was more vast than imagined, spanning the same length as the jungle – and unlike Soryu, who hadn’t been allowed to see it, Yuhi got a glimpse at how the ecosystem targeted intruders. 

In front of him, Yuhi could now see a strange figure – clearly human, but wearing clothing unlike any he’d ever seen before. The vision was brief, not allowing Yuhi to completely see whatever this person was doing or wearing, but long enough to see his dark silhouette light up from within once he crossed into the jungle. Chakra. And then he was gone, mauled by some variation of wildlife. The body sank into the swamp and Yuhi could see the chakra flowing from the body through the roots of the various trees towards the god-tree, which siphoned it up and used it to create [i]more[/I] wildlife, [i]more[/i] jungle.

Any spat of chakra that entered the vicinity of the jungle was tracked and killed. It was a genius self defence, in a way. If left unchecked, this tree would one day consume the entire earth. Given how big the spread was, it seemed it was already well on it’s way to do just that. More importantly, Yuhi now knew how the god-tree tracked it’s targets. And that in it’s own self-built eco system. Remarkable.

Once he’d come to that realization, he too was removed from the neural network. Once he came back to his senses, he was no longer being afflicted by this genjutsu, so whatever had been causing it was either gone or had chosen to let him go. Now that Yuhi knew how they were being targeted, he could go help his team – or could he? There was no way out. It was slightly ironic, perhaps. Yuhi had the answers, but because he abandoned his team to ‘solve the situation’, he’d inevitably doomed them. All the wisdom in the world couldn’t help you if you didn’t know how, or weren’t able to apply it.

In the distance, in the wall, however, was a small crevice – not large enough to move through or even see through, but it was large enough to see that it [i]could[/i] open. The question was, what would trigger it to open?

[hider=Soryu][b]Received:[/b] strange gaseous plant[/hider]

[hider=Yuhi][b]Received:[/b] information on how the god-tree targets its' targets + x2 development[/hider]

[hider=Nagi][b]Received:[/b] scratches and bruises (no effect)[/hider]

[hider=Tsubaki][b]Received:[/b] scratches and bruises (no effect)[/hider]