Who are you?

Part 17

Shiori was tired. The climb up the mountain was nothing like she had imagined. At first, there was a steep path made of loose rubbles. She had to be careful where she stepped, or she would slide down.

Her initial excitement at the prospect of exploring the mountain had dimmed slightly as the reality of the problematic terrain set in. With each step, she felt the strain in her muscles, a reminder of the physical exertion required to conquer the ascent. Yet, despite the weariness creeping into her bones, Shiori remained determined to press on, her curiosity driving her forward.

It took her some time to get used to it. It required conscious effort and concentration. She couldn't focus much on the world around her, only on the task at hand. Before taking each step, she had to carefully put her foot on the ground without putting weight on it, then send a small amount of chakra to test the firmness of the hold. Based on the answer, she might have needed to move the foot and try again.

As she navigated the treacherous terrain, Shiori found herself immersed in the rhythm of her movements. Each step became a deliberate dance, a delicate balance between strength and precision. Despite the challenges, there was a sense of exhilaration in the act of overcoming each obstacle, a feeling of triumph with every successful foothold.

When she was sure of the hold, she could put her weight on it, move forward, and repeat the same for the next foot. This made her progress very slow.

At first, she wanted to use a technique similar to water walking, but the problem was that the whole mountain had a unique property: It absorbed any chakra outside the body.

The realization that her usual techniques were ineffective in this environment brought a sense of unease to Shiori's mind. She had to adapt quickly, relying on her instincts and ingenuity to find alternative methods of navigating the mountain's unforgiving landscape. Despite the setback, she refused to let frustration cloud her determination, channeling her energy into finding a solution to the challenge before her.

She had read about this before. In a loose sense, it was the opposite of chakra conductivity. While chakra-conductive minerals had the ability to pass chakra through them, some minerals had the ability to absorb chakra.

It may seem very useful to make armor or even weapons that could absorb chakra, but the problem was the nature of these minerals.

These stones absorbed the chakra in the air and, in turn, would turn into ordinary rocks. So when someone cuts them into shape just after a few D rank jutsu, the absorbency is gone unless they can somehow extract the absorbed chakra from it.

Of course, having a layer of stone thin enough to function as armor or a weapon would mean it would be very brittle. Now, one might wonder how an entire mountain can exist solely made from such stone and still be absorbent after thousands of years.

The answer was the cycle of nature. The existence of chakra-rich stones has led to a natural opposite. Plants that can absorb chakra. These plants, which were mostly trees, had profound roots in the ground. There is not much water in the area for them to survive, so they use their roots to absorb the chakra stored in the stones to sustain themselves.

As she contemplated the intricate balance of nature, Shiori marveled at the interconnectedness of all living things. The mountain's ecosystem was a delicate tapestry of life and energy, each element dependent on the other for survival. In a world driven by conflict and chaos, it was a comforting reminder of the inherent harmony that existed within the natural world.

Unfortunately, these trees didn't have any unique properties. They were even more brittle than regular trees, and because they tended to be a bit drier due to so little water in their structure, people didn't have much use for them.