Starting with Naruto, I'll become stronger through my own efforts.

Chapter 386 Xia Zuo's Forest and the Owl Court

Shazo put the two beauties together and continued to ask Poison Ivy, "I remember you've been playing with Harley Quinn ever since you escaped from prison, right?"

"Why are they all coming here and destroying my base?"

Poison Ivy: [Nonsense, you destroyed it yourself!]

Catwoman: [This isn't your base. None of the treasures you stole are here.]

Xia Zuo opened his mouth wide in an exaggerated manner: "Oh my, you're not even answering my question. These two beauties look so delicate, but I didn't expect them to have such strong personalities. They're really amazing!"

Poison Ivy & Catwoman: [Damn it, if you want us to answer questions, then let go of my neck!]

Catwoman and Poison Ivy weakly patted Shazo's claws, but they were as hard as steel bars and couldn't budge them an inch.

Not to mention being unable to speak, they couldn't even breathe. Poison Ivy was a little better off, but Catwoman, who had been captured earlier, experienced waves of blackness before her eyes. Involuntarily, her red lips parted, her tongue lolled out, and white foam gushed out.

Not long after, the two beautiful women fell into a coma.

Xia Zuo tossed them onto the tree trunk as if they were two sacks. The Wood Release tree deformed and wrapped the two of them in a cocoon, hanging them upside down from the thickest branch.

With that, Xia Zuo completely forgot about them and began to admire the forest he had created.

"Not bad, much better than I expected."

"Even when suppressed to less than 10%, it still has such power. Wood Release truly deserves to be the number one fighting force to pacify the ninja world."

"I've made up my mind, this forest will be my base!"

"Let me think, how is the four-bedroom, two-living-room layout achieved?"

[Wood Release: Four Rooms and Two Living Rooms Technique]

[Wood Release: The Technique of the Grand Mansion]

[Wood Release: Castle Renovation Technique]

[Wood Release: The Technique of the Three Palaces and Seven Palaces of the Royal Palace]

"Hahaha, this is hilarious!"

Xia Zuo was overjoyed and kept renovating his base buildings. With each renewal of the forest, the former abandoned factory was completely swallowed up.

As a result, the forest area continued to expand. Such supernatural phenomena attracted the attention of various forces and caused panic among nearby residents. Some even abandoned their homes and fled.

Inside the bat cave, Alfred, the old butler, used hundreds of surveillance cameras to fully demonstrate the expanding trend of this vibrant forest.

He took off his glasses and wiped them, using this action to calm himself down, before putting them back on.

He exclaimed, "On the third day after Christmas, in the snowy winter, it's a miracle that such a vibrant forest is growing."

Bruce Wayne frowned and said, "The power to manipulate plants—that should be Poison Ivy, but I don't think she has that much power."

"The heart of the forest is that empty stronghold," but it should only be a temporary stop for him, not his.

The old butler looked at his young master with a strange expression and couldn't help but ask, "Young Master Wayne, you didn't rush over directly. You've been very composed today."

Bruce Wayne smiled bitterly: "Alfred, if I get punched in the face and can't see anyone for seven days, and I still act impulsively and carelessly like before, then I'll have really suffered for nothing."

"I will no longer rush out to fight enemies that I cannot identify or do not understand."

Butler Xia smiled with satisfaction: "Young Master, you've grown up."

"My current hope is that you can find a lady so that I can start calling you 'Master'."

"Of course, it would be even better if there were one more young master Wayne."

Bruce pointed to the monitor screen: "Alfred, there's been another change."

As the old butler turned away to manipulate the supercomputer calculating the trend of forest changes, Bruce Wayne muttered to himself, "The lady and the young master?"

Batman has learned to be more composed, but the police can't just ignore it.

The patrol officers rushed to the edge of the forest with sirens blaring, then got out and stood by the car, freezing in the cold.

It can't be said that they did nothing; at least for every step the forest took forward, they took a step back.

The main idea is to avoid trouble if you can't afford to mess with them.

No one blames them; after all, this is the kind of inaction the police have been doing all along, and the people and politicians of Gotham are used to it.

As the forest expanded into densely populated areas, something surprising happened.

The Gothamites discovered that these trees seemed to possess intelligence, actively avoiding roads and houses, and even their underground root systems did not damage water pipes, sewer pipes, gas pipelines, or similar facilities.

So the audacious Gothamites followed the road deeper into the forest and were astonished to find that the houses that had initially been swallowed by the forest had not been destroyed.

Moreover, the trees surrounding these houses are much taller than the houses themselves, making them look like houses in a miniature world. Bathed in sunlight filtering through the leaves, they appear so beautiful and dreamlike.

What's even more magical is that today is the third day of Christmas, and while it's a snowy winter day, stepping into the forest feels like springtime.

"This is a miracle!" someone shouted.

Many people, feeling the heat, took off their thick down jackets, wearing only thin shirts, and excitedly waved their heavy clothes.

They all shouted, "This is a miracle forest, a magical forest!"

"This is a gift from God, the power of the Druids!"

When the homeless people heard that the new forest was warm and came in droves, they were so happy that they shed tears.

I won't freeze this year, and I won't freeze to death this year.

When the wanderers discovered that there were edible acorns and mushrooms everywhere in the forest, their gratitude evolved into faith.

Thus, the name Vantastec spread quickly and was soon accepted by the Gothamites, becoming the name of this winter forest.

Upon receiving this information, Bruce Wayne took a deep breath: "It's definitely not Poison Ivy. She's not that kind-hearted, nor would she set a trap to deceive others."

The old steward speculated, "Could it be some kind of devilish lord? Using food and warmth to lure the homeless into selling their souls?"

Bruce shook his head and said, "I don't know, but I do know that it has now draped itself in a sacred cloak and can no longer destroy this forest by violent means."

"Hehe, you can't even doubt it."

"I'm starting to doubt if it's all an empty promise." He has the mind to do this; without subordinates to share profits with, he can freely offer benefits to others as bribes.

The old butler asked, "Young master, you used the word 'bribe.' Do you know what he wants in return?"

Bruce shook his head slightly and said, "I don't know, but since those who do charity earn more, there must be a big problem behind this kind of free giving."

If Bruce has any questions, Butler will take care of them. He throws an irresistible sum of money into the black market, and wilderness experts, survival experts, and special forces soldiers flock into the forest to explore.

Soon, people discovered an area deep in the forest with even denser vegetation, resembling a primeval forest.

The trees and vines there were so tightly packed together that only a large machete and chainsaw could clear a path.

But such paths will be overgrown with vegetation in no more than 20 minutes, making one completely lost in the jungle.

A clever man wanted to set fire to the forest, but the moment they lit the gasoline, the trees suddenly came to life and attacked the arsonists.

The revived trees always come in groups, and with their overwhelming strength and numbers, they strangle the arsonists like meat skewers, grind them into mincemeat, and drag them into the ground.

In just half an hour, their flesh and bones will be completely digested and become nutrients stored by the tree.

The name Fantastic thus has two meanings: first, it is the dream forest and blessed land mentioned by the wanderers; second, it is the black hole at the heart of the forest that devours invaders.

After a number of people died, those who felt offended by this "out-of-control land" took action.

A group of men cloaked in black gathered from all corners of Gotham, traversing the treetops and heading deeper into the forest.

The appearance of this group of black cloaks also attracted the attention of the wanderers who roamed the darkness.

Above, a Batplane hovered silently, using thermal and starlight imagers to monitor the Cloaked Man's movements. Batman was puzzled by their extremely low body temperatures and became even more cautious as a result.

In the middle of the forest, a slender figure, using the cover of a large tree, followed closely behind the cloaked man.

She chuckled to herself, "Hehe, with you guys paving the way for me, I can save a lot of green grass powder. Thanks!"

Xia Zuo was exhausted after a long day and lay sprawled out in the largest wooden palace, snoring loudly in front of Catwoman and Poison Ivy.

The two beautiful women were hung upside down for a full eight hours, causing their brains to become so congested with blood that they were on the verge of going crazy.

Even worse, despite not having drunk water or eaten for eight hours, one still couldn't stop the intense urge to urinate or defecate.

Poison Ivy was alright; her body had undergone a mutation, allowing her to synthesize nutrients through chlorophyll, absorb moisture from the air while inhaling, and expel metabolic waste through her pores, quickly relieving her urgent need for urination.

But Catwoman is in trouble; she really can't hold it in any longer.

Moreover, she was hanging upside down, wearing a leather jacket, and underneath the leather jacket—there was nothing at all.

If I can't hold it in any longer, I'll definitely stink and I'll definitely die a horrible death.

The anxious catwoman began to struggle, causing the upside-down cocoon to shake wildly, hoping to attract Xia Zuo's attention.

Xia Zuo held up one finger and said, "Little kitty, do you know that the more you struggle, the easier it is for you to lose control?"

Upon hearing this, Catwoman immediately stopped struggling.

Xia Zuo was very satisfied with her obedience, and then said, "Don't worry, I'll improve your living conditions when I catch the third beauty."

"At least, it'll help you relieve yourself, pfft—"

Xia Zuo couldn't help but laugh, even laughing so hard he was out of breath, making Catwoman and Poison Ivy blush with anger.

If they weren't unable to open their mouths and speak, this would definitely be a scene of beach buffs and fucks flying everywhere, mixed with a faint purple hormonal breath.

The cloaked figure crossed the densest jungle and was astonished to find a colossal tree ahead, only slightly taller than its surroundings, but with an incredibly large canopy.

The cloaked man could see by looking down that, centered on the trunk of the giant tree, there was a living, brightly lit palace on the ground.

Clearly, this was their target, and the cloaked figure jumped down without hesitation.

However, the moment they landed, the trees in the surrounding dense forest swayed, and tall, mighty tree-men emerged, surrounding the cloaked people.

The cloaked figures shed their cloaks, revealing sharp combat gear, owl-shaped hoods, and automatic rifles and grenade launchers.

Heavy weapons such as the Pineapple machine gun.

Using her friend's green grass powder, the woman struggled through the dense forest and caught a glimpse of the cloaked figure's attire through a gap in the tree trunks, almost letting out a gasp.

She covered her mouth tightly with both hands, silently screaming in her heart: "This...this is a claw!"

[The Court of Owls! The powerful council that actually controls Gotham—they're real!]

The Claws were not normal living beings; they had no emotions. Once they were ready, they immediately opened fire, and the sounds of gunfire and explosions echoed through the forest clearing.

The tree-man was riddled with wood chips by modern firepower, but since it had no fatal weaknesses, it could withstand tremendous damage. Even if it was hit by 100 bullets, it would not affect its movements.

The tree-men, which are over 6 meters tall, each weigh several tons and can easily smash their claws and teeth to pieces or even crush them to the ground with a single blow.

Once Claw is knocked to the ground and loses its ability to resist, it will be bound by countless tree roots that extend from the ground and then forcibly pulled to the ground.

Finding that their weapons were insufficient to quickly kill the massive enemy, the claws concentrated their firepower, launching a barrage of bullets at the waist of the leading treant.

The grenades were also aimed at the waist of the first tree man, without any regard for the possible friendly fire.

Under a fierce attack, the leader of the tree-men was riddled with holes in his waist and then broke in two by his own weight.

Overall, the Treants' attacks were more effective, and the battle lasted only a little over two minutes before the entire team of nine was defeated by the Claws.

These monsters, supposedly possessing immortality and modified by the Dionysian factor, were defeated. Seven were dragged underground in pieces, and two had their limbs knocked off.

They disregarded the outcome of their life-or-death battle; there were only two tree-men.

The fierce battle terrified the woman hiding in the dense forest. She looked at the large hammer in her hand, then at the fallen claw gun, and quietly swallowed.

Then she took out more green grass powder and generously smeared it all over her body, muttering, "As long as Pamela is rescued, I can have as much as I want."

Only when her entire body was covered in green, completely obscuring her original colorful makeup, did the woman pick up the sledgehammer and carefully sneak towards the palace.

Xia Zuo finally sat up straight and looked at Poison Ivy, saying, "That green powder is quite good. It has a strong affinity for plants, and the tree people I created can't detect it at all."

"I was wondering whether I should let her in the water, but it turns out I was overthinking it."