Clothing a Giant Buddha in Susanoo was clearly still a long and arduous journey ahead.
Now, Kyle had another task added to his workload. While cultivating the Six Paths of Pain and White Zetsu, he also had to modify the existing tree species.
Although the Whomping Willow was powerful enough to keep three to five ordinary grown men from getting close, it was still a far cry from being compatible with Susanoo.
As for the legendary World Tree, Kyle held out no hope.
Centuries ago, the World Tree had been reduced to ashes by a dark wizard named Archimonde using Fiendfyre.
It was from that moment on that the wizarding world began its decline from prosperity to decay.
Although legends still circulated in the wizarding world that the seeds of the World Tree still existed somewhere out there, Kyle didn't want to pin his hopes on such an ephemeral myth.
A person's destiny, after all, relied on their own individual struggles.
In any case, he was already highly skilled in magical modification. Whether using Transfiguration or Alchemy, engineering a tree species that met his requirements was only a matter of time.
As the days drew closer to Christmas, the weather in the Scottish Highlands grew increasingly colder.
It was worth mentioning that ever since the "Father-Grievers" introduced Muggle Art Appreciation classes at Hogwarts and pushed for the implementation of a military training week, the physical fitness of the Hogwarts students had become significantly stronger than before.
At this time in previous years, Madam Pomfrey's hospital wing would always be overcrowded.
But this year, only a handful of people needed to see Madam Pomfrey, and among those seeking medical attention, the vast majority were students who usually neglected their magic control practice.
Just as the Hogwarts students were eagerly looking forward to an early Christmas break, a manhunt was taking place somewhere in a forest in the Scottish Highlands.
Inside the dark and gloomy forest, a ragged, balding, short man was running for his dear life.
This was already the fourth month that Peter Pettigrew had been running and hiding.
Ever since he saw the report of Sirius Black's prison break in the Daily Prophet subscribed to by the Weasleys, Peter Pettigrew, who had been laying low by Ron's side, felt a deep sense of unease.
This unease prompted him to flee the Burrow after the Weasleys returned from their trip to Egypt, right before the family went to the Ministry of Magic for the Order of Merlin award ceremony.
God only knew if there would be any security magic inside the heavily guarded Ministry of Magic that could detect an unregistered Animagus or something.
Peter Pettigrew didn't dare risk his life to gamble like that alongside Ron.
Thus, on a dark, windy night, while Ron was fast asleep, Peter Pettigrew stealthily stole Ron's wand.
After catching a random rat outside, transforming it into his own Animagus form, and controlling it with the Imperius Curse, Peter Pettigrew returned Ron's wand without alerting anyone and left the Burrow overnight.
To avoid Sirius, Peter Pettigrew didn't dare stay in any single place for more than a week.
Wandering all the way, hiding here and there, he eventually ended up hiding in a forest in the Scottish Highlands.
Armed with a resilient willpower and an iron stomach that dared to eat anything, Pettigrew—who could be considered half a wilderness survival "expert"—settled down in the forest.
Of course, the more prominent reason was that he was exhausted and could no longer run.
However, he had only been settled in the forest for half a month, having built himself a small log cabin using primitive tools comparable to the Stone Age, when a group of uninvited guests shattered his peaceful wilderness survival life.
Who the hell could tell him why hundreds of people suddenly wanted to capture him?!
Even the Ministry of Magic's Aurors didn't have that many people, okay?!
The moment before his log cabin was blown to smithereens by a Blasting Curse, Peter Pettigrew's keen sense of danger saved his rat of a life.
Evading the Blasting Curse didn't mean he was out of the woods.
A wilderness battle royale was still waiting for him.
More than two hundred Acolytes radiated outward, centering around Peter Pettigrew's log cabin. Their positions were spread far apart but not loose; instead, they formed an airtight dragnet.
Peter Pettigrew had barely scurried a few hundred meters before five Stunning Spells blasted into him simultaneously.
A sinister-looking man with slicked-back hair stepped out from behind the bushes, his gaze quite disgusted as he looked at Peter Pettigrew, who hadn't taken a bath in what seemed like several months.
Waving his wand, a massive amount of water was drawn from a nearby stream, forming a giant water prison in the air.
The water inside the prison spun rapidly, exactly like a washing machine.
After tossing Peter Pettigrew inside and washing him a full three times, the sinister man finally approached within a meter of him, pulling out a pair of handcuffs to shackle Pettigrew.
"Tell the Young Master we've caught the man he wanted."
Hogwarts Castle was exceptionally quiet in the dead of night, with most of the students already fast asleep in dreamland.
A beam of light struck the curtain-like clouds, leaving a faint projection of the Deathly Hallows symbol in the sky.
Several dark figures quietly scaled the outer walls surrounding Hogwarts Castle and slipped inside.
The faint snapping of dry twigs echoed from the Forbidden Forest near the Quidditch pitch, and a youth with brilliant golden hair slowly stepped out from the darkness of the forest.
Earlier today, Kyle had received a message from the Acolytes, and he was here now to take custody of Peter Pettigrew.
He didn't have to wait long. Guided by the beam of light, the dark figures who had climbed over the walls quickly arrived at the edge of the Forbidden Forest.
The faint glow of a Lumos spell dispelled the darkness of a small area, illuminating the faces of the individuals.
The leading Acolyte was the sinister man with the slicked-back hair.
Kyle recognized him.
Mads Mikkelsen, a second-generation Acolyte under Grindelwald; his father had been among the very first batch of Acolytes to follow Grindelwald.
However, Grindelwald had plenty of fiercely loyal Acolytes under his command. The sole reason Kyle remembered this man so vividly was because—
This uncle's culinary palate was so broad that even Bear Grylls and Ed Stafford would bow in defeat.
If it flew in the sky, walked on the ground, or swam in the water, there was nothing that couldn't find its way into his stomach.
He had even published a book, a work on par with Newt Scamander's painstakingly written Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them—titled Fantastic Beasts in the Pot.
This book was revered by countless gourmands as a treasure among cookbooks.
Of course, a mere copy of Fantastic Beasts in the Pot wasn't enough to leave a lasting impression on Kyle.
The absolute critical reason was that this man ate people.
In the most literal sense.
Fortunately, though his hobbies were rather twisted, he was also a highly capable wizard.
Grindelwald didn't mind his subordinates having such quirks. As long as he didn't target his fellow wizards and possessed talents that Grindelwald valued, Grindelwald could tolerate him.
However, the young Dark Lord still couldn't stomach such a perverted hobby, even though he himself committed all kinds of atrocities, from arson to murder.
Therefore, facing Mads who came to hand over the mission, Kyle merely maintained a cold expression.
Tightly bound by magic-suppressing chains, Peter Pettigrew was roughly thrown to the ground.
Looking at how Peter Pettigrew lay there like a corpse, he had likely been hit with multiple stacks of Stunning Spells along the way. Thus, even after being dropped heavily onto the ground and nearly knocked half to death, he showed no signs of waking.
Not wanting to have too much contact with Mads, Kyle said nothing. He picked up the unconscious Peter Pettigrew with one hand and walked toward the castle.
The several Acolytes who came to hand over the mission vanished into the dark night.
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