God Tree

The was a tree revered in ancient times as a deity. It was said to bear a fruit of great power once in a millennium, although it was forbidden to consume the fruit. The circumstances under which the prohibition came to be are unknown. Consumption of the Shinju's fruit bestows an ability upon its consumer's body to produce chakra.

Background
Long before the founding of the hidden villages, during an era of endless wars between mankind, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, a princess from a faraway land, came to the place of the conflict to end it. Having decided to bring peace, Kaguya breached the prohibition and ate the forbidden fruit of the Shinju, attaining god-like powers and making herself appear as a deity to mankind. Using her new-found power, Kaguya brought forth peace by force, causing her to be seen as a demon by some. Some time later, by means unknown, the Shinju incarnated together with Kaguya and took on the form which would come to be known as the Ten-Tails.

Personality
The Shinju was an impartial entity, completely devoid of feelings and ideals as it stayed neutral and almost ambivalent to the constant wars that were waged around it by mankind.

Appearance
In its original form, the Shinju was a gargantuan tree. When it was recreated from the Ten-Tails by Obito Uchiha, it appeared as a tall, straight trunk, on top of which was a flower bud containing the Ten-Tails' eye.

Abilities
In its altered form, the Shinju's roots are capable of extending and capturing enemies as large as tailed beasts, allowing it to absorb chakra to the point of desiccating a human almost instantly. When this form of the Shinju's bud blooms and the eye within is revealed, the Infinite Tsukuyomi can be activated. Those who are placed under said genjutsu and attached to the Shinju's roots are gradually reduced to shells of their former selves, ultimately becoming White Zetsu.

Effects of the Fruit
By consuming the fruit, Kaguya was able to manifest a red-coloured Rinnegan with Sharingan powers as a third eye on her forehead, which is able to cast the Infinite Tsukuyomi. She also gained chakra that Sasuke Uchiha described as being on an entirely different level from anything he had ever felt. By utilising the Infinite Tsukuyomi and God: Nativity of a World of Trees, it is possible to regather the chakra of all living beings throughout the entire world, assimilating them into a single being once again, thus allowing the Shinju to grow a new in place of the one Kaguya once consumed.

Ten-Tails Revival Arc
After becoming the Ten-Tails' jinchūriki and gaining control over the beast's power, Obito Uchiha released a construct of the Ten-Tails from his body and had it assume its true form: the Shinju. While in this form, the tree acted as an extension of Obito, its roots absorbing chakra from the Allied Shinobi Forces. Madara Uchiha, while battling Hashirama Senju, explained to his rival what he believed to be the origin of the Ten-Tails, and explained that once the bud atop the tree opened, the Ten-Tails' eye would be reflected on the moon and the Eye of the Moon Plan would be completed. As Obito continued to dominate the battle, waiting for the blooming of the Shinju to be completed, Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha were able to land a critical hit on Obito. This allowed Naruto, Gaara, and Killer B to latch onto the tailed beast chakra within Obito with their own tailed beast chakra. With the combined efforts of the entire Allied Forces, the tailed beasts were freed from Obito, halting the tree's development.

Infinite Tsukuyomi Arc
Later, after Madara recaptured the nine tailed beasts and sealed them back within the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, the Ten-Tails was revived once again. Shortly thereafter, Madara summoned the beast and ultimately sealed it within himself, making him its newest jinchūriki. When Naruto used the Sage Art: Lava Release Rasenshuriken to cut down the Shinju that was left behind by Obito, a voice told Madara to absorb the falling tree, which Madara believed to be the beast's desire to unite everything into one being.

Once Madara had completed the Eye of the Moon Plan, he was promptly betrayed by Black Zetsu, who proceeded to use itself and Madara as a medium to revive Kaguya. Soon after, while absorbing chakra from Naruto and Sasuke, Black Zetsu revealed the true story behind the creation of the Ten-Tails and Kaguya's desire to reclaim all chakra for herself. After the fight with Kaguya, the Shinju, being one with her, was sealed by the Six Paths Chibaku Tensei in Kaguya's dimension.

Trivia

 * literally means 'god tree', and its size and nature have connections to both the world tree and the tree of life, motifs that are present in several real-life religions and mythologies throughout the world.
 * In addition, the story of the Shinju bearing the forbidden fruit is very similar to the story of the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil in Abrahamic religions, where Adam and Eve, the first humans, ate the forbidden fruit despite being told otherwise. Ultimately, while becoming wiser, it lead to their downfall by incurring the wrath of God. For disobeying Him, He forever cursed the two and their descendants. Adam's eldest son, Cain, would murder his younger brother, Abel, in anger and jealousy following God's rejection of his offering while accepting Abel's, which alludes to the struggle between the two sons of the Sage of the Six Paths.
 * The wooden dragon-like entities at the base of the Shinju may be a reference to Nidhogg, a dragon or serpent who eternally chews the roots of Yggdrasil in Norse mythology. Likewise with the appearance of the Shinju, it is said that should Nidhogg finally be free of its entrapment underneath Yggdrasil, its appearance into the world beyond its roots are said to herald the coming of Ragnarok, the end of the world and ultimate battle of the gods.