Shikkotsu Forest

Biodata

History

Haruno Sakura first reached Shikkotsu Forest after recklessly using the Summoning Jutsu without a contract. She fell into its white expanse and encountered a palm-sized manifestation of Sage Katsuyu, who returned her safely to Konoha. Although Katsuyu recognized Sakura's attempted deception, she considered Sakura's precise arrival without a contract proof that they were fated. 25

Katsuyu permitted Sakura to form a separate contract with the Enma Clan, explaining that Sakura did not require a formal contract to summon her. This unusual arrangement allowed Sakura access to both Katsuyu and the Enma Clan. 25

Sakura later prepared to endure the forest's Sage Mode training by developing her Yang Release, Medical Ninjutsu, and Hundred Healings Jutsu. 93 111 175 She eventually survived the Sage Pond's corrosion, absorbed Natural Energy, and awakened Sage Mode. 228

After the world endured repeated Ōtsutsuki invasions, Sage Katsuyu expended the Sage Pond's accumulated Natural Energy to defeat an enemy, suffering injuries from which she never recovered. Near death, she unsealed Sakura from an iron coffin as her final act to restore a defender capable of facing the next threat. 343

Environment

• The forest initially appears as a vast white landscape beneath a gray, hazy sky, with a blue river visible at its edge. 25
• Its defining feature is the Sage Pond, a clear spring saturated with Natural Energy and surrounded by corrosive acid fog. 228
• Sage Katsuyu created the Sage Pond through more than a thousand years of effort; by the distant future, it had accumulated Natural Energy over three thousand years. 228 343
• The pond's Natural Energy corrodes unprepared users; failure to withstand it can reduce a trainee to dust. 67 112 270
• All slugs found in Shikkotsu Forest are manifestations of the single Sage Katsuyu rather than separate individuals. 25

Sage Mode Training

Shikkotsu Forest's method of attaining Sage Mode is direct and lethal: a trainee enters the Sage Pond, endures its corrosive Natural Energy, and absorbs that energy without dying. 67 228

• Sakura used Yang Release to strengthen and sustain her body against the pond's corrosion. 93 112 185
• The Hundred Healings Jutsu and Medical Ninjutsu were part of her intended survival strategy. 111 143 175
• After successful training, Sakura could store prepared Sage Chakra and enter Sage Mode immediately through her Yin Seal. 228 283
• Sage Chakra refined from the pond could be safely infused into Enma's Golden Staff. 283

Relationships

• Sage Katsuyu — The forest's sole slug and creator of its Sage Pond. Her clones serve as its visible inhabitants and as Sakura's summons. 25 228
• Haruno Sakura — Arrived without a contract, was judged fated to the forest, became its inheritor, and mastered its Sage Mode. 25 228 268
• Uzumaki Mei — A descendant of Naruto and the last known contractor of Shikkotsu Forest after Sage Katsuyu's death. 343
• Hashirama Senju and Tsunade — Hashirama selected Shikkotsu Forest as a gift for the infant Tsunade and fought Sage Katsuyu to secure her contract. 224

Trivia

• Sakura considers Sage Katsuyu individually sufficient to represent a Sage Region, contrasting her with Mount Myōboku's many toads and Ryūchi Cave's snake sages and princesses. 268
• Tsunade never obtained Shikkotsu Forest Sage Mode despite her Senju and Uzumaki heritage, underscoring the Sage Pond's danger. 67