Shikkotsu Forest (Please Bookmark and Recommend)

Nothing happened overnight. The next day, Gengetsu created a Shadow Clone to go to Orochimaru's Laboratory Base and train, while his Main Body summoned Little Katsuyu again.

"Lord Gengetsu, Sage Katsuyu has agreed to let you enter Shikkotsu Forest to practice Sage Mode. Shortly, she will use the Reverse Summoning Technique to transport you to Shikkotsu Forest. Please prepare yourself!"

Little Katsuyu wiggled her pair of antennae.

"Great!"

Gengetsu smiled. "Then, Little Katsuyu, let's begin!"

"Yes, Lord Gengetsu!"

Little Katsuyu immediately dispelled the Summoning Technique. The next moment, a spatial vortex appeared and sucked Gengetsu in.

"So this is the legendary Shikkotsu Forest?"

He landed steadily. Having experienced Flying Thunder God transportation before, Gengetsu felt no discomfort this time. Looking around, he saw a forest of towering peaks resembling massive white bones, dotted with countless gigantic fungi. Below them were huge, multicolored mushrooms and many unfamiliar flowers and plants. Some resembled chrysanthemums, but were incomparably enormous.

Many Little Katsuyus were on those plants, seemingly feeding.

Moreover, Gengetsu could clearly feel that the environment here was exceptionally damp. He had only been here a short while, yet his entire body already felt clammy, the moisture seeping into his bones.

It truly lived up to the name Shikkotsu Forest. Very fitting!

"Little Gengetsu!"

Suddenly, Katsuyu's familiar, pleasant voice rang out. Gengetsu turned around and could not help opening his mouth wide. "Sa... Sage Katsuyu?"

Though he had long known that Sage Katsuyu's Main Body had to be enormous, he was still shocked upon seeing her for the first time. She was taller than a mountain—perhaps seven or eight hundred meters, or even a thousand meters tall?

And this probably was not even Sage Katsuyu's complete form. She still had many Split Bodies outside.

"Little Gengetsu, I heard you wish to cultivate Sage Art. Although your current Chakra reserves are sufficient, cultivating Sage Art is still extremely difficult and dangerous. I cannot help you sense Natural Energy, but I can prevent you from absorbing too much of it."

Sage Katsuyu lowered her head slightly.

Gengetsu immediately felt something crawling onto him. Looking down, he saw a Little Katsuyu. He quickly bent down, lifted her, and placed her on his shoulder.

"Lord Gengetsu, I will assist you in cultivating Sage Art and absorb the excess Natural Energy in your body at critical moments!"

Little Katsuyu said.

"Then I'll be relying on you!"

Gengetsu secretly breathed a sigh of relief. This removed a major concern. Yet he still had many questions, and could not help asking, "Sage Katsuyu, what is the difference between Shikkotsu Forest's Sage Art and Mount Myōboku's Sage Art?"

"In essence, there is no difference in Sage Art. For humans, both involve absorbing Natural Energy into the body and blending it with one's own Chakra in a certain ratio to form new Chakra—Sage Chakra. The techniques cast through it are Sage Art!"

Sage Katsuyu patiently explained. Her voice beside his ear was like that of a gentle older sister.

However, Gengetsu was not focused on that at all. He sharply noticed the words, "for humans."

"Could it be that Sage Katsuyu and the Sages of the other two Great Sacred Places have Sage Modes different from those of humans?"

Gengetsu harbored doubts, while Sage Katsuyu's voice continued beside him. "However, because the environments differ, the Sage Arts of Shikkotsu Forest and Mount Myōboku also have certain differences. Shikkotsu Forest and Mount Myōboku have been influenced by Gamamaru and me, so the Natural Energy has come to bear our unique aura and imprint. Together with the contracts Sage Art practitioners form with the sacred places, this results in different manifestations!"

"So that's why absorbing too much Natural Energy at Mount Myōboku turns one into a stone toad!"

Gengetsu suddenly understood. Then what would happen if he absorbed too much Natural Energy while cultivating in Shikkotsu Forest?

Though curious, Gengetsu did not ask. Instead, he said, "Sage Katsuyu, how does your Sage state differ from that of humans?"

"You actually noticed that..."

Sage Katsuyu sounded somewhat surprised, then said, "There is indeed a difference, because I fuse Natural Energy into my Cells. Or rather, Natural Energy has already been absorbed by my Cells. This is also the origin of the Sage title of the Three Great Sacred Places!"

"So that was it!"

Gengetsu looked delighted. This answer matched his speculation. The three Sages of the Three Great Sacred Places were actually somewhat similar to Tailed Beasts.

"No, that's not right. They're completely different. Tailed Beasts are aggregates of Kaguya Otsutsuki's Chakra and Tailed Beast consciousness. They possess no true physical bodies, and their nature is infinitely close to Natural Energy. Therefore, like Sage Chakra, they can amplify techniques!"

"After the three Sages fuse Natural Energy into their Cells and combine it with physical energy, the Chakra they extract is Sage Chakra, which differs from Tailed Beast Chakra... This is getting a little confusing..."

Gengetsu rubbed his brow, calming himself as he sorted through his thoughts. "I think the energy in this world can be divided into five types.

The first is the most abundant: Natural Energy. The second is the energy contained within the God Tree Fruit after Natural Energy is absorbed by the God Tree—Tailed Beast Chakra, Kaguya Otsutsuki's Chakra. The third is human Chakra, formed by fusing physical and spiritual energy. The fourth is Sage Chakra, formed by fusing human Chakra with Natural Energy. The fifth is Sage Chakra, fundamentally identical to the fourth, but it is the true perfect Sage Mode and should be called Sage Chakra!"

"The secret to why the three Sages of the Three Great Sacred Places have survived from Kaguya's era, or even earlier, to the present clearly lies in this!"

At this moment, Gengetsu felt exhilarated and stirred, as though he had glimpsed the ultimate secret of this world. It felt as if immortality, once impossibly distant, was only a step away.

"Lord Gengetsu..."

Little Katsuyu's voice sounded beside his ear, immediately jolting Gengetsu awake. He said apologetically, "I'm very sorry, Sage Katsuyu. I was thinking about how you made your Cells absorb Natural Energy."

"Little Gengetsu, you are very different from the other humans I have met!"

Sage Katsuyu lowered her head to examine Gengetsu, her voice filled with curiosity and appreciation. "Ever since Shikkotsu Forest began having contact with the outside world, quite a few shinobi have come here. Yet not one of them has asked this question. They cultivated Sage Art in order to gain greater power, but you seem different. What you seek is the root, the truth, the meaning of life..."

Gengetsu felt a little embarrassed by Sage Katsuyu's praise. He was not that noble; he merely possessed a perspective beyond this world and could see farther.

"I look forward to what you will achieve. Go cultivate. If you have any questions, my Split Bodies will tell you!"

Sage Katsuyu said at last, without answering Gengetsu's final question.

"Yes, Sage Katsuyu!"

Gengetsu said no more and followed Little Katsuyu's directions out.