Signing! Shikkotsu Forest Contract

Back in Konoha, Kyoichi thought for a moment, then decided to use the key and went to Tsunade's mansion.

Tsunade's mansion was easy to recognize.

It was the First Hokage's house from back then. It wasn't large in scale, but the location was excellent. It looked ancient and full of history, one of the few properties the Senju clan still owned.

Kyoichi arrived at the gate.

He took out the key, opened the door, and entered, only to...

"Who are you? Why do you have the key to this place!"

"Huh?"

Kyoichi turned his head and saw a man with white hair wearing a forehead protector with the kanji for "oil" on it. He immediately recognized the man's identity.

One of the Sannin.

Jiraiya!

What a coincidence.

After bowing, Kyoichi said, "Lord Jiraiya, my name is Kanda Kyoichi. This key... of course, Lady Tsunade gave it to me."

"Tsunade gave it to you?"

Jiraiya was taken aback.

Although he had come here first thing after returning, he knew Tsunade hadn't returned to the village. If she hadn't returned, where did this kid get the key?

"Yes, I was on a mission in Baiyun Town and happened to run into her."

Kyoichi nodded.

"Baiyun Town..."

Jiraiya sighed. He had returned directly to the village from Sunagakure and hadn't passed through there, so he had missed Tsunade.

Oh well, it wouldn't have mattered if I saw her.

But.

Who was this kid...

Kanda Kyoichi?

He didn't remember anyone Tsunade knew by that name.

"To put it simply, I'm sort of Lady Tsunade's cousin."

Though it's a bit distant.

Kyoichi thought to himself.

"C-cousin? So that's how it is, hahahaha, well, let's chat again sometime, I have things to do."

Jiraiya's words faltered.

After a few awkward laughs, he abruptly changed the subject and quickly took his leave.

Damn.

I thought this kid was some kind of thief.

Turns out he's Tsunade's cousin.

I almost made a fool of myself.

Jiraiya thought this and couldn't help but feel secretly relieved. Thankfully, Tsunade hadn't returned. Otherwise, if she saw him lurking outside her house right after returning, she'd probably beat him to death.

As for the authenticity of the "cousin"...

Jiraiya didn't doubt it.

Kyoichi wore a Konoha forehead protector. In Konoha, no one dared to claim such a relationship so casually. Furthermore, the Senju clan had intermarried with many families, and their bloodline now spread throughout the village.

Having one or two cousins wasn't a big deal.

"Jiraiya coming here instead of going to a hot spring? That's weird."

Kyoichi didn't know what to say.

Never mind.

Let's go inside and see what Tsunade's intention was in giving me the key.

He walked in and closed the door.

The courtyard was quite large.

But.

Compared to Hashirama Senju's status, the house he left behind was considered small. It was basically the size of a head of a minor clan's residence. Just looking at the courtyard, one wouldn't think this was the former home of the First Hokage.

The First and Second Hokage truly embodied their ideals.

Kyoichi felt a surge of admiration.

The door was covered in dust; no one had been here for many years. He entered the house and looked around. Many things inside were covered with cloths to prevent them from getting dusty.

The room was large.

But the layout was clear. After walking around, he basically knew what each area was used for.

The most important place was naturally the study.

The study had a separate key, which Tsunade had also given to Kyoichi.

There were many books inside.

Some were collected works, but more were the Second Hokage's notes. They were very messy and unorganized, just fragments of ideas that came to him in flashes of inspiration.

Besides those, on another bookshelf were Tsunade's medical notes.

There were many medical books on it.

For many medical ninjas, these were no less than priceless treasures.

"Hmm? What's this?"

At the very top of the bookshelf representing the First Hokage's collection, Kyoichi saw a cylindrical object wrapped in cloth. He took it down, unwrapped the cloth, and upon seeing what was inside, he was stunned for a moment.

A scroll.

To be precise, it was a summoning contract scroll for Shikkotsu Forest.

Good grief!

Tsunade is too careless, just leaving a scroll like this lying around?

Isn't she afraid it'll be stolen?

He was stunned for a long time, then carefully considered it and realized she probably wasn't afraid.

Shikkotsu Forest was one of the three great Sage Lands.

Unlike Mount Myōboku or Ryūchi Cave, Shikkotsu Forest had no small slugs. The entire Shikkotsu Forest had only the Sage of the Slug, and what Tsunade, Sakura, and the others summoned were actually parts of the Sage of the Slug.

Anyone who stole the scroll without permission...

The consequences were imaginable.

Did Tsunade give me the key and tell me to come to the study, perhaps hoping I'd find this?

He hesitated.

This thing can't be messed with.

As Kyoichi hesitated, the symbols on the scroll suddenly lit up. After a moment, a small slug crawled out from inside and onto Kyoichi's hand, conveying a message.

"You must have found the scroll since you saw it. I'm now asking the Sage of the Slug to relay a message. This is the Shikkotsu Forest summoning scroll contracted by the Senju clan. You can sign it if you're interested, or not if you aren't."

Tsunade's voice was casual.

It was as if this wasn't a summoning scroll, but some trivial item.

As for the slug appearing here...

With the symbol of the contract scroll, it wasn't difficult for it to appear.

Kyoichi thought for a moment.

There weren't many summoning beasts in the entire Ninja World that could compare to the Sage of the Slug.

The opportunity was right in front of him...

He signed it!

He no longer hesitated, bit his finger, and began to sign.

After a moment.

Kyoichi felt a connection being established between himself and the slug.

"My name is Katsuyu," it said gently.

"Greetings, Lord Katsuyu."

Even though the other party was gentle and not very large, Kyoichi remained respectful because he knew its true form was probably larger than Konoha.

This was a sage who had lived from ancient times until now.

"You don't need to be so formal. You possess the power of the Senju clan. When you become stronger, you can come to Shikkotsu Forest to visit... If you need to, you can summon me using ninjutsu."

"Yes!"

Kyoichi bowed his head.

The next moment, the slug clone departed.

He pondered for a few seconds.

The meaning behind Katsuyu's words...

Could it be that...

If my body becomes stronger, I'll have the chance to learn the Sage Mode of Shikkotsu Forest?

If that's the case, I'll be making a huge profit!

Kyoichi carefully put the scroll back where he found it and then turned his attention to the other books—mainly some of the Second Hokage's books and notes.

Time slipped by unnoticed.

The light grew dim. Looking outside, it was already dusk.

"There are too many books, I can't possibly read them all. I'll have a Shadow Clone read them for me tomorrow."

Kyoichi thought to himself.

However.

The harvest was immense.

After reading a few notebooks on Genjutsu, combined with the knowledge of light-based illusions from the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique rewarded by the system, Kyoichi already knew how to fuse Genjutsu with Iaido.

A flash of the sword!

The moment he slashed, he could amplify the sword's light with chakra, creating a blinding flash effect for the opponent, allowing him to strike and defeat them in that instant.

He had a plan.

As for Konoha Style: Willow...

It was an action-guided Genjutsu. He could also guide it with sword movements, but that was a different approach.

He could pursue both simultaneously.

Since he had the theory, neither of the two would be complicated to experiment with.

In reality.

Kyoichi had already gained a preliminary grasp of them. What was lacking was practical application, which required a sparring partner.

Thanks to hvgrqh and book friend 20190707121536944 for the rewards.