As Konoha's chosen second Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Kushina's safety was extremely important.
Especially now, when Uzumaki Mito was getting on in years.
That was why Hiruzen Sarutobi had thought of pairing her with Qingshui—to ensure her safety.
Qingshui happened to have no teammates to pair up with, and the two were good friends, so they were a perfect fit.
More importantly, Qingshui was strong enough to protect Kushina.
"All right, all right, I know. I'll tell Kushina tomorrow. If there's nothing else, I'll head off to bed."
Seeing how impatient Tsunade looked, Hiruzen Sarutobi could only shake his head helplessly.
But it was indeed quite late, and he should head home and get some rest.
After walking Mikoto back to the Uchiha Clan Compound, Qingshui went straight home.
Then, eager to get started, he used the Summoning Jutsu to summon a palm-sized Katsuyu.
"Lord Qingshui, is something the matter at this late hour?"
"Katsuyu Sage, I heard that the Three Great Sage Lands have a training method called Senjutsu?"
That was why Qingshui had summoned Katsuyu despite the late hour.
He was simply too eager to improve.
"So you want to learn Senjutsu, Lord Qingshui? With your current Chakra, you could just barely learn it."
Katsuyu didn't refuse. She simply gave him that answer.
Hearing this, Qingshui fell silent for a moment.
He had nearly eighty thousand Chakra, more than the vast majority of Ninja in the Ninja World.
And yet, according to the Katsuyu Sage, he could only just barely learn Senjutsu.
No wonder only a handful of Ninja in the Original Work had ever learned Senjutsu.
Just the Chakra requirement alone was beyond ninety-nine percent of Ninja.
Of course, this wasn't because the Katsuyu Sage had impossibly high standards. Without enough Chakra, attempting to learn Senjutsu was extremely dangerous.
The Nature Energy of the Ninja World was highly corrosive. With too little Chakra, a Ninja could easily be devoured by Nature Energy and become part of nature.
"Then, Katsuyu Sage, how do you train in Senjutsu?"
The Original Work described Mount Myōboku the most among the Three Great Sage Lands. Jiraiya, Minato, and even the protagonist, Naruto Uzumaki, had all learned Senjutsu there.
Next was Ryūchi Cave, where the dream-maker Kabuto Yakushi had also learned Senjutsu.
Orochimaru had trained at Ryūchi Cave too, but he hadn't succeeded.
Finally, there was Shikkotsu Forest, the least-described of the three. From beginning to end, it was never explained how one could learn Senjutsu there, or who had ever managed it.
Some people had guessed that Senjutsu was where Senju Hashirama had learned it, but there was no concrete evidence.
"It's very simple! If you can endure my acid, you'll learn Senjutsu."
Her voice was sweet and gentle, but her words made Qingshui's blood run cold.
After all, the Katsuyu Sage's acid was extremely corrosive, and it was one of her few means of attack.
How could a Ninja's mortal body possibly withstand it?
"Katsuyu Sage, has anyone ever learned Senjutsu using this method?"
Katsuyu Sage thought carefully for a while. "If I remember correctly, someone managed it several hundred years ago. He had an extraordinarily tough body and powerful healing abilities."
Qingshui was utterly speechless.
The method for learning Senjutsu at Shikkotsu Forest seemed many times more dangerous than the methods at Mount Myōboku and Ryūchi Cave.
It was practically no different from choosing to die.
At that moment, Qingshui suddenly understood.
Could the "Forest of Bones" in Shikkotsu Forest refer to the remains of those who failed to learn Senjutsu, piled up like a forest?
Much like those who failed to learn Senjutsu at Mount Myōboku, who all ended up as stone toads.
No wonder Tsunade hadn't learned Senjutsu in the Original Work.
When she was young, she hadn't mastered the Yin Seal or developed the Hundred Healings Jutsu, so she obviously couldn't have trained in Senjutsu at Shikkotsu Forest.
By the time she had the Hundred Healings Jutsu, she had already left Konoha and was gambling her way around the Ninja World, buried under a mountain of debt.
How could she have had the mind to study Senjutsu then?
And after Jiraiya and Naruto brought her back to Konoha to become Hokage, even if she had wanted to learn Senjutsu, she wouldn't have had the time.
Of course, it was also possible that, like Orochimaru, Tsunade simply lacked the talent for Senjutsu and hadn't learned it.
"So, Lord Qingshui, do you still want to learn Senjutsu?"
At that moment, Katsuyu Sage's gentle voice sounded to Qingshui like the grim reaper coming to claim his life.
He hurriedly replied, "I only wanted to learn a little about Senjutsu. I don't have any plans to study it just yet."
Although he could sense Nature Energy, there was no way he could endure the training method the Katsuyu Sage had described.
For the sake of his own life, he could only refuse.
"Of course, Lord Qingshui. You can ask me anything you'd like to know."
"Then, Katsuyu Sage, could I trouble you to tell me how you first mastered Senjutsu?"
Qingshui had originally thought he could easily learn the Senjutsu of Shikkotsu Forest, but now he saw that he'd been getting ahead of himself.
He felt he had a better chance of studying Senjutsu on his own than of learning it at Shikkotsu Forest.
So he needed to learn more about Senjutsu from Katsuyu Sage first.
After all, Senjutsu wasn't something he could just pick up and use simply by learning the theory.
Otherwise, someone with Orochimaru's abilities would have mastered it long ago.
"No problem!"
Katsuyu Sage then told Qingshui, in meticulous detail, how she had mastered Senjutsu from scratch.
She also patiently answered all the questions Qingshui asked along the way.
Before they knew it, the sky had begun to brighten.
"Sorry for the trouble, Katsuyu Sage."
"It's no trouble. If you ever need help, you can summon me anytime."
With that, Katsuyu Sage released the Summoning Jutsu on her own and returned to Shikkotsu Forest.
After a whole night, Qingshui had learned a great deal and had some ideas about how to study Senjutsu.
"It's about time I headed to work at Konoha Hospital."
Although he hadn't slept all night, going without sleep for one night now and then wasn't a big deal for a Ninja's constitution.
After all, Ninja sometimes had to go several days and nights without sleep to carry out their missions.
"Ah, it's Lord Qingshui! Lord Qingshui is finally back!"
"Long time no see, Lord Qingshui!"
After more than half a month away, the nurses at Konoha Hospital were all thrilled to see Qingshui again.
"Long time no see, everyone."
After exchanging a few greetings with everyone, Qingshui returned to his office. He took out a scroll and wrote down his ideas for studying Senjutsu.
A nurse suddenly knocked on Qingshui's office door.
"Lord Qingshui, there's a patient who needs your immediate attention."
Qingshui hurriedly put away the scroll. "Got it. Prepare the operating room. I'll be there right away."
[Completed the treatment of Tanabe Seitaro. Reward: one Blue Orb.] [Congratulations! You received 100 Chakra.]
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