The Land of the Bone Forest lived up to its name: a damp swamp filled with strange trees shaped like bones.
The forest was covered in Katsuyus of all sizes. These Katsuyus were all Sage Katsuyu's Clones. As soon as Sarutobi Toru and Tsunade were summoned to Shikkotsu Forest, a large Katsuyu Clone led them to meet Sage Katsuyu's main body.
Though he had long known that Sage Katsuyu was enormous, Sarutobi Toru was still shaken when he actually saw her. She was like a towering mountain, so vast that he could not see her summit.
"Oh~, Little Tsunade, is this the little Toru you recommended~, the one who came to learn Sage Jutsu?" Though Sage Katsuyu was enormous, her voice had not grown louder. Her tone was drawn out for ages, and he had no idea how she even made sounds.
What the hell is with "little Toru"? I'm not some kind of Pokémon trainer.
Though he grumbled internally, Sarutobi Toru did not dare say anything carelessly. With a mountain standing before him, the pressure was still immense.
"That's right, it's him," Tsunade replied with a smile. "Toru is very talented."
"Yes, my name is Sarutobi Toru. Please take care of me!" Sarutobi Toru said respectfully to Sage Katsuyu as well.
"Oh~, let me see~." As she spoke, a Clone split off from Sage Katsuyu's enormous body and extended something—whether antennae or eyes, he could not tell—toward Sarutobi Toru.
"Mm~, quite a good amount of Chakra~. Though it cannot compare with Little Tsunade's or Little Hashirama's~, it does indeed meet the requirements for cultivating Sage Mode," Katsuyu said slowly.
You flatter me. I still can't compare to monsters with Sage Bodies!
"But~, Little Tsunade should have told you~, about the dangers of cultivating Sage Mode~." Katsuyu still spoke in