Chapter 15

"So this isn't the real Shikkotsu Forest?"

Nagato thought back to his earlier request: he'd only wanted to meet Katsuyu's true body. He couldn't help sighing.

It seemed he'd been rash, simply assuming that Katsuyu's true body was where one learned Senjutsu.

"Summoning Jutsu."

Nagato summoned Cerberus beneath his feet. Once Konan, Katsuyu's split body, and the Pains carrying the hostages had all climbed onto Cerberus's back, Nagato guided the beast, and the group charged off in the direction Katsuyu's split body had indicated.

It seemed to lead to the deepest part of the swamp.

As they went, Nagato and Konan gradually stopped seeing any living creatures native to the swamp. All was silent around them; the only sound was Cerberus digging into the ground and running after gathering Chakra beneath its feet.

The bare tree trunks they'd seen upon entering the swamp had grown even more twisted and sinister here. They spiraled upward like countless arms reaching out of the earth in agony, stretching toward the sky in a soundless scream.

The eerie atmosphere made Konan's expression change, and Nagato furrowed his brow in confusion.

Though he was a transmigrator, he had no information about Shikkotsu Forest and didn't know what the real place was like.

As he watched the bizarre scenery deepen around them, he recalled how Sage Katsuyu had kept saying he was asking for death. She clearly held hostility toward him, yet strangely hadn't objected at all to his learning Senjutsu. An ominous feeling gradually rose in Nagato's heart.

Cerberus had no idea what its master was thinking. It kept running, and before long they'd passed the stone stele engraved with the words "Shikkotsu Forest." Then Katsuyu's split body spoke up on its own. "Stop here for now. Put Lady Tsunade down. You can't take Lady Tsunade in with you."

Nagato looked around. The air was thick with a conspicuous acidic mist, tinted a pale green.

What wonderfully sweet air—so full of forgiveness. Good thing Nagato had been single in both his lives.

"What do you mean? Then why can we go in?" Konan couldn't hold back anymore. She suspected Nagato had fallen for someone's trick again.

Why "again"? Emmmm. Anyway, in Konan's eyes, Nagato wasn't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed.

"If you want to learn Senjutsu, you have to go in," Katsuyu replied. For some reason, though the slug had no face and spoke in a cute, pleasant voice, Nagato could still sense its glee at their predicament.

Katsuyu continued, "If you give up on learning Senjutsu, I won't object either."

Nagato took a deep breath of the forgiveness-green air and asked the key question. "Katsuyu, tell me: how many people have tried to learn Shikkotsu Forest's Senjutsu?"

Konan stared intently at the little slug, watching to see if it would lie.

"Many," Katsuyu answered readily, without hesitation.

"How many learned Senjutsu?"

"None."

"Hm?" Nagato wondered if he'd heard wrong.

"None," Katsuyu repeated.

Konan's expression darkened at once. She immediately asked, "What happened to the people who failed to learn Senjutsu?"

This time, Katsuyu didn't answer. It simply pointed its antennae toward a skeleton not far away.

Nagato and Konan were both stunned. Katsuyu's meaning was simple: no one had succeeded, and everyone who failed had died. Shikkotsu Forest—so that was what the "bones" in its name meant?

Konan's expression turned even darker. "You mean everyone who came here to learn Senjutsu died?"

She looked ready to pull out an Explosive Tag at any moment. Nagato, standing nearby, couldn't help feeling sorry for Katsuyu.

"That was your choice," Katsuyu replied softly, its voice devoid of emotion.

The sages of these so-called sacred lands all seemed to be the same. They welcomed anyone who came to learn Senjutsu, but didn't care whether they lived or died. They simply watched from the sidelines.

Of course, Naruto's Mount Myoboku was an exception. Mount Myoboku was even worse, judging people entirely by who they were.

If an ordinary person went to Mount Myoboku to learn Senjutsu, no one would care whether they lived or died; they'd be left to their fate. Turning into a stone toad was the best they could hope for.

But if someone with connections like Jiraiya or Naruto went to Mount Myoboku to learn Senjutsu, Fukasaku would accompany them the whole way. If there was even the slightest sign of Natural Energy becoming unbalanced inside them, he'd immediately use a stick to drive it out. They might or might not learn Senjutsu in the end, but they definitely wouldn't turn into stone statues.

"You..." Katsuyu's attitude left Konan so frustrated that she was about to say more, but Nagato cut her off.

"Konan, you and the Pains stay here."

After a moment's thought, Nagato made up his mind.

Whether it was Ryūchi Cave or Mount Myoboku, neither would welcome him as a student. Ryūchi Cave had already chosen Orochimaru's line of ninja, and Mount Myoboku was a target he wanted to eliminate. Besides, he couldn't reach either place at such short notice. Compared to them, Shikkotsu Forest was his only option.

At this point, the Five Kage Summit was probably already being prepared. The Akatsuki had become the target of the entire Shinobi World. He didn't have time to prepare a foolproof plan. If he wanted to learn Senjutsu, he could only risk everything here.

With that in mind, Nagato summoned an Invisibility Lizard and had it guard Konan. Then he decisively gave her an order. "I'll ride Cerberus in alone. Then I'll use the Deva Path to tell you what's happening inside."

He raised his left hand to stop Konan from objecting, then looked at Katsuyu again. "If I can't control the Pains because of my training, you'll have to find a way to convince Konan I'm still alive."

"Hm? Why would I do that?" Katsuyu asked, puzzled.

Nagato smiled. "Because I have to learn Senjutsu. And if I die, Konan will blow this place up with six hundred billion Explosive Tags."

That was astonishing news. Was this human insane? Six hundred billion? Did he even know what he was saying? Katsuyu was so flustered that it wondered if some kind of artist had come to its home.

As if sensing Katsuyu's doubts, Nagato said, "Konan, show this slug your Explosive Tags."

Konan shot Katsuyu a glare and nodded at Nagato. Then the sky filled with countless Explosive Tags.

The sheer number was undeniable—more than enough to prove his point.

The surroundings fell so quiet you could hear a pin drop. The tension was so thick it felt like it might solidify.

Katsuyu's split body stayed silent, as if it had been hit by some kind of petrification spell.

Just as Nagato thought it had fallen asleep, Sage Katsuyu's astonished voice rang out around them. "There really are six hundred billion!"

So the whole time, that giant slug had been counting the Explosive Tags in the sky?

Nagato's head was full of question marks. He couldn't help imagining Sage Katsuyu splitting into countless little slugs, all counting the tags in the sky together.

"Konan, you can put the Explosive Tags away now."

Once Katsuyu had fully grasped what it meant to be obscenely wealthy, Nagato gave the order.

Even he was frightened by that many Explosive Tags. What if one of them was defective and they all went off at once?

Konan nodded, stored the Explosive Tags with Paper Release, and glared at the little slug again.

Hmph. Even if all those Explosive Tags couldn't kill the giant slug's true body, they could still flatten its home. Let's see if this nasty slug wasn't scared of that.