Chapter 15

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

Nagato thought back to his previous request—to see the true form of Sage Katsuyu—and couldn't help but sigh.

It seemed he had been too hasty, assuming that the location of the true Sage Katsuyu was where one practiced Sage Mode.

"Summoning Jutsu."

Nagato summoned the Cerberus beneath his feet. Once Konan, the Katsuyu clone, and the various Paths of Pain carrying their hostage had all climbed onto the beast's back, Nagato steered the Cerberus forward. The group surged ahead in a grand procession, following the direction indicated by the Katsuyu clone.

It seemed to lead toward the very heart of the swamp.

Along the way, Nagato and Konan gradually stopped seeing any living creatures native to the marshlands. The air was deathly silent, filled only by the sound of the Cerberus's paws churning the mud as it gathered Chakra to sprint.

The bare, skeletal tree trunks they had seen upon entering the swamp became even more twisted and sinister here. They spiraled upward like agonizing arms reaching out from the earth, silently screaming as they stretched toward the sky.

This eerie atmosphere caused Konan's expression to shift, and Nagato frowned in confusion.

Although he was a transmigrator, he possessed no intelligence on Shikkotsu Forest and had no idea what the true forest was actually like.

Observing the grotesque scenery as they delved deeper into the swamp, and recalling how Sage Katsuyu had kept insisting he was courting death—displaying clear hostility yet strangely offering no opposition to his desire to learn Sage Mode—a sense of foreboding began to rise in Nagato's heart.

The Cerberus, unaware of its master's inner thoughts, kept running until it soon crossed a stone monument engraved with the characters for "Shikkotsu Forest." At this moment, the Katsuyu clone spoke up: "Stop here. Put Lady Tsunade down; you cannot bring her inside."

Nagato scanned his surroundings. The air was now filled with a distinct, acidic mist that had turned a faint shade of green.

What a sweet, forgiving scent this air had—it was full of "forgiveness." Fortunately, Nagato had been a single man for both of his lifetimes.

"What do you mean? Why are we allowed to enter?" Konan couldn't help but ask. She felt that Nagato had likely been swindled by someone again.

Why did she have to add the word "again"? Emmm, regardless, in Konan's estimation, Nagato wasn't exactly the brightest bulb.

"If you want to learn Sage Mode, you must go in," Katsuyu replied. For some reason, even though this creature had no face and its tone was cute and pleasant, Nagato could still sense a feeling of schadenfreude emanating from it.

Katsuyu continued, "If you choose to give up on learning Sage Mode, I will not object."

Nagato took a deep breath of the "forgiveness-colored" air and asked the crucial question: "Katsuyu, tell me, how many people have learned the Sage Mode of Shikkotsu Forest before?"

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

"Many," Katsuyu answered bluntly, without a moment's hesitation.

"How many succeeded in learning it?"

"Zero."

"Huh?" Nagato wondered if he had misheard.

"Zero," Katsuyu repeated.

Konan's expression darkened instantly, and she followed up: "What happened to those who failed to learn it?"

This time, Katsuyu didn't speak. It simply extended a tentacle toward a pile of bones 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—the "bone" in the name, was that what it meant?

Konan's face turned grim: "You mean to say that everyone who came here to learn Sage Mode died?"

Seeing her expression, she looked ready to pull out her Explosive Tags at any moment. Nagato felt a genuine sense of worry for Katsuyu.

"This was their own choice," Katsuyu replied softly, its voice devoid of emotion.

It seemed that the sages of these so-called holy lands were all the same—they accepted anyone who came to learn, never asked about their survival, and maintained a completely detached, cold-eyed perspective.

Of course, the exception was the Mount Myoboku of the "Naruto Prince." Mount Myoboku was even worse; they played favorites.

If an ordinary person went to Mount Myoboku to learn Sage Mode, their life or death was their own business, and turning into a stone toad statue was considered their best possible ending.

But if someone like Jiraiya or Naruto—people with connections—went to learn, Fukasaku would accompany them the entire time. If there was even the slightest sign of natural energy instability in their bodies, he would immediately use his staff to purge the energy. They might not necessarily master Sage Mode, but they certainly wouldn't turn into stone statues.

"You..." Katsuyu's attitude made Konan's blood boil. Just as she was about to retort, Nagato interrupted her.

"Konan, you and the Paths of Pain stay here."

After a moment of reflection, Nagato had made up his mind.

Whether it was Ryūchi Cave or Mount Myoboku, neither would likely welcome him to learn Sage Mode. Ryūchi Cave had already chosen the path of Orochimaru, and Mount Myoboku was a target he intended to eradicate. Furthermore, he couldn't reach either of those places in his current rush. Compared to them, Shikkotsu Forest was his only option.

At this point in time, the Five Kage Summit was likely already being prepared, and the Akatsuki had become the target of the entire ninja world. He had no time to devise a foolproof plan; if he wanted to learn Sage Mode, he had to gamble.

With this in mind, Nagato summoned the Invisibility Lizard, ordering it to guard Konan, and gave her a firm command: "I will go in alone on the Cerberus, and I will inform you of the situation through the Deva Path."

He raised his left hand to stop Konan's protest and looked at Katsuyu: "In the event that I cannot control the Paths of Pain due to my training, you will have to find a way to convince Konan that I am still alive."

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

Nagato smiled: "Because I must learn Sage Mode, and if I die, Konan will blow this place to bits with 600 billion Explosive Tags."

This was truly shocking news. Was this human insane? 600 billion? Did he even know what he was saying? The entire slug was unsettled; it wondered if some kind of "artistic master" had arrived at its home.

Seemingly aware of the doubt in Katsuyu's heart, Nagato said: "Konan, show your Explosive Tags to this creature."

Konan glared at Katsuyu, nodded at Nagato, and then, the sky was filled with a dense, overwhelming sea of Explosive Tags.

The sheer quantity was staggering, and the persuasive power was off the charts.

The surroundings fell into a silence so profound one could hear a pin drop. The atmosphere was so tense it felt as if it were about to solidify.

The split body of Sage Katsuyu remained silent, as if it had been struck by some petrification spell.

Just as Nagato thought it had fallen asleep, the voice of Sage Katsuyu rang out all around, filled with astonishment: "There really are 600 billion of them!"

So, for all this time, this giant slug had been busy counting the number of Explosive Tags in the sky?

Nagato was filled with question marks, and he couldn't help but imagine a scene where Sage Katsuyu split into countless tiny slugs, all working together to count the Explosive Tags in the sky.

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

Seeing that Sage Katsuyu had fully grasped what it meant to be unimaginably wealthy, Nagato gave the order.

Even he felt uneasy looking at so many Explosive Tags; what if one of them was defective and they all suddenly detonated at once?

Konan nodded, used Paper Release to gather the Explosive Tags, and then glared at the small slug.

Hmph, if this many Explosive Tags were to explode at once, even if it couldn't kill the main body of that giant slug, it would at least level its lair. She wondered if that stinking bug was scared now.