Cultivation Method

After seeing Konan secure the Explosive Tags, Nagato manipulated Pain to carry Tsunade and Hinata as he jumped off the Cerberus.

Seeing this, Konan gave Nagato a deep look. Seeing not a trace of hesitation in his eyes, she followed the Pains and jumped down as well.

"I believe in you!" she said to Nagato as she leaped from the back of the Cerberus.

A smile appeared on Nagato's face, thinking to himself that this feeling of being trusted was truly not bad.

He was a man who was going to become a god; surely he wouldn't die in a godforsaken place like this?

Probably...

"Alright, let's continue moving forward," Nagato said to the small Katsuyu still clinging to the back of the Cerberus, his heart filled with positive energy.

Standing to the side, stunned by the 600 billion Explosive Tags, the small Katsuyu spoke up in a hurry: "Wait, I think we should reconsider this."

Under Nagato's command, the Cerberus stretched its four legs and began to sprint.

"What is there to discuss? I have already decided," Nagato said dismissively.

"Don't you think your decision is too reckless? Learning Senjutsu really kills people!"

Katsuyu suddenly began to worry about Nagato's safety.

"It's fine, I won't die," Nagato said, feeling very confident in himself.

"Did you really understand what I said earlier?! Up until now, the number of people who have mastered Senjutsu in Shikkotsu Forest is zero. Zero!" The small Katsuyu's voice rose an octave, sounding somewhat anxious.

"I know that. How did you know I am Zero? My codename in the Akatsuki organization is Zero! You really are a clever little thing."

Nagato curled the corners of his mouth and laughed; the more anxious Katsuyu became, the more at ease he felt.

"Ah? That's not what I meant! I beg you, please reconsider! You don't want to die, do you?"

The small Katsuyu was so anxious it started bouncing around like a spring.

Nagato looked at Katsuyu with eyes full of understanding, thinking, this is a homebody bug, then shook his head: "Really, it's not like you're the one dying, what are you afraid of? Besides, having the entire Shikkotsu Forest to accompany me in death, I won't be at a loss."

"That's exactly why I'm worried~~!!!" Katsuyu began to jump wildly on the back of the Cerberus, as if it had unlocked some new skill, "I'm begging you, give up on Senjutsu, it's really too dangerous!"

Its behavior truly moved Nagato, because it was genuinely worried about his safety! Probably...

Nagato nodded and replied readily: "Want me to give up? You might as well give up on that idea!"

Katsuyu raised its head in frustration, its four tentacles pointing toward the sky in a sigh of despair, seemingly unwilling to speak to Nagato anymore.

Nagato's ears gradually heard nothing but the sound of the Cerberus running.

The green mist in the surroundings grew thicker and thicker, and from time to time, one could see human bones corroded into pits and craters, making this place appear exceptionally dangerous.

"Are these green things in the air the product of vaporized acid?" Nagato spread his hands, feeling the fine, stinging pain on his bare upper body, and asked.

Just after saying this, Nagato chose to shut his mouth, because a burning pain had spread to his nose and throat, and tears flowed from his eyes involuntarily.

"Pretty intense, right? This is still considered mild. The closer you get to the true Shikkotsu Forest, the more severe the situation will be. I advise you to give up sooner rather than later." Seeing that Nagato had been forced to close his eyes, Katsuyu quickly took the opportunity to persuade him.

Nagato placed his hand on Katsuyu and used the Human Path's ability to communicate with it: "The true Shikkotsu Forest? No wonder you didn't want Tsunade to come in. Is this not yet the place to practice Senjutsu?"

Through the eyes of the Cerberus, Nagato saw that the acid mist around them had become as thick as spider silk. He frowned and manipulated the distant Human Path to walk toward Tsunade.

"What are you trying to do?" Katsuyu asked with immediate vigilance, apparently having discovered the Human Path's movements.

Nagato did not answer, but instead used the Summoning Jutsu.

The Asura Path was summoned over, and it spoke in his stead: "You'll know in a moment. Rest assured, I won't do anything to Tsunade."

On the other side, the Human Path placed a hand on Tsunade's head and began to read the information in her brain.

He had been a fool; with Tsunade by his side, why talk so much to this big bug? If he just read the information about Shikkotsu Forest in Tsunade's mind, wouldn't all his problems be solved?

At this moment, the Cerberus had stopped in its tracks. Before it appeared a pool of black water. The green mist above the pool was extremely dense, floating over the water like thick, matted spider silk, making the place look bizarre, like a spider's nest.

Nagato manipulated the Cerberus to lightly touch the black water with its paw, and the Cerberus immediately let out a bark; its massive beast paw sizzled and smoked as it was corroded by the Black Water.

"Is this the Black Pool that gathers the natural energy of Shikkotsu Forest?" After obtaining the intelligence from Tsunade, the Asura Path continued to speak for Nagato, "The way to practice Senjutsu is to jump straight in?"

There was a hint of disbelief in the Asura Path's voice.

"It seems you were just reading the intelligence in Lady Tsunade's brain!" Knowing the abilities of Pain, Katsuyu nodded and said, "That's right, I'll be blunt: the way to practice Senjutsu in Shikkotsu Forest is very simple; you only need to enter the Black Water containing natural energy. However, as you have seen, the Black Water not only contains natural energy but also the acid from my own body. A normal person who enters will only be dissolved, leaving not even bones behind."

Nagato twitched the corner of his mouth, well aware that this Black Water likely held the accumulated corpse-water left behind by many previous practitioners.

Seemingly knowing what Nagato was thinking, Katsuyu continued: "Black Water is a unique liquid produced by Shikkotsu Forest. It contains not only natural energy and acid, but even the Chakra of creatures who failed their training in the past cannot escape the shackles of the Black Water. You know, Chakra comes from physical energy and spiritual energy. The physical energy in the Chakra bound by the Black Water consists of the liquefied cells of the practitioners, while the spiritual energy is the resentment they left behind. These resentments curse the next practitioner, making the difficulty of learning Senjutsu in Shikkotsu Forest higher and higher."

"Heh. You should be able to absorb this kind of thing, right?" The expressionless Asura Path said with a smirk, "To you, isn't this Chakra a great supplement?"

"I don't eat people!" Katsuyu replied readily, "And those who have the courage and strength to enter the Black Pool, whether beast or human, are potential inheritors of Shikkotsu Forest Senjutsu and are all considered my disciples! In fact, most of those who enter the Black Pool are beasts with massive Chakra, while few weak humans dare to enter directly. Most of them just try to be clever, attempting to splash the Black Water onto themselves to test it out. Yet even so, these people still died. The bones you saw along the way when you came here are what those people left behind."

In Nagato's mind, he couldn't help but picture ordinary people bracing themselves, trying to splash the Black Water on their bodies, then being corroded until their flesh rotted, screaming as they ran back, only to die not far from the Black Pool.

These ordinary people thought that splashing a small amount of Black Water on themselves would be fine, but they were killed by the energy within it, and their corpses quickly decomposed in the acid mist, leaving only bones.

Perhaps after a while, even the bones would be completely corroded away.

"How about it? You should fully understand by now, right?" Katsuyu said in an expectant tone, "Give up. If you really want to learn Senjutsu, you could consider going to Mount Myoboku or Ryūchi Cave."

Just don't bother me, Katsuyu thought, hoping only to send this trouble, Nagato, away as quickly as possible.