Senjutsu

After thinking it over for a moment, Uchiha Gen agreed to Sage Katsuyu's request. Ever since he'd drawn them, Charizard and the others had either stayed in Mist Space or remained by his side.

Now they had somewhere new to go, which was nice. And with Sage Katsuyu coaching them, Charizard and the others would surely have a much easier time learning Senjutsu.

"I'll take these three little ones under my wing. I'll teach them Senjutsu well. I sense that they hold the key to Senjutsu's future.

"That's why I wanted them to join Shikkotsu Forest. Xiao Xuan, thank you for letting them study Senjutsu with me."

Sage Katsuyu spoke softly, her voice full of gratitude. From the moment she'd first seen Charizard, she'd foreseen certain things. Such foresight wasn't exclusive to that old Toad among the sages.

The Three Great Sage Regions simply had different attitudes toward the Shinobi World, which was why they acted differently.

"Is that so? Perhaps those three won't be the only ones in the future. We'll have to rely on you then, too, Sage Katsuyu."

Uchiha Gen nodded thoughtfully at her words, then smiled.

As long as he had enough draws, the number of Pokémon would keep growing. He might even acquire other kinds of summon cards, such as Digimon, Seer creatures, or spirits from Roco Kingdom.

"Huh? You mean their kin? No problem. Leave it to me. Now, Xiao Xuan, please sign your name here."

Sage Katsuyu paused in surprise, then looked from Gardevoir to Gengar. As if she'd realized something, she opened her mouth and spat out a huge scroll, unfurling it in front of Uchiha Gen.

It was the summoning scroll of Shikkotsu Forest. Without hesitation, Uchiha Gen signed his name on it and pressed his thumbprint beside it.

"Tsk, tsk. You've completely squeezed me dry now. Since you've signed a summoning contract with Shikkotsu Forest, you can also use those Medical Ninjutsu that originally required Sage Katsuyu's help."

Watching Uchiha Gen sign the summoning contract, Tsunade folded her arms and stood in front of Charizard, staring intently at the Sealing Jutsu formula on its body as she spoke.

Uchiha Gen stood beside her, watching Charizard as well.

With Sage Katsuyu's help, Charizard was currently absorbing Natural Energy with all its might.

Natural Energy in the Shinobi World wasn't as dense as it was in the Sage Regions, making it ideal for Charizard and the others to absorb it for the first time and seal it inside themselves.

Uchiha Gen didn't respond to Tsunade's teasing. He kept his eyes fixed on Charizard as it gathered Natural Energy. The instant he saw any sign of petrification, he would take out the Totem of Undying and use it on Charizard.

Fortunately, Charizard was absorbing the Natural Energy more smoothly than expected. Uchiha Gen could sense its strength slowly increasing. And with the Sharingan's microscopic vision, he even noticed that Charizard had grown a little bigger.

The change was tiny, but it couldn't escape the Sharingan's notice.

"It worked, little Tsunade~ Your turn."

"Spirit Locking Seal, seal!"

Sage Katsuyu spoke softly from Charizard's back. Tsunade immediately formed Hand Seals, then pointed a finger at Charizard's chest.

In the next instant, the Sealing Jutsu formula on Charizard's body seemed to come alive. It quickly contracted toward the point where Tsunade's finger touched, eventually forming a tiny seal mark.

"Roar!!!"

Once the seal was complete, the flame on Charizard's tail suddenly blazed higher, and Charizard let out a dragon's roar.

"That should do it. Over the next few days, Charizard will need to practice using Natural Energy with me. Once he can control it on his own, we can undo the seal."

As Charizard roared, Sage Katsuyu slid off its back and crawled onto the ground, speaking gently.

"Gardevoir~"

"Gengar~"

"Roar."

As soon as the seal was complete, Gardevoir and Gengar, who had been waiting nearby, rushed over.

Both Pokémon stared at Charizard with curiosity. They would soon go through what he had just experienced.

"Finally, all done. Thank you for your hard work, Lady Katsuyu."

Watching the three Pokémon and the slug gathered together, chatting away, Tsunade stretched and smiled.

"No need to thank me. It's my pleasure to help them learn Senjutsu."

Sage Katsuyu gently shook her head and reared up as she spoke. Then she turned back to chat with Charizard and the others.

It seemed that being different species didn't prevent them from understanding one another.

"How nice. Sage Katsuyu finally has some juniors to chat with. Oh, right—getting caught up with Charizard made me almost forget the important matter.

"Gen, we have to leave. An urgent message came from Orochimaru. We need to head to the Land of Rain and provide support.

"Hanzo of the Salamander's poison has changed. The antidote we used to make no longer works at all. And according to Orochimaru, Hanzo of the Salamander may be preparing to launch one final, all-out attack."

Watching Sage Katsuyu chat with Charizard and the others, Tsunade smiled. She knew that Shikkotsu Forest consisted of Sage Katsuyu alone. In many ways, Sage Katsuyu was very lonely.

As Tsunade watched, she suddenly remembered the urgent message they'd just received. She immediately turned to Uchiha Gen and spoke in a grave voice.

As for the Land of Wind, Sunagakure had stopped its large-scale attacks after Uchiha Gen killed Rasa, switching instead to incursions by small teams of shinobi.

It was easy to see that the deaths of the Kazekage's disciple and Chiyo's descendant had driven Sunagakure's morale to rock bottom.

As a result, Uchiha Gen had been quite free lately. Aside from carrying out assigned missions, he'd been working alongside Tsunade in the Medical Department, treating patients and saving lives.

In his spare time, Uchiha Gen had been constantly studying the various jutsu left behind by the wicked Tobirama Senju.

The Flying Thunder God Technique was by far the most important of them.

For some reason, after that card draw, Uchiha Gen's mastery of the Flying Thunder God Technique had begun improving at a rapid pace.

Uchiha Gen chalked it up to the Spider-Sense he'd acquired. He didn't understand the reason, but it was the only ability he had that was even vaguely related to learning.

In just a few short months, Uchiha Gen had gained a basic grasp of the Flying Thunder God Technique. He still couldn't redirect an enemy's attacks, but he could already perform simple spatial jumps with ease.