Shikkotsu Forest.
Amid the mist-shrouded bamboo grove, two figures appeared without a sound—Uchiha Yoru and Uchiha Madara.
They stood side by side, calmly surveying their surroundings.
Silence reigned all around them. Only the mist drifted through the grove, carrying a faintly sweet, bloody scent. Every bamboo stalk bore an eerie, dark hue, as if soaked through with blood and poison.
This poisonous fog would have been deadly to ordinary people, but to the two men, it was no more than a minor obstacle.
There was no other life here, only the bamboo grove.
Uchiha Madara stood with his hands behind his back, his cold gaze sweeping over the area. His voice rang out, low and commanding. "Come out. There's no need to hide."
The air trembled faintly, and a soft, enormous figure slowly emerged from the dense fog.
It was a massive slug, its body slick with slime and surrounded by a powerful aura of vitality—the guardian of Shikkotsu Forest, the Katsuyu Sage.
Yet at that moment, this supposedly dignified being was cowering, its enormous body trembling slightly.
"I... I already know why you've come..."
The Katsuyu Sage's voice quavered, low and hoarse, fear barely held in check. It didn't even dare look up at the two men before it. It could only prostrate itself on the ground, hoping its submissive posture would spare its life.
"N-no need to attack... If you'll spare my life, everything in Shikkotsu Forest... can be yours..."
It was terrified beyond measure.
Unlike the defiant toads of Mount Myōboku or the vicious, ruthless snakes of Ryūchi Cave, the slugs of Shikkotsu Forest had always been gentle by nature, attuned to healing and nurturing.
Though the Katsuyu Sage carried an ancient bloodline and had lived for thousands of years, it had no fighting spirit when faced