Teaching Senjutsu

"Your future seemed to have changed the Shinobi World, but I can't quite see it clearly."

Slug Sage's voice grew ethereal and profound.

"Change the world?" Uchiha Ling lifted his head. A glimmer of light flashed in his dark eyes, mingled with curiosity.

Yes. In his previous life, as a member of a people with a history of three thousand years of unity, Uchiha Ling had always wanted to unite the Shinobi World after arriving there.

Besides, Uchiha Ling believed that extraordinary powers like ninjutsu should be used to boost productivity.

In the original story, the people of the Land of Waves couldn't even get enough to eat, let alone build a bridge.

A regular Earth Release jonin could build a sturdy bridge with ease.

If ninjutsu were put to productive use, the Shinobi World could surely achieve a society of great harmony.

Slug Sage offered her most important advice. "Your powerful spiritual energy makes you exceptionally well suited to training in Shikkotsu Forest Sage Art."

Senjutsu! It was one of the power systems Uchiha Ling had long dreamed of mastering.

A mighty force that surpassed chakra entirely, infused with Natural Energy.

"Please teach me Shikkotsu Forest Sage Art," Uchiha Ling said solemnly.

Shikkotsu Forest, inside Uchiha Ling's private training chamber.

A faint, bitter herbal scent hung in the air. Uchiha Ling sat cross-legged on a cushion in the middle of the room, eyes closed, his breathing long and steady.

His consciousness sank into his body as he carefully guided chakra along specific pathways, continually honing his control over it.

The next moment, an exceptionally pure energy, brimming with vitality and serenity, flowed slowly through the contract channel and entered his body.

This wasn't Slug Sage's chakra. It was Natural Energy from Shikkotsu Forest, refined and guided by her!

This energy was entirely different from the chakra he knew.

Chakra was produced by combining spiritual and physical energy, and came from within oneself.

Natural Energy, by contrast, existed throughout all things in the world—in mountains and rivers, plants and trees, and even the dust in the air. It was more ancient, vast, and elusive, yet also wild and unpredictable.

"Sense it, grow familiar with it, Ling."

Slug Sage's voice guided him. "Don't try to restrain it the way you control chakra. That will only make it repel you. Relax your mind and body. Be like a sponge, like a reef. Feel its flow, its rhythm, and try to resonate with it."

Uchiha Ling followed her instructions, relaxing his absolute control over his body and chakra and opening his mind completely.

At first, the foreign Natural Energy darted about inside him like playful points of light, clashing faintly with his own chakra and bringing waves of tingling pain and pressure.

Uchiha Ling endured the discomfort, resisting his instinct to force it into line. He simply observed and felt.

In his perception, the world seemed to take on a different form.

The stone walls of the training room, the air, even his own body—all seemed to be made up of countless tiny points of energy.

Natural Energy flowed silently everywhere like streams, converging and mingling.

Uchiha Ling's spiritual energy was exceptionally powerful, making him acutely sensitive to energy.

Gradually, he picked up on Natural Energy's unique rhythm of "breathing."

Uchiha Ling tried to adjust the fluctuations of his chakra to match that pulse.

It was an incredibly delicate and dangerous process, like walking a tightrope over an abyss.

Absorb too little Natural Energy, and he would end up like those failures on Mount Myōboku who became stone frogs before completing their training. The backlash in Shikkotsu Forest might take a different form, but the consequences of failure would be just as severe.

Absorb too much, and he could suffer the same horrifying fate as those in Ryūchi Cave, swallowed by Natural Energy and twisted into monstrous snake-like creatures.

The Natural Energy of Shikkotsu Forest was more closely tied to life and healing. But if he lost his balance, the backlash might manifest as abnormal tissue growth, petrification into wood, or his mind being assimilated into nature until he became a mindless part of it—a true "fungus" of Shikkotsu Forest.

Second by second, time passed. Fine beads of sweat appeared on Uchiha Ling's forehead, and his body trembled slightly, signs of intense concentration and violent energy fluctuations.

After who knew how long, a miracle happened.

The chakra within Uchiha Ling, once clearly distinct from the foreign Natural Energy, began to stop resisting it. Instead, the two started to blend tentatively and slowly, like water droplets merging with the sea.

A tiny wisp of energy, surrounded by a faint milky-white glow, formed in his abdomen.

It bore the qualities of his own chakra while also containing the vastness and vitality of Natural Energy. It was more condensed, more refined, and gave off a pulse that made one's heart tremble.

So this is... Senjutsu Chakra? Uchiha Ling understood.

Though it was only a tiny wisp, its quality far surpassed that of any chakra he had ever possessed.

"Excellent." Slug Sage's voice carried unmistakable approval. "To successfully create even a trace of Senjutsu Chakra on your first attempt... Your talent is truly the finest I've ever seen."

"Balance is the sole rule of Senjutsu," Slug Sage stressed. "You must keep your mind clear at all times and precisely control the proportions of physical energy, spiritual energy, and Natural Energy, bringing all three into perfect harmony.

"Any great emotional upheaval could shatter that fragile balance and send you plunging into an abyss of no return."

To help him understand the danger more clearly, Slug Sage used their contract to simulate sending in a stream of somewhat turbulent Natural Energy.

In an instant, Uchiha Ling felt as if his body were inflating like a balloon. Irregular bulges began to appear on his skin, as though something were about to burst through. His consciousness grew hazy, and countless hushed whispers of plants growing filled his ears, tempting him with their primal allure.

He grunted and focused all his strength, like the calmest of helmsmen, struggling to adjust the proportions of the three energies amid the storm. It took him a full quarter of an hour to stabilize the restless Senjutsu Chakra. The abnormal changes in his body slowly faded, and cold sweat had soaked his back.

"Do you understand now? This is the price of losing your balance." Slug Sage's voice came at just the right moment.

Shikkotsu Forest Sage Art was unlike the lively Senjutsu of Mount Myōboku or the eerie arts of Ryūchi Cave. It placed greater emphasis on inner calm, resilience, and the tenacity of life.

At the highest levels, it could greatly enhance ninjutsu, Taijutsu, and genjutsu. It could also grant extraordinary healing and sensory abilities, and even influence life itself to a certain extent.

"Go back now. Little Tsunade has been waiting for you for a long time. If you need my help mastering Senjutsu or summoning Katsuyu, just let me know."

After Uchiha Ling had drawn in Natural Energy, Slug Sage urged him to leave.