Teaching Immortal Arts

"Your future seems to have changed this ninja world, yet I find some parts of it difficult to discern."

The voice of the Slug Sage became ethereal and profound.

"Change the world?" Uchiha Ling raised his head, a glimmer of light flashing through his black eyes, mixed with a hint of interest.

Yes, having been part of a nation with 3,000 years of unification in his previous life, Uchiha Ling had harbored the idea of unifying the ninja world ever since he arrived here.

Moreover, Uchiha Ling believed that extraordinary powers like ninjutsu should be used to improve productivity.

In the original story, the people in the Land of Waves couldn't even afford a full meal, let alone build a single bridge.

One must know that it is effortless for an average Earth Style jonin to construct a sturdy bridge.

If ninjutsu were applied to production, the ninja world could certainly achieve a Great Harmony society.

The Slug Sage offered the most crucial advice: "Your powerful spiritual energy is an excellent aptitude for practicing the Sage Mode of Shikkotsu Forest."

Sage Mode! This was precisely one of the power systems Uchiha Ling had dreamed of.

A powerful force that completely transcends chakra, fusing with natural energy.

"I humbly request that you teach me the Sage Mode of Shikkotsu Forest," Uchiha Ling said solemnly.

Shikkotsu Forest, inside Uchiha Ling's exclusive training stone chamber.

The air was filled with the faint, bitter scent of medicinal herbs. Uchiha Ling sat cross-legged on a cushion in the center of the room, eyes closed, his breathing long and rhythmic.

Uchiha Ling's consciousness sank into his body, meticulously guiding his chakra to circulate along specific meridians, constantly tempering the precision of his control.

The next moment, an incredibly pure energy, brimming with vitality and peace, flowed slowly through the contract channel and into his body.

This was not the Slug Sage's chakra, but natural energy belonging to Shikkotsu Forest, purified and guided by the Slug Sage!

This energy was vastly different from the chakra he was familiar with.

Chakra is the product of the fusion of spiritual energy and physical energy, originating from within oneself.

Natural energy, however, is the primordial energy that exists in all things—mountains, rivers, plants, and even the air and dust. It is more ancient, vast, and elusive, while also being filled with wildness and uncertainty.

"Perceive it, familiarize yourself with it, young Ling."

The Slug Sage's voice guided him, "Do not attempt to bind it the way you control chakra; that will only invite rejection. Relax your body and mind. Like a sponge, like a reef, feel its flow, its rhythm, and attempt to resonate with it."

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

At first, that external natural energy was like mischievous specks of light, darting around inside him, causing slight conflicts with his own chakra and bringing waves of numbness and bloating pain.

Uchiha Ling endured the discomfort, abandoning the instinct to intervene forcefully, and simply observed and felt.

In his perception, the world seemed to have changed its appearance.

The stone walls of the training room, the air, and even he himself seemed to be composed of countless tiny specks of light.

Natural energy flowed and converged silently, like ubiquitous streams.

Uchiha Ling's spiritual power was exceptionally strong, which made his perception of energy extremely keen.

Gradually, he captured the unique "breathing" rhythm of the natural energy.

Uchiha Ling attempted to adjust the fluctuations of his own chakra to match this pulse.

This was an extremely delicate and dangerous process, like walking a tightrope over a bottomless abyss.

Absorbing insufficient natural energy would lead to the same fate as those failures at Mount Myōboku who turned into stone frogs; while the form of backlash in Shikkotsu Forest might differ, the result of failure would be equally severe.

Absorbing too much would lead to the horrific scenes seen at Ryūchi Cave, where victims were swallowed by natural energy and twisted into serpentine monsters.

The nature of Shikkotsu Forest's natural energy leaned more toward life and healing, but if the balance were lost, the backlash might manifest as abnormal tissue growth, lignification, or the mind being assimilated into an unconscious part of nature, becoming a true "fungus" of Shikkotsu Forest.

Time ticked by, second by second. Beads of sweat seeped from Uchiha Ling's forehead, and his body trembled slightly—a sign of intense mental concentration and violent energy fluctuations.

I do not know how much time passed, but a miracle occurred.

The distinct boundary between Uchiha Ling's own chakra and the external natural energy began to dissolve; they no longer repelled each other, but began to merge slowly and tentatively, like droplets of water blending into the sea.

A wisp of extremely fine energy, shimmering with a faint, milky-white halo, was born in his dantian.

This wisp of energy contained both the characteristics of his own chakra and the vastness and vitality of natural energy. It was more condensed, purer, and the fluctuations it emitted were heart-stopping.

So this is... Sage Chakra? Uchiha Ling realized.

Although it was only an insignificant wisp, its quality far surpassed any chakra he had possessed in the past.

"Very good," the Slug Sage's voice carried clear satisfaction. "To successfully fuse a wisp of Sage Chakra on your first attempt—your talent is truly the greatest I have ever seen."

"Balance is the only rule of Sage Mode," the Slug Sage emphasized. "You must keep your mind clear at all times and precisely control the ratio of physical energy, spiritual energy, and natural energy, allowing the three to reach perfect harmony."

"Any major fluctuation in emotion could shatter this fragile balance and push you into an abyss from which there is no return."

To help him understand this danger more intuitively, the Slug Sage used the contract to simulate and transmit a slightly violent stream of natural energy.

In an instant, Uchiha Ling felt his body inflate as if being pumped with air. Irregular bumps began to appear on his skin, as if something were about to burst out. His consciousness began to blur, and the rustling whispers of countless plants growing filled his ears, laden with primitive temptation.

He let out a muffled groan, exerting his spirit to the limit. Like the calmest helmsman, he struggled to adjust the ratio of the three energies amidst the storm. It took him a full half-hour to stabilize that restless wisp of Sage Chakra. The physical abnormalities slowly faded, but his back was already drenched in cold sweat.

"Have you felt it? That is the price of imbalance." The Slug Sage's voice sounded at the right moment.

The Sage Mode of Shikkotsu Forest, unlike the lively nature of Mount Myōboku or the treacherous nature of Ryūchi Cave, focuses more on inner peace, resilience, and the tenacity of life.

Reaching a profound level not only greatly enhances the power of ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu, but also grants superior recovery, perception, and can 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 to master Sage Mode later, just summon a slug to tell me."

Once Uchiha Ling had refined the natural energy, the Slug Sage urged him to leave.