Yusuke looked toward the voice, his breath catching.
What lay before him wasn't a strange rock, but a gigantic blue-and-white slug as large as a mountain.
Its body nearly filled the entire underwater cavern, radiating an immense vitality.
Yusuke's heart sank. The phrase "not anchored by fate" practically revealed that he was a transmigrant.
He instinctively clenched his fist, his body tensing slightly.
Tsunade clearly hadn't understood. She looked at the Sage Slug in confusion, then turned to Yusuke and asked, "What does that mean?"
The Sage Slug seemed to sense the change in Yusuke's emotions. Its voice was soothing. "There's no need to be nervous, child."
"I used my prophetic abilities to observe an anomaly in the river of fate."
"Tsunade's fate has shifted dramatically in recent times. Much of the gloom that once surrounded her has lifted."
"But I can't find the specific 'anchor' responsible for this change."
"It wasn't until I met you today that I realized you were the one who changed her fate."
"Your existence is like a stone tossed into a river, disturbing its established current."
"But you've already settled among the stones on the riverbed, making you difficult to 'see' directly."
Yusuke relaxed a little. It seemed the Sage Slug's abilities were more focused on prediction than on seeing actual visions.
He didn't want to dwell on the matter, so he immediately changed the subject. "Sage Slug, we came to ask you to teach us how to practice the Senjutsu of Shikkotsu Forest."
Tsunade still had questions, but when she saw Yusuke changing the subject, she nodded along. "Yes, Lady Katsuyu. Sorry for the trouble, but please teach him the Senjutsu of Shikkotsu Forest."
The Sage Slug slowly moved one of her antennae, her voice still calm.
"The Senjutsu of Shikkotsu Forest is different from that of the other sacred lands. It places greater emphasis on balance."
"Thus, during training, you'll repeatedly shift between balance and imbalance."
"First, clear your mind, then sense and gather the Natural Energy permeating the world around you."
"Next, guide this energy into your own chakra network and combine it with your physical and spiritual energy in a precise one-to-one-to-one ratio to form Senjutsu Chakra."
"But if the balance is off, even by the slightest amount, the violent Natural Energy will take over."
"Unlike Mount Myoboku's Senjutsu, it won't slowly turn you into a stone toad, a process you can still interrupt."
"It's similar to Ryūchi Cave's Sage Mode. If you fail, this power will corrode your flesh and chakra network from within, eventually dissolving your body until only a skeleton remains."
"Your consciousness will also be assimilated by the Natural Energy, turning you into a wandering skeletal spirit here."
Her serious tone made her words all the more terrifying.
Then she added, "There is one benefit, though. If you manage to master it on your first try and your body can withstand it, you'll have learned Shikkotsu Forest Sage Mode."
Yusuke's heart tightened. The price of failing at Shikkotsu Forest's Senjutsu is truly terrifying.
"Tsunade became afraid, and eventually gave up on this path," the Sage Slug said, looking at her with a hint of regret.
A brief, uneasy expression crossed Tsunade's face, but she didn't argue.
She turned to Yusuke, confidence shining in her eyes. "I've figured out how to help you train in Shikkotsu Forest Sage Mode."
"While you train, I'll protect your chakra network with a medical barrier. If you lose control and your Senjutsu Chakra starts running wild—"
"I'll immediately use the medical barrier to repair your chakra network from every angle. Then you can release the out-of-control chakra through the chakra points in your hands."
Tsunade raised her hand and tapped a chakra point on Yusuke's palm.
"Just release it through the chakra point here. At worst, you'll suffer a minor internal injury."
"I've already tested this method. It should work."
Yusuke saw the earnest look on Tsunade's face, and warmth spread through his heart.
"I understand."
"Then let's begin. I'm counting on you, little Tsunade."
Yusuke took a deep breath, suppressing his fear of failure.
He sat cross-legged and closed his eyes, trying to empty his mind.
Tsunade drew a circular healing barrier around him. Yusuke sat at its center, while Tsunade took her place at one of the formation's nodes.
The Sage Slug raised one of her enormous antennae and guided him in a gentle voice. "Relax, child."
"Don't try to 'seek' it out. Try to 'feel' it."
"Feel the flow of the seawater, the breath of life, and the Natural Energy that's everywhere in this world."
Once her instructions were complete, she split off a small slug and had it coil atop Yusuke's head to help him resonate with the energy.
Yusuke's perception was already extraordinary. With his eyes closed and his mind clear, he extended his awareness outward.
At first, there was only silence and darkness. Gradually, he began to "see" something different.
Countless tiny points of light floated through the air and water, and even within the Sage Slug's body, like fireflies.
They were lively and unruly in different ways, yet every one of them contained unimaginable power.
"Is this Natural Energy?"
Yusuke tried to guide a trace of Natural Energy through his skin and into his chakra network.
"Hiss—!"
The instant the energy entered his body, Yusuke shuddered and sucked in a sharp breath.
It felt like a red-hot needle being driven into his blood vessel. A fierce, swollen ache accompanied the sharp pain stabbing through his chakra network.
"Hold steady!" Tsunade called. Refined Yang Release Chakra poured into the formation's node, then flowed through the medical barrier and into Yusuke.
Like a spring breeze, this power quickly nourished the chakra network damaged by the Natural Energy.
Yusuke gritted his teeth and focused all his attention on controlling the trace of Natural Energy, trying to combine it with his physical and spiritual energy.
The Natural Energy was wild and unruly. It kept surging against the other two energies, trying to dominate them.
Fine beads of sweat immediately appeared across Yusuke's forehead, and his body trembled despite his efforts to control it.
Tsunade concentrated fully, using the keen insight of a top medical ninja to sense every change within Yusuke's body.
She then adjusted the amount of Yang Release Chakra she supplied, precisely maintaining the balance in his chakra network.
His first attempt failed. The Natural Energy dissipated before it could merge.
On his second attempt, the ratio was off. With too much Natural Energy, a tiny chakra pathway in Yusuke's arm tore, and Tsunade quickly repaired it.
The third attempt failed again...
Time dragged by in painful torment. Yusuke's clothes were soaked with sweat and his face had turned pale, but his eyes grew brighter and brighter.
He was becoming more familiar with the properties of Natural Energy, and was gradually starting to understand how to control the fusion process.
The Sage Slug watched in silence, occasionally offering a key piece of advice in her gentle voice.
"Don't fight it. Try to guide it, like channeling a flood instead of building a dam to hold it back."
"Imagine that you've always been one. In balance, there is no distinction between you."
After who knew how long, a faint energy unlike ordinary chakra finally took shape within Yusuke.
Strangely, it had no form, yet it was brimming with two utterly opposite forces: vitality and destruction.
There was only a small amount of this power, but Yusuke could feel that his ability to recover had greatly improved, and that his physical strength had increased considerably.
Yusuke opened his eyes, and the world before him looked different.
He could clearly see that the Sage Slug's body was like a mass of Natural Energy, with countless points of Natural Energy swirling around her.
Yusuke's appearance changed as well. His black hair turned silver.
A blue, glowing pattern like a face-painting mark appeared on his face, softening his already rugged, handsome features.
"At last... you've done it..." Tsunade's faint voice came from nearby.
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