Shikkotsu Forest Sage Art! (Double Chapter)

Shiraha and Nawaki left the Ninja Academy and headed towards Konoha Hospital.

When the two arrived at the third floor of Konoha Hospital, someone that Shiraha hadn't seen in a long time appeared.

She had fair skin, delicate features, short brown hair, and round-framed glasses that almost covered half her face. She looked to be about twenty years old and wore a white robe similar to Miko outfit.

Yakushi Nonō.

Just like when we first met, more than a decade has passed. She should be around 30 years old now, but time has not left any marks on her.

When Shiraha went to the Medical Training Class, she should have just come of age.

She looks like she's grown from 16 to 20 years old.

Girly.

This word perfectly describes Yakushi Nonō's state.

"Nonō-group leader, it's been a long time."

Shiraha stepped forward and said that ever since he "implicated" Nonō into the Root, Nonō had left the Medical Corps, and the two had hardly seen each other.

By the time Shiraha was able to help her, Nonō had already left the Anbu and was now the director of the Konoha Orphanage.

Based on Shiraha's previous impression of Nonō, although she seemed to have a harmless, introverted, and gentle personality, she was not as simple as she appeared, but was essentially a very good person.

If I had to describe it in one sentence, it would be 'pink on the outside, black on the inside, white on the outside.'

"Lord Shiraha, I'm no longer part of the Medical Corps. I'm just here to see if there's anything I can do to help."

Nonō narrowed her eyes into crescent shapes and smiled as she spoke.

"Same here, you've always been the team leader in my heart." Shiraha nodded. "Go in."

"Um."

Nawaki lay down on the operating table in the room, surrounded by Jōnin from the Medical Corps.

However, apart from Shiraha, all the Medical Ninja, including Tsunade, Minami, Nonō, are women.

"Take your pants off!"

Seeing that Nawaki had been lying still for a long time, Tsunade said irritably.

"Huh?" Nawaki was taken aback.

"What? It's not like I'm asking you to take your whole body off."

Shiraha said with a smile.

"Of course I know," Nawaki muttered softly, her face slightly flushed.

"What kind of behavior is this, going on and on like that? We saw it all when we were kids!"

Seeing that Nawaki's face was flushed, Tsunade teased him.

Hearing Shiraha suggest that she could regenerate Nawaki's legs and successfully transplant them, she was overjoyed.

"Sister?! What nonsense are you talking about!"

The Kunoichi around her were trying not to laugh. Nawaki blushed and took off her trousers before lying back down.

He closed his eyes and remained motionless, appearing completely submissive.

"How about I do it?" Seeing Nawaki's resigned look, Shiraha smiled and took the instrument. He then removed the prosthetic leg from Nawaki's leg, transferred Chakra into it, and conducted a thorough examination.

"How about it?"

When Shiraha stopped transmitting Chakra, Tsunade couldn't help but step forward and ask.

"Nawaki's physical development is normal, but as you know, at his age, his bones are fully developed, and it is very difficult for Limb Regeneration. We must cultivate a pair of legs for him in full proportion."

Shiraha replied.

"What do you mean?" Tsunade had read Shiraha's information on Limb Regeneration and had a general idea, but she still wanted to confirm it with Shiraha. She didn't know when it started, but in matters of human Cell Experiment, Tsunade come to trust Shiraha's judgment more.

"My original plan was to combine Nawaki's cells with the First Hokage Cells to cultivate legs. This way, after Nawaki regained his legs, he might be able to awaken the First's Wood Release. When Orochimaru-sensei and I achieved initial success, we got stuck at this step. Even though the success rate was increased to more than 50%, the probability of rejection was still very high."

Shiraha explained.

"In recent years, I have made changes, using mainly Nawaki cells and adding a small amount of First Hokage Cells with lower cell activity. This will greatly increase the success rate, but the possibility of directly awakening Wood Release is very low. If we conduct Wood Release Experiment in the future, there may be a chance to awaken Wood Release."

After saying that, Shiraha looked at Nawaki: "What do you think?"

"That's enough. Even if I awaken Wood Release, I'm afraid it will be difficult to become as powerful as Grandpa's Wood Release. And I believe that even without Wood Release, I can still become a powerful ninja!"

Nawaki Nawaki affirmed that he was extremely grateful to Shiraha for researching Limb Regeneration technology and for immediately thinking of helping him grow legs. Even among good friends, it was extremely rare for someone to go to such lengths.

"Alright! We'll proceed with Plan One. We'll start by cultivating your legs. That way, the chance of rejection is only about 3%, making failure almost impossible."

Shiraha nodded, took out a glass Syringe, drew blood from Nawaki, and then handed it to Tsunade.

"Tsunade-sensei, I'll leave the cell activity test to you. I need to start cultivating legs for Nawaki first."

"Yes! Leave it to me!" Tsunade patted her trembling chest.

"I'll discuss the details with everyone after I have a plan," Shiraha said to the other Medical Jonin, taking out scrolls from his robes and handing one to each of them.

Although he had complete mastery of the technology, others could quickly master the first stage of the technology as well.

For Shiraha, the simple Limb Regeneration was nothing special.

Teaching these Medical Jonin who were close to him in the past was also a way to ensure they would receive better treatment in Konoha in the future.

These people are all quite skilled in Medical Ninjutsu. If there is an opportunity to recruit them all to the Land of Whirlpools in the future, it would be a good way to integrate them into our own society.

Revealing some technology now can be considered a form of investment.

The research on the cells of the Wood Spirit Avatar and the cells of the White Creature is what Shiraha values most.

After a thorough examination of the Nawaki, the group left the operating room.

Shiraha planned to go back and conduct experiments. If the cells of the Nawaki could withstand the Wood Spirit Avatar or the cells of the White Creature, he wouldn't hesitate to use them.

Nawaki is right.

Even with Innate Spell like "Wood Spirit Avatar," which is derived from Fourth-Level bloodline, the avatar created cannot fully unleash the true power of Wood Release.

The truly powerful one wasn't Wood Release, but the First.

Of course, it is undeniable that Wood Release does have a strong restrictive ability, especially effective against Tailed Beast.

As Bai Yu went downstairs, Shiraha noticed Nonō ahead of him and quickly caught up with her.

"Nonō-group leader."

"I told you not to call me team leader anymore." Nonō looked up at Shiraha, her height only reaching Shiraha's chest.

Shiraha: "A team leader is a team leader. What else should we call him?"

Nonō: "I don't mind if you call me 'older sister'."

Shiraha smiled slightly, "I heard that you are now the director of the Orphanage."

Nonō nodded, a hint of weariness in her eyes. "Having witnessed the darkness of the ninja world, I feel that children are more innocent, so I want to become family to those orphans and help them as much as possible."

"The funds must be tight, right? After all, the village went through this great war, and the amount of compensation to be distributed must be a lot. I heard that you also adopted war orphans from other villages, so the village probably won't allocate too much funds to the Orphanage."

As he spoke, Shiraha took out a Storage Scroll from his pocket and handed it to Nonō.

"Here is one million taels of silver. Consider it my donation to the Orphanage to improve the lives of those children."

"This..." Nonō hesitated, "I can't just take so much money from you for no reason. What do you want me to do?"

"This is simply to thank you for taking care of me in the Medical Corps. Besides, if it weren't for me, you wouldn't have joined the Root. In a way, I also bear some responsibility for this." Shiraha said with a smile, "Am I just a person with strong ulterior motives? Can't I just be someone who is simply kind-hearted?"

"I'm usually good at judging people. You've always been a very goal-oriented child, and you're very good at disguising yourself. When I heard that you killed Root ninja and stood in front of the Third Hokage to prevent him from getting close to Kushina, I wasn't surprised at all," Nonō said earnestly. Then she changed the subject. "However, I still want to thank you for your love for the children. Lord Shiraha is still the same as before, a good kid!"

"I agree with that. I've always been a good person, both inside and out," Shiraha said with a smile. Before leaving, he added, "If you encounter any trouble you can't solve, you can come to me. Even if I'm not in Konoha, I can still help you. As for how to find me, someone as smart as you will definitely have a way."

After saying that, Shiraha turned and left, waving to Nonō with his back turned.

Nonō gripped the scroll tightly, a genuine smile spreading across her face. Her eyes narrowed into crescent shapes as she murmured, "Lord Shiraha is indeed a good person, both inside and out."

In the vast, dense forest.

Everywhere you look, there are towering trees that are tens of meters tall.

The ground was muddy and slippery, and the entire forest was very damp and sweltering.

It is clearly not suitable for human habitation.

"Is this the Shikkotsu Forest?"

Shiraha looked around at the scenery and thought to himself.

Even without activating his "Sixth Sense" to enhance his perception, he could still feel the extremely active Energy Particles in the space. These Energy Particles were what ninjas called "Natural Energy."

The Wood Spirit Avatar stood beside Shiraha, shrouded in a black robe and wearing a spiral-shaped wooden mask on its face.

Shiraha spent four months helping Nawaki grow legs, which were then successfully transplanted through surgery.

Before setting off with Kushina for the Land of Whirlpools ruins, Shiraha asked Tsunade if he could go to Shikkotsu Forest to learn Senjutsu.

Of course, he didn't learn it himself, but wanted the Wood Spirit Avatar to learn Senjutsu.

It is said that the Senju Clan had a contractual relationship with Shikkotsu Forest a long time ago, and the First Hokage learned Senjutsu from Shikkotsu Forest.

Therefore, the Wood Spirit Avatar, which has fused with a large number of First Hokage Cells, obviously has a high probability of being able to learn the Senjutsu of the Shikkotsu Forest.

Most importantly, Tsunade said that the slug Katsuyu Sage Shikkotsu Forest was gentle and very easy to talk to.

Since the Senju Clan signed a pact with Shikkotsu Forest Shikkotsu Forest, many people have gone there to cultivate immortal Senjutsu. Many have failed, but the mortality rate is less than 20%.

Shiraha had only recently heard about these things from Tsunade.

If he had known this would happen, he might have wanted to become Tsunade's disciple even more back then.

However, given Shiraha's ninja talent before advancing one level and his pitifully small amount of Chakra, even if he came to Shikkotsu Forest and the Katsuyu Sage taught him step by step, he probably still wouldn't be able to learn it.

"Are you Shiraha?"

A tender voice rang out in the woods, a voice so gentle and melodious that it sounded like that of a young girl.

Shiraha looked around.

In his perception, there were strong Energy Field fluctuations in every direction.

At this moment, a large number of white Katsuyu, each the size of a palm, gradually appeared on the tall trees.

White Katsuyu gradually emerged from the soft, slippery soil.

Katsuyu fell from the tree like raindrops to the ground, gathering together with the smaller Katsuyu on the ground.

Soon, a giant Katsuyu the size of a small mountain appeared in front of Shiraha.

"Are you the Katsuyu Sage? I am Yagami Shiraha."

Shiraha stepped forward and said respectfully.

"Lord Katsuyu, my name is Kodama." Wood Spirit Avatar also bowed.

"I am only a part of the main body. The main body stays underground. If it were to fully emerge, this forest would be destroyed." The Katsuyu -like childlike voice rang out again.

"I see." Shiraha nodded, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

Judging from size alone, the Katsuyu would be far superior to the White Snake Sage, and even the Great Toad Sage of Mount Myōboku would probably be no match for it.

So, the Katsuyu Sage is the strongest of the three Sage.

However, the Energy Particles here are too dense, Energy Field is too strong, so Shiraha cannot sense the depths underground and does not know how big the Katsuyu is.

"Tsunade said you want to come and learn Sage Mode from Shikkotsu Forest. Are you already aware of the risks involved in practicing Senjutsu?"

"It's gentle," the Katsuyu said.

"Yes, but he learned it, not me," Shiraha, pointing to the Wood Spirit Avatar beside him.

Thanks to his military achievements and his connection with Tsunade, he has already accessed scrolls containing information on Wood Release Ninjutsu.

After nearly a year of training, the strength of the Wood Spirit Avatar is roughly between Elite Jonin and Kage Level.

This level of skill is insufficient to fully unleash the power of Wood Release.

However, if the Wood Spirit Avatar could learn the Senjutsu of the Shikkotsu Forest, things might be different.

Having the Wood Spirit Avatar into Senjutsu could also provide Shiraha with a reference.

Even if the Wood Spirit Avatar dies, Shiraha can recreate it by consuming Mental Power and Magic Power, so the loss is not significant.

He wouldn't risk learning Senjutsu until the risks were reduced to a level that Shiraha could bear.

The Wood Spirit Avatar respectfully said, "Please guide me in learning Senjutsu."

The Katsuyu's antennae twitched slightly, and it suddenly uttered a questioning sound, "You give me a very familiar feeling, like someone. That's right, it's Tsunade's grandfather, Hashirama Senju!"

Upon hearing this, Shiraha felt a chill run down his spine.

This Katsuyu Sage's perception is just too outrageous!

"Since it was Tsunade's request, I will teach you. However, I can only do my best to ensure your safety, not guarantee your success," the Katsuyu continued, before explaining the methods and precautions for cultivating Senjutsu.

"Senjutsu are a state in which Natural Energy can be used; they are also known as Sage Mode."

"The caster in this state."

"The Sage Mode in Shikkotsu Forest focuses on enhancing vitality and accelerating cell division to improve recovery capabilities."

"."

"Did you remember?"

The Katsuyu spoke slowly and patiently.

"Yes! I understand!" the Wood Spirit Avatar replied respectfully.

Katsuyu: "Let's begin."

"Yes!" The Wood Spirit Avatar stepped forward.

"Ready?"

As it spoke, the Katsuyu spat out a pool of thick, milky-white liquid from its mouth.

The Wood Spirit Avatar was completely enveloped within it.