Shikkotsu Forest Sage Art and Wood Release Ninjutsu: A Perfect Match! (Two-in-One)

"Forehead"

Shiraha was taken aback when he saw that the entire body of the Wood Spirit Avatar was covered in milky white liquid.

Soon, Shiraha sensed the changes in the Wood Spirit's body through his connection with the Wood Spirit Avatar.

The Natural Energy around the Wood Spirit Avatar quickly became active and then continuously entered his body.

About ten minutes passed like this.

The Wood Spirit Avatar's avatar suddenly deflated like a punctured balloon, gradually shriveling up and becoming as soft as mud.

Shiraha's eyes changed slightly, and the surrounding Natural Energy became violent and unstable.

It seems we've failed!

At this moment, tiny Katsuyu the size of a palm kept falling from the giant Katsuyu's body, quickly covering the Wood Spirit Avatar's body completely.

Shiraha sensed that the Natural Energy within the Wood Spirit Avatar's body, which had been out of control, was gradually shifting towards the little Katsuyu's body.

Once the Katsuyu had left, the Wood Spirit Avatar's body returned to its original state.

"To reach this level on your first attempt at cultivation, you're second only to Hashirama among all cultivators. Take a break before continuing," the Katsuyu's gentle voice rang out.

Wood Spirit Avatar: "Thank you."

Shiraha fell into deep thought; cultivating Senjutsu was truly dangerous.

The Natural Energy Natural Energy of Shikkotsu Forest is not fundamentally different from that of Ryūchi Cave, but it is much gentler, which is probably the result of the Katsuyu' deliberate control.

If this had happened in Ryūchi Cave, the Wood Spirit Avatar would probably have been killed.

Katsuyu are much more docile than snakes.

It seems it's prepared to act as a caretaker throughout, helping the Wood Spirit Avatar cultivate Senjutsu.

After resting for a while, the Wood Spirit Avatar continued its cultivation, while Shiraha, having received permission from the Katsuyu Sage, toured the Shikkotsu Forest.

This forest seemed to have no end. Shiraha walked for a long time, and as far as the eye could see, there was still an endless forest.

He jumped to the top of a tree dozens of meters high, surrounded by tall trees on all sides; it was a sea of trees.

"Could it be that the Three Great Sage Lands are not located in the Shinobi World?"

Shiraha was puzzled.

This forest is so vast, and the plants here are several times larger than the usual plants in the Shinobi World. Moreover, the Natural Energy here is so abundant that it shouldn't be hard to find in the Shinobi World.

Ryūchi Cave is another example. The cave covers a vast area and is teeming with snakes. In the Shinobi World, many people would know about it.

"Could it be that the Three Great Sage Lands are on another continent, or that this place is a special space relying on the Shinobi World?"

Considering the Gelel Stone Vein, there must be another continent outside the Shinobi World. Therefore, Shiraha believes that the Third Hokage's Holy Land may be located on another continent. However, it is more likely that the Three Great Sage Lands are in an independent space, similar to a demiplane. They are independent but dependent on the Shinobi World. If the Shinobi World is destroyed, the demiplane will also be annihilated.

Unfortunately, Shiraha has not yet learned Space-Time Ninjutsu. As for Space-type magic, there are a few in the "Book of the Ancient Warlock," but even to construct the simplest spatial Teleportation array, one must at least reach level two.

Currently, Shiraha is still in a period of rapid growth in strength, so there is no need to immediately search for the Gelel Stone Vein.

After all, searching aimlessly is a waste of time and inefficient, so he entrusted the task to Lanke.

With Shiraha's current bloodline purity, advancing to a level two sorcerer is not difficult at all. As long as his Mental Power and physical constitution meet the requirements, he can basically advance.

However, one aspect takes more time: in the Formal Wizard (sorcerer) stage, Mental Power can no longer simply increase as before.

The biggest difference between Formal Wizard (sorcerer) and an apprentice lies in the strengthening and application of Mental Power.

For Wizard apprentice to advance to the next level, the key lies in creating a solidified Mental Power model. The Wizard must choose a spell structure and construct a solid model of his Will runes. After the model is solidified, the solidified model spell can be transformed into the Wizard's innate ability, which is called Innate Spell.

However, this solid model is fragile and requires the Wizard to constantly materialize Mental Power and fill it into the model to strengthen it.

The essential difference between Wizard apprentice and First-Level Wizard is that the former transforms the originally intangible Mental Power into a tangible form.

The materialization of Mental Power is divided into three stages: Gaseous State, Liquid State, and Crystalline State.

Of course, this applies to ordinary Wizard.

At this moment, within Shiraha's Soul Space, there were three orbs of light emitting strange glow. These three orbs were his Innate Spell, which were also solid models automatically constructed by his Will runes after his advancement. As long as Shiraha activated his Mental Power and mana, these three Innate Spell would be activated instantly, without him having to temporarily construct Will runes runes as he would with normal spells.

Now, if Shiraha wants to advance, what he needs to do is materialize it, wrap the three 'light orbs' with his Mental Power, first Gaseous State, then Liquid State, and finally Mental Power Crystallization power to form a Mental Power model crystal.

This is a clear distinction between the Wizard and sorcerer professions.

Once First-Level Warlock's Mental Power crystallizes, as long as their bloodline purity is high enough, they have a high probability of successfully advancing to the next level. After advancing, they will directly gain Innate Spell based on their bloodline.

A First-Level Wizard needs to completely envelop the first level one Innate Spell model in a crystal formed from Mental Power before using Will runes to construct a level two spell model.

Only by solidifying this level two spell model can Wizard advance to level two. Afterward, the process of materializing Mental Power is repeated to form a second crystal, which completely envelops the level two Innate Spell model. Then, a Third Level spell model is constructed using Will runes.

The biggest advantage of Bloodline Warlock over Wizard is that they can directly acquire Innate Spell based on their bloodline, saving them the process of learning and then solidifying them.

While Formal Wizard can live for hundreds of years, this lifespan is insufficient compared to the lengthy process of materializing Mental Power and the tedious process of learning spells and building models.

Therefore, many Wizard who are short of lifespan before their advancement will try to modify their bodies to live as long as possible.

Many Wizard, after undergoing multiple modifications, gradually transcend the realm of humanity, becoming not significantly different from Bloodline Warlock. The only difference is that Wizard, even when acquiring the bloodline of extraordinary beings, often don't experience the constraints of that bloodline. Of course, without the drawbacks of Bloodline Warlock, the full benefits are also difficult to enjoy.

Under normal circumstances, even Wizard from a top-tier powerful organization would find it difficult to create a Fourth-Level "Star Wizard" even with massive resources.

On the one hand, powerful and talented Wizard are unwilling to solidify weak spells into Innate Spell, while powerful spells require too long to learn.

The most crucial point is that even the weakest Fourth-Level spell is extremely complex for Third-Level Wizard.

Furthermore, it requires even more time and effort to synthesize Mental Power, magical energy, and other resources into a single point.

Otherwise, there wouldn't be so few Fourth-Level Wizard.

If there were a Fourth-Level bloodline source to choose from, probably 99% of low-level Wizard would switch to Bloodline Warlock.

Even if Fourth-Level bloodline source can only advance to Third Level, it can still provide at least several thousand years of lifespan.

A normal Third-Level Wizard, no matter how they are modified, has a soul limit of one thousand years. Even if they become neither human nor ghost, Third-Level Wizard can never live for more than one thousand years. As for whether resurrecting in a fragmented way with a broken soul fragment can be considered resurrection, that remains to be discussed.

Time is the Wizard's greatest enemy!

In the vast universe, to learn infinite knowledge in a limited amount of time, one must choose what is most useful to oneself at the moment.

Because Shiraha possesses three Innate Spell Innate Spell, he requires a stronger Mental Power model crystal to withstand them. Therefore, his advancement requirements are higher than those of lower-level Bloodline Warlock, especially since he is learning the "Advanced Warlock Meditation Method" from the "Book of the Ancient Warlock".

Of course, the high requirements for promotion are relative, because what bears the brunt of these three Innate Spell is mainly his Fourth-Level bloodline power.

Unless it's a major bottleneck to advancing to Fourth-Level, the requirements for promotion won't be ridiculously high.

Based on Shiraha's Fourth-Level bloodline source, "World Tree Companion Serpent," he can now derive two derivative meditation methods from his "Advanced Warlock Meditation Method": the "World Tree Meditation Method," which leans towards the plant element, and the "Companion Serpent Meditation Method," which leans towards the biological element. Both derivative Meditation Method use him as their bloodline source and can be cultivated to the peak of the Third Level.

However, after reaching the peak of Third Level, Shiraha needs to advance to level Fourth-Level himself and obtain the power of the bloodline source.

This is also a backup plan that Shiraha left for those with whom he had close relationships.

If his women, children, or subordinates reach the end of their Wizard path, he, as the source of his bloodline, can provide two Meditation Method that can be cultivated to the Third Level.

Moreover, if he breaks through the bloodline shackles, the path for those who follow will be easier.

In a sense, it can be said that when one person attains enlightenment, even their chickens and dogs benefit from it.

Shiraha wandered around the Shikkotsu Forest, collecting some plants with strange Energy Field, and scraping a lot of bodily fluids from some small Katsuyu.

It must be said that the Shikkotsu Forest Katsuyu Sage Forest must have a very high level of attainment in the realm of the soul.

Each little Katsuyu seems to have its own independent consciousness and can communicate with Shiraha.

When he was scraping the fluid from the Katsuyu, the other person told him to be gentle, and with that gentle, childlike voice, anyone who didn't know better would think Shiraha was bullying a child.

When Shiraha returned to the Wood Spirit Avatar with satisfaction, he found that Energy Particles around the Wood Spirit Avatar were continuously entering his body.

At this moment, the Energy Field emitted by the Wood Spirit Avatar incarnation changed.

Through the spiral-shaped mask, one can see dark green eyeshadow around the eyelids of the Wood Spirit Avatar.

At the same time, the body of the Wood Spirit Avatar began to gradually exude a semi-transparent, viscous liquid, resembling sweat.

"To have completed the first stage of Senjutsu cultivation so quickly, what a genius!"

The Katsuyu couldn't help but sigh.

The Wood Spirit Avatar suddenly opened its tightly closed eyes.

He began to examine his own body.

To Shiraha's astonishment, the Wood Spirit Avatar flipped its arm in reverse, making it look like a rubber man with no bones at all.

Immediately afterwards, the chakra around the Wood Spirit Avatar Chakra surged out, and its body returned to normal. The powerful Senjutsu Chakra gave Shiraha a jolt. Although the total amount was not strong, the intensity and quality were extremely high.

As his main body's level increases, his Wood Spirit Avatar will definitely become stronger and stronger. Perhaps one day he will be able to unleash Wood Release to a level comparable to, or even surpass, that of the First First.

"As it is now, it's somewhat convincing to pretend to be the First Hokage. I wonder what Kakuzu's reaction will be when he sees the Wood Spirit Avatar."

Shiraha thought to himself that he was currently planning to return to the Land of Whirlpools ruins with Kushina to gather the remaining people of the Uzumaki Clan.

As for the Wood Spirit Avatar, it should first go and meet up with Kakuzu to form a part-time bounty hunter team, and also gather intelligence along the way.

The second Wood Spirit Avatar, Shiraha, has not yet been figured out how to use it.

"Try using Sage Mode and Ninjutsu," the Katsuyu whispered a suggestion.

"Yes!" The incarnation of the wood spirit nodded, then clapped his hands together to form a '' seal.

' Wood Release: Advent of the World of Trees!'

Rumble!

The ground trembled slightly, and huge trees burst forth from the soil as if they were alive, growing rapidly and soon turning this relatively open area into a lush, dense forest.

The tree trunks summoned by the Wood Spirit Avatar danced continuously in this space under his control, clearly demonstrating their ability to flexibly deal with enemies.

Boom!

Shiraha punched the tree trunk with all his might, his fist sinking deep into the trunk, but the tree trunk was not broken as a result.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

As Shiraha gradually used more Chakra, more and more tree trunks were blasted apart, but they quickly regenerated, making them impossible to destroy or eradicate completely.

"This defense is too strong!" Shiraha was shocked. Although he did not use his full strength or the "Crimson Dragon Calamity", his Taijutsu, which he used with his 7+ physique and Chakra, was something that even an ordinary Jōnin could not withstand.

A normal Jōnin would probably have no chance against Wood Release with this level of defense; they would likely find it very difficult to even break through its defenses.

A wide-range offensive Ninjutsu is needed to deal with this level of Wood Release.

Most Kage Level probably couldn't do that.

I never expected that the Senjutsu and Wood Release Ninjutsu of Shikkotsu Forest would be so compatible.

"Once the Wood Spirit Avatar is fully familiar with the Senjutsu..."

"Oh? The same Wood Release as Hashirama? Although much weaker than him, it is indeed Wood Release." The Katsuyu's surprised voice rang out, looking down at the Wood Spirit Avatar, and asked, "Are you willing to sign a contract with our Shikkotsu Forest?"

"Of course I'm willing, thank you Katsuyu Sage," the Wood Spirit Avatar said respectfully.

The Katsuyu nodded slightly and spat out a huge scroll from its mouth.

The Wood Spirit Avatar opened the scroll, and the two most recent names were Tsunade and Hashirama Senju.

After leaving his name, the Wood Spirit Avatar returned the scroll to the Katsuyu.

"If you want to fully learn and master the Sage Mode of Shikkotsu Forest, it will take at least another month. For now, you should stay here and train diligently," the Katsuyu reminded him.

"In that case, I won't bother you any longer," Shiraha said.

'The most important goal has been achieved. Now we can take advantage of the Wood Spirit Avatar cultivating Sage Mode in the Shikkotsu Forest to study the Katsuyu's cells.'

Although he had only recently advanced to the next level and didn't need to rush into considering the third bloodline fusion, Shiraha discovered after arriving at the Shikkotsu Forest that the Katsuyu's abilities were far stronger than he had imagined.

Shiraha had underestimated Katsuyu before.

The Katsuyu nodded. "I'll see you out."

Bang!

A cloud of smoke rose.

The next second, Shiraha appeared on the roof of the apartment building where Tsunade lived.

Having identified the direction, Shiraha ran towards West Street.

After helping Nawaki re-transplant his legs, he also transplanted a new arm for his former mentor, Jōnin Oshima Shuichi. I wonder how it will turn out; I'll go check it out.

Today is also the day of the original Team 12's reunion dinner. It's been a long time since I've seen Hideto and Chiho.

PS: It's a friend's birthday, I'm out and about, and might be drinking. Only one update today, more to come later. That's all.