Shikkotsu Forest

The next morning, Tsunade and Shizune got up early to pack their luggage.

At that moment, Chiya was still sitting by the bed, drinking his medicine. It was so bitter that his whole face scrunched up.

Tsunade glanced at him and could not help frowning.

"Don't make that face. It won't kill you."

Chiya set down the bowl and let out a long breath.

"With this taste, even if it doesn't kill me, it'll take half my life."

Shizune held back a laugh beside him.

Ignoring him, Tsunade tossed the remaining packets of medicine onto the table.

"Remember to take them. Shizune and I are going back to Konoha."

Chiya froze.

"So soon?"

Tsunade slung her bag over her shoulder, her expression less than pleasant.

"Konoha is such a mess that I won't be at ease unless I go back and see it myself. Especially with someone like Danzo sitting in the Hokage's seat now."

Chiya fell silent for a moment.

Tsunade walked to the door, then looked back at him.

"Go obediently to Shikkotsu Forest. Don't run around. Without Katsuyu, no one can find that place. Lie low for a while, then come back."

Chiya nodded.

"I know."

Tsunade nodded and pushed the door open before leaving.

Shizune followed behind with Ton Ton in her arms. When she reached the doorway, she looked back at Chiya.

"Chiya, take care."

Chiya smiled at her.

"You too."

Once the door closed, the room suddenly fell quiet.

Chiya sat there for a while, then lowered his head to look at the small Katsuyu lying beside the table.

"When do we leave?"

The small Katsuyu raised its head.

"Any time."

Chiya immediately stood up and stretched.

His body had recovered quite a bit over the past few days. His vision was still somewhat blurry, but it was far better than before.

The small Katsuyu crawled onto the table and spread out a Shikkotsu Forest summoning scroll before him.

Chiya bit his finger and wrote his name on the scroll.

Chiya Uchiha.

Once the blood fell, the patterns on the scroll glowed faintly, then quickly dimmed again.

The small Katsuyu said, "The contract is complete."

The next moment, a faint white light shimmered over its body.

"Lord Chiya, please do not resist."

"Alright."

The moment the words left his mouth, Chiya felt the ground vanish beneath his feet.

With a bang, white light flashed before his eyes.

When he came back to his senses, his feet were already planted on soft, damp ground.

Before he could even open his eyes, the first thing he felt was moisture.

Damp air rushed over him, as if a heavy rain had just fallen. A chill instantly clung to his clothes. Chiya instinctively took a breath, and his nose filled with the scents of plants, grass, soil, and a faint mushroom fragrance.

He opened his eyes, and immediately froze.

The place was full of vegetation.

The ferns were absurdly huge, their leaves layered atop one another and towering even higher than the trees outside. Thick stalks thrust out of the earth like green pillars supporting the sky.

There were also enormous mushrooms nearby.

Their caps spread overhead like roofs. Grayish white, light brown, pale red—every color blended together in dense clusters, blocking most of the sunlight.

It was difficult to see a complete stretch of sky in Shikkotsu Forest. Only scattered rays of light fell through gaps in the plants, glimmering over moss and puddles.

Chiya slowly took two steps forward.

Something crunched beneath his feet.

He looked down and saw a fallen fern leaf.

It was as large as a blanket.

Chiya's mouth twitched.

"What do these plants even eat to grow this big?"

As soon as he spoke, the fluttering sound of wings came from above.

Chiya jerked his head up.

A gigantic dragonfly flew out of the mist, its wings beating rapidly.

Its body alone was nearly half the size of a person.

Chiya stiffened all over and hurriedly pointed at it, barely able to speak clearly.

"H-Hey! Wh-what kind of monster is that?!"

The small Katsuyu on his shoulder gave a soft laugh.

"That is a dragonfly. It is merely rather large."

Chiya swallowed.

"Rather large? At that size, it could eat people!"

The enormous dragonfly flew over their heads, buzzing as it darted behind a massive fern leaf.

Chiya stared in the direction where it disappeared, only recovering after a long while.

Walking through Shikkotsu Forest, he truly felt as if he had shrunk into an insect.

Thick mushrooms lined both sides of the path.

The ground was covered in thick fallen leaves and moss, soft beneath his feet. Occasionally, water seeped out from beneath the leaves. In the distance came the roar of a waterfall, rumbling loudly. It sounded far away, yet it also seemed as though the entire forest was trembling along with it.

The small Katsuyu led him deeper inside.

The further they went, the thicker the mist became.

At first, Chiya looked around everywhere. Later, he simply followed the small Katsuyu obediently. The plants here were too large; after only a few steps, it was easy to lose his sense of direction.

Before long, a great mountain suddenly appeared ahead.

Chiya stopped walking.

The mountain was snow-white from top to bottom, with several pale blue markings across its surface. They stretched from deep within the mist to somewhere beyond sight.

He was just about to ask what kind of mountain it was.

The next instant, the mountain moved slightly.

The ground trembled with it.

Chiya's eyes widened at once.

The small Katsuyu said gently, "Lord Chiya, this is my true body."

Chiya went completely rigid.

He raised his head and tried his best to look upward.

But he could not see its top at all.

That enormous white body lay deep within Shikkotsu Forest like a mountain range stretching across the land. Standing before it, Chiya could not even see a complete section of one small marking on its body.

His mouth fell open.

"It's way, way, way, way too huge!"

The next moment, Katsuyu's voice came from deep within the mist, still as gentle as ever.

"Lord Chiya, welcome to Shikkotsu Forest."

Chiya hurriedly straightened up.

"Lady Katsuyu."

"Lady Tsunade has already told me of your situation. Rest today. We will begin your training tomorrow."

Chiya was just about to say that he had already rested enough, but he swallowed the words back down.

It would not be good to start acting rebellious the moment he arrived on someone else's turf. He should listen to their arrangements first.

Lady Katsuyu prepared a meal for him.

The dishes were all made from mushrooms, various berries, and vegetables.

The mushroom soup was wonderfully fresh and warm. The berries looked strange—some resembled white jade beads, while others looked like tiny purple lanterns. Their juice was sweet when bitten into.

Chiya had not expected much, but after one bite, he could not stop.

"Mmm, this is so good."

Holding a purple berry, he spoke through a mouthful of food.

The small Katsuyu said, "There are many berries in Shikkotsu Forest. Lord Chiya may pick them himself in the future."

Chiya nodded vigorously.

"Mhm, definitely. When I get the chance, I'll take a good look around."

After the meal, the small Katsuyu took him to his lodging.

It was a mushroom house.

More precisely, it was a medium-sized mushroom whose cap had been hollowed out.

A short wooden ladder had been built along the mushroom stalk. Climbing up it led to his room.

Halfway up, Chiya could not help looking around.

The area was filled with mushroom houses of every size. Water droplets hung beneath some caps, while a faint glow shone through the windows of others.

The scenery was truly beautiful.

When he entered the room,

he saw that everything inside was made of mushrooms as well.

A mushroom table, mushroom chairs, and a mushroom bed.

Chiya reached out and pressed the bed.

It was soft.

He sat on it, and it bounced slightly.

"This bed is pretty good."

He eagerly lay down to try it out, only to find that once he lay down, he did not want to get back up.

Chiya had originally planned to read the Yin Seal scroll for a while. But the bed was simply too comfortable. He really did not want to get up.

Before long, he felt his eyelids growing heavier and heavier, until he finally fell into a deep sleep.

By nightfall, Shikkotsu Forest was exceptionally quiet.

Outside, there was only the sound of the waterfall and the occasional chirp of insects.

This place was far too comfortable.

Though it was somewhat damp, it was not stuffy. On the contrary, whenever the wind blew, it even felt pleasantly cool.

Chiya's first day in Shikkotsu Forest ended with him sleeping soundly through the night.