The Secrets of Sage Art

The Slug Sage slowly shifted its earth-shaking massive body, like a moving mountain, revealing the towering cliff behind it.

Carved into the cliff was an enormous Thousand-Armed Statue, hundreds of meters tall. The statue was lifelike, as though it might step down from the cliff at any moment and unleash boundless compassion and power.

Standing beneath the cliff, Neji looked up at the enormous Thousand-Armed Statue, deeply shaken.

The Dharma Form's face was kind yet solemn, its eyes slightly closed, as though meditating, or perhaps gazing down upon everything in the world.

The Dharma Form's thousand arms were spread wide, each hand posed differently. Some held ritual implements, some formed hand seals; every hand seemed to contain endless power and wisdom.

Neji's mind was instantly drawn in. He felt an unprecedented sense of tranquility and solemnity, as though the entire world had fallen silent, leaving only him and the Thousand-Armed Statue.

"As you can see, little Neji, this is Shikkotsu Forest's inherited Dharma Form. The Three Great Sage Regions have different methods of inheritance and different cultivation paths. Once cultivated to the extreme, the secrets they command are also different."

The Slug Sage spoke with great pride.

"Secrets?"

Neji froze. Was Sage Art really this complicated? Wasn't talent all one needed to cultivate it?

"Of course there are secrets. That old snake's Sage Art, once cultivated to its limit, possesses the power of creation. Plants can be casually enlightened into other forms of life, and even lifeless things such as rocks can be granted life."

Seeing Neji's shocked, gaping mouth, Katsuyu nodded in satisfaction and continued revealing more.

"That old toad's lineage is the easiest to enter, but reaching profound mastery is impossible. Even he has only glimpsed a trace of time's ripples. After cultivating for a thousand years, he can merely occasionally reach into the river of time and glimpse scenes downstream."

"The secret of time... My god, am I really in the Naruto World?" Neji heard his jaw crack as he opened his mouth too wide and nearly dislocated it.

"Then what lies at the end of Shikkotsu Forest's Sage Art?" Neji suddenly recalled that Ryūchi Cave's Sage Art seemed to have something called Inorganic Reincarnation, as well as the Dragon Vein's ability to travel through time. He instantly accepted these Sage Art concepts, and his eyes began to burn. The Sage Arts of the other sacred regions were this powerful; there was no way the Slug Sage's Sage Art could be lacking.

"The Sage Art I have mastered leads to the secret of space."

"Space? That works too!" Neji thought of advanced space-time ninjutsu such as Flying Thunder God, the Kamui Dimension, and Yomotsu Hirasaka. It did seem pretty good.

"The space I speak of is the ability to freely create spaces of your own!" the Slug Sage's voice drifted over.

Neji said nothing. His jaw cracked again. He was too stunned for words.

At that moment, he thought of a technique Kaguya Otsutsuki possessed while in her Nine-Tomoe Rinnegan state—Amenominaka. It created different spaces with their own rules: a flame space, a gravity space, an acid space... Even if Neji spent his entire life scheming and calculating, he might not reach that level.

But what had Neji just heard? Shikkotsu Forest's Sage Art could actually reach that realm. How was that any different from walking outside and picking up a billion dollars?

Calm down, calm down. The Slug Sage has cultivated for a thousand years and still hasn't shown any results. Neji, Neji, it's too early to be happy!

Although he kept telling himself to stay calm, Neji could barely suppress the corners of his mouth. After all, he had secrets of his own. In his view, with the Primordial Bagua Diagram on him, none of these aspirations were unattainable anymore.

"Weren't you famous throughout the Ninja World for medical regeneration ninjutsu? How did it become space ninjutsu?"

After recovering his senses, Neji voiced the doubt in his heart.

"Medical ninjutsu is something Katsuyu are born knowing. Space is something I mastered only after learning Sage Art. Just as toads can use sound-wave ninjutsu, and snakes are naturally skilled with poison."

Katsuyu explained gently.

"But you're trapped here. If you understand the secret of space, couldn't you freely teleport your body?" Neji asked curiously.

"Space made me, and space ruined me..." Katsuyu said with a trace of desolation in its voice.

Then it continued, "When I was born in this space, I was still rather ignorant. Relying on instinct to cultivate, I blindly pursued an enormous body."

The Slug Sage paused, seeming to sink into memory, before continuing, "You must have wondered how, as a soft-bodied creature, I could possess such an enormous body. It is highly unreasonable. You must understand that even chakra or Sage Art cannot possibly provide enough energy to support such a massive body."

Neji nodded. The first time he saw the Slug Sage, he had felt that something was deeply abnormal. Without a skeleton for support, such a gigantic body would only be a fatal burden. Under normal circumstances, the Slug Sage should have been flattened against the ground by its own weight.

"Is it because of the secret of space?" Neji asked thoughtfully.

"That's right. After cultivating Sage Art to a profound level, I understood how to construct spatial nodes. So I built spatial structures throughout many parts of my body to support myself, connecting them to the heavens and earth of Shikkotsu Forest. As time passed, I became immersed in it, until one day I discovered that this space had become me—and I had become forever bound here."

Katsuyu's words carried some regret, yet also a hint of resignation.

At that moment, Neji's head buzzed. Creation, time, space—these terms kept lighting up in his mind. Thought after thought arose and vanished, and an utterly shocking speculation slowly surfaced in his mind.

Don't tell me this world also has earth, wind, water, fire, and all that. That speculation is way too terrifying. Still, the Three Great Sage Regions truly aren't simple.

Neji thought to himself.

"Little Neji, I never told even Hashirama these secrets. I'm telling you because, as I said before, I saw a trace of destiny upon you."

"But do not be afraid. For you now, mastering the secret of space is still far too distant. First learn to sense natural chakra. Before destiny comes knocking, prepare as many means of protection as you can."

The Slug Sage warned him.

"What should I do, Senior?"

Neji asked seriously. Now that he knew these secrets, whether he wanted it or not, certain matters would eventually come knocking. This was the aggregation effect of mysterious events—what people called destiny.

Still, I'm really looking forward to it. If I could gather the Sage Arts of all Three Great Sage Regions and cultivate them together, wouldn't I take off immediately?

Neji imagined it, then startled himself with his own idea. He quickly warned himself not to get reckless. He needed to finish the main quest first, then decide whether to take on side quests depending on the circumstances.

As for hidden quests, though tempting, he had to beware of traps. It was better to claim the main quest's rewards first.

With that thought, Neji turned his attention to the cultivation method the Slug Sage had described.