Somewhere overseas in the Shinobi World (actually, no one knows where).
In a place inaccessible to humankind, there lies a vast island.
Here, there are only colossal ancient trees, some thousands of meters tall, making everything appear magnified a hundred times. Sunlight cannot penetrate, making it cold and damp, and the ground is covered with leaves that have been piled up for countless years, emitting a rotten smell.
This environment is ideal for insects, and due to the special Natural Energy, the various poisonous insects are also unusually large, to the point of being unbearable.
"Phew~"
A figure flew in from afar and landed at the entrance of the Shikkotsu Forest cave; it was none other than Ainz, the fifth elder of the Nuclear Ninja Village.
Ainz held a golden staff and stood still, maximizing his perception, but he could not sense the Katsuyu Sage within his perception range.
" The Shikkotsu Forest truly lives up to its reputation as a sacred land. My perception is limited; there's nothing I can do but search slowly."
However, at that moment, Ainz suddenly sensed that the forest in front of him was protected by a barrier, resisting him.
Ainz placed the skeletal hand on the barrier, feeling no sense of attack. "A barrier formed from condensed Senjutsu Chakra, so powerful. If I forcibly break it, won't people misunderstand?"
"Um... are you Hongshi?"
At that moment, a Katsuyu as tall as a person slowly crawled out from the dark jungle in front of them. Its voice was very gentle; it was the avatar of the Katsuyu Sage.
Ainz quickly greeted him, "Hello Katsuyu Sage, you look... quite well."
The Katsuyu Sage is an existence that has lived since the same era as Gamamaru of Mount Myōboku. He is over a thousand years old and his strength is unfathomable. He might even be the strongest of the three great sages. He saw through the Hongshi's Transformation Technique at a glance.
"Hehehe." The Katsuyu Sage laughed, "You're quite humorous. Come on, although talking to me is the same, it's more polite to talk to your true form."
Having said that, the barrier in front of Ainz opened a gap.
Ainz slowly caught up with the Katsuyu.
Five minutes later... the man and the Katsuyu had only walked less than a hundred meters.
The Katsuyu said with a hint of sarcasm, "I never imagined there were people in the world as slow as me."
Ainz and the Katsuyu finally locked eyes. "Haha, well, there's nothing I can do about it. Speaking of which, you, Katsuyu Sage, haven't you lived for more than a thousand years?"
The Katsuyu turned its head and laughed, "Well, I was born when Shikkotsu Forest appeared, so it must have been over ten thousand years ago. But compared to Shikkotsu Forest's near-immortality, I'm still a child."
The Lord God: "A ten-thousand-year-old child, hmm, not bad."
Ainz cleared his throat. "Did the Katsuyu Sage know from the beginning that I was Hongshi?"
"Hmm!" the Katsuyu replied, "I learned about you from Lady Tsunade. I sensed you when you appeared at the entrance of Shikkotsu Forest. Oh, I should say your true form."
Ainz pointed to himself. "Since you've already figured it out, you should know that I'm not just a clone, right?"
" The Katsuyu Sage has lived for ten thousand years. This Clone Technique is similar to the Tailed Beast of Sage of Six Paths' creation of the Tailed Beasts, except your Chakra is far more powerful than theirs!"
The Katsuyu spoke in the same tone as a ten-year-old child. Without asking about the origin of Hongshi 'Chakra asked, "By the way, Hongshi-kun, what brings you to Shikkotsu Forest?"
Ainz smiled and said, "I've come to obtain the cultivation method for the Shikkotsu Forest Senjutsu Technique."
"I see. Many people have tried to cultivate the Senjutsu of the Shikkotsu Forest. However, very few have succeeded; those who failed have all become part of us."
Ainz leaned back. "Huh? Failing to cultivate will turn you into Katsuyu? Alive?"
"(ˊˋ) Hmph, otherwise why do you think we'd be so big?"
In the original work, Tsunade and Sakura's highest achievement was summoning only about one-tenth of the Katsuyu's body, which shows how enormous it was.
It took the man and the Katsuyu three whole days to reach the place where the Katsuyu Sage was.
"Crunch, crunch..."
Only then did Ainz see the true form of the Katsuyu Sage, who was currently enjoying chewing on a thousand enormous leaves.
"My goodness, it's huge!"
The Katsuyu Sage's body is roughly estimated to be at least five thousand meters long, but its size appears quite normal compared to the enormous ancient tree beside it.
The Katsuyu leading the way said, "We've arrived."
After saying that, it merged into the Katsuyu Sage's body. It didn't look so disgusting; in fact, it looked kind of cute.
"Creak, creak... Hongshi-kun, you've arrived. Creak, creak."
Ainz looked at the Katsuyu Sage with its mouth full of leaves and swallowed hard. "These leaves look delicious... cough cough, hello Katsuyu Sage."
"Crunch, crunch, you want to cultivate the Shikkotsu Forest Senjutsu?"
Ainz nodded. "Mm."
"Crunch, crunch. Why? Crunch, crunch. Although the Shikkotsu Forest Senjutsu is powerful, crunch, crunch, it's very difficult to master. Crunch, crunch."
Ainz: "(°ー°) Katsuyu Sage, swallow this leaf first. I'm hungry too. This centipede is huge, looks pretty good."
The centipede perched on the tree nearby suddenly jolted. "Σ()???"
Katsuyu Sage: "Crunch, crunch. That's Elder Centipede from the Shikkotsu Forest, you can't eat it. Why don't you eat this leaf? It tastes very good, we all eat this."
As soon as he finished speaking, a heavy leaf, a hundred meters long, floated down from the giant tree and landed in front of Ainz. It emitted a faint fragrance, making his mouth water.
Ainz removed the skull mask, revealing his true face. He tore off a tender leaf, popped it into his mouth, and chewed it heartily. "Crunch, crunch, so fragrant! So delicious! It tastes just like sugarcane, and without any residue."
Elder Centipede sensed the terrifying Chakra within Ainz's body, and its purple form moved closer, asking, "Are you sure you want to practice the Shikkotsu Forest Senjutsu?"
The Elder Centipede's voice was actually that of a girl around ten years old, which nearly made Ainz choke. He pounded his chest, exclaiming, "You! You can talk? Help! The centipede can talk!"
Elder Centipede looked puzzled. " The Katsuyu Sage can speak, so why can't I? Is that strange?"
Ainz thought for a moment, then was speechless. "That makes sense. Your name is Elder Centipede? Have you ever heard of Blast?"
Elder Centipede: "???"
While chewing on a leaf, Ainz asked, "You said the Shikkotsu Forest Senjutsu is difficult to cultivate. Is there anything special about it? Has no one ever succeeded before?"
Elder Centipede, though only a thousand years younger than the Katsuyu Sage, possessed vast knowledge. "Hmm, the Shikkotsu Forest Senjutsu has very high requirements for practitioners. Upon successful mastery, one gains a large amount of vitality and regenerative abilities, which is why we have lived for nearly ten thousand years. The most recent person to successfully master it was a child named Hashirama Senju."
The Lord God: "Hey! Hashirama Senju's Senjutsu isn't Shikkotsu Forest! Don't make things up! Oh no, haven't you made up enough already? Whatever makes you happy."
The Katsuyu Sage chuckled, "Is that the child currently in Sakura's hands? I sensed him. Although he seems clumsy, he has great talent."
The use of Wood Release requires a considerable amount of life force; the more it is used, the shorter one's lifespan becomes. Shikkotsu Forest Senjutsu can greatly compensate for this drawback.
Hongshi already knew the general direction of Shikkotsu Forest from Danzo's memories, but with their current abilities, they simply couldn't reach it because it was too far away, not to mention the hidden power of Shikkotsu Forest.