Upon hearing Kōki's praise, the Katsuyu the Sage simply smiled and didn't say anything more.
Actually, everyone who signed a contract with Shikkotsu Forest had that same expression after learning that she was Shikkotsu Forest's only summoned beast; she was used to it.
"Alright, Kōki. You said before that you wanted to try training in Sage Mode, so now I'm asking you, are you ready?"
Upon hearing the Katsuyu the Sage's question, Kōki immediately withdrew his surprised expression and replied seriously, " Katsuyu the Sage, I am ready."
"Since you say you're ready, then I'll tell you about the points to note and the procedures for practicing Senjutsu later."
The first step for humans to cultivate Senjutsu is to sense the energy flowing in nature. Only by sensing this Natural Energy can one establish the foundation for cultivating Sage Mode.
The second step is to absorb the Natural Energy from the environment into the body. The key to this step is to control the Natural Energy Natural Energy after absorption and combine it with one's own Chakra to form Senjutsu Chakra. This step is also the most dangerous. Once the Natural Energy in the body and one's own Chakra become unbalanced, the Natural Energy will erode the human body, eventually leading to petrification and death.
The final step is to improve the durability of Sage Mode. To prolong Sage Mode in Shikkotsu Forest, you need to keep Katsuyu with you, allowing the Katsuyu to create a dynamic balance between the body and the user.
Although he didn't believe that Kōki could learn Sage Mode in one go, the Katsuyu the Sage didn't give him a perfunctory answer and still earnestly explained the key points of Senjutsu training to Kōki.
After listening to the Katsuyu the Sage's explanation, Kōki nodded involuntarily.
These are similar to what the Toad Sage Fukasaku taught Naruto Uzumaki in the original story.
It seems that even though they are different sacred sites of Senjutsu, the most fundamental principles of immortal Senjutsu are not much different.
After seeing Kōki nod, the Katsuyu the Sage continued, "I summoned you to Shikkotsu Forest Shikkotsu Forest the Natural Energy there is dozens of times stronger than outside, making it easier for you to sense Natural Energy. Only in such a place filled with Natural Energy can you learn Sage Mode more quickly. But don't think that having such abundant Natural Energy makes you less vigilant. Sometimes, the abundance of Natural Energy is precisely the key to your failure in training."
The Katsuyu the Sage didn't want Kōki to become complacent because of her words, so she gave Kōki some subtle hints at the end. However, her hints weren't very meaningful to Kōki, because Kōki already knew the key to it.
"I understand, Lady Katsuyu. Shall we begin?" Kōki asked the Katsuyu the Sage impatiently.
When the Katsuyu the Sage saw the anxious Kōki, he sighed inwardly.
Kōki's mindset made her even more convinced that Kōki couldn't succeed. There was a crucial point she didn't mention: the biggest taboo in Sage Mode is movement. When practicing Senjutsu, one must maintain a state of stillness; only in this state can one sense the flow of Natural Energy and absorb it.
Those who are impatient will never even get started with the Sage Mode.
However, she stopped reminding him and decided to let Kōki experience some setbacks.
"Alright, since you've said so, let's begin." With that, the Katsuyu the Sage split off a small clone that crawled onto Kōki's body, and then continued to say to Kōki, "Although the Natural Energy in Shikkotsu Forest is very rich, you still have a hard time sensing it without my help. So, in order to help you get started faster, my clone will assist you in sensing the Natural Energy."
Simply put, the Katsuyu clone absorbs Natural Energy first, and then transfers the absorbed Natural Energy to you.
The key for you now is to find the balance point between Natural Energy and your body 'Chakra. Only when you achieve this will you be qualified to move on to the next stage. If you can't even do this, then I think you know what will happen next without me saying more."
Kōki knew perfectly well what would happen next: if he didn't even complete the first step, he would have no choice but to give up his plan to learn Sage Mode.
Thinking this, Kōki placed the Katsuyu that had crawled onto him on his head, then crossed his legs, sat cross-legged on the ground, closed his eyes, and prepared to sense the Natural Energy transmitted by the Katsuyu.
After seeing that Kōki was ready, the Katsuyu the Sage didn't say anything more, but simply watched Kōki quietly.
Under her control, the Katsuyu clones began to move.
The next second, invisible Natural Energy was rapidly absorbed into the Katsuyu clone's body, then slowly conducted into Kōki's head, and then quickly spread throughout Kōki's entire body.
At that moment, Kōki also felt an unusually violent energy enter his body.
Unlike docile Chakra, this energy is difficult to control, let alone merge with the Chakra within one's own body.
Fortunately, Kōki's exceptional Chakra control talent allowed him to barely control the Natural Energy Natural Energy before it began to erode his body, and he attempted to fuse the Natural Energy with his Chakra.
To Kōki's surprise, although controlling Natural Energy was still quite difficult, the fusion of Natural Energy and Chakra went exceptionally smoothly. With just a simple experiment, he successfully created Senjutsu Chakra.
At the same time, after Kōki formed Senjutsu Chakra, black stripes appeared on his face. These stripes intertwined and made his face look very mysterious.
The Katsuyu the Sage nearby was instantly stunned when it saw the stripes appearing on Kōki's face.
Unable to contain his inner surprise, he exclaimed, "Is this a Sage Mode mask? Is Little Kōki's talent really that strong? He can learn the basics of Sage Mode in just over ten minutes?"
She simply couldn't believe that someone could learn the Sage Mode of Shikkotsu Forest in such a short time. Moreover, this person hadn't even met the basic requirements for Sage Mode.
At that moment, she knew that Kōki's body definitely had some extraordinary secrets, otherwise no one could skip the conditions for Sage Mode and directly master Sage Mode.
And so, to the Katsuyu the Sage's astonishment, Kōki had already converted all the Natural Energy transferred into his body by the Katsuyu Senjutsu Chakra.
He slowly opened his eyes, and the instant he did so, he felt the world had changed, becoming exceptionally clear and bright.
He could now clearly perceive Natural Energy that was previously invisible and intangible. At the same time, he could clearly feel his body filled with energy, and his strength had increased by at least 30%.
Don't underestimate just 30%; even that 30% of their strength is enough to easily defeat a Kage Level.
Moreover, this is only the result of Kōki's initial learning of Sage Mode. Once Kōki has mastered Sage Mode, it's hard to say how much his strength will increase.