Naruto: The Sage Body of Konoha

Shikkotsu Forest—one of the most mysterious places in the ninja world—was so well hidden that few knew its exact location.

Of the three sacred lands, Mount Myoboku and Ryuchi Cave had both welcomed many human cultivators over the years, allowing them to master sage arts and spread the reputation of these holy grounds throughout the shinobi world.

Yet Shikkotsu Forest remained an enigma. No disciples of its arcane techniques had ever appeared publicly in the shinobi world.

There was a chilling rumor—that through the years, anyone who entered Shikkotsu Forest to learn sage techniques suffered a curse, and nearly all of them died. Only Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage, was the sole man who had survived and left from there.

That's why he obtained an invincible power.

But after all, it was merely an unverified legend.

"This is not a rumor, but the truth."

In the courtyard, Mito Uzumaki said slowly to Heiyan, then glanced at Tsunade beside her, signaling for the latter to prepare.

Tsunade nodded, forming hand seals and casting the Summoning Jutsu.

"Puff!"

After the smoke cleared, a large slug over three meters tall appeared in the courtyard—blue and white in color—with two antennae carrying a massive scroll atop them.

This scene seemed oddly familiar to Heiyan.

It was because the steps for traveling to Shikkotsu Forest were similar to those taken to Mount Myoboku—one needed first to sign a contract with Katsuyu before using [Reverse Summoning] to teleport oneself there.

However, unlike Mount Myoboku, there was only one living being in the entire Shikkotsu Forest—a slug known as Katsuyu, also referred to as the Sage Slug.

The three-meter-high slug in front of them was nothing more than a minor clone of Katsuyu.

So, after explaining his intentions to the summoned Katsuyu clone, Heiyan proceeded methodically—biting his finger, using his blood to write his name on the contract scroll, successfully signing a pact with Shikkotsu Forest, and performing the Summoning technique properly.

After that, things got easier.

Several minutes later.

As everything spun around him, Heiyan felt himself being summoned again—he vanished from Konoha, traveled through space, and appeared at a mysterious place.

This seemed to be an island, with a mountain at its center, surrounded by swirling clouds halfway up the slope.

Looking around, the island was filled with rows of towering trees—each usually dozens of meters high, leafless, covered in countless branches, their bark deathly pale.

They stood like sharp blades piercing into the sky.

As he drew closer to the woods, he noticed that the tree trunks were crawling with numerous blue-and-white slugs of varying sizes—from dozens of centimeters to tens of meters long. Using their antennae to exchange information, they secreted abundant mucus from their mouths, dripping down the trunks onto the ground.

What intense natural energy!

This was Heiyan's immediate impression upon entering Shikkotsu Forest. In his perception, the density of natural energy here was nearly triple that of Mount Myoboku—and where he currently stood was only the forest's outer edge.

Heiyan took a sniff of the air.

The atmosphere here... was salty, humid—like standing right in the middle of the ocean.

"Could it be that Shikkotsu Forest's true identity is actually a remote island far out at sea?"

"Heyian," the boy murmured to himself and turned around. To his surprise, beyond the island was not the endless sea he had imagined, but an infinite void.

"You're right. Shikkotsu Forest is indeed an island at sea—and it's not far from Uzu Country, only a two-day journey away."

At this moment, Tsunade, who had come here with Heiyan as their guide, spoke up.

As she talked, she instinctively placed her hand on Heiyan's shoulder—clearly an affectionate gesture. But soon, she blushed slightly and quietly pulled her hand back before continuing.

"However, this place is essentially a pocket dimension located offshore. Ordinary people can't normally see it; only those who have made a contract with the Sage Slug can enter and leave freely."

"I see," Heiyan nodded in understanding, unaware of Tsunade's subtle reaction.

Finally, it all made sense to him.

Natural energy existed in air, land, and water.

Over a thousand years ago, Kaguya Otsutsuki planted the God Tree, draining massive amounts of natural energy from the planet. This caused a great calamity that left much of the world barren and lifeless, leaving only the lands of the Five Great Nations habitable for humans.

Among the three sacred places, Myoboku Mountain represented "air." According to Heiyan's speculation, its geographical location lay in the extreme western desert between the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth—at the edge of the world—which was why it survived that ancient global catastrophe.

Ryuchi Cave represented "land"—deep underground within the Rice Field Country, near where the Jugo clan lived.

Lastly, Shikkotsu Forest naturally stood for "water"—an island located near the sea of Uzu Country, similar to the Kamui pocket dimension of Obito Uchiha.

For generations, the Uzumaki clan and the Sage Slug of Shikkotsu Forest had maintained a close summoning contract. Because the Senju and Uzumaki clans were bound by deep ancestral friendship, and since the Senju bore physical traits similar to the Uzumaki, they naturally joined this contractual relationship as well.

Thinking about it now, Heiyan gained a much deeper understanding of the three sacred places.

"Tsunade-sama, you've arrived."

Just then, a gentle female voice came from ahead. A tiny slug no larger than a palm slowly crawled out from atop a tree branch and made its way toward Tsunade's shoulder.

It was none other than the Sage Slug's manifestation.

Katsuyu was mild-mannered and friendly—something clearly shown simply by addressing Tsunade as "sama," after all, Tsunade must be many generations younger.

Heiyan observed the small slug carefully.

Of the three sacred locations, Gamamaru of Mount Myoboku was wise and cunning, the White Snake of Ryuchi Cave was fierce and brutal, while Katsuyu of Shikkotsu Forest, in contrast, seemed gentle and harmless—like a gentle guardian spirit.

As Heiyan continued watching, the little slug turned its feelers toward him.

"Lord Heiyan, we meet again."

The Sage Slug said softly.

"We...have met before?" Heiyan asked, clearly surprised.

"The mist here occasionally leaks outside. I have followed them and sensed events occurring near the waters surrounding Shikkotsu Forest."

The Sage Slug explained in a tender voice.

"You're referring to the Golden Exchange on Mist Island?!"

His heart pounded as he spoke. No wonder he had sensed an unusual abundance of natural energy on Mist Island earlier—he hadn't expected it to be connected to Shikkotsu Forest.

"I learned everything about what happened on Mist Island almost immediately," Katsuyu explained slowly. "Unfortunately, at that time I hadn't yet formed a contract with Lord Heiyan, so I couldn't leave Shikkotsu Forest to offer assistance. I could only pass this information along to Lady Mito."

Indeed, over countless years, its original body had expanded so much that it had become one with Shikkotsu Forest. Leaving wasn't even an option—moving around within had become difficult enough.

For such a long time, Katsuyu—known as the largest and strongest summoned beast in the world of shinobi—could only rarely send parts of itself into the outside world through summoning contracts with ninja.

Suddenly, Heiyan realized—the reason Katsuyu had become like this probably had much to do with the [Sage Art] of Shikkotsu Forest.

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