Naruto: The Sage Body of Konoha

"Since you two have already met, I guess my job here is done."

Seeing Katsuyu and Heiyan interacting harmoniously, Tsunade shrugged her shoulders and prepared to leave early.

She gently lifted the slug from her shoulder and placed it on Heiyan's. Then she gave his other shoulder a pat and said,

"Train diligently and don't let Mito down. I'll drop by occasionally and bring snacks and drinks."

"Sis, thank you."

"Tch. What're you thanking me for? Like there's anyone else who'd be your big sister."

Tsunade emphasized the word "big sister," then turned around, formed a seal, and with a loud pop, disappeared.

Heiyan looked at the spot where Tsunade had vanished, shook his head, and sighed inwardly.

Ever since Kushina recklessly played matchmaker yesterday, he could feel that Tsunade had become less at ease when spending time with him—not as relaxed as she used to be.

Heiyan also realized he needed to reevaluate his brother-sister relationship with Tsunade and clearly define the boundaries of their emotional connection—was he seeing Tsunade purely as an elder sister figure all along, or was there secretly a forbidden longing buried in his heart?

Just as Heiyan frowned, lost in thought—

"Huh?"

The small slug resting on his shoulder let out a surprised gasp, interrupting his train of thoughts.

"Sage Slug, what's wrong?" Heiyan snapped back to awareness and asked.

"Indeed, as Mito predicted. Lord Heiyan, you possess nearly the same Sage Transformation constitution as Lord Hashirama Senju."

Katsuyu, already performing a partial body scan by laying atop Heiyan's shoulder, spoke. From Heiyan's surface cells, it detected extraordinary vitality far surpassing any other creature on this planet.

"Sage Slug, may I ask how old Lord Hashirama was when he came to Shikkotsu Forest to train?"

A sudden spark ignited within Heiyan's mind, prompting his question.

"He was eighteen years old," Katsuyu answered truthfully.

Upon hearing this, Heiyan started calculating mentally.

[Sage Transformation] required brutal training to unlock its full potential and continue evolving. Judging from current circumstances, Heiyan had already surpassed Hashirama Senju at the same age—and by a considerable margin.

This meant that as long as Heiyan maintained his momentum and didn't slack off, he would definitely reach—or even exceed—the peak state Hashirama had achieved during his lifetime.

Of course, Heiyan wasn't about to grow conceited; he knew very well that while personal effort contributed to his achievements, another critical factor gave him significant help—an unfair advantage inside his body—the [Six Tomoe] around his neck.

Half an hour later.

Led by the tiny slug, Heiyan passed through the towering trees of Shikkotsu Forest and followed the winding mountain path toward the mist-shrouded summit.

Before him appeared a massive crater lake filled with milk-white water. Steam rose from its surface, filling the air with warmth and swirling mist, creating an ethereal scene like an immortal realm.

This lake was the core area of Shikkotsu Forest, the place with the densest concentration of Natural Energy.

"Lord Heiyan, before we begin, there are certain things I must explain to you first."

Katsuyu looked out over the crater lake, her voice turning solemn.

"Sage Slug, please speak," Heiyan humbly requested guidance.

"You know how Hashirama Senju passed away, don't you?" Katsuyu asked.

Upon hearing that, Heiyan hesitated slightly before repeating a widely accepted story that had circulated in the village:

"I've heard that back then, Lord Hashirama fought fiercely against his lifelong enemy Madara Uchiha for an entire day and night. Though victorious, he fell severely ill shortly after the battle—and ultimately didn't survive."

"However, as you know, Hashirama had the Sage Transformation—the same as you do. People with this physiology recover from injuries extremely quickly, suffer from no diseases, and enjoy remarkably long lifespans. Without mishap, it wouldn't be an issue for them to live for centuries. Yet Hashirama died young from illness…"

Katsuyu spoke meaningfully.

"Do you mean to say," Heiyan frowned slightly, asking cautiously, "that Lord Hashirama's death was related to Shikkotsu Forest's Sage Arts?"

"Precisely so," Katsuyu confirmed, finally dropping all pretense as she leaped down from Heiyan's shoulder, explaining in detail the unique characteristics, principles, and drawbacks of Shikkotsu Forest's Sage Art techniques.

The truth was—

Shikkotsu Forest's Sage Arts had two distinctive features.

Firstly, they required only a short period—typically between ten seconds to thirty seconds—to enter Sage Mode. With practice, one could even achieve instantaneous transformation. Secondly, their chakra amplification effect was especially terrifying, usually several times stronger than Mount Myoboku or Ryuchi Cave's Sage Techniques.

Why?

That came down to the fundamental principles behind this technique.

Practicing Shikkotsu Forest's Sage Art consisted of two stages—and these very steps barred countless people from mastering it.

Stage One involved submerging the practitioner into the crater lake for extended periods—months to even years—in water rich with natural energy. This process transformed the body, achieving a state called 'natural activation' within every cell. Once accomplished, these cells could passively absorb natural energy at all times.

Simply put, the ability to absorb natural energy became second nature—like heartbeats or breaths.

Once this happened, entering Sage Mode became effortless.

However, this whole-body cellular 'natural activation' came with a major drawback—it greatly increased the speed of cell division.

As everyone knows, human cells have a limited number of divisions during one's lifetime—roughly fifty times—before death occurs naturally.

For ordinary people, this 'natural activation' would cause their cells to divide at ten times—or even dozens of times—faster than normal!

This meant that within mere months, a person's cells would age prematurely. Before finishing their physical transformation, even a young boy could end up aging to death prematurely.

Only someone with Sage Transformation—Hashirama's special physiology—with its long-lived, resilient, highly regenerative cells, could remain submerged in the crater lake for months or even years, successfully completing this 'natural activation' process.

The second step is to, through rigorous training, use your consciousness to control the transformed cells within your body, enabling them to continuously absorb Natural Energy while slowing their division rate to an acceptable level, achieving a kind of dynamic balance.

Fail at this, and even the mighty Sage Transformation will drain your cell division capacity entirely within just three to five years — leading to death.

Even if you succeed, it's like slowly burning away your own life force. At best, you'll live only a fifth of your original lifespan.

Moreover, the more Sage Art you use, the faster your cell division becomes, and the more violently your life burns away.

Hashirama Senju himself, due to years of constant warfare and frequent usage of Sage Art — even creating something as massive as the [Summit Enlightened Thousand-Armed Cannon], a colossal construct hundreds of meters tall — ultimately overextended his limits, depleting his lifespan until he died.

Katsuyu, on the other hand, possesses a unique physiological structure that allows unlimited cell division. Therefore, it can draw on Natural Energy for infinite growth without ever fearing lifespan depletion.

Thanks to this advantage, it grew from a small slug into the strongest living being in the world of shinobi.

But at the same time, Katsuyu paid a heavy price.

That was losing control over its own cell division during this process, causing unceasing growth in size, until eventually merging completely with Shikkotsu Forest, forever trapped here.

Though it gained eternal life, it lost its freedom entirely.

Above are the outcomes of the two previous Sage cultivators of Shikkotsu Forest.

One burned away his lifespan and died; the other lost self-control and imprisoned itself here.

"So, even knowing this, do you still insist on becoming the third Sage cultivator of Shikkotsu Forest, Master Heiyan?"

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