Naruto: The Sage Body of Konoha

"Yes, I insist."

Without hesitation, Heiyan simply nodded. After all, given his personality, having come this far, how could he possibly back down now?

He knew that once he set foot on this path, there would be no turning back—no room for retreat.

For Heiyan, the only way forward was hard cultivation, continuously evolving his Sage Transformation, ultimately reaching or even surpassing the physical constitution of the Sage of Six Paths or Kaguya Otsutsuki!

Only then could he fully master Shikkotsu Forest's Sage Art and become the world of shinobi's unmatched warrior.

"If that's the case, please let me assist you, Lord Heiyan."

Katsuyu straightened its body and spoke warmly.

Thus, under the Sage Slug's guidance, Heiyan took off his upper clothing and stepped into the crater lake.

Sitting cross-legged, he dipped himself into the water up to his neck. Then, closing his eyes and forming Hand Seal, he let the lake's natural energy flow through his entire body.

Plop! Plop!

On the lakeside, seven or eight small slugs appeared one after another, jumping into the water and attaching themselves all over Heiyan's body.

Their mission was to monitor Heiyan's condition. If anything went wrong, they would help absorb excess natural energy, pulling Heiyan out from danger.

Five minutes. Ten minutes. Half an hour.

Unconsciously, an hour had already passed.

After all, Heiyan had previously practiced senjutsu at Mount Myoboku and had previous success. Therefore, this time hadn't brought him much difficulty—his initial progress could be considered very smooth.

However, during such intense and prolonged training, it was inevitable for his focus to waver slightly.

At a certain moment,

The lake water surrounding Heiyan suddenly began bubbling, as if boiling violently.

Heiyan's hair grew visibly before everyone's eyes—thicker and fuller than before. Even more horrifying, his right hand had grown an extra finger.

Those who failed Sage Art at Mount Myoboku turned into frog statues, while failures in Shikkotsu Forest's Sage Art grew additional organs and limbs, morphing into grotesque monstrosities.

Fortunately, Heiyan had the Sage Slug's assistance.

As soon as his body showed signs of mutation, two small slugs immediately sprang into action, climbing onto his head and palm to suck away the natural energy.

Heiyan felt those areas tingle slightly before everything returned to normal.

A close call, but nothing serious.

After this minor incident, Heiyan became even stricter with himself, redoubling his efforts to avoid troubling the Sage Slug again.

Normally,

Although Katsuyu possessed gentle traits and a female-sounding voice similar to human women, essentially she remained an animal, so gender shouldn't have mattered between them.

Nonetheless, Heiyan still felt embarrassed.

If it were just fingers, arms, or hair growing extra parts, it wouldn't matter too much—he could always ask Katsuyu to suck them away. But if some sensitive areas started mutating instead, that would be quite awkward.

With these thoughts in mind, Heiyan focused completely on his subsequent training, achieving true zero mistakes.

Day by day passed like this.

According to Katsuyu, the "natural activation" of his entire body's cells would start from the limbs, then progress to the torso, and finally reach the internal organs — a long and gradual process.

True to her word, Tsunade visited Heiyan twice during this period, bringing him plenty of delicious snacks.

One month later...

Heiyan successfully completed the cell activation in his limbs, fulfilling Katsuyu's expectations!

"This speed is much faster than Hashirama's back then," Katsuyu commented.

Swoosh!

Heiyan leapt energetically out of the crater lake, moving his arms and legs after such a long time of cultivation.

He approached a bone forest, stretched out his right hand, and silently counted down in his mind: ten, nine, eight, seven... one, zero!

As soon as he reached zero, he clenched his right hand into a fist and smashed it toward the bone tree in front of him.

Boom!

Instantly, an unimaginable aura erupted from his arm, creating a powerful air current that surged forward like a tornado with his punch.

[Sage Art: Monster Strength!]

Crackling!

The shockwave from this single punch pierced through dozens of meters-high bone trees in a row. Their trunks cracked one after another before crashing down with a thunderous roar.

Heiyan withdrew his fist, slightly bent his legs, and began silently counting to ten again. Then—

Bang!

His entire body shot skyward like a cannonball, soaring up fifty or sixty meters high. Like a falling meteor, he descended rapidly, landing on both feet and leaving a large hemispherical pit in the ground.

This was the "partial Sage Mode"—Heiyan called it "Half-Sage" mode, meaning:

Only activating Sage Mode in certain areas like the arms or legs. Though not as powerful as the true Sage Mode, its advantages were faster activation speed and lower cell consumption.

For Heiyan, this Half-Sage mode was more than enough to handle most enemies in most cases.

After finishing his exercise,

Heiyan returned once again to the crater lake to continue his intense training.

Time passed without days or months—a phrase known as "shan zhong wu ri yue," meaning time flows differently in isolation.

Through day after day of practice, Heiyan gradually adapted completely to the humid salty air of Shikkotsu Forest (known as *Shigutsu Ryou* in ancient records), getting used to the monotonous life there. Like a hermit isolated from the world, he was accompanied only by the slug.

Of course, Tsunade occasionally came to visit and told him some interesting stories about recent events happening in the world of shinobi.

Inside the crater lake.

Heiyan effortlessly completed the "natural activation" of his torso's stem cells in less than two months.

As for the final part—the internal organs—it indeed required more effort and time. However, with his relentless persistence, he completed them all within three months.

Thus, Heiyan had finally achieved full-body cellular activation—a process that had taken him six whole months.

And on that very same day.

The third bead of the Six-Tomoe necklace inside his body made a crisp "click" as it shattered. A warm white light surged from within him, enveloping Heiyan's body and forming a large cocoon.

This marked a profound evolution.

Three days later.

Heiyan emerged from the cocoon once again, having undergone a complete transformation compared to his previous appearance.

Now, his features became even more handsome, his physique taller and straighter, reaching a height of 1.85 meters.

The Uzumaki clan's signature fiery red hair had completely disappeared from Heiyan. Instead, a cascade of long, pitch-black hair flowed naturally down his back.

If Heiyan used to be known as "Little Tobirama," he was now more like Little Hashirama—matching Hashirama Senju in both height and hairstyle.

"My current [Sage Transformation], if compared to the [Sharingan]," Heiyan mused inwardly, "should be at the stage equivalent to the [Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan]."

As he felt the power surging through him, Heiyan interpreted the Six Tomoe necklace's integration into his [Sage Transformation] like this:

The first [tomoe] was equivalent to the [Mangekyo Sharingan]; the second stood somewhere between the [Mangekyo Sharingan] and the [Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan]; the third had crossed the threshold into the realm of the [Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan];

As for the fourth and fifth [tomoe], they further enhanced beyond the [Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan] level—Hashirama Senju himself resided within this range;

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