In the temple deep within Shikkotsu Forest, Shihouin Naraku had begun a serious conversation with the Great Slug Sage about Sage Mode training.
"Although I am certainly willing to teach little Naraku Sage Mode," there was a distinct hint of uncertainty in the gentle voice of the Great Slug Sage, "practicing Sage Mode successfully in Shikkotsu Forest is extremely difficult, as you already know."
Naraku nodded with complete seriousness. "Before coming here, I already had a rough understanding of the challenges this journey would present."
"That's good to hear."
The Great Slug Sage seemed relieved by his response, then continued: "It doesn't matter if you cannot learn traditional Sage Mode. Little Naraku can use the fundamental sage arts inherited from Shikkotsu Forest to develop special abilities that suit his own unique talents."
Compared to the other sacred training grounds, the Great Slug Sage didn't mind at all if practitioners borrowed from or adapted the ability systems of Shikkotsu Forest for their own purposes.
"Where should I practice Sage Mode? Inside this temple?"
Naraku looked around the spacious hall and found it strange that the natural energy of Shikkotsu Forest was unexpectedly low in concentration.
Of course, compared to the outside world, the natural energy here was already considerably strong, but it was quite different from what Naraku had originally imagined.
This was especially surprising since Naraku had once visited Mount Myoboku by chance under Jiraiya's guidance, where the natural energy had been so abundant it was almost unimaginable.
Comparing the two sacred places, there seemed to be some fundamental problems with Shikkotsu Forest's energy distribution.
The voice of the Great Slug Sage resonated through the hall. "You cannot practice Sage Mode here in the temple. The proper location is somewhere else entirely. I will personally guide little Naraku there."
"Before we proceed, little Naraku, please be extremely careful not to push yourself beyond your limits while practicing Sage Mode."
Hmm?
A question immediately formed in Naraku's mind: Was there some significant risk involved in practicing Sage Mode in Shikkotsu Forest?
Just as Naraku was beginning to feel puzzled by this warning, a human-sized clone suddenly split from the massive body of the Great Slug Sage and gracefully descended to the temple floor.
"Lord Naraku, please follow me."
Naraku bowed respectfully to the Great Slug Sage, then turned and walked out of the sacred hall alongside Katsuyu's clone.
After passing beyond the temple grounds, Naraku followed Katsuyu and began walking much deeper into the heart of Shikkotsu Forest.
As they traveled further, Naraku could sense that the surrounding environment was gradually becoming unsuitable for normal human survival. The humidity had reached extreme levels, and the flowers, plants, and trees all appeared corroded beyond recognition.
Even during regular breathing, he could feel a slight burning sensation in his trachea and airways.
Dark and oppressively damp—this was the only impression that the deeper regions of Shikkotsu Forest gave to Naraku. Except for a few scattered Katsuyu, there appeared to be no other living creatures in this harsh environment.
However, Naraku also began to notice something fundamentally different about this place, because he started sensing that the natural energy surrounding them was rapidly becoming much more concentrated and powerful.
"We have arrived!"
Katsuyu stopped walking and stood with Naraku at the entrance of a mysterious cave.
"There's actually a cave hidden here?"
Naraku looked around carefully but didn't immediately detect anything obviously dangerous about the cave entrance.
"Whoosh—"
A strong, powerful wind suddenly blew outward from the depths of the cave, causing Naraku's entire body to tremble involuntarily as the chakra within his body began to surge and react.
"I was wondering why the natural energy in the main areas of Shikkotsu Forest seemed so sparse, but it turns out that it has all gathered and concentrated within this cave."
Naraku looked around with genuine surprise. The natural energy near the cave entrance was already dense to an almost overwhelming degree, yet the surrounding vegetation was in far worse condition than the forest environment they had passed through.
The flowers, plants, and trees in this area gave off a distinctly half-dead feeling. Although they were severely corroded and damaged, they somehow remained full of vibrant life force.
It created a genuinely weird sense of twisted harmony!
Naraku asked with obvious curiosity, "What exactly is happening here?"
Katsuyu's gentle voice carried a hint of knowing amusement. "It's nothing too mysterious. It's simply that the natural energy is far too dense and concentrated, causing the environment of Shikkotsu Forest to become slightly distorted and unstable. This is also the primary reason why no one has ever successfully mastered Sage Mode here."
"Really?" Naraku stared at the seemingly bottomless cave entrance before him and asked, "Then where exactly lie the difficulties and dangers you mentioned?"
"If you want to practice the Sage Mode of Shikkotsu Forest, you must remain near this cave from the very beginning. The natural energy here is incredibly rich and powerful, and substantial amounts of natural energy will periodically escape from the cave depths. These energy releases are extremely beneficial for training purposes."
Katsuyu continued with her explanation: "But as you can clearly observe from the harsh environment here, the corrosion effects are extremely serious!"
"The reason for this is that every two hours, there will be acid rain falling near the cave entrance, which not only dramatically increases the surrounding humidity, but also causes severe corrosion to the entire environment."
"The key aspect of this problem is that if you want to successfully practice Sage Mode, Lord Naraku absolutely cannot leave this location."
"Because when the acid rain falls and during the ten minutes immediately after the rain stops, those are the optimal times for practicing Sage Mode!"
"Lord Naraku must sense and refine natural energy while simultaneously enduring the corrosive effects, then successfully create Senjutsu Chakra. This represents only the basic entry level."
"Once your foundation becomes solid and stable, Lord Naraku will need to enter the cave itself and begin much more advanced study, but that portion of the training will prove significantly more difficult."
After Katsuyu finished her detailed explanation, she turned and looked directly at Naraku, patiently waiting for his decision about whether to continue with this dangerous senjutsu training.
"I can't wait to get started!"
Under Katsuyu's careful guidance, Naraku removed his outer garments, sat cross-legged on a smooth stone platform with his upper body completely bare, and began attempting to sense the active natural energy surrounding the cave entrance.
This initial step was completed with surprising speed. Naraku easily detected the natural energy contained within the environment, then began the delicate process of slowly integrating it into his own body.
Spiritual energy, physical energy, and natural energy were about to reach a new, precarious balance!
"Oh no, Lord Naraku's spiritual energy is far too strong!"
Katsuyu watched Naraku closely from her position beside him and immediately noticed that the skin on his upper body had begun showing visible signs of corrosion.
"THUD!"
Naraku was instantly jolted awake from his meditation by Katsuyu's intervention.
"What's happening?"
Katsuyu positioned herself beside him and offered an urgent reminder: "Lord Naraku, you cannot absorb too little or too much natural energy at any given time. Your spiritual energy is far too active and powerful, and it will completely destroy the fragile balance between the three energy types."
"Please exercise extreme caution!"
"But as long as I remain here with you, Lord Naraku won't be completely corroded into ash by the natural energy of Shikkotsu Forest."
The natural energy of Mount Myoboku would transform practitioners into frogs when it went out of control.
The natural energy of Ryuchi Cave would turn practitioners into snakes when mishandled.
Shikkotsu Forest was somewhat different and more dangerous. It wouldn't transform practitioners into Katsuyu, but instead would corrode them until absolutely nothing remained.
It seemed that practicing Sage Mode carried serious dangers regardless of which sacred training ground one chose to visit!
Naraku was experiencing genuine difficulty this time. His soul and spiritual energies were overwhelmingly strong, making it considerably challenging for him to achieve a stable balance among the three different energy types.
In particular, his perception abilities were exceptionally excellent. He could easily detect the natural energy present in the surrounding environment and would unconsciously absorb this energy into his body without proper control.
Being overly talented was proving to be its own unique problem.
Falling back into a deep meditative state, Naraku began the careful process of maintaining balance between the different energies.
"THUD!"
Katsuyu knocked Naraku's head to wake him up once again!
"It's truly impressive that Lord Naraku can sense natural energy so quickly and efficiently, but achieving a stable balance still proves extremely difficult."
Naraku held his chin thoughtfully, analyzing what had gone wrong.
The sensation from his previous attempt suggested that his spiritual energy had been actively devouring the natural energy, which caused the delicate balance to fail completely.
"How interesting."
Without waiting for Katsuyu's reminder, Naraku entered into meditation once again, determined to master this challenging technique.
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