"You brat, you dare tease me!"
Tsunade blinked in surprise, then came back to herself and drove a fist forward.
Smack!
Kageyama Kogetsu raised a hand and caught it, smiling. "Don't be mad. I blurted that out in the heat of the moment."
"Hmph. I'll barely let you off this once." Tsunade withdrew her fist with a cold snort.
A moment later, something seemed to occur to her. She warned, "You're not eyeing the Senju bloodline, are you?
"I'm warning you—don't even think about me."
Wrong. The Senju bloodline may be impressive, but compared to mine it's still far behind. I'm just greedy for your body.
"Got it, got it," Kageyama Kogetsu replied with casual indifference.
Tsunade wanted to say more, but with only a single sentence to go on, pushing it would feel self-important, so she let it drop.
When the meal ended, plenty of dishes were still left on the table. Kageyama Kogetsu couldn't be bothered to put them away and told Shizune to pack them up for later.
Shizune began happily gathering things, and Tonton helped, equally pleased.
Ting.
A crisp lighter snap sounded. Kageyama Kogetsu lit a cigarette, then set a scroll and brush and ink on the stone table.
"Hold on. I'm stuffed. Let's rest a bit before you write," Tsunade said, sprawled on a stone chair, lazy as a cat.
After half an hour, Tsunade brought the finished scroll over to where Kageyama Kogetsu was resting in the shade beneath a tree.
He took it, glanced through, and looked surprised. "So Shikkotsu Forest is in the open sea. No wonder others can't find it."
"I was shocked the first time too.
"The Shikkotsu Forest summoning scroll came with my grandmother when she married into Konoha. The Uzumaki clan's summoning beast is the Slug, but not just anyone qualifies to contract it."
Uzumaki Mito?
"All right, I'm heading out," Kageyama Kogetsu said, standing.
"So soon?"
"Can't bear to see me go?" he teased.
"Drop dead. I can't bear to see that food go," Tsunade flared, punching again.
He caught it just as lightly as before and smiled. "Fine. Before I leave, there's something I can't hold back."
"If it'll just upset me, don't say it." Tsunade drew back, turned her body a little, and crossed her arms, which only made her figure look more magnificent.
In a lower voice, Kageyama Kogetsu said, "From what I know, Dan Katō may not be as perfect as you think.
"That naïve idea of adding medical-nin to every combat squad—how does a seasoned jōnin not see the flaws?
"I'd say he has a bit of genuine feeling, but he also covets your body—and your background."
"Bastard, why didn't you say this before you got the scroll?"
"I'm not stupid."
Tsunade couldn't hold back any longer. She clenched her fists and threw punch after punch, with the occasional fierce kick.
Kageyama Kogetsu slipped away with ease, then suddenly leapt back and landed atop the crown of a large tree.
"Plenty of power, not enough speed. Tsunade-senpai, patch that weakness when you can, or you won't be able to handle me."
Boom.
Tsunade's fist slammed into the trunk. The whole tree exploded at once, branches, splinters, and leaves flying.
Kageyama Kogetsu sprang up into the air, summoned a golden eagle, and stood proudly on its back. Looking down, he smiled. "Harsh as it sounded, I said it hoping you'd step out of some of that shadow.
"If I've offended you, forgive me. Farewell."
A piercing cry like stone-splitting thunder rang out. The magnificent golden eagle beat its wings and shot off to the northeast.
"That guy…" Tsunade watched the sky, her expression complex.
Shizune and Tonton were a bit bewildered. They didn't know why Tsunade had gotten so angry, and didn't dare ask.
…
Over the sea between the eastern Land of Whirlpools and the western waters of the Land of Water, a golden eagle cut across the sky and reached a patch of blue-white ocean.
Standing on the eagle's back with his hands clasped behind him, Kageyama Kogetsu's left eye shifted from Byakugan to a blue-white Tenseigan, piercing the water and reaching toward the seafloor.
"So that's the origin of Shikkotsu Forest. It seems the Slug Sage is a fusion of land slugs and sea slugs."
Below lay a vast coral forest—not in rainbow hues, but in the color of bone.
"This isn't too far from Kirigakure. Maybe the Terumī clan's Lava Release and the Hōzuki clan's Hydration secret art really do have something to do with the Slug Sage."
When Tsunade summons the Slug, it can spit an acid strong enough to corrode stone to vapor, and she's shown a liquefied form to heal ninja.
The next instant, Kageyama Kogetsu stepped off the eagle, dropping from a thousand-year height straight into the sea without the slightest deceleration.
A towering geyser erupted from the surface. High above, the golden eagle burst into white smoke and vanished.
Cloaked in near-solid Lightning Release chakra, Kageyama Kogetsu formed seals. A lifelike water dragon, wrought from the sea itself, coiled around him as he dove.
With the dragon's descent, the fish scattered. Guided by the Tenseigan, he soon reached an undersea cliff within the white coral forest.
He found the mechanism, twisted it, and vanished. When he reappeared, he was in another space entirely.
On his left spread a great inland sea, filled with the same white coral as outside, only far larger. On his right stood a white forest, towering high and bone-colored.
Yet whether the white coral or the white trees, neither could compare to the Slug Sage's size.
How to put it?
The Slug Sage was only slightly smaller than Hashirama Senju's True Several Thousand Hands, with a smaller diameter.
On sheer size and the slug's special nature, the Slug Sage alone is enough to make Shikkotsu Forest one of the Three Great Sacred Sites.
The Slug Sage seemed to enjoy bustle, too. Slugs large and small were everywhere in the inland sea and the forest, like a thriving race.
If all those bodies reunited, the Slug Sage might even surpass the True Several Thousand Hands in height.
"Oh? A guest."
"What brings you to Shikkotsu Forest?"
The nearest small slug looked up and spoke, its voice gentle and pleasant.
For grace and amiability, the yakuza-tinged Mount Myōboku and the cold, cruel Ryūchi Cave can't compare to Shikkotsu Forest.
"My name is Kageyama Kogetsu from Konoha. This is a letter of introduction from Tsunade-senpai."
He opened the scroll with a smile and an even tone.
"So you come on Lady Tsunade's introduction. Go see the Slug Sage."
All slugs are the Slug Sage's bodies. Wherever a body is, it knows what happens there.
"Thank you."
Kageyama Kogetsu vaulted forward and soon stood before the towering figure.
"Greetings, Slug Sage," he said with a slight bow.
"I know why you've come. Since Little Tsunade recommended you, I can teach you sage arts."
The Slug Sage's voice was much like an ordinary slug's, yet held a gravity and age the others lacked.
"Many thanks, Slug Sage," Kageyama Kogetsu said, bowing again.
That's the value of a referral. Otherwise, it would be troublesome—he might have had to take it by force.
Ryūchi Cave was different. Even Orochimaru's influence there wasn't enough.
…
While Kageyama Kogetsu trained in sage arts at Shikkotsu Forest, events stirred in the Land of Water's Kirigakure.
In the secret room behind the Mizukage's office, a pitcher-plant split open and Black Zetsu and White Zetsu rose from the ground. Before they were fully out, White Zetsu couldn't help blurting:
"Obito, there's a situation in Konoha…"
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