The Shikkotsu Forest was a place of eternal dampness, ancient trees, and slow, deliberate life.
For Nanami Kento, however, time was a variable to be conquered.
It took three days.
Three days of sitting in acidic slime. Three days of being smacked by a giant slug every time his arm started to dissolve. Three days of balancing the equation of his soul against the weight of the planet.
On the third day, at high noon, the equation balanced.
Nanami sat cross-legged on the rock. His breathing was shallow. His heart rate had slowed to ten beats per minute.
Inside his core, the trinity aligned.
Physical Energy (Chakra).
Spiritual Energy (Nen).
Natural Energy (The World).
They locked together.
The markings appeared. Dark purple pigmentation encircled his eyes, trailing down his cheeks in sharp, geometric lines.
The aura flared.
It wasn't the white flame of Ten. It wasn't the blue flicker of Chakra.
It was Gold.
A heavy, metallic gold that coated his skin, his clothes, his hair. The air around him stopped vibrating. The acid in the pool retreated, pushed back by the density of his presence.
Nanami opened his eyes. His irises had turned a piercing sea-green, with a horizontal bar pupil—the sign of the Slug Sage mode.
"I did it," Nanami whispered.
He saw the forest. He saw the life. He saw the veins of water running through the trees. He saw the chakra network of the slugs sleeping miles away.
He stood up.
He felt absolute.
He punched the air.
There was no sound. No sonic boom.
Fifty meters away, a massive tree trunk disintegrated. A hole, shaped perfectly like his fist, appeared in the wood.
"Vacuum impact," Nanami noted, looking at his golden hand. "The Natural Energy extends the range of the aura. It projects the strike without mass loss."
Katsuyu slid down from the canopy, her eyestalks waving.
"You have achieved the balance, Nanami-sama," she chirped. "Three days. That surpasses Hashirama Senju's record."
"What was his time?" Nanami asked.
"Hashirama Senju took a week to find the initial balance," Katsuyu stated. "And two months to master the entry."
"Then we are ahead of schedule," Nanami grinned, the gold aura pulsing.
He formed the cross seal.
"Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu."
POOF. POOF. POOF.
Three clones appeared. They were all in Sage Mode. They all glowed gold.
"Listen up," Nanami addressed them. "We have the mode. Now we need the mastery. Hashirama could enter this state instantly. Currently, it takes me five minutes of stillness. That is five minutes of vulnerability."
"The plan?" Clone 1 asked.
"Saturation," Nanami ordered. "All of us. Meditate. We simply gather and release Natural Energy repeatedly. We force the body to memorize the mixing ratio."
The clones nodded. They sat down in a circle around the original.
The training that followed was a descent into madness.
Using Shadow Clones to learn Sage Mode was theoretically impossible for normal humans. If a clone drew in too much Natural Energy, it turned into stone. When the clone dispelled (or was destroyed), that experience—the sensation of dying, of hardening, of losing humanity—rushed back to the original.
Day 7:
Clone 2 lost focus. The Natural Energy overwhelmed his Ten. His skin turned grey. His mouth fused shut.
WHACK.
A Katsuyu division slammed into the clone, shattering it before full petrification could occur.
RUSH.
The memory hit the real Nanami. He gasped, clutching his chest. For a split second, he felt his own lungs turning to stone. He felt the suffocating terror of being trapped in his own body.
"Stabilize!" Clone 1 shouted.
Nanami gritted his teeth. He forced the phantom sensation away. "I'm fine. Again."
Day 12:
It began to rain.
In Shikkotsu Forest, rain wasn't water. It was diluted acid, dripping from the canopy above.
Nanami sat on the rock. The rain hissed as it hit his skin.
He had to maintain Ten constantly to prevent chemical burns. But he also had to open his pores to draw in Natural Energy.
It was a contradiction. Shield against the rain. Open to the energy.
"Focus," Nanami whispered. "The rain is part of nature. Don't block it. Filter it."
He adjusted his aura. He created a microscopic mesh with his Nen—allowing the energy in, but keeping the physical acid out.
His gold aura flickered, then stabilized. He was glowing in the dark rain, a golden statue amidst the storm.
Day 20:
Combat Application.
"Attack me," Nanami ordered.
Ten divisions of Katsuyu surrounded him. They didn't hold back. They spat streams of concentrated acid.
Nanami didn't have five minutes to meditate. He had seconds.
He dodged.
Left. Right. Jump.
While moving, he tried to gather energy.
"Too slow!" Katsuyu chirped, blasting him with slime.
He dodged a glob of acid. He landed.
Clap.
For that split second his hands touched, his mind went blank. He pulled the energy.
Flash.
The purple markings appeared instantly.
He struck the acid stream, dispersing it with a shockwave of natural energy.
"Entry time: 3 seconds," Nanami panted.
By the end of the month, his entry time was down to three seconds.
Three seconds was fast. In a fight, it was manageable.
"It is time," Nanami decided one evening, dusting off his pants.
He stood before the main body of the Great Slug Sage.
"Great Sage," Nanami bowed. "Your hospitality has been generous."
"You are leaving," the massive voice boomed.
"The world moves," Nanami said. "And I have a wedding to plan. Cake tasting is mandatory."
"You are a strange human," Katsuyu observed. "But strong. You carry the weight of the forest well."
"I will carry it with gratitude."
He turned to the smaller division of Katsuyu that had been his personal guide.
"Ready to send me back?"
"Yes, Nanami-sama."
Reverse Summoning.
The forest vanished.
Konoha - The Senju Compound
The air in the garden was warm and smelled of cherry blossoms.
POOF.
Nanami appeared in the center of the lawn. He caught his balance. He took a deep breath, savoring the clean air of home.
"I'm back!" he announced to the garden.
"KENTO!"
A blur of green and blonde launched itself from the porch.
Nanami braced himself.
OOF.
Tsunade slammed into him, wrapping her arms around his neck. Nanami slid back a few inches, hugging her back.
"Welcome home," she mumbled into his chest.
"I missed you too, Princess," Nanami laughed, stroking her hair. "Did you break anyone while I was gone?"
"Only Jiraiya," she pulled back, inspecting him. She grabbed his face, turning it side to side. "You look... different. Your eyes are brighter. And you feel heavy."
"Sage Mode," Nanami winked. "It adds weight."
"Show-off."
"Kento-kun!"
Nawaki came running out of the house, holding a wooden sword. "Did you fight giant monsters?"
"No monsters," Nanami said, patting the boy's head. "Just sitting still and getting hit with slime."
Mito walked out onto the porch, followed by Kaede. They both looked relieved.
"You survived," Mito noted. "I expected a statue."
"I am too stubborn to turn to stone, Shishou," Nanami bowed.
Then, he noticed something.
Standing behind Nawaki, peeking out shyly from behind Kaede's kimono, was a girl with red hair.
She looked about Nawaki's age. She had a round face and violet eyes. She clutched Kaede's dress tightly.
Nanami's smile softened.
Kushina Uzumaki.
The timeline had caught up.
"Who do we have here?" Nanami asked, crouching down.
Nawaki grabbed the girl's hand and pulled her forward.
"This is Kushina!" Nawaki announced proudly. "She's from the Whirlpool Village! She's gonna live with us! She talks funny, but she's cool!"
"I do not talk funny, dattabane!" the girl snapped, her face turning red. She slapped her hands over her mouth.
"Dattebane," Nanami chuckled.
He extended a hand.
"I'm Nanami Kento. Nice to meet you, Kushina-chan."
Kushina looked at his hand. She looked at Mito, who nodded.
She shook his hand. Her grip was strong.
"I'm Kushina," she whispered. "Are you... a Senju too?"
"Me? No," Nanami shook his head. "I'm a baker's son who got lost and ended up becoming a ninja."
"He's my fiancé," Tsunade declared, resting her hand on Nanami's shoulder. "So be careful, he's weird. "
"No, I am not," Nanami stood up.
He looked at Mito. Her eyes held a sadness. She knew what Kushina's arrival meant. The Nine-Tails would need a new vessel soon.
Protect her, Mito's eyes seemed to say.
Understood, Nanami's nod replied.
"So," Nanami clapped his hands. "I have returned victorious, I am intact, and I am starving. But first, I need to see my parents."
"Go," Kaede said. "Come back for dinner tomorrow. We're having a welcome feast for Kushina."
"I'll be there."
He turned to Tsunade. "Walk me out?"
"Obviously."
They walked to the gate.
"She's cute," Nanami said quietly. "The red-head."
"She's a handful," Tsunade laughed. "She almost beat up a kid in the Academy yesterday for making fun of her hair. Nawaki had to hold her back."
"Good," Nanami said. "She'll need it."
He kissed Tsunade's cheek.
"I'll see you tomorrow."
"Don't be late."
"I am never late."
The Nanami Bakery
The shop was closing up. His father was wiping down the counters.
The bell chimed.
"Sorry, we're clo—"
His father looked up. He dropped the rag.
"Kento!"
"I'm home, Tou-san," Nanami smiled. "Did you save bread for me?"
"HARUKA! HE'S BACK!"
His mother rushed out from the back. She ran and hugged him.
"You're thin," she accused, pinching his cheek. "And you smell like a swamp."
"It's a prestigious swamp, Kaa-san."
"I don't care! Go shower! I'm making stew!"
Nanami went up to his room. It was exactly as he had left it. The blueprints for ARIA were still stacked on the desk.
He sat on his bed.
He closed his eyes.
He felt the Natural Energy of Konoha. It felt like wood smoke, dust, and people. It felt busy.
He flared his aura.
It was faint, just a shimmer over his skin, but it was there.
He had the Sage Mode. He had the Android. He had the Team. He had the Girl.
And now, with Kushina here, the next generation was starting.
Minato will be in the Academy soon, Nanami realized. The cast is assembling.
He lay back, staring at the ceiling.
Let them come, he thought, a fierce grin stretching across his face. Madara. Black Zetsu. The Second War. I'm ready to play.
"But first," he muttered, closing his eyes as the smell of beef stew drifted up from the kitchen. "Dinner."