Natsume took a gentle breath and immediately felt extremely comfortable all over.
In his opinion, Natural Energy was like the spiritual energy in Xianxia novels, a power that naturally existed in the world.
On the other hand, Chakra was an external system.
However, the former hadn't been popularized due to its high entry threshold.
Natsume guessed that [Sage Mode] was an attempt made by the Three Great Holy Places, which combined Natural Energy with Chakra and successfully reduced the difficulty.
Otherwise, why didn't the native system utilize pure Natural Energy?
"Let's go."
Tsunade led the way in front, being very familiar with the route.
Natsume looked around curiously, just like Grandma Liu entering the Grand View Garden. Everything seemed quite novel to him.
"Lady Tsunade."
A half - human - tall Katsuyu greeted them with a gentle voice that didn't match its appearance.
Natsume had long wanted to say that its voice was really nice.
He remembered that in the original story, it was voiced by Mamiko Noto.
"Is this Lord Natsume?"
Katsuyu twitched its tentacles and asked.
"Just call me Natsume."
Natsume quickly bowed and said, "Greetings, Katsuyu Sage."
Although there seemed to be countless Katsuyus in the Shikkotsu Forest, there was only one consciousness.
That was the Katsuyu Sage who had lived for over a thousand years.
The Great Toad Sage and the White Snake Sage were extremely powerful. The Katsuyu Sage, who was on par with them, was definitely not weak and was a creature standing at the top of the ninja world.
However, compared to the other two sages, the Katsuyu Sage had a rather gentle personality.
"You don't have to mind. I address every contractor as 'Lord'."
Katsuyu's tone rose slightly as it said, "It's been a long time since a human entered the Shikkotsu Forest. I'm very glad to see you."
Natsume could understand that.
If he were to live alone in one place for over a thousand years, he'd definitely go crazy.
Moreover, there was no internet.
The Great Toad Sage and the White Snake Sage had many disciples and great - grandson disciples, but the Katsuyu Sage didn't.
"Natsume wants to try practicing [Sage Mode]."
Tsunade stated their purpose.
"Go and see my main body."
Katsuyu pointed in a direction and then turned to leave.
Tsunade and Natsume continued to walk deeper into the forest.
Along the way, they saw many Katsuyus of different sizes.
It was obvious that although they were all part of one consciousness, there were so many split - bodies. It seemed that the Katsuyu Sage was really bored and could only find amusement in its multiple forms as if having a self - confrontation.
After passing through the pale forest, Natsume saw the main body of the Katsuyu Sage.
It's so... incredibly huge!
It was boundless.
Natsume's field of vision was completely filled with white.
The huge head of the Katsuyu Sage lifted slightly, looking at the two as tiny as sand grains. It said in a soothing and pleasant female voice, "Long time no see, little Tsunade. And the new contractor, little Natsume, you're very interesting."
"Interesting" referred to his use of Katsuyu to perform the [Reverse Summoning Jutsu] for a date.
In its long life, among all the contractors it had met, only Natsume would do such a thing.
But it thought it was quite interesting and that Natsume had made outstanding contributions to passing the time.
Natsume was slightly stunned.
He hadn't reacted yet.
Why did it say he was interesting?
Could it be that the Katsuyu Sage had the ability to see through people's hearts?
That didn't seem right either.
If that's really the case, it won't be fun. It'll be something else entirely.
"To train in Sage Mode, the first requirement is to have a large amount of Chakra. You barely meet this requirement for now," said the Katsuyu Sage as she sized him up. "The second and more difficult requirement is the talent to sense and absorb Natural Energy. Many Ninjas are blocked at this step and never get the chance to learn Sage Mode."
"How can I know if I have the talent?" Natsume asked at the right moment.
"Take off your clothes." The Katsuyu Sage didn't answer directly.
"…?" Natsume was taken aback. It seemed that Naruto trained this way too.
Alright, anyway, it's not a human - related thing. It doesn't matter to endure a bit of discomfort.
Wait, Tsunade is here too. Natsume subconsciously looked at her.
Tsunade's lips curled slightly.
You were so bold last night. Why are you being shy now?
Natsume winked at her again.
Tsunade pretended to be confused and asked, "What do you want to say?"
You naughty woman. You're really eyeing my body.
"I'm going to take off my clothes," Natsume said straightforwardly.
"Sensing Natural Energy is a dangerous thing. With me watching, I can help you in time," Tsunade made up a reasonable explanation.
"Little Tsunade, then you should apply it on him," the Katsuyu Sage had made a decision before Natsume could answer.
A big wooden bucket suddenly appeared out of nowhere. It was filled with a transparent liquid.
[Mount Myoboku] uses Frog oil to enhance sensing. This was obviously a unique product of Shikkotsu Forest.
What was it? Natsume thought it was better not to know.
Tsunade was immediately put on the spot and stood there stiffly.
She just wanted to tease Natsume; she never really intended to look at him. Now she had to apply the liquid on him. Wouldn't that mean rubbing all over his body?
Natsume took off his clothes and sat cross - legged.
Since things have come to this, being coy would be unmanly.
Tsunade's heart skipped a beat, and an indescribable sense of nervousness welled up. This was an experience she had never had before.
She swallowed hard, reached out her hand, and gently applied the liquid on his back.
It was very cold. Natsume's body trembled slightly. But Tsunade's hand was soft and warm.
"Close your eyes, listen with your ears, and feel with your heart," the voice of the Katsuyu Sage rang out.
Natsume immediately followed the instruction.
After the unknown liquid was applied on his back, he felt the Natural Energy slowly seeping in.
Oh,!
"You can apply it on the front yourself," Tsunade hesitated for a few seconds and said.
Natsume raised his eyebrows.
You were so bold just now. Why are you backing off now?
"Don't move around," the Katsuyu Sage gave her a hand. "Once you enter the sensing state, you mustn't move. Little Tsunade, you'd better help him."
"…" A faint blush appeared on Tsunade's face.
After a moment, she scooped up the liquid and slowly spread it on his body.
Natsume couldn't concentrate. This kind of test is too much even for a conservative guy like him!
"Stay in an empty state," the Katsuyu Sage noticed his expression and said. "Merge with nature. Use your stillness to sense the flow of Natural Energy."
"This is so difficult!"
Natsume could only try his best to ignore Tsunade's wandering hands.
Thankfully, this kind of torment ended quickly.
Half a minute later, Tsunade put some distance between them, and her heart finally settled.
But it wasn't calm.
Why was it like this?
She had also helped her younger brother take a bath when he was young, but she didn't feel anything then.
Was it a matter of mindset?
Tsunade looked at Natsume sitting in meditation and fell into deep thought.
"Not bad," the Katsuyu Sage said quite satisfiedly. "Finally, I've waited for another contractor who can practice the Sage Mode."
The Three Great Holy Places for summoned beasts stand side by side, but there is competition among them.
Especially because of the contractors, they often go to war with each other.
It's a pity that in recent years, the contractors from Mount Myoboku have had the upper hand.
Hearing this, Tsunade couldn't help but smile.
There's no need to elaborate on how much the Sage Mode can enhance one's strength. It's obvious.
Take Jiraiya for example.
It was because of the Sage Mode that he advanced from an ordinary Jonin to the top - tier Jonin.
Natsume already has the Wood Release, and with the Sage Mode, the revival of the Senju clan is in sight!
<><><><><><><><>
~ 80+ Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!
p-atreon.com/Tansnovel
(Just remove the hyphen to access Patreon normally.)
~ Every 50 Powerstones = 4 Bonus Chapters on the weekend!