"Forget about helping! Right now! Here! I'm incredibly curious about you!!!"
Tsunade completely ignored Chinatsu's words. Rather than focusing on "assistance," Tsunade chose to satisfy the burning curiosity that had suddenly overwhelmed her rational judgment.
Wood Release this was the Kekkei Genkai of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju. It was not something that belonged even to the Senju clan as a whole; it was a unique trait that only Hashirama himself had ever manifested in recorded history. Even Tsunade, as his direct granddaughter and a member of the Senju bloodline, had not inherited it. Her own strongest techniques were only derived from his legacy, like her monstrous strength and medical ninjutsu enhanced through chakra control.
Tsunade was genuinely shocked!
Why was her grandfather's Kekkei Genkai appearing in another person entirely? If Kekkei Genkai were strictly inherited, then logically she, as his blood relative, should have been the one to manifest it. If it was not inherited at all, then how could it exist outside the Senju line completely? Was it an experiment? A mutation? Or something even more impossible?
Too many questions ignited Tsunade's dormant fighting spirit something that usually only surfaced during gambling losses or emotional outbursts. To Chinatsu, it felt like she was being examined not as a human being, but as a walking mystery.
Without further hesitation, Tsunade grabbed Chinatsu's hand and dragged her away at high speed, heading straight for her temporary lodging where another person resided.
"Hm? Lady Tsunade, who is this girl?"
"Shizune! You absolutely can't imagine what I just saw!"
Tsunade was unusually excited, almost childlike in tone, which made Shizune freeze in confusion. Her first instinct was completely unrelated to Wood Release.
"Lady Tsunade… did you win money again?"
"..."
That single sentence instantly cooled Tsunade's excitement like cold water, but the moment she glanced back at Chinatsu, her curiosity reignited even stronger.
"Who exactly are you? Why do you know Wood Release? Are you a Konoha shinobi? How old are you?"
A barrage of questions poured out without pause, leaving Chinatsu slightly overwhelmed. Is Tsunade really this aggressive when she's curious? she thought. Still, she had underestimated how absurd Wood Release was in the ninja world.
As Chinatsu gradually explained her background, both Tsunade and Shizune were stunned upon hearing she came from the Uchiha clan.
Uchiha?
An Uchiha using Wood Release?
Tsunade's first instinct was absurdly comedic thinking of Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju's rivalry, then immediately dismissing her own thought.
What am I even thinking? Those are both men…
She coughed awkwardly, embarrassed by her own imagination. Despite being over fifty years old, Tsunade's lack of romantic experience meant her thoughts occasionally drifted into strange territory.
Still, her interest in Chinatsu only increased. However, Tsunade remained cautious. As a medical ninja and one of the Legendary Sannin of Konoha, she considered the possibility of experimentation or artificial replication.
But after observing Chinatsu's chakra presence closely, she rejected that theory. The aura resembled Hashirama Senju's chakra too closely dense, natural, overwhelming. That kind of presence could not be artificially fabricated easily.
Perhaps… this was a miracle.
"Ahem. So, what exactly did you want from me earlier?"
After spending a long time interrogating, analyzing, and internally speculating about Chinatsu, Tsunade finally returned to the main topic.
Chinatsu immediately regained focus.
"Actually, I want to learn Sage Mode. I hope Tsunade-senpai can help me reach the right place to start."
"Sage Mode?"
Tsunade raised an eyebrow. She hadn't expected that answer.
"Sage Mode… I've also tried before. Even Jiraiya managed to learn it, but I failed. Let me make this clear it's not that I lack talent. It's just that the Sage Mode of Shikkotsu Forest is extremely difficult!"
Tsunade crossed her arms, visibly irritated. Jiraiya, the most unreliable of the Sannin, had succeeded. Orochimaru had gone a different route entirely, developing his own cursed seal transformation resembling an artificial sage mode. Meanwhile, she Tsunade Senju had made no progress at all.
"I don't mind helping you get there. It's just a reverse summoning technique."
Tsunade waved casually.
Shizune, however, looked uneasy. She had heard old tensions between Senju and Uchiha. Even if the clans no longer existed in their original form, distrust lingered in historical memory.
But Tsunade dismissed it. The Senju clan had already dissolved peacefully, while the Uchiha clan had been wiped out completely. Compared to that, there was no reason to cling to old grudges.
"Now?"
"Of course."
Chinatsu nodded firmly.
She had already spent nearly three months: two days dealing with Hidan and Kakuzu, and the rest searching endlessly for Tsunade. Time was no longer something she could waste.
If Sage Mode training took another two to three months, that was already ideal. Any delay beyond that would push her return to Konoha far too far.
Naruto was manageable.
But Sasuke…
She couldn't afford to delay any longer.
"Please, Tsunade-senpai."
Tsunade nodded slightly. If Chinatsu had malicious intent, the slug sage of Shikkotsu Forest would handle it anyway.
Without hesitation, Tsunade bit her finger, forming a summoning seal with her blood.
A moment later, Chinatsu's vision darkened violently. Her body felt like it was being torn from space itself. Even though she had experienced strange techniques before, this sensation still made her uneasy.
Fortunately, the teleportation ended quickly before panic could fully set in.
When her vision returned, Tsunade was gone.
Chinatsu stood alone.
The surroundings were unlike anything in the ninja world she had seen before dense, humid, ancient, and alive in a strange way. Everything confirmed the name clearly: Shikkotsu Forest.
"So this is a Sage training ground…"
Chinatsu exhaled slowly.
"I'll master Sage Mode here… then return to Konoha."
Before she could take another step forward, a massive presence appeared in front of her.
"Who are you?"
A giant slug taller than ten Chinatsus stacked together appeared directly before her.
The Slug Sage.
Unlike other sacred lands with independent creatures, the slugs here were all fragments of a single being. Countless clones of the Slug Sage shared one consciousness.
The Slug Sage… one being, one sacred land.
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