Konoha Notes

Chapter 55 Immortal Magic
Since he couldn't quite understand these thick books, Xiuji didn't put on airs and instead sought out someone here who might know about the matter.

"Oh?" Tsunade's voice held a hint of surprise, her eyes narrowing slightly as she sized up the boy before her. "There are things you don't understand? You seem like a fourteen-year-old now."

Shuji's gaze fell on the thick booklet she was casually pointing to.

"This is the ledger from Chujie Port."

"What do you think the old man is so concerned about here for? Without this, how can he allocate D-level mission quotas to the various trading companies and guilds in the port?"

She picked up a half-empty wine bottle next to her, shook it, and then put it down. "Those endless low-level tasks in the village can't just fall from the sky, can they?"

"High-level tasks are never short of orders, but jobs like weeding, finding cats, and babysitting don't necessarily require a ninja."

She seemed to have gotten into the conversation and leaned back: "When my great-uncle was the Hokage, he negotiated with various families in the Land of Fire, including the Daimyo's residence."

“Every month, they provide Konoha with a fixed number of D-rank requests. If they really don’t know what requests to submit, they just pay someone from the village to post them.”

"With so many low-ranking ninjas from commoner backgrounds in the village, if it weren't for these constant small missions, where would they find the time and money to train their bodies and practice ninjutsu?"

"What can you do with that meager ninja allowance?"

The young captain listened in silence, incorporating these rules about the workings of Konoha that he had never deeply considered into his understanding.

He nodded slightly, acknowledging the advice, and turned to leave.

Tsunade was left alone on the veranda, watching his figure disappear around the corner of the courtyard. The slight sense of accomplishment that had risen in her heart because of the "successful guidance" was quickly diluted by another emotion.

This kid... the younger generation in the clan, apart from the superficial respect in their words, really showed her no extra respect whatsoever.

She even gave away the spirit contract of Shikkotsu Forest!
Tsunade scratched her dazzling blonde hair in frustration, but in the end she just snorted and poured herself another glass of wine.

After leaving, Shuji asked Jirocho for a secluded place.

Then the nimble slug remained only the size of a palm.

"Lord Live Slug, I apologize for disturbing you." Shuji sat up straight.

"Please don't be so polite, Shuuji." The slug's gentle voice rang out, its tiny antennae turning towards him. "What can I do for you during this summons?"

"I have something to ask you today, and I apologize if I may be being presumptuous. Please forgive me if I have been rude," Xiu Si said solemnly. "I would like to ask you about immortal arts. I wonder if you have any knowledge of this?"

The slug's eyes, perched on its hind antennae, were looking at Shuuji.

"I am naturally aware of matters concerning immortal arts," the live slug's voice remained calm. "However, I need to remind you, Xiu Si."

"My true form is indeed born with the ability to absorb and digest natural energy and transform it into Sage Chakra. In the words of human cultivators, it possesses Sage Power."

Its small body lifted slightly upwards: "However, the immortal arts tradition of Shikkotsu Forest is not as famous as that of Myōboku Mountain, and the number of practitioners is far less than that of Ryūchi Cave. This is not without reason."

"In Shikkotsu Forest, there is only one slug," the live slug slowly said. "In the long past, many practitioners have visited Shikkotsu Forest with longing, hoping to obtain the methods of cultivation from the original being."

"For those of us who are born with this power and do not need to cultivate it, we have never deliberately organized a so-called cultivation system. Absorbing natural energy is like breathing."

"Because the visitor was determined, the main body provided assistance—splitting off a small slug to attach to the practitioner's body, thereby helping him to perceive and absorb natural energy."

It sounds like a viable path, but judging from the tone of the live slug, the result is probably not very pleasant. "The first attempters all failed without exception," the live slug sighed. "Because our power comes from nature, which can help cultivators guide and absorb energy, but it cannot immediately dispel the excess natural energy in the cultivator's body the moment it goes out of control."

"Through the refinement and improvement by several generations of cultivators, it is possible to slowly absorb the runaway natural energy from a cultivator's body by relying on the slugs that attach to them. But this is conditional on..."

"The practitioner must be able to withstand the violent erosion when the initial natural energy enters the body, so as not to die or be petrified instantly."

Having personally experienced the raging natural energy using his wooden clone, Shuji instantly understood the crux of the problem.

The toad oil from Mount Myōboku enhances perception and aids absorption, and the sage Fukasaku can intervene at any time to stop things from getting out of control.

Although the Dragon Cave was brutal, the White Snake Immortal personally infused it with energy, so there was some restraint.

The method of Shikkotsu Forest... the process of absorbing excess natural energy is too slow, and whether it succeeds depends entirely on the cultivator's own foundation and luck, almost like leaving it to fate.

The key issue he's currently stuck on is absorbing natural energy, skillfully blending it with his own chakra, and transforming it into Sage Chakra.

“Lord Slug,” Shuji said frankly, “I can now sense the existence of natural energy, but I have failed many times in trying to absorb and manipulate Sage Chakra.”

Failure? The slug's tiny body seemed to freeze for a moment.

It clearly sensed that the boy before it was a living, breathing being of flesh and blood.

How could someone survive a failed attempt to manipulate Sage Mode chakra? Could it be that a toad helped them?

But the situation doesn't seem like it.

If a toad were to help, it wouldn't be asking itself.

"When I was trying to manipulate the Sage Art energy, I used a Wood Release clone while my main body monitored the situation from the side, ready to release the spell at any time."

"The Senju clan has produced another user of Wood Release... If Lady Tsunade knew, she would be very pleased." The slug's voice was full of admiration, and then it returned to the main topic, "Using a wood clone to take the erosion of natural energy in place of the main body is indeed very ingenious, Shuji."

“However,” its tone became serious, “when you spare a part of your mind to monitor the state of your clone, you have already violated the first ironclad rule of immortal cultivation—to be completely focused.”

“Your chakra is exceptional, Shuuji.” The slug gazed at him. “There’s nothing wrong with being cautious when practicing Sage Mode. But the problem is that your excessive caution at the threshold of Sage Mode, despite having such powerful chakra, has become the key obstacle preventing you from crossing it.”

The live slug's suggestion hits the nail on the head.

For natural energy to completely petrify a living person, the amount of energy entering must overwhelm the chakra within the cultivator's body. This is why only those with powerful chakra are worthy of practicing Sage Mode.

If you don't have enough chakra, you'll be gone in an instant.

Those with strong chakra can buy precious buffer time to suppress, neutralize, or even dispel invading natural energy, even when facing loss of control, by continuously refining their own chakra.

“In your opinion,” Shuuji raised his eyes, “if my chakra were to directly withstand the erosion of natural energy, how long could I possibly hold out before completely losing control?”

The slug seemed to consider carefully for a moment before answering: "Judging from the quality and quantity you demonstrated when you replenished Tsunade-sama's chakra earlier... sustaining it for more than two minutes is not a problem."

"As a contracted psychic of the Wet Bone Forest, I can draw upon an excessive amount of natural energy for you. Under these circumstances, the probability of successfully cultivating immortal arts is extremely high."

(End of this chapter)