I founded the "Bragging Cult" in Naruto.

Chapter 254 Some people prefer the sense of security of being grounded in reality.

There is a kind of dream where there are no scenes, no characters, no events, only a melancholy feeling of "I think, therefore I am." In the dream, only one's own thinking can continue. It is called a dream, but it is no different from thinking.

The only difference is that you can't wake up. It's as if real life is fake, while the chaotic self-reflection in the dream is real. If you stay in the dream for a little longer, you will start to think about reality and falsehood.

Tatsuma was as if he had experienced this long dream. In the dream, he did not know the cause and effect, did not know why he fell into the dream, and did not even know who he was. He just thought based on his instincts.

Until he heard someone calling him, he struggled to open his eyes and saw a familiar stranger.

But this seemed to be the gap between dreams in sleep. After just one glance, Chenma returned to a state of chaos. However, the difference was that the cold chaos now had an unusual warmth.

Tatsuma felt increasingly hot, like someone groggily searching for the air conditioner remote on a summer night. His mind was not clear, and he didn't even know if he was controlling his body; he was just trying to cool down.

"He moved! He moved!"

The noisy sounds entered Tatsuma's ears, and his consciousness began to return. He began to remember everything, so he tried even harder to wake up.

But it's like someone who has lived inland for a long time boarding a ferry for the first time and experiencing a tsunami night. When they wake up, they feel that the world is distorted and doesn't match their body at all.

I can clearly feel my own existence, but my hands don't feel like hands and my feet don't feel like feet. Not to mention standing still and walking steadily, even lying peacefully in bed feels like being in a washing machine.

An overwhelming urge to vomit surged up from his stomach, and Tatsuma swallowed involuntarily, trying to suppress the nausea.

But with each swallow, he felt a stinging pain. After several times, he even tasted a strange, sweet, and metallic flavor, which greatly relieved the dryness and stinging in his throat.

Moreover, the pain made him feel his body becoming more and more real, and his body's instinctive behaviors began to return, such as breathing, swallowing, and opening his eyes.

His eyelids, which were as unshakeable as two steel gates, lifted unconsciously at this moment, and various colored spots of light entered his vision, but it was as if he were looking through a layer of frosted glass, and he could not see clearly.

"Cough cough cough~"

The slight movement of his body caused his body to float slightly in the water, and the water that was already between his mouth and nose was poured into his mouth and nose, causing him to cough violently.

His limbs moved involuntarily, and the next moment, he felt something supporting him from below, which made him sit up abruptly.

"Cough cough~"

Coughing out the dark green liquid tinged with blood, Chenma felt his vision clear up, the whistling sound like a buzzer alarm in his ears stopped, and everything around him became unusually quiet.

He could even hear a worried breathing sound, and he could actually discern the emotion in the breathing.

Tatsuma turned his head and looked over. The owner of the breathing voice spoke up, "Tatsuma, are you alright?"

"teacher?"

The dim light made it difficult for Chenma to see the person clearly, but he recognized him as his teacher.

The next moment, the person walked closer and into the pool where he was, and his face became clearer and clearer. It was his teacher, Tsunade.

Tsunade looked at Tatsuma, who was staring blankly, and reached out worriedly to touch his forehead and check his temperature, but she was extremely careful and only lightly touched the orange-red mark with her fingertips.

Her movements—on her forehead, on her eyelids, under her eyes—puzzled Tatsuma, who reached up and touched his own face, asking, "Teacher, what's wrong?"

Listening to Tatsuma's less doubtful tone and looking at his eyes gradually regaining their former luster, Tsunade asked, "Your body... do you feel anything is wrong?"

"My body?"

Tatsuma clenched his fist. The feeling of power made him unsure if it was just a hallucination after waking up from a coma, but he quickly realized it wasn't.

It wasn't just the muscular strength; there seemed to be an unfamiliar and powerful force within him as well. He barely used his hands for support; with a push from his heels and waist, he rose from the viscous, dark green liquid.

Feeling the strange power within his body, for no apparent reason, Tatsuma's chakra began to flow. The resulting technique was one he had memorized long ago and had simulated countless times with chakra, yet it always ended in failure.

"Hehehe~"

Suddenly, five orange-red chains emerged from Chenma's waist. Chenma looked at the chains hovering in the air, raised his hand, and the chains rose with him; he pressed his hand down, and the chains fell with him.

Tatsuma even discovered that he didn't need to use his hands to guide them; just as his brain issued commands to his body, these chains obeyed his brain's instructions.

Chenma looked up at the majestic mountain. The five chains pierced the bottom of the pool, supporting Chenma's body as it rose higher and higher, leaving the water and ascending to greater heights.

Chains were also being expelled from his body, allowing him to rise higher without any hindrance. He felt the power of the mountain, but in his heart he had the ambition to stand at the top and look down on all the other mountains.

However, Tatsuma only rose a dozen meters before stopping, because he heard Tsunade's breathing again, and became extremely worried once more.

His gaze shifted downwards, and the chains were continuously retracted into his body. His figure continued to descend until he stood easily on the water's surface, a surface even Tsunade couldn't stand on.

This water is strange; chakra is completely unable to resist it. If one simply concentrates chakra at the soles of their feet in the conventional way, they will definitely be dragged into the water little by little, but Tatsuma can stand on it.

He looked at the water's surface. The dim light and the slightly rippling water made it difficult for him to see his own reflection clearly, but he could vaguely make out the abnormality on his face.

"This is."

Tatsuma raised his hand and touched the mask-like markings, a vague answer forming in his mind. Tsunade also spoke up, saying, "Sage Mode."

"Sage Mode? But why does Sage Mode allow me to use the Adamantine Lockdown?"

The five chains left the pool and gathered in front of Chenma. He observed the five chains, still very puzzled.

"That is... Sage Mode, formed by combining the natural energy of Shikkotsu Forest, Mito Uzumaki's chakra, and the power of the tree, with your body as the container."

Your body now is no longer the same as it used to be. From the moment these forces combined and reached balance, your body was also transformed to adapt to this force.

A voice came from the towering mountain. Tatsuma looked around but saw no one. Tsunade quickly said, "That's the Slug Sage, the founder of Shikkotsu Forest. That mountain is her head."

As Chenma looked up at the majestic mountain, it was as if an extra eye appeared in his mind, instantly allowing him to see the part of the majestic mountain that was exposed above the ground.

"The Slug Immortal".

After bowing to the towering mountain, Tatsuma turned to Tsunade and asked, "Sensei, what happened to me? My Yin Seal seems to have disappeared, and... I think I saw Grandma."

"you"

Just as Tsunade was about to say something, a look of pain suddenly appeared on her face. Her skin quickly became dry and thin, and in the blink of an eye, she had almost lost a lot of weight.

Tatsuma frowned and looked at the pool of water that barely reached halfway up Tsunade's thighs. With a wave of his hand, five chains wrapped around Tsunade, pulling her out of the sticky liquid and placing her on a nearby coral reef.

Almost instinctively, Tatsuma waved his hand again, and the chains drew out streams of natural energy from Tsunade's body. He walked on the water and came to Tsunade's side, orange-red chakra appearing on his hands.

He gently grasped Tsunade's hand, and the orange-red chakra flowed into her body. In just a moment, Tsunade's abnormal state disappeared, and her skin and body returned to their previous state.

"This kind of chakra"

Tsunade, now recovered, stared at Tatsuma in astonishment. In her memory, only one person possessed this healing chakra: her grandfather, the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju.

"It seems to be working quite well, but... it doesn't seem as effective as when I was treating myself."

As he spoke, Tatsuma released Tsunade, then ran his right fingertip across his left palm, leaving a line of blood. But before any blood could flow, the wound healed.

However, after these two treatments, the orange-red marks on Chenma's face visibly faded.

Looking at this healing ability, exactly as her grandmother and great-grandfather had described, Tsunade opened her mouth, then looked at Tatsuma with anticipation in her eyes, her voice trembling slightly as she asked:

"Tatsuma, can you use Wood Release?"

Tatsuma heard hope in Tsunade's voice, but it was a very fragile hope, the kind of expectation that only someone grasping at the last straw would have.

But faced with Tsunade's expectations, Tatsuma could only shake his head and say, "I don't know. I don't understand these powers. I feel there are still many secrets waiting for me to uncover, but I have no clue."

Tsunade was initially disappointed, but then a more grounded hope arose within her. She looked at Tatsuma and said, "Don't worry, Grandpa wasn't born with Wood Release either; he learned it by some strange twist of fate."

Who knows, maybe one day you'll be able to use Wood Release too? Just like how you suddenly found yourself able to use Grandma's Adamantine Sealing Barrier.

Upon hearing this, Tatsuma simply smiled and nodded, offering no further affirmation. He turned to the Slug Sage and asked, "Slug Sage, how do I end this Sage Mode? This feeling of not having my feet on the ground makes me feel insecure."

"Sensitize the natural energy within you, and then dispel it."

The Slug Sage showed no resentment at being neglected; her long lifespan had long since made her accustomed to being an observer. Upon hearing this, Tatsuma clasped his hands together, sensing the well-mixed yet diverse chakra energy within his body.

Finally, he found energy similar to the natural energy that had just been expelled from Tsunade's body, and this energy was transported to various acupoints.

With the help of the Bagua Gentle Fist technique he learned from the Hyuga clan, this natural energy was released out of his body, and the orange-red marks on Tatsuma's face quickly dissipated. At this moment, the five chains suddenly broke and disappeared into the air.

Moreover, the ability to judge a person's emotions through their various behaviors, even just their breathing and heartbeat, has disappeared, and the ability to perceive is constantly diminishing.

The light, floating feeling he had in Sage Mode disappeared, and Tatsuma could clearly feel his power gradually diminishing, but the sense of security in his heart was slowly returning.

With a thought, he summoned the system, and upon looking at it, his pupils dilated as if in an earthquake.

(End of this chapter)