I founded the "Bragging Cult" in Naruto.

Chapter 320: Unexpected good fortune is fleeting; true gains are always linked to effort.

"Who exactly are you?"

Above the swamp, white mist drifted. Liuwei stretched its body, which was no longer bound, turned its head toward the thin figure, and asked the philosophical question for the third time.

Hearing the Six-Tails' question, Tatsuma turned his head slightly, glancing at the enormous Six-Tails, which seemed weak and powerless, and said with a smile:

"Everyone is an escaped convict who has broken free from the cage called 'self.' Just call me that, or... call me Takasugi Shinsuke."

After saying that, Tatsuma felt his hands were empty. It would be perfect if he had a small smoking gun. He should have just taken one from the Hokage's office.

Do you know Hashirama Senju? Or... do you know the Sage of Six Paths?

Humans' delusions of grandeur seem to be infecting tailed beasts. The Six-Tails continued to ask questions in its high-pitched voice, but Tatsuma didn't answer, trying to appear mysterious.

But the next moment, he staggered, the mask on his face gradually disappeared, and his body showed the same signs of dehydration as Hozuki Gengetsu had just shown.

"You can't leave! Explain yourself!"

The Six-Tails sensed the familiar yet frightening chakra within Tatsuma rapidly dissipating, and that Tatsuma was about to leave, so it panicked.

"Whoosh whoosh~"

A burst of strong acidic gas erupted from the Six-Tails' mouth, enveloping Tatsuma and obstructing his vision, preventing him from seeing the current state of the swamp. The Six-Tails shouted, "Stay!"

"Cough cough~"

Tatsuma coughed violently after accidentally inhaling a mouthful of strong acid gas. He looked at Rokubi with his scarlet eyes and said, "Those who set up cages for themselves cannot imprison their turbulent souls."

If you want to catch me, first unleash the beast within you.

As soon as he finished speaking, Tatsuma disappeared. The Six-Tails raised its head high, its antennae constantly touching, trying to find Tatsuma's trace, but... nothing. It was as if he had vanished into thin air.

"Cough cough cough~ cough~ yue~"

In a distant forest, Chenma could no longer stand and collapsed to the ground. His hair, which had grown extremely long and was used to hold his pants up, had also retracted. Fortunately, he was sitting down now, so he wouldn't be exposed.

With one hand braced against the tree trunk and the other pounding his chest, he coughed violently, as if he were about to cough up his entire lungs.

He wanted to activate the Yin Healing and Destruction Technique within his body, but reason told him that his remaining chakra did not support him in doing so.

If he were to forcefully use Yin Healing and Destruction now, the outcome might be the same as what happened in the Land of Lightning more than half a year ago. Moreover, he has no teammates by his side right now, and no one can carry him back to the village.

Feeling the last bit of chakra remaining in his body, Tatsuma knew how to use it.

He took a deep breath, suppressing the instinct to cough, and then ran his right thumb across his teeth, his hands beginning to form a mudra.

"Ninja Art! Summoning Jutsu!"

"Bang!"

A cloud of mist exploded, and a small slug appeared. Tatsuma raised his hand and gently pressed it on the slug's head, leaving his chakra behind, and said weakly, "Take me back to Shikkotsu Forest, quickly."

"it is good."

A gentle voice came from the slug's mouth, followed by another burst of smoke. The slug disappeared, and a few seconds later, Chenma also turned into smoke and disappeared.

"Tatsuma?!"

In the wet bone forest, Zhiyu saw Chenma covered in mud and so thin that he looked almost unrecognizable. Her tone was filled with disbelief; the last time she had seen Chenma was only a few days ago.

After a few days apart, Chenma looked like someone who had been suffering from anorexia for several years.

When Tatsuma saw Zhiyu, he pointed towards the two pillars of heaven. Zhiyu didn't understand what Tatsuma meant, but she still quickly approached him, her two tentacles touching, and she continuously injected chakra into him.

However, the special chakra that was extremely effective in medical applications kept leaking out after being injected into Tatsuma's body, and it seemed that Tatsuma was unable to absorb it.

"Follow me!"

At that moment, a slug similar in size to Yuuki quickly crawled over; it was Tsunade's summoning beast—Katsuyu.

Upon hearing this, Zhiyu quickly differentiated his body. Two slugs carried the exhausted Chenma on Zhiyu's back, and then the two small slugs merged into Zhiyu's body.

Meanwhile, the slugs began to head towards the two pillars, and Zhi Yu quickly followed. The two enormous slugs crawled on the coral reef at an incredible speed.

The secreted mucus seemed to act as a lubricant, quickly pushing them toward the two pillars.

The two arrived at the coral reef plain. The live slug led Zhiyu to the place where she and Chenma first met. There was a small pool there, filled with a dark green liquid.

"Put him in."

As the live slug said, Zhiyu quickly did as she was told. Some mucus secreted from her back, and Chenma, who was lying on her back, slid off and entered the water without splashing. He lay face down on the dark green juice.

Tatsuma inhaled a lot of dark green liquid into his lungs. He tried to turn over, but his body didn't even have the strength to struggle anymore, and he looked like a floating corpse.

"and then?"

Zhi asked, and the slug's antennae touched him, saying, "He didn't faint this time. Ask him what he needs."

Upon hearing this, Zhiyu turned Chenma over and asked, "What do you want?"

Tatsuma wanted to roll his eyes. Weren't the slugs in Shikkotsu Forest supposed to be summoned beasts with extremely high healing abilities? How come he was thrown into this small pond and left to fend for himself both times he came here injured?

However, the feeling of being in the water was wonderful. He didn't even feel any discomfort in his lungs from choking on water. Instead, the water entering his lungs was moistening his respiratory tract and relieving his pain.

After a while, as he breathed, the fluid in his lungs was expelled little by little, and Tatsuma regained some strength, saying, "I'll think of something myself."

As he spoke, Tatsuma laboriously pulled out a bundle of rolls, untied them, and threw them ashore, revealing a pile of miscellaneous supplies. Tatsuma said, "Soldier rations, please take these for me."

Upon hearing this, Zhiyu differentiated into many small slugs, which connected end to end like a fishing rod, and fished out the medicine bottle containing the soldier's ration pills. Then, they slowly moved it above Chenma.

The slug struggled to open the bottle stopper with its tentacles, and Chenma opened his mouth, pondering whether to eat one or two, but...

As soon as the slug moved its antennae, the entire bottle of about ten ration pills spilled out. Fortunately, Chenma had already eaten some of these pills on the way, but this was the first time Chenma had ever eaten so many at once.

But his body was instinctively swallowing, and a dozen or so soldier's ration pills slid down his esophagus and into his stomach in an instant.

The talent of "Unceasing" seemed to be awakened. Before Chenma could react, he felt his brain become sluggish, and a large amount of blood was concentrated on his digestive system.

The blood excitedly carried energy back to all parts of the body, and Chenma's originally pale face gradually improved, and his lips, which had been trembling slightly, also stopped trembling.

Why doesn't his body wither away?

Zhi asked the question quietly, but his voice echoed through the quiet Shikubune Forest, and Chenma himself heard it clearly.

The slug thought for a moment and said, "Because... he likes water, right? Last time he was even more seriously injured, but he survived by soaking in water."

"Then he is destined to be the successor of Shikkotsu Forest."

Zhi Yu crouched down, seemingly observing the changes in Chen Ma's body. Chen Ma blushed slightly; he was practically naked, wearing only a vest on his upper body and pants on his lower body that were even less fabric than fishnet stockings.

Although Zhiyu is a slug, not the same species as him, and they could not possibly share the same aesthetic, Zhiyu is a creature with human intelligence and the ability to communicate normally, which makes it difficult for Chenma to ignore.

Zhiyu, however, didn't notice Tatsuma's change and instead asked, "When you came over, you seemed to have Sage Chakra on you. Why?"

"I entered Sage Mode, but then I lost my balance."

Chenma explained, and Zhiyu's two tentacles quickly touched together a few times. Seemingly in disbelief, she asked, "You entered Sage Mode without learning it? But how did you absorb natural energy?"

"It's the inhibitor I mentioned to you before. It's a substance infused with the natural energy of Ryūchi-dong. In essence, it's also natural energy. I inhaled too much at once, which unexpectedly balanced my physical condition at the time."

I didn't absorb natural energy, but I did inhale it. In short, due to various unexpected circumstances, I entered a sage mode.

"I see. But this is too dangerous. Entering Sage Mode without training, no wonder you eventually lost your balance and became so dehydrated."

Zhi Yu nodded and said, "You still need to master Sage Mode as soon as possible. Good luck brought by coincidences and accidents doesn't last long, and real gains are always linked to effort."

Tatsuma nodded in agreement with Yu's caring words and said, "I will make time to learn Sage Mode as soon as possible."

"Aren't you free right now?"

"I was only halfway through my mission; I was just escaping for my life."

Tatsuma felt a little embarrassed. He had regained some strength and wanted to stand up, but as soon as he sat up, his skin suddenly started to dehydrate. Tatsuma frowned, puzzled.

But the next moment, Chenma obediently lay back in the water. When most of his body surface was submerged in liquid, the signs of rapid dehydration finally subsided.

"These are solutions with high concentrations of natural energy. In fact, your body is already out of balance in terms of energy, but your special constitution allows you to adapt to the water."

When exposed to air, that chaotic energy will once again erode your body.

As the live slug explained, Chenma's expression grew increasingly solemn. The last time he appeared in this pool, he was able to walk out of the pool freely when he regained consciousness, so he was unaware of such a significant side effect.

The dehydration speed just now was much faster than when he lost his balance in Sage Mode after fighting Hozuki Gengetsu; it was almost like wringing out a towel.

"What should I do now?"

Tatsuma asked sincerely, and the antennae of the two slugs, Live Slug and Plant Healer, almost simultaneously touched, and they said in unison:

"Enter Sage Mode." *2

(End of this chapter)