The Shikkotsu Forest was vast!
How vast, you ask?
Orochimaru walked through the forest floor, thick with humus, carrying the small slug. He unleashed his perception, arguably the strongest in the ninja world at this time, to its absolute limit, yet he couldn't feel the edge of the Shikkotsu Forest.
It was known that Orochimaru's current perception, enhanced by the Sage Mode of Ryūchidō, could instantly grasp every rustle and movement within a radius of several kilometers.
If he pushed it to its limits, he could even span the distance of a small country in a straight line.
Even so, he couldn't detect the end of the Shikkotsu Forest.
From this, one could see how vast the land of this mysterious sacred ground was, a place whose true face had never been revealed to the ninja world.
Furthermore, the information fed back by his senses caused the now broad-minded Orochimaru to fall into a brief daze.
Orochimaru knew there was only one slug in the Shikkotsu Forest.
Based on the chakra standards of a fully formed Nine-Tails, Orochimaru believed the本体 of Sage Katsuyu and the Nine-Tails were at most on the same level.
But Orochimaru was mistaken!
Terribly mistaken.
A single tentacle was as large as a fully transformed Nine-Tails. Its height wasn't as exaggerated, only about the same as when the Nine-Tails stood up.
But its body was longer.
The milky white body, streaked with blue lines, stretched endlessly into the distance, its end nowhere in sight.
If the fully formed Nine-Tails was a mountain, then the fully formed Sage Katsuyu was a mountain range.
Perhaps this comparison wasn't intuitive enough. Let's give a specific data point.
During the Fourth Great Ninja War, the Allied Shinobi Forces numbered 87,000, nearly 90,000.
If each person was spaced one meter apart during battle, the area that 90,000 people would occupy on the battlefield would be immense.
Add to that the Edo Tensei reanimated bodies and the 100,000 White Zetsu mixed into the battlefield, wouldn't this area need to expand by at least double?
At this moment, when Tsunade and Sakura simultaneously activated Hundred Healings Technique and jointly summoned Katsuyu, the summoned slug, after splitting, could fill this entire area.
Note that it could *fill* it!
It was like creating a connected super medical ninjutsu carpet on the battlefield!
Moreover, this was only one-tenth of Sage Katsuyu's本体.
The sheer size of this was enough to send shivers down one's spine.
The small slug wriggled out of the stunned Orochimaru's embrace, its tiny body crawling towards a colossal blue and white mountain of flesh that blocked out the sky, melting into it like a drop of water.
"Ah!"
A grand yet not piercing sigh, imbued with the most beautiful and ethereal voice Orochimaru had ever heard, echoed through the Shikkotsu Forest.
Sage Katsuyu, as if startled from a deep sleep, 'slowly' turned its mountain-like head towards Orochimaru's direction.
"It's Orochimaru!"
"Ever since the Uzumaki clan perished from the ninja world, you are the first human to enter the Shikkotsu Forest on your own!"
"And..."
Sage Katsuyu's voice suddenly carried a hint of pleasant surprise.
"Your progress in transforming into a dragon has actually surpassed that of the White Snake. Truly remarkable!"
"Ryūchidō now..."
"Is under your command, isn't it?"
Orochimaru had not expected Sage Katsuyu to see through him so easily at first contact. A newfound respect for this greatly respected Sage, whose fame in the ninja world was not widely known, bloomed within him.
"Sage, your eyes are like torches!"
"Heh heh!"
Sage Katsuyu's gentle laughter rang out, its massive tentacles swaying gently, as if to showcase them to Orochimaru.
"No wonder that girl Tsunade said you're best at pleasing girls. It seems to be true!"
"However, you are mistaken this time!"
"Slugs have no eyes!"
Orochimaru's face flushed, and he felt an urge to cover his face and flee.
"Haha, just kidding."
"You know, apart from occasionally splitting off parts of my body to observe the ninja world, I don't get to meet humans very often."
Sage Katsuyu seemed to sense Orochimaru's embarrassment and explained with a gentle smile.
"It was my carelessness, Sage. I'm glad you don't blame me!"
Orochimaru gave a dry laugh and shook his head at Sage Katsuyu.
"Blame? In terms of status and position, the master of Ryūchidō and I are quite equal."
"And you are also little Tsunade's lover. Seeing you is like seeing my own child. Just relax."
Orochimaru did not dispute Sage Katsuyu's assumption of a parental role.
She had the right to do so!
"Orochimaru, although you already possess the inheritance of Ryūchidō, the rules set by the Sage of Six Paths for the three great Sage Lands must always be followed."
"Since you found the Shikkotsu Forest through your own strength, and I dislike setting trials, therefore..."
"Is there anything you desire?"
"A summoning contract? Shikkotsu Forest senjutsu? Or vitality?"
Orochimaru's heart leaped with joy, his mind racing.
Summoning jutsu?
While Katsuyu's combat ability wasn't strong, its support ability was undoubtedly top-tier among all summons.
Its status was so high that no beast could shake it.
Shikkotsu Forest senjutsu?
Although he didn't know its specific effects, if he could learn it, would it create unexpected synergies with Ryūchidō's senjutsu?
Vitality?
Looking at Sage Katsuyu's本体, and the immense life force it possessed, did he need to say more?
Of course he wanted it!
"Which one should I choose? They all seem very useful!"
Orochimaru agonized internally for a moment, then gritted his teeth and tentatively asked,
"Sage, can I... have them all?"
Sage Katsuyu was clearly taken aback by Orochimaru's request. After a moment of stunned silence, it suddenly giggled charmingly.
"Indeed, just as little Tsunade said, you are truly greedy!"
Orochimaru's heart sank with disappointment. It seemed asking for everything wouldn't work.
"However..."
"It's not impossible!"
Sage Katsuyu's tone shifted, uttering words that filled Orochimaru with both surprise and joy.
"After all, even the Sage of Six Paths acknowledged your actions of plundering power. As an elder, how could I refuse the 'greedy' request of a child who is striving for the future of the ninja world?"
"What would you like to learn first?"
Orochimaru was deeply shaken. Suppressing the joy of his wish being granted, he tentatively asked,
"You..."
"You know that I met the Sage of Six Paths?"
Sage Katsuyu seemed very pleased with Orochimaru's sudden change in address. Its mountain-like tentacles gently brushed against Orochimaru's body.
"I bear the responsibility of maintaining the dragon脉 power of the ninja world's seas and lands!"
"Before the land dragon脉 was siphoned by the power of the God Tree, and before the Sage of Six Paths forcibly severed the dragon脉, the entire land of the ninja world was my charge to protect!"
"As long as I wish to know, I can know!"
Orochimaru's body trembled slightly, clearly startled by the implications in Sage Katsuyu's words.
"You eliminated the threats of Void and Mo, and you liberated the inherent natures of the Nine-Tails and Four-Tails."
"Your contributions to the ninja world, and your kindness shown to non-human species, are enough for you to receive whatever you desire from me."
"While the power of the dragon脉 concerns the stability of the entire ninja world, and I cannot unilaterally give it to you, the rest of the powers are all permissible."
Orochimaru suppressed his excitement and nodded forcefully.
"Thank you for your gift, Sage!"
"Good!"
Sage Katsuyu chuckled gently, its skin rippling slightly as it expelled a plump little slug from its body.
The little slug, with a giant summoning scroll perched on its head, crawled laboriously to Orochimaru and presented the scroll with its tentacles.
"Here, Lord Orochimaru, please sign your name!"
Orochimaru didn't hesitate. He took the scroll, quickly wrote his name, and pressed his handprint on it.
He gently patted the little slug's head and said softly,
"Thank you!"
"You're welcome, we're family now, Lord Orochimaru!"
"Happy!"
The little slug received the scroll and replied in a soft voice before crawling back into Sage Katsuyu's body.
Seeing that Orochimaru had signed the contract, Sage Katsuyu chuckled softly and carefully moved its tentacles towards Orochimaru, gently touching his forehead.
"In the name of the earth脉 guardian, may your strength coexist with nature, and may your youth be eternal!"
As the ethereal blessing was spoken, the entire Shikkotsu Forest seemed to come alive. An unimaginably vast life force rapidly converged on Orochimaru's forehead, slowly forming a '⊙' mark on his brow.
The moment the mark was formed, the life force flowing into Orochimaru's body instantly transformed into pure Yang Release chakra, rapidly filling his body.
A surge of Yang Release power, far more potent than the Ashura chakra captured from Hashirama Senju, erupted from Orochimaru's person.
A rustling sound arose from the ground, and countless tender green branches swayed, emerging from beneath the earth. In an instant, a vast expanse of towering trees radiating powerful life force fluctuations enveloped Orochimaru.
Sage Katsuyu smiled with satisfaction and slowly retracted its tentacles.
"This child's Yin and Yang Release powers are already showing promise. Coupled with this newly born Yang Release, how much will his strength increase?"
"Witnessing the birth of a powerhouse comparable to the Sage of Six Paths in person, there is finally something interesting in this long life of mine!"