Naruto: Starting With Creating A Genius Persona

Genjo had inherited this bloodline advantage, and compared to Shinichi, he could not only perceive the Nature Energy flowing throughout heaven and earth with far greater clarity and sensitivity, but could even passively absorb it into his body while sitting in meditation.

Within the world of Sage Jutsu practitioners, such a physique already qualified him as an extraordinarily rare genius. Once he mastered Sage Jutsu, his combat strength would undoubtedly receive a significant boost.

Second, it was for the Damp Slug Sage’s bloodline genes.

That was right, the auxiliary bloodline Shinichi had chosen for Isshin was precisely this ancient being residing deep within Shikkotsu Forest.

Among the inheritances of this planet’s three great sage regions, the toads of Mount Myoboku, the white snakes of Ryuchi Cave, and the Slugs of Shikkotsu Forest each represented a different aspect of power.

As for the Damp Slug Sage, it was probably the being on this planet with the most overwhelming life force, the one most deserving of the description endlessly life.

It was unlike the Great Toad Sage, who excelled in prophecy and sage talismans, and unlike the White Snake Sage, who specialized in developing all manner of highly destructive sage art techniques through the use of Nature Energy.

But when it came to pure vitality alone, even Asura at the height of his power might not have surpassed this ancient creature that had lived for who knew how many ages.

Once the Damp Slug Sage’s bloodline genes were integrated into Isshin and fully developed, Isshin, which already possessed an indestructible body, would, when combined with that nearly inexhaustible life force, become a being that could not be killed, could not be worn down, and could never be exhausted on the physical level.

Although every slug was essentially a fragment split off from the Damp Slug Sage, all sharing the same origin and life imprint, Shinichi could not be certain whether there were any differences between the genes of the split bodies and the original at the most fundamental level.

Even if there was only the slightest possibility, he was unwilling to take that risk.

For that very reason, Shinichi would rather wait a little longer and save this opportunity until the moment he personally set foot in Shikkotsu Forest and met that ancient sage face to face.

Only a bloodline sample taken directly from the original body could guarantee absolute certainty.

"My clone is starting to resemble a certain monkey who’s also indestructible, has limitless stamina, can’t be killed, and can’t be worn down."

Shinichi silently joked to himself.

The Shikkotsu Forest was an extremely humid place, perpetually shrouded in a dense fog imbued with highly corrosive acid. Any creature that wandered into it by mistake would have its flesh rapidly corroded and dissolved by the acidic mist, leaving behind only bones too difficult to digest.

Those bones remained damp year-round, giving the place its name: Shikkotsu Forest (literal meaning: Damp Bone Forest).

Like the other two sage regions, Shikkotsu Forest physically existed within the Shinobi World. However, due to its extraordinary concealment and supernatural barrier, it was isolated to the point of being almost as inaccessible as a separate dimension.

In a sense, the three unexplored sage regions could be regarded as unique hidden realms that existed independently within this world.

Aside from contractors reaching the sacred land directly through the Reverse Summoning Technique, the only remaining way was by fate. Trying to find one of the three unexplored sage regions by searching on foot or by air was virtually impossible.

Shinichi had naturally arrived here by means of the Reverse Summoning Technique.

After a brief distortion of space-time, the scenery before him gradually came into focus, and he found himself standing in the middle of a dense, untamed primeval forest.

The air was filled with the rich scent of soil and decaying leaves, mixed with an intense acidic odor.

The source of that pungent acidity was the highly corrosive mist unique to Shikkotsu Forest. Had an ordinary person been here, their internal organs would have been destroyed and their intestines dissolved within just a few breaths.

Only because Shinichi’s physique had long since transcended that of ordinary humans could he stand safely within this deadly mist. Even so, with every breath he took, a faint burning pain still spread through the depths of his lungs, as though countless fine needles were lightly pricking them.

It was enough to show that even he could not remain here for long.

No wonder the little slug had hesitated for such a long time before agreeing when he had previously asked to visit Shikkotsu Forest.

With an environment like this, an ordinary person would simply be courting death by coming here.

Shinichi surveyed his surroundings.

In the midst of the endless sea of densely packed trees stood an especially enormous tree at the very center. Its canopy pierced the clouds, while its trunk was so thick it resembled a colossal pillar reaching into the heavens. It was an awe-inspiring sight.

Never before had Shinichi seen such an enormous tree. Only the legendary God Tree seemed comparable to it in sheer size, yet he could clearly sense that this tree had absolutely nothing to do with the God Tree, because he detected no trace of Wood Style upon it, nor even the slightest sign that it was a construct created through chakra.

It was likely a native lifeform born naturally in this world. As for its origins, he had no idea, but it had probably existed long before Kaguya Otsutsuki descended upon this world.

At that very moment, resting lazily among the branches of the colossal tree was a gigantic translucent creature over a thousand meters long, leisurely chewing on its leaves. Its body was more than ten times larger than even the complete Eight-Tails and Three-Tails he had seen before.

With every inhale and exhale, countless yellowish-white specks of light drifted from around its body before dispersing into layers of acidic mist throughout the air. Clearly, the source of the dense acidic fog filling Shikkotsu Forest was this enormous creature itself.

This creature was none other than the Damp Slug Sage.

"Oh, it’s little Shinichi."

The Damp Slug Sage finally seemed to notice that a visitor had arrived in the forest, which rarely saw anyone. She slowly raised her head, her two soft antennae gently twitching as she recognized who had come, and asked, "What brings you here?"

Wasn’t it you who used the Reverse Summoning Technique to bring me here?

Shinichi felt somewhat helpless inwardly, but he knew this was not intentional neglect on the Damp Slug Sage’s part. Rather, this ancient sage had maintained the same disposition for thousands of years, or more accurately, had long since become thoroughly detached.

To her, everything in the world that came and went was no more than a few leaves falling onto her body, not something worth remembering deliberately.

Just as he was about to speak, the Damp Slug Sage picked up the conversation herself.

"Oh, right. I was the one who summoned you."

She then lowered her head once more and resumed nibbling on the leaves. As she chewed, she suddenly seemed to think of something important.

"Oh, right, little Shinichi. Have you eaten yet?"

"I have, sage."

Shinichi replied with a nod.

"So you haven’t eaten? In that case, let’s have something together."

The Damp Slug Sage seemed not to have paid the slightest attention to what Shinichi had actually said.

The next moment, a huge pile of leaves the size of a small hill drifted gently down before him.

Several of them still bore obvious bite marks, and streaks of yellowish-white mucus clung to their edges. They were clearly leftovers from the Damp Slug Sage’s meal.

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