Chapter 232: Success Is Called Courage, Failure Is Utter Folly, Yet We Persist
"Katsuyu, may I take some of these trees back with me?"
"Please, feel free, Lord Menma. These trees are of no use to me."
Menma walked through Shikkotsu Forest, searching for anything that might be useful.
He, along with Katsuyu and Karin, walked all the way to a mountaintop before finally stopping.
Here, there was a clear stream with plump fish swimming in it. Beside it was a small vegetable patch where some green vegetables were planted.
In addition, dozens of small Katsuyu clones were slowly crawling on several wooden houses built of white wood, seeming to be using their mucus to deal with insects and stains on the houses.
"These are the wooden houses built by past contractors. For convenience, a vegetable patch and houses were built here to solve the problem of food and lodging," Katsuyu explained.
However, Menma's gaze was fixed on the "pool" next to the wooden houses.
Inside was a pool of turbid, milky-white liquid. From it, he could feel a dense natural energy, which had even condensed into a visible mist.
"Katsuyu, what is that?"
"Lord Menma should know some information about Sage Art, right?"
Menma nodded slightly but didn't answer, instead looking at little Karin, who was holding his hand at his side.
Noticing her teacher's gaze, little Karin immediately understood and answered without hesitation, "The so-called Sage Art is the fusion of the chakra one has cultivated with the natural energy absorbed from the outside world to form a unique sage chakra system. Once successfully cultivated, Sage Art can amplify genjutsu, ninjutsu, and taijutsu by several times, or even more than ten times."
"A concise and perfect summary. It seems Lady Karin has received professional instruction in the knowledge of Sage Art."
Katsuyu's gentle tone held a hint of surprise. "To cultivate Sage Art, one must learn to sense natural energy. But for humans with their complex minds, sensing natural energy is very difficult. Some humans spend ten, even dozens of years, and still cannot reach the first stage of sensing natural energy."
Katsuyu understood that Menma had brought Karin to Shikkotsu Forest because he saw her talent and hoped she could learn Sage Art. But of the humans who had come to Shikkotsu Forest to train in Sage Art since ancient times, more than ninety-five percent had ended in failure.
"In other words, even if you know the basic theory, Sage Art is still very difficult to learn?"
"Yes."
Katsuyu nodded and said, "Therefore, when teaching humans to cultivate Sage Art, there are special methods to assist them in sensing natural energy."
As it spoke, its tentacle pointed to the pool at the side. "This is the slug fluid I secrete. Soaking in it and applying it to the body can not only heal injuries and expel potent poisons but also enhance the ability to sense natural energy."
"Soaking and applying? I understand."
Little Karin nodded.
If nothing unexpected happened, she would be staying here to learn Sage Art for the next period of time.
However, Karin was also a little impatient, wanting to officially enter the training stage of Sage Art.
After all, this was "Sage Art."
In the entire ninja world, it seemed only Jiraiya of "Konoha's Sannin" had mastered this power.
Even Tsunade and Orochimaru, who were also "Konoha's Sannin," had not mastered the power of "Sage Art."
Looking at the seemingly boundless pool, a sharp glint flashed in Menma's eyes. He asked, "Can the slug fluid be taken outside and stored for a long time?"
Healing injuries, expelling potent poisons, enhancing the ability to sense natural energy…
This is a great thing for healing wounds and assisting in training!
"I'm sorry, but no."
Katsuyu saw through Menma's thoughts and shook its head. "The slug fluid is something transformed from natural energy within my body, just like the snake venom of Ryūchi Cave and the toad oil of Mount Myōboku. It will quickly lose its effect in the outside world."
"Moreover, prolonged use of this substance will cause a human's body to transform into that of a slug. A moment of carelessness could even lead to petrification from absorbing excessive natural energy."
Hearing this, little Karin's heart jumped in shock.
Transform into the body of a slug?
Become a slimy slug?
Ew! No way!
"Is that so? What a pity."
Menma was not too disappointed.
If such a good thing that could greatly reduce casualties could really be brought to the ninja world for human use, Tsunade would have probably given it to Konoha's ninja long ago.
However, a thoughtful look flashed in Menma's eyes.
"Slug fluid, toad oil, snake venom…"
He had been thinking before about why learning the Sage Art of "Mount Myōboku" and "Ryūchi Cave" would cause frog-like and snake-like features to appear.
Now it seemed it wasn't just because of the physical differences between toads, slugs, snakes, and humans, but also because of the subtle influence of things like slug fluid, toad oil, and snake venom.
Fortunately, Katsuyu did not hide things from her contractors like the White Snake Sage and the Great Toad Sage did.
"What is it, Lord Menma?"
Seemingly noticing Menma's doubts, Katsuyu gently assured him, "Under my guidance, you don't have to worry about undergoing too severe a 'slugification.' I also won't cut corners like Gamamaru and the White Snake."
Although they had just signed the contract, the feeling Menma gave her was completely different from that of ordinary humans.
Cautious and self-aware, understanding what should be done, what shouldn't be done, what can be done, and what cannot be done.
Although the difficulty of learning Sage Art would be higher, the advantage was that the body would not undergo too great a transformation.
But Menma shook his head. "Since I have already signed a contract with you, I will naturally not doubt you again."
Now Katsuyu was completely confused.
"Then what do you mean?"
Menma didn't respond to its confusion, but instead looked at the few slug stone statues.
"These must be the humans who failed to cultivate Sage Art over the past thousand years."
"...Yes. Although I did my best to watch over them, there were still contractors who were too eager for success and wouldn't listen to advice."
There were less than ten statues, which seemed to be far fewer than the rows of toad stone statues at Mount Myōboku.
Unable to master the balance of natural energy in their bodies, they were assimilated by the natural energy that flooded into them.
This wasn't a trick played by the three great sage regions, but the effect of the nature of natural energy itself.
Menma frowned and asked, "Katsuyu, besides you three great sage regions, are there other places that have an inheritance of Sage Art?"
Katsuyu was taken aback by the question.
After thinking for a long time, it finally responded, "A thousand years ago, a Sage Art system that did not belong to the three great sage regions did appear. There were even humans with extremely strong affinity for natural energy, but with the passage of time, I haven't heard of it for hundreds of years."
If not for...
"...It has appeared before, is that so?"
Menma's eyes became deep and carried a mysterious color.
He had already obtained the Sage Art training systems of Ryūchi Cave and Mount Myōboku.
The reason he had been slow to choose to cultivate was that he knew there were pitfalls.
The Sage Art systems of the three great sage regions might be suitable for frogs, snakes, and slugs, but they were very likely to clash with the human body structure.
The body structures of frogs, snakes, and slugs were completely different from that of humans.
In order to ensure they could learn Sage Art, corresponding biological features would appear.
"Slugification," "frogification," and "snakeification" were all tendencies towards physical assimilation.
Despite this, the mortality and failure rates were still very high.
This indicated that the Sage Art systems of the three great sage regions were not suitable for the human body system.
However, to grope for a path in the dark and find a Sage Art system suitable for humans…
It would probably take decades to achieve.
After all, the human body structure was much more complex and rich than that of frogs, snakes, and slugs. Any mistake would have unimaginable consequences.
After a moment's hesitation, Menma suddenly asked, "Katsuyu, if you were to choose, where do you think is the most likely place to still retain an inheritance of Sage Art belonging to humans?"
Katsuyu was an existence that had lived for a thousand years, a living history book.
If even Menma, an "outsider," didn't know, then only these living fossils might know.
After all, this was a complete and real world.
Even if the original protagonist Naruto died, even if he, Uzumaki Menma, died, this world would still go on as usual.
"If I had to choose…"
The slug's tentacles drooped, as if it were lowering its head in thought.
A moment later, with a hesitant tone, it said, "Perhaps… the Land of Demons is the most likely place to have an inheritance of Sage Art."
Hearing this answer, Menma couldn't help but be taken aback.
"It's actually the Land of Demons?"
The great nations of the ninja world were only the Land of Fire, Land of Earth, Land of Water, Land of Wind, and Land of Lightning.
But besides them, not all small countries were classified as neutral.
For example, the Land of Rain, Land of Rivers, Land of Grass… Although these countries were small, they were still in danger of being destroyed by the great nations.
Only small countries in very remote locations with special significance, like the Land of Snow, Land of Iron, and Land of Hot Water, could become neutral nations.
And the Land of Demons was also a member of the neutral nations, and it was an extremely special existence.
Its ruling model was different from most countries in the ninja world.
The Land of Demons was a country without a daimyō.
The supreme ruler was not a daimyō, but an existence called a "priestess," which could be considered an anomaly in the ninja world.
It was said that the priestess who held the power of the Land of Demons possessed a mysterious power to see into the future.
And she also held unknown sealing jutsu, capable of sealing various demons and evil spirits passed down from ancient times.
Menma had once considered this mysterious country when choosing a base for the Crimson Moon.
However, the priestess's ability to predict the future was too mysterious.
Menma even suspected that the essence of the predictive ability was "substituting death."
Moreover, the Land of Demons also sealed the demon "Mōryō," and that thing had a symbiotic relationship with the priestess, unlike the Box of Ultimate Bliss, which was much easier to handle.
That was why Menma ultimately chose the soft persimmon, the Land of Snow, as his base.
"I don't know much about the affairs of the Land of Demons, but I do know a little about the matter of the Priestess, its ruler."
Katsuyu explained, "Like Gamamaru, they possess the mysterious power to predict the future, and at the same time, they bear the duty and mission of guarding and sealing demons."
"Sealing demons is one of the reasons the Land of Demons became a neutral nation, and the priestess's ability to predict the future is widely known in the Land of Demons and its neighboring countries. If you ask the nobles and commoners of the Land of Demons, they will all tell you that the priestess's ability to predict the future is one hundred percent accurate, and there has never been a single mistake."
"Perhaps for others, this is just idle talk, and there is no consensus on whether it's true or false, but I know very well that the priestess does have this ability."
"Most importantly, they still retain ancient sealing jutsu, and judging from the method of casting, it does not originate from Ninshū's 'Kuji-kiri,' so I believe the priestess may still retain the inheritance of Sage Art."
The priestess of the Land of Demons…
Still retains ancient sealing jutsu?
Menma also felt a burst of curiosity upon hearing this.
"Kuji-kiri," also known as the "hand seals" that ninja now needed to perform ninjutsu.
This method originated from the "Ninshū" founded by the Sage of Six Paths. It was originally intended to make it easier for ordinary people to gather and manipulate chakra to use ninjutsu for production activities.
And now, most of the knowledge and theory of sealing jutsu in the ninja world originated from the Uzumaki Clan.
If it was really as Katsuyu said, that the priestess did not use "Kuji-kiri," then it could only be a more ancient method of casting.
That is, from the ancient period when Ōtsutsuki Kaguya ruled.
At this thought, Menma couldn't help but narrow his eyes, the light within them flickering.
Natural energy and Sage Art were powers native to the ninja world, and now most people had never even heard of them.
Even among the ninja community, only a very small number of people knew about natural energy.
Even the Sage of Six Paths had learned Sage Art from the Great Toad Sage.
Finally, with the help of Sage Art, he successfully sealed his mother, Ōtsutsuki Kaguya.
Thinking about it this way, the only place where an inheritance of Sage Art might exist was the ancient Land of Demons.
"The priestess of the Land of Demons, is it? I understand."
A smile appeared on Menma's face. "I will pay her a visit when I get back."
"However, speaking of which, does that priestess have any taboos?"
"Taboos?"
Katsuyu thought for a moment, then shook its head. "I haven't heard of any. I only know that her ability to see the future is one hundred percent accurate when it comes to predicting life and death."
"...This ability is indeed a problem."
Menma rubbed his chin, looking thoughtful. "The ability to see the future, I wonder if it can see my future. I'd really like to see that."
The Dragon Vein, the Great Toad Sage, Uchiha Izumi's Mangekyō Sharingan, and the unknown alien Ōtsutsuki…
Now there was also the priestess of the Land of Demons.
Anything involving time was undoubtedly very powerful and mysterious, and easily involved the so-called "fate."
Just as he disliked that old toad who played dumb, Menma had always disliked these inexplicable things.
Katsuyu's gentle voice carried a hint of curiosity as it asked, "Lord Menma, aren't you worried that your future will be a tragedy?"
Although this was the first time they had met, it wasn't hard to guess that Menma was the Child of Ruin mentioned by Gamamaru, the one who would bring despair to the ninja world in the future.
To bring despair to the entire ninja world meant to confront the ninja world.
In Katsuyu's view, it was absolutely impossible to do this alone. Menma's future was destined to end in failure and death.
"Katsuyu, humans are just such beings full of infinite possibilities…"
Menma rubbed little Karin's head at his side. "Everyone is constantly fighting to know the right way to live."
"What is right? What are we fighting for? How do we live on?"
"No one can give us the answer. We can only run aimlessly."
"Until we find our own goal."
"To do what you know is impossible—success is called courage, failure is utter folly, yet we persist."
(End of Chapter)
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