This was the Bone-Burying Ground of Shikkotsu Forest.
A perpetually sunless dark forbidden territory, this place was different from the Deadly Poison Valley created by Anya. It carried an even greater sense of mystery.
The waters of this acidic pool appeared lifeless, filled with an ominous atmosphere. The very warmth radiating from them carried a strong, sour, rotting stench.
As Anya submerged herself, she vaguely heard echoing shrieks—as if living people were struggling and wailing in agony. This unconscious, grating noise sent chills down her spine.
Right now.
Anya held her breath, submerged herself, and chakra through her entire body, trying to sense the hidden power within the pool.
Only through personal experience could she determine whether this place's energy would truly work. Time was running out. If it proved ineffective for her body, she would leave immediately and seek other options.
After all, whether this place would work was merely a guess from the Serpent Master—it wasn't a certainty.
Even before entering the acidic pool, Anya already knew there would definitely be problems. But in reality, things were far worse than expected. The water rapidly corrupted her chakra, and the protective barrier around her body continued eroding away. Once her chakra was depleted, her body might become corrupted—possibly even dissolved.
Even more despairing was the fact that Anya still didn't know whether the energy in this pool had any effect on the restraints within her body.
"What should I do? To survive, I must grow stronger, break the restraints—I must succeed!"
Anya, immersed in the acidic pool, gave up on defense entirely.
In an instant, the water surged inward, yet her body burned with intense heat.
At this moment, the scent of death surrounded her, constantly reminding Anya that her life was on a countdown. A piercing intensity formed in her eyes—endure!
Katsuyu, who had just split off, witnessed this and felt shocked.
Boom—
A sound like thunder roared from within Anya's body. Her muscles and bones vibrated in unison. A torrent of surging chakra burst forth like a waterfall.
Pushing her endurance to its limit, Anya leapt straight upward, flying out of the pool. Yet her body looked truly horrifying—there wasn't a single undamaged patch of skin left. In some places, the cold whiteness of bone was visible beneath the bloody mess, and blood was smeared all over her nearly lifeless body. On the verge of death, she channeled Lightning Release chakra, activating every single cell in her body. Light radiated from her as green Healing Chakra began a prolonged recovery process.
[Roar—]
Enduring excruciating pain, Anya let out a loud roar after her healing. The few seconds she spent at the bottom of the pool felt like an eternity of near-death moments. But ultimately, it was effective. After the intense acid corrosion, Anya clearly sensed an unfamiliar energy stirring deep inside her body. A sealed portion of her blood had slightly loosened, giving her a glimmer of hope.
However, this slight loosening was still minuscule. Compared to the extensive tissue death throughout her body, its effect was extremely limited. Anya's current body could no longer withstand such brutal torment again.
Even though Anya endured the pain without flinching, her life force could no longer hold up. This method of healing was like going through chemotherapy for cancer in a past life—it required a full cycle. If she wanted to survive, she had no choice but to throw herself into this pool and face the trial.
"Anya, you're too impatient."
The Sage Slug's clone crawled over and said to Anya, "I haven't even started teaching you Sage Art yet, and you've already jumped in by yourself. You sure have guts—even Hashirama Senju didn't dare act so recklessly back then."
Anya took a deep breath and said, "I just wanted to try it out—to see if this place could help me. Now I'm sure it works. Please, Sage Slug."
It was the first time the Sage Slug had seen Anya looking so battered. She sighed and said, "The Sage Art of Shikkotsu Forest is far beyond what ordinary people can master. Its cruelty is extreme—truthfully, I don't know whether you'll succeed or not. But we can only hope."
Though the Sage Slug doubted whether Anya could really pull it off, she still taught her everything she knew. Sage Chakra formed when natural energy was absorbed and fully fused with the body's own chakra.
Two things made this especially hard: first, absorbing natural energy, and second, balancing the three types of chakra.
This required extremely precise Chakra Control. Once the control wavered—if the amount of absorbed natural energy exceeded one-third—the person would be consumed by nature's power. The energy within Shikkotsu Forest was strong enough to melt away the entire human body, leaving behind only bones.
If the amount absorbed was less than one-third, it wouldn't activate Sage Mode—it'd be a total waste of time learning it.
In short, Sage Art was a gradual process guided step-by-step.
The Sage Slug's clone climbed onto Anya's body and said, "Soon, I'll begin instructing you directly on how to guide natural energy into your body. Listen carefully—Shikkotsu Forest's natural energy differs from the other two sacred places. It's extremely hard for humans to absorb and highly dangerous. If it gets too much for you, you gotta get out—fast—or you're done for."
"Alright, I understand."
The soft-bodied Sage Slug began undulating rhythmically across Anya's form, much like the rising and falling of human breathing.
At the same time, the pool before them suddenly quaked violently, as if a great whale were inhaling and exhaling immense quantities of natural energy from heaven and earth.
A sudden gust picked up, then swelled into a roaring tide of wind, as vast and unstoppable as the open sea. Remarkably, the surrounding energy seemed entirely drained away, forming a vast empty void around them. Acid rain fell more heavily than ever, while from the bottom of the pond, a stone platform slowly rose up. Upon it rested two glowing skeletons that faintly shimmered with light.
"What are those?" Anya asked in astonishment, clearly sensing these skeletons differed from ordinary remains—they contained hidden vitality. As accumulated natural energy flowed nearby, wave after wave of ripples spread outward from the bones, creating a faint rhythmic vibration.
The Sage Slug offered no explanation about the origins of the skeletons, though her tone turned solemn: "If you can't withstand the pressure, you may hide inside the skeletons. They possess some spiritual essence and should be able to dilute part of the acidity for you."
Anya clenched her teeth and leaped determinedly upward: "Then let's begin."
Standing on the stone slab, Anya fully opened her physical body, abandoning the chakra shield. The Acid Rain fell like cascading waterfalls from the void, drenching her flesh.
Anya's frail human body endured yet another cleansing. She let all the Natural Energy-laced acid rain seep into her body. A deafening roar echoed within as her flesh sizzled, blazing from within. This time, the pain didn't surge violently like before, but instead built up slowly over an extended period, making every vein and muscle seem to burn—brilliant yet unbearable.
Just when Anya was on the verge of death, she dove into the skeletons without hesitation.
Suddenly, her soul sensed an unusual fluctuation. There was actually soul power residing on these skeletons. Could that mean my soul can control these two skeletons for my own use? Skeletons that not even Acid Rain could corrode—how powerful they must be.
Without hesitation, Anya activated her Spirit Transformation Technique, allowing her Dark Soul to directly enter one of the skeletons.
"Huh? Seems like another newbie has come to learn Sage Art at Shikkotsu Forest."
A soul force within the skeleton detected Anya's presence and greeted her proactively.
In her spirit form, Anya instantly recognized the soul and blurted out, "Tsunade?"
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