There is a type of dream where there are no scenes, no characters, no events—only a sense of melancholy rooted in "I think, therefore I am." In this dream, only one's own thoughts continue; it is called a dream, but it is no different from thinking.
The only difference is that one cannot wake up, as if the real life outside is the illusion and the chaotic self-reflection in the dream is the reality. If one stays in the dream a little longer, they will begin to ponder the nature of reality and falsehood.
Tatsuma seemed to experience this long dream. In the dream, he was unaware of the cause and effect, did not know why he had fallen into the dream, and was not even clear about who he was—only thinking based on instinct.
Until he heard someone calling him, he struggled to open his eyes and saw a familiar stranger.
But this seemed to be a crack in the dream of sleep. Just a glance, and Tatsuma returned to the chaotic state, though this time, the emotionless chaos was tinged with an unwelcome heat.
Tatsuma felt increasingly hot, like someone groggily searching for an air conditioner remote on a summer night. Even though his thoughts were not clear, and he didn't even know if he was in control of his body, he just desperately wanted to cool down.
"He's moving! He's moving!"
The noisy voices drilled into Tatsuma's ears. His consciousness began to awaken, and he started to remember everything, so he tried even harder to wake up.
But it was like someone who has lived inland for a long time, and upon first boarding a ferry, experienced a night of a tsunami. Waking up, he felt as if the world was twisted and did not match his own body.
He could clearly feel his existence, but it felt as though his hands were not his hands, and his feet were not his feet. Not only was it difficult to stand and walk steadily, but even lying comfortably in bed felt like being inside a washing machine.
The uncontrollable urge to vomit surged from his stomach, and Tatsuma instinctively swallowed, trying to suppress the nausea.
But with each swallow, he felt a stinging pain. After several attempts, he even experienced a strange, sweet metallic taste, which greatly alleviated the dryness and stinging in his throat.
Moreover, the pain made him feel his body more vividly, as those instinctive actions began to return—breathing, swallowing, and opening his eyes.
His eyelids, which had been as immovable as steel gates, gradually lifted without him realizing it. Various light spots entered his vision, but it was as though they were obscured by frosted glass, making them unclear.
Cough cough cough~
The slight movements of his body caused subtle floating and sinking while lying in the water. The pool water that had already been in his mouth and nose surged in, and he began to cough violently.
His limbs moved involuntarily, and in the next moment, he felt something supporting him from underneath, allowing him to sit up suddenly.
Cough cough~
Coughing out the dark green water tinged with blood, Tatsuma felt his vision clear up a bit. The buzzing sound that had been like an alarm in his ears also stopped, and everything around him became exceptionally quiet.
He could even hear a worried breathing sound and, surprisingly, he could sense the emotion from it.
Tatsuma turned his head and saw the owner of the breathing sound speak, "Tatsuma, are you okay?"
"Sensei?"
The faint light made it hard for Tatsuma to clearly see the person, but he deduced it was his sensei.
In the next moment, the person moved closer, stepping into the pool of water he was in causing her feet to be drenched. The face became clearer and it was indeed his sensei, Tsunade.
Tsunade looked at the dazed Tatsuma with concern and reached out, wanting to touch his forehead to check his temperature. However, her hand was particularly careful, only lightly brushing the orange-red mark on his skin.
On his forehead, eyelids, and under his eyes, her actions puzzled Tatsuma. He reached up to touch his own face and asked, "Sensei, what's wrong?"
Tsunade, listening to Tatsuma's words with less confusion and observing his eyes gradually regaining their usual light, asked, "Do you feel anything unusual about your body?"
"My body?"
Tatsuma clenched his fist. The sensation of strength made him uncertain if it was just a post-coma illusion, but he quickly determined it was not.
Not only was there a sense of power on a muscular level, but there also seemed to be a strange and powerful force within him. He barely needed to use his hands for support; with just a push from his heels and abdomen, he lifted himself out of the viscous dark green liquid.
Feeling the strange power within him, Tatsuma's Chakra began to flow spontaneously. The technique it formed was one he had memorized long ago and had simulated with Chakra countless times, but had always ended in failure.
"Re-re-re~"
Suddenly, five orange-red chains emerged from Tatsuma's abdomen. Watching the chains hovering in the air, he raised his hand, and the chains rose with it; he lowered his hand, and the chains descended in response.
Tatsuma even discovered that he didn't need to use his hands to guide the chains. It was as if his brain was issuing commands for his body to act, and the chains obeyed his mental instructions.
Tatsuma looked up at the towering mountain. The five chains pierced into the bottom of the pool, supporting his body as it rose continuously above the water's surface, climbing higher.
More chains emerged from within him, allowing him to ascend effortlessly. He felt the mountain's strength and harbored the ambition to stand atop it and survey all the other peaks.
However, Tatsuma stopped after rising a dozen meters because he heard Tsunade's worried breathing once again.
He lowered his gaze, retracting the chains back into his body, and his form descended until he easily stood on the water's surface, which even Tsunade couldn't stand on.
This water was peculiar; Chakra couldn't resist it. If he only concentrated Chakra at the soles of his feet, he would be slowly dragged into the water. Yet, Tatsuma could stand on it.
He looked at the water's surface, dimly lit, and the gently rippling water made it difficult to clearly see his reflection. However, he vaguely noticed something unusual about his face.
"This is…"
Tatsuma raised his hand, touching the mask-like mark on his face. He had a vague sense of an answer forming in his mind. Tsunade also spoke, "Sage Mode."
"Sage Mode? But why does Sage Mode allow me to use Adamantine Sealing Chains?"
The five chains, now removed from the pool, gathered in front of Tatsuma. He observed them with great confusion.
"That is a Sage Mode formed by combining the natural energy of Shikkotsu Forest, Uzumaki Mito's Chakra, and the power of trees, all contained within your body.
Your body now is no longer the body you had before. When these powers mixed and achieved balance, your body was transformed to adapt to this power."
A voice came from the towering mountain. Tatsuma looked but saw no one. Tsunade hurriedly explained, "That is the Slug Sage, the ancestor of Shikkotsu Forest. The mountain is her head."
Tatsuma looked at the towering mountain, and for a moment, it was as if an extra eye had appeared in his mind, instantly revealing the part of the mountain that was exposed above the ground.
"Slug Sage."
After bowing to the towering mountain, Tatsuma looked at Tsunade and asked, "Sensei, what exactly happened to me? My Yin Seal seems to have disappeared, and I think I saw Grandma."
"You…"
Tsunade was about to say something when a pained expression suddenly appeared on her face. Her skin rapidly became dry and her body quickly became emaciated, almost losing an entire circle of weight in the blink of an eye.
Tatsuma frowned, looking at the pool that was barely halfway up Tsunade's thigh. He waved his hand, and the five chains wrapped around Tsunade, lifting her out of the viscous liquid and placing her on a nearby coral reef.
Almost instinctively, Tatsuma waved his hand again. The chains extracted streams of natural energy from Tsunade's body. He walked on the water's surface to Tsunade, with orange-red Chakra manifesting on his hand.
He gently held Tsunade's hand, infusing the orange-red Chakra into her body. In just a moment, Tsunade's abnormal condition vanished, and her skin and body returned to their previous state.
"This Chakra…"
The recovered Tsunade looked at Tatsuma with surprise. This healing Chakra was something only one person in her memory had, and that was her grandfather, the First Hokage Senju Hashirama.
"It seems to be quite effective, but… it doesn't seem as good as when healing myself."
As he spoke, Tatsuma released Tsunade, then traced a line of blood across his left palm with the tip of his right finger. However, before the blood could flow out, the wound healed.
Yet, with these two instances of healing, the orange-red mark on Tatsuma's face visibly faded.
Seeing this healing ability, identical to what her grandmother and great-grandfather had described, Tsunade opened her mouth and then, with a look of anticipation in her eyes, asked Tatsuma with a trembling voice:
"Tatsuma… can you use Wood Release?"
Tatsuma heard the expectation in Tsunade's voice, but it was a very fragile hope, like someone grasping at a last straw.
Facing Tsunade's expectation, Tatsuma could only shake his head and say, "I don't know. I don't understand these powers yet. I feel like there are many secrets waiting for me to uncover, but I have no clue."
Tsunade initially felt disappointed, but then a more practical hope arose. She looked at Tatsuma and said, "There's no rush. Grandpa didn't always know how to use Wood Release; it came to him mysteriously. Maybe one day you'll be able to use Wood Release too, just like how you suddenly could use Grandma's Adamantine Sealing Chains."
Hearing this, Tatsuma only smiled and nodded, not giving a definite answer. He turned to the Slug Sage and asked, "Slug Sage, how do I end this Sage Mode? This feeling of being ungrounded makes me feel insecure."
"Sense the natural energy within you, then disperse it."
The Slug Sage showed no displeasure at being overlooked; her long life had accustomed her to being a bystander. After hearing this, Tatsuma brought his hands together, sensing the evenly mixed energy within him, which also contained various Chakras.
Finally, he found an energy similar to the natural energy he had just dispersed from Tsunade's body. This energy was transported to various points in his body.
Using the Eight Trigrams Gentle Fist techniques learned from the Hyuga clan, Tatsuma expelled the natural energy from his body. The orange-red mark on his face quickly faded, and the five chains suddenly shattered and vanished into the air.
Furthermore, the sensation of reading emotions through various expressions, even just breathing or heartbeat, also disappeared. His Sensing ability was continuously diminishing.
The light, floating feeling of Sage Mode disappeared, and Tatsuma could clearly feel his power gradually decreasing, but the sense of groundedness in his heart was gradually returning.
He focused his thoughts and summoned the system, and at a glance, his pupils seemed to shake like an earthquake.
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