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After entering the cave, the darkness was absolute.
There was no light within the Shikkotsu Forest.
But for Takuya, darkness did not hinder his vision.
The floor of the cave was riddled with small holes.
Above, acid dripped continuously.
Every few steps, bones lay scattered on the ground.
"These are all people who failed in their pursuit of immortality," little Katsuyu explained, feeling Takuya's gaze.
Takuya nodded.
After walking for a while, a bright light appeared ahead.
At the cave's end, the space suddenly opened up.
A valley filled with singing birds and blooming flowers appeared before Takuya.
"It's quite beautiful," Takuya couldn't help but sigh. Nature is truly magical. Compared to the outside, this place is both a paradise and a hell.
"Takuya-sama, you are here," an enormous Katsuyu said gently from afar after seeing Takuya.
"Are you the Katsuyu Sage?" Takuya asked in surprise, looking at the Katsuyu Sage's body, which was several times larger than the Nine Tails.
"That's right. Takuya-sama, I already know your purpose. Here, the natural energy should be sufficient for your training," Katsuyu Sage's voice remained gentle.
"Understood." Takuya nodded and found a place to sit cross-legged. He could feel the natural energy here was nearly a hundred times richer than in the rest of the ninja world.
Seeing Takuya start to train, Katsuyu Sage remained silent.
Time passed, and Takuya slowly opened his eyes. Now, he had gathered enough senjutsu chakra.
"Sage Art: True Several Thousand Hands: Top Transformed Buddha!" Takuya suddenly clapped his hands.
Countless streams of chakra surged wildly.
In the next second, a colossal Buddha statue, nearly a thousand meters tall, emerged from the ground. The statue's back was lined with a thousand massive arms.
Takuya stood atop the Buddha statue's head, excitement in his eyes. After awakening Wood Style, he could finally use the powerful ninjutsu, True Several Thousand Hands.
"This ninjutsu reminds me of Lord Hashirama," Katsuyu Sage sighed in awe at the sight of the huge Buddha statue, even it was overwhelmed by this powerful force.
"Katsuyu Sage, it's not over yet," Takuya's lips curled up.
Immediately, his eyes transformed into the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
"Perfect Susanoo!" he declared.
The powerful ocular energy was released.
In an instant, a dark Susanoo armor covered the Buddha statue.
"Huh..." Takuya rubbed his swollen eyes. Encasing the Buddha statue with Susanoo was still very taxing on his eyes. He was likely the only one capable of such a feat, not even Madara could achieve this.
Katsuyu Sage's expression became serious. The combination of these two ninjutsu was truly terrifying.
"Go!" Takuya thought.
One of the Buddha's arms slammed into the ground with immense force.
Boom!
The entire Shikkotsu Forest shook, and the ground cracked. A massive crater, a hundred meters deep, formed where the arm struck.
"Takuya-sama, please stop!" Katsuyu Sage said anxiously. One arm had such great power—if all thousand arms attacked together, the Shikkotsu Forest would be utterly destroyed.
"Don't worry, Katsuyu Sage. I was just testing it out," Takuya smiled lightly and dispersed the Susanoo and Buddha statue. He was very satisfied with the attack power of the combination. With such power, even the Ten Tails would face a tough fight.
"Please refrain from using such ninjutsu in Shikkotsu Forest again," Katsuyu Sage said helplessly. The forest took thousands of years to become what it is, a place of singing birds and fragrant flowers. It didn't want it ruined by Takuya.
"I understand. I'm leaving now," Takuya said calmly.
"Takuya-sama, you can continue to practice senjutsu here. I'm not trying to drive you away," Katsuyu Sage quickly explained.
"I know. I'll leave a few Shadow Clones here to refine senjutsu chakra," Takuya said, creating dozens of Shadow Clones before using the Heavenly Transfer Technique to return to Konoha.
"Takuya, how did it go?" Tsunade asked in surprise, seeing the sudden appearance of Takuya. It had been half a month since he went to Shikkotsu Forest.
"The natural energy of Shikkotsu Forest is very rich, but it's still not enough," Takuya replied calmly.
"How can that be? The three great sage regions are the places with the strongest natural energy in the ninja world," Tsunade said, slightly frustrated.
"I know. It's not that the natural energy of Shikkotsu Forest is insufficient. But I can't go there every time I need to replenish my chakra," Takuya explained. In the future, the enemies he would face were at the Six Paths level, and the consumption of senjutsu chakra during battle would be enormous.
Although he could leave Shadow Clones in Shikkotsu Forest to help refine senjutsu chakra, Takuya was still dissatisfied. What he wanted was the ability to refine chakra continuously, anytime, anywhere.
"This is troublesome," Tsunade said, frowning. She had no good solution for this problem. Even her great-grandfather, Hashirama, carried a huge scroll with him, filled with various weapons and sealed senjutsu chakra.
"Never mind. I'll figure it out myself," Takuya comforted Tsunade, seeing her distressed look.
"Okay. Let's head back then. I heard a caravan from the Land of Wind arrived recently with some novel items. The others want to check it out," Tsunade said as they walked. Suddenly, she noticed Takuya stop.
"Takuya, what's wrong?" Tsunade asked, puzzled.
"Ah... I've got it!" Takuya exclaimed, hugging Tsunade and kissing her. The lack of natural energy in the ninja world was a fact, but there was something that could solve his problem perfectly.
The Dragon Vein of Loran, hidden in the desert!
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