Shikkotsu Forest.
After spending several days with Mei Terumi on the deserted island, leaving traces of their activities all over the place, Shishou took her to the Shikkotsu Forest, intending for the Great Slug Sage to personally teach her Sage Jutsu.
"So this is one of the Three Great Sage Regions, Shikkotsu Forest?"
Mei Terumi looked around at the dark and damp environment, holding Shishou's hand tightly as she nervously surveyed her surroundings.
She was about to meet the legendary Great Slug Sage, which made her extremely anxious and uneasy. After all, the hopes of her entire village were pinned on her. If she failed in learning Sage Jutsu, she would be too ashamed to return...
Shishou, sensing her tension, squeezed her hand and smiled at her, saying, "You will be here for some time to learn Sage Jutsu. Try to master Sage Mode within a few months, like Tsunade."
Hearing that Tsunade from Konoha had mastered Sage Mode in just a few months made Mei Terumi feel even more pressured.
Then, she suddenly frowned and asked Shishou, "It's really strange. The locations of the Three Great Sage Regions are unknown to other ninja villages, yet they are all connected to Konoha. And each one is associated with one of the Legendary Sannin. Do you know why that is, Shishou?"
The summoning beasts of the three Legendary Sannin—Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru—namely Katsuyu, Gamabunta, and Manda, were well-known in the ninja world. The fact that these three summoning beasts came from the Three Great Sage Regions was common knowledge.
Shishou couldn't help but think to himself that the reason was because the main characters were all from Konoha, and so were most of the major villains. Moreover, the reincarnations of the Sage of Six Paths' two sons were also from Konoha. How could other villages compare with Konoha's heritage?
In response to Mei Terumi's question, Shishou smiled and said, "It's said that the ancestors of the Senju, Uchiha, and Uzumaki clans are descendants of the Sage of Six Paths, and the ancestor of the Hyuga clan is the Sage's brother, Ōtsutsuki Hamura. It's natural for Konoha to have a deeper foundation."
Mei Terumi was momentarily speechless upon hearing this and could only sigh, "It's truly enviable!"
Enviable was an understatement; Konoha's heritage was enough to make other villages green with envy.
Seeing Mei Terumi's expression, Shishou chuckled.
In his opinion, the Hidden Mist Village wasn't doing too badly, at least it had various kekkei genkai and the Shikotsumyaku. The Hidden Cloud Village was also somewhat fortunate, possessing the Gold and Silver Brothers' bloodline and the Sage of Six Paths' tools.
The Hidden Sand Village and Hidden Stone Village were the truly unfortunate ones, having no connection to the Sage's lineage and very few kekkei genkai, forcing them to painstakingly research ninjutsu on their own.
After walking for a while, they encountered the Great Slug Sage.
"Wow, it's huge!"
"It seems even bigger than the giant turtle you summoned last time!"
Seeing the colossal figure of the Great Slug Sage, Mei Terumi was slightly shocked and even more nervous. She could clearly sense the immense energy emanating from the Great Slug Sage, far surpassing that of the turtle from the Hidden Cloud Village.
"Don't worry, Katsuyu is very gentle," Shishou comforted Mei Terumi with a smile. Then he addressed the Great Slug Sage, "Katsuyu, I'll leave Mei Terumi's Sage Jutsu training in your hands."
Katsuyu...
Hearing Shishou refer to the Great Slug Sage as "Katsuyu," Mei Terumi was stunned, staring at him in disbelief. 'Is Shishou really that close to the Great Slug Sage? To dare call her Katsuyu... or maybe...'
The Great Slug Sage's eyes glanced at Mei Terumi, and she gently said, "No problem, Shishou. I can sense a familiar aura in her. She should be very suited for learning the Sage Jutsu of Shikkotsu Forest."
"Really?" Mei Terumi was pleasantly surprised to hear this from the Great Slug Sage.
The Great Slug Sage's voice was so gentle, like that of an older sister. And if what she said was true, Mei Terumi might soon catch up to that woman from Konoha.
"Familiar aura?" Shishou looked at the Great Slug Sage in confusion.
Then, he immediately thought of Mei Terumi's two kekkei genkai, Lava Release and Boil Release. Both of these kekkei genkai involved corrosive and dissolving properties, much like the Great Slug Sage's corrosive acid attacks.
And like Katsuyu, the Six-Tails Saiken, also had corrosive acidic abilities. There must be some connection here.
The Great Slug Sage examined Mei Terumi closely and confidently stated, "Her kekkei genkai are indeed branches of the slug clan's acidic and corrosive abilities."
"In other words, her body has a certain resistance to acid and corrosion, making her very suitable for another method of Sage Jutsu training in Shikkotsu Forest."
"Follow me."
With that, the Great Slug Sage's body split open, revealing an underground passage.
'From what Katsuyu is saying, does she have multiple methods or even several sets of Sage Jutsu training techniques?' Shishou wondered as he lit up a Fire Release Rasengan to illuminate the path, leading Mei Terumi into the passage.
The Great Slug Sage also created a small clone, which perched on Shishou's shoulder and followed them into the underground passage.
Soon, they reached a clear water pool inside the cave.
With her consciousness in the small clone, the Great Slug Sage explained, "This pool has no name; I usually call it the Acid Pool. It contains very dense natural energy, which can accelerate the training of Shikkotsu Forest's Sage Jutsu. With this pool, one could master the Sage Jutsu in as little as a month or as long as six months."
"However, the pool water is highly corrosive, so ordinary people cannot train in it."
"For this reason, I modified the Sage Jutsu training method of Shikkotsu Forest based on Mount Myoboku's techniques, allowing Tsunade to succeed."
Tsunade's Sage Mode is similar to Jiraiya's; it's not a perfect Sage Mode and requires the help of Katsuyu's clones to absorb natural energy. It's not like Hashirama's, which can be activated and maintained freely without external assistance.
Hearing the Great Slug Sage's explanation, Shishou curiously asked, "Not even Tsunade could endure the pool water with her Byakugō no Jutsu?"
The Great Slug Sage looked at Shishou oddly, "Sage Jutsu training isn't something that can be done overnight. If Tsunade kept the Byakugō no Jutsu activated for an extended period, she might not survive the training."
"Besides, being corroded by acid is very painful."
After speaking, the Great Slug Sage glanced at Mei Terumi and said, "But she has Lava Release and Boil Release kekkei genkai, which can alter her body's acidity."
"Combined with Shikkotsu Forest's secret techniques, she can naturally withstand the corrosive acid in this pool."