Naruto: I'm in Konoha, my name is Uzumaki Menma

Chapter 361 Wet Bone Forest

Shizune looked at Tsunade's suddenly bloodless face and slightly trembling hands, and her worry almost overflowed.

She quickly stepped forward and gently took Tsunade's arm, her voice filled with barely concealed anxiety: "Lady Tsunade! Are you...are you alright? You look terrible!"

Tsunade waved her hand to indicate that Shizune was alright, but pressed her other hand hard against her throbbing temple.

She took a few deep breaths, trying to calm the turmoil of unease in her heart and the increasingly clear and terrifying suspicion.

She raised her eyes, her gaze meeting the composed and unperturbed face opposite her, her voice slightly hoarse: "You... did you already know?"

Mianma raised an eyebrow slightly, said nothing, and simply watched her quietly, waiting for her to continue.

Tsunade almost gritted her teeth as she said, "You know my 'curse' of always losing at gambling! But you also know I'm going to win today, which is why I've prepared so much money, right?!"

This guess sent a chill down her spine.

If the other party is well aware of this almost "curse-like" metaphysical rule and knows what kind of "disaster" is about to happen to them, then their luck suddenly improves.

His understanding of himself is terrifying.

At this moment, the little slug that had been quietly resting on Shizune's shoulder wriggled slightly and jumped onto Tsunade's shoulder. Its soft tentacles gently touched Tsunade's cheek, and a gentle stream of chakra slowly flowed in, carrying a soothing meaning.

"Tsunade, your heart is beating fast and your breathing is erratic. Do you need me to help you calm down?" the Slug Sage asked with concern.

As Tsunade felt the gentle chakra, her tense nerves relaxed slightly. She gently shook her head and whispered, "Thank you, Slug-sama. I'm fine... but I have a bad feeling."

She knew all too well what her unusual "good luck" meant, each time accompanied by devastating news from loved ones.

This unknown fear made her more flustered than facing a powerful enemy.

She took a deep breath and took out an ancient scroll from the ninja tool pouch at her waist.

The scroll looked quite old, with worn edges. In the center of the scroll, the three characters "Shigulin" were written in an ancient script.

Tsunade placed the heavy scroll on the velvet gambling table and pushed it forward an inch.

"I don't know the exact coordinates of Shikkotsu Forest." Tsunade's voice was weary but also relieved.

"But this psychic contract scroll, once signed, will grant you the 'key' to Wet Bone Forest. According to the wager... it's yours."

After saying that, she stood up almost immediately, her body swaying slightly as if she had exhausted all her strength.

She didn't look at the mountain of money boxes again, nor did she glance at Mianma. She simply said "Let's go" to Jingyin and walked somewhat dejectedly toward the entrance of the VIP hall, her back view appearing particularly heavy.

"Lady Tsunade! Wait for me!" Shizune hurriedly picked up Ton-Ton, glanced worriedly at the scrolls and money box on the table, and quickly chased after her.

Tun Tun made soft whimpering sounds in Jing Yin's arms.

The little slug perched on Tsunade's shoulder, lifting its tiny body to face Menma, its soft, gentle voice carrying kindness: "Then, we look forward to your visit to Shikkotsu Forest."

Máma nodded slightly to the slug in response.

Then he raised his hand and instructed Kakuzu, who was standing respectfully to the side, "Kakuzu, handle this money and deposit it into Tsunade's account at the Star Country Bank."

"Yes," Kakuzu replied in a deep voice, looking at the eight money boxes. Although it hurt his wallet, he carried out the order without hesitation.

The Land of Stars now boasts the most advanced and widely covered banking system in the ninja world. Even in a "concession" like Renhe City, there are branches of the Land of Stars Bank, making it very convenient to transfer and store large sums of money.

Mianma picked up the ancient "Wet Bone Forest" contract scroll on the table. It had a cool and peculiar texture to the touch, as if he could feel the spatial fluctuations contained within it.

He didn't linger; in a flash, he disappeared from the spot.

In the Land of Stars, in a highly classified biological laboratory.

The main body of the face appeared in front of the experimental table.

He carefully placed the "Wet Bone Forest" spirit scroll on a specially made analytical instrument.

Inside the laboratory, several of his shadow clones were busy at work. Some were operating sophisticated energy detection devices, some were analyzing ancient sealing runes on scrolls, and others were calculating complex spatial coordinate parameters.

The pale blue scanning light moved slowly along the scroll, and complex data streams constantly jumped on the instrument screen.

Mianma's gaze was focused, his fingers flying across the keyboard as he performed calculations.

After a long while, one of the shadow clones dissipated, and the memories returned.

Mianma slowly opened his eyes, a look of understanding flashing in them.

He muttered to himself, "As expected... the coordinates do not point to any point on the main material plane of the ninja world. The natural energy feedback indicates that it is an alternate dimension or a small world that is attached to the main world but has slightly different rules."

This confirmed his guess: the reason why the three holy sites are difficult to find by ordinary means is that they exist in independent alternate dimensions, just like Kaguya's palace.

The next day, everything was ready.

In the center of the laboratory, Mianma unfolded the psychic contract scroll of Shikubun Forest.

The scroll was very long and filled with the names of those who had signed contracts with Shikkotsu Forest throughout history. At the top were unfamiliar names from long ago, and further down you could see the name of Hashirama Senju, with Tsunade's name at the very end.

Menma bit his thumb and used his blood to solemnly write his real name, "Whirlpool Menma," on the blank space of the scroll.

He then formed a hand seal, not a conventional psychic technique, but a reverse psychic technique with a strong spatial orientation.

"Reverse Spirit Communication Technique!"

Om-!
A powerful spatial fluctuation emanated from him, and the instruments in the laboratory emitted a slight hum.

The next second, Menma's figure suddenly disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

A slight feeling of weightlessness and spatial displacement came over me, and my numb feet landed on the solid but somewhat damp ground.

A thick, oppressive humidity hit me, and the air was filled with the mingled smells of decaying plants and a peculiar, sweet-smelling odor.

He looked around and saw an endless swamp shrouded in a thick, grayish-white fog.

Beneath my feet was dark brown, muddy ground that felt soft and spongy underfoot.

Many strange trees grow around, leafless, with branches that are either straight or twisted and gnarled, displaying an unsettling, ashen white color, like bleached bones, standing silently in the thick fog, like a vast graveyard of the dead.

Apart from these "bone forests" and the occasional bursting of bubbles from the mud beneath our feet, the whole world was eerily silent, with no insect chirps or bird calls, as if no living beings existed.

This is the Wet Bone Forest, one of the three sacred sites for spiritual communication.

"Welcome to the Wet Bone Forest." A gentle female voice seemed to ring out from all directions, breaking the deathly silence.

Mianma looked up and saw that the huge shadow that had been shrouded in thick fog and resembled a mountain range in front of him began to slowly move and rise!
As it moved, the surrounding mist churned violently, revealing its true form.

That wasn't a hill at all, but the unimaginably enormous body of the Slug Sage!
The raised front half alone is like a real mountain, blocking out the sky and exuding a vast life force.

The slug sage slowly lowered its enormous head, and the eyes at the tips of its gentle tentacles curiously examined the tiny human below.

“However, how should I address you? The ‘Shura’ that Tsunade mentioned… doesn’t seem to be your real name. I sensed a completely new name on the contract scroll.”

Menma looked up at the slug's true form. Even though she was somewhat prepared, she was still slightly surprised when she saw the slug sage's enormous body.

He knew that in front of such intelligent beings who had lived for thousands of years, hiding his real name was meaningless and would only make him appear dishonest.

Menma said loudly, "My real name is Uzumaki Menma. However, I would appreciate it if Lady Slug would keep it a secret for the time being, especially in front of Tsunade and Shizune... Well, probably in a month or two."

"Uzumaki Menma... a child of the Uzumaki clan?" The slug sage's voice carried a hint of understanding and nostalgia, as if it were recalling some contractors from long ago.

"Keep it a secret? Interesting request. Alright, I promise you, I won't mention your real name to Tsunade and Shizune for the next two months."

"Thank you." Menma nodded, and at the same time, he quietly activated "Kagura's Mind's Eye".

An invisible sense of perception spread rapidly like a tide, exploring this strange alien space.

The feedback sent a chill down his spine.

This space is far smaller than the main plane of the ninja world, and the chakra reaction of the Slug Sage's true form almost filled the core area of ​​the entire space. Its size is probably as huge as the legends say, comparable to a mountain range.

Allowing such a massive life form to inhabit such a relatively "small" alien space for thousands of years is like imprisoning a giant dragon in a shallow pond.

Imagine someone living in a room of only ten square meters for thousands of years; the feeling of oppression is unimaginable. "So, Little Mianma..." the slug immortal asked curiously.

A gentle female voice echoed in the space: "You've gone to such lengths to come to Shikkotsu Forest. Is there some important purpose behind it? I've heard Tsunade and Shizune vaguely mention that you've stirred up a huge storm in the ninja world, and your ambition is to unify the entire ninja continent. Do you need my power to help you achieve this grand goal?"

Mianma lightly leaped up and landed on a nearby, curved, rib-like white tree trunk, where he sat down to be more comfortable talking to the Slug Sage.

He shook his head, his tone confident: "I already possess the power to unify the ninja world. What troubles me now is not the process of conquest, but how to govern after conquest, how to break the millennia-old cycle of hatred, and how to establish a new order."

“I am still waiting… waiting for the right time, and for the need to eliminate some larger potential threats.”

"An even greater threat?" the Slug Immortal asked, somewhat puzzled.

Unifying the ninja world is already an unimaginable feat for it. Many of its countless contractors over the past thousand years have also aspired to this goal. What could be greater than this?

Menma raised his head, his gaze piercing through the thick fog as if he could see a more distant starry sky. He slowly said, "Slug Sage, I have come here to ask you about... the history of this planet, the truth behind the Otsutsuki clan's invasion of the ninja world a thousand years ago, and the past of the Sage of Six Paths and his brothers."

"Otsutsuki?!" The Slug Sage's voice showed a noticeable fluctuation for the first time, filled with undisguised surprise.

"You actually know this? And you even know about the Six Paths Sage Brothers? These past events... have been buried for over a thousand years!" It was incredibly surprised.

This shouldn't be the case.

The story of the Otsutsuki clan and the legend of the Sage of Six Paths have been lost to the ninja world for a thousand years.

Even among the three holy lands, only these three old guys who have lived for over a thousand years know about them.

A few ancient ninja clans still retain fragmentary records of their traditions.

However, most of those records are incomplete and have lost their original appearance.

The boy in front of me looks to be no more than a teenager. How could he know all this?
Mianma nodded: "I know a lot of history, but I want to find someone to corroborate it."

He spoke slowly, his voice echoing through the mist: "Back then, Kaguya Otsutsuki and Isshiki Otsutsuki invaded this planet, planted the Divine Tree, and wanted to harvest the chakra fruit. Kaguya ambushed Isshiki, swallowed the fruit alone, and gave birth to the Sage of Six Paths brothers."

He paused, observing the slug's reaction.

The slug's antennae trembled slightly; even it wasn't entirely aware of these details.

“But Isshiki didn’t die. He has been lurking in the ninja world for a thousand years, waiting for his chance to take revenge.” Menma continued, “I have fought with him and learned some of the history. I also know… that the Otsutsuki clan has taken notice of this planet. In the near future, more Otsutsuki will invade.”

Mianma told the history he knew, mixing eight parts truth with two parts falsehood, little by little.

The essence of the Divine Tree, the origin of chakra, the Sage of Six Paths founding Ninjutsu, the conflict between Indra and Ashura, the birth of the Tailed Beasts...

Each recounting deepened the slug's shock.

Some of its history is things it has personally experienced, such as when the Sage of Six Paths visited Shikkotsu Forest to discuss the relationship between natural energy and chakra.

Some things it was unaware of, such as the fact that Otsutsuki Isshiki had not died, and the Otsutsuki family's continued interest in this planet.

When Menma mentioned that "the Otsutsuki clan will come again," Slug seemed to become serious.

It has lived for over a thousand years and witnessed the rise and fall of the ninja world.

But it never imagined that such a huge crisis was hidden behind all of this.

If the Otsutsuki clan, those plunderers from beyond the stars, were to truly return...

If the natural energy of the ninja world is drained by the Divine Tree, then the Shikkotsu Forest, which depends on the ninja world for its existence, will inevitably wither and perish!
"Can the ninja world stop it?" the slug asked softly, more like asking itself.

"We can't stop them." Menma's answer was direct: "In the current ninja world, even if all the countries and ninja villages joined forces, they couldn't stop a complete Otsutsuki squad. If an individual like Isshiki, whose injuries haven't healed, is this difficult to deal with, imagine if it were a full-fledged squad at their peak..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but his meaning was clear.

The slug fell silent.

Its body rose and fell slightly in the swamp, as if it were taking a deep breath.

"So you want to unify the ninja world." Slug understood Menma.

"It's not about power and ambition, but about consolidating strength to deal with the impending disaster."

Mianma nodded: "That's part of the reason."

"What about the other part?" the slug asked curiously.

Mianma did not answer immediately.

He looked around at the pale, lifeless trees, at the desolate swamp, and finally at the slug's enormous body:
"The other part... I want to find a different path, a path that can truly set this planet free."

These words plunged the slug into an even deeper silence.

After an unknown amount of time, the slug slowly opened its mouth and began to fill in the history it knew.

The story of the Sage of Six Paths brothers' interactions with the Toad Sage, and the specific details of the mythical battle that sealed Kaguya.

The information from both corroborates each other, piecing together a more complete picture of historical truth.

Menma then steered the conversation toward the "gods" that exist in legends and forbidden arts, such as the Grim Reaper and the Evil God.

Menma raised his head and asked, "How much do you know about these beings known as 'gods', Slug Sage?"

The slug fairy pondered for a moment, her gentle voice filled with reminiscence: "More than a thousand years ago, there were indeed many beings on this land who were revered as 'gods.' Some of them were natural spirits that had developed consciousness due to the high concentration of natural energy, while others were embodiments of faith formed by the strong collective beliefs and desires of humankind. But ultimately, their existence largely depended on abundant natural energy."

“A thousand years ago, Kaguya Otsutsuki planted the Divine Tree, which was a huge plunder of natural energy, and many weak gods disappeared as a result.”

“And faith is a special kind of power,” the slug explained. “It doesn’t rely entirely on natural energy, but rather on human emotions and will. So even if natural energy dries up, as long as there are believers, these deities will not completely disappear.”

“Those like the Grim Reaper and evil gods, who can maintain their existence by relying on specific rituals and human faith as ‘offerings,’ are already among the best.”

This dialogue, spanning a millennium, lasted for several hours.

Mianma obtained a large number of valuable historical fragments. Although the Slug Immortal had lived in the sacred land for a long time and knew little about specific worldly events, its perspective and understanding of natural energy provided crucial evidence and inspiration for Mianma.

Finally, Menma looked at the Slug Sage's enormous body, which was almost integrated into the entire Shikkotsu Forest space, and asked a question he had been pondering for a long time: "Slug Sage, for thousands of years you have been constantly signing contracts with humans and searching for contractors... Is it because you want to leave this... relatively closed 'home'?"

In Menma's view, while the three holy lands are indeed refuges, being trapped there year after year, isolated from the vast ninja world, is it not also a beautiful cage?

The slug sage's voice carried a hint of melancholy: "Perhaps... that's part of the reason."

"My true form is too enormous. If it were to fully appear in the ninja world, it would cause immense panic and unnecessary trouble. There are always humans who crave power coming to me, either begging or threatening me... It's very troublesome."

For a creature with such a long lifespan, human lifespan is like a fleeting moment, but the frequent disturbances still make it feel exhausted.

Menma nodded thoughtfully, then stroked his chin and made a suggestion: "In the southern part of the Ninja World Continent, near the warm seas and the equator, I plan to develop a vast primeval forest nature reserve that will be off-limits to the general public. If the Slug Sage is interested, perhaps he could establish a new habitat there and go there occasionally to relax."

He recalled the vast rainforest of the Land of Rivers in his memory. Once the Fourth Shinobi World War begins, the first place to be swallowed up will be the Land of Rivers. At that time, the dense primeval rainforest of the Land of Rivers can be developed into a protected area.

The slug fairy slowly shook his head, his voice gentle but carrying a realistic consideration: "Thank you very much for your kindness, Little Mianma."

"However, my true form is simply too large. Even after I made a contract with Tsunade, the size she could summon at once was less than one-tenth of my true form. It's impossible for me to completely leave Shikkotsu Forest and roam freely in the ninja world."

"Can't even one-tenth of them fully communicate with spirits?" Menma repeated in a low voice.

Then, a slow smile appeared on his lips.

"I see... Well then, I'm really interested."

Before he finished speaking, an indescribable surge of immense chakra suddenly erupted from Menma's body!
A dazzling golden chakra surged from his body, instantly forming a magnificent and majestic golden chakra cloak!
In the center of his forehead, a Reincarnation Eye, as pure as gold yet containing the power of a vast star, slowly opened!

The golden light dispelled the surrounding mist and illuminated the entire swamp.

In that light, Mianma's figure appeared like a deity descending to earth.

What shocked the Slug Immortal even more was that on either side of his forehead, a pair of small but solid dragon horns, seemingly made of pure energy, pierced through his skin and slowly grew out!
At this moment, Mianma was suspended in mid-air, radiating a godlike aura and light, completely different from his usual low-key appearance!
The eyes on the slug sage's tentacles suddenly contracted as it sensed this power, similar to that of the Otsutsuki clan, and its mind was shaken like never before!
This human boy... made it seem as if it saw Kaguya Otsutsuki, who had eaten the fruit of the Divine Tree!

[PS: It's almost the end of the month, please give me some monthly votes QAQ (I'm just putting on a bowl)]

(End of this chapter)