Ninja World: I, Kisame Hoshigaki, am no longer human!

To use an analogy, the lifespans of two people are like the water in a reservoir, and the activated cells are like a water pipe that continuously drains the water from the reservoir, causing the two people to lose their lifespans and die quickly.

The solution to this problem is to transform consciousness into a flow-limiting valve and install it on the water pipe.

Normally it's a trickle, but when it's time to use Sage Mode in battle, it opens the valve wide, allowing the flow to reach its maximum in an instant.

It can be seen that the Shikkotsu Forest Sage Technique is much more difficult to master than that of Mount Myōboku and Ryūchi Cave, but its power is also the greatest.

Once mastered, the user can enter Sage Mode extremely quickly, and their Sage Chakra is amplified several times or even ten times that of the Sage Techniques of Mount Myōboku and Ryūchi Cave.

After all, it's a magical technique performed at the cost of accelerating cell division and burning through one's lifespan.

"Lady Tsunade, Lady Kisame, before you enter this hot spring, I must give you one last warning."

The slug raised a pair of antennae, and its usually gentle voice became serious. "The cultivation of immortal arts in the Wet Bone Forest cannot be stopped once it begins, because the natural activation of cells is like cancer, which cannot be cured. It will accompany you for the rest of your life until the end of your life."

"I understand, Slug Sage."

Kisame nodded, his gaze intense.

In his view, the Sage Mode of Shikkotsu Forest was the most powerful force in the ninja world at that time. To obtain this power, one would naturally have to pay a price, even if that price was his lifespan.

Moreover, Kisame believed that there's always a way out, and that every problem has a solution.

After obtaining the immortal arts, he will try to use this power to evolve himself again and eventually achieve a leap in his life level.

By then, the side effects of natural cell activation may disappear on their own.

"I've made up my mind."

After a moment of silence, Tsunade spoke solemnly.

Back then, her grandfather, Hashirama Senju, fought his nemesis, Madara Uchiha, for a day and a night. Although he ultimately won, Hashirama fell seriously ill after that battle and soon passed away.

For many years, Tsunade had been puzzled: how could her grandfather, who was immune to all diseases, possibly die from a serious illness? You have to understand, even if he suffered the most severe injuries, he could heal himself without any hand seals; he was a god-like being.

Now she finally understood that it was because of the magic of the Wet Bone Forest.

Hashirama Senju fought for many years, dominating the entire ninja world. However, in the process, he overtaxed his body by frequently using Sage Mode.

After his battle with Madara, Hashirama finally lost his strength and could no longer control the natural activation of the cells in his body, so this god of ninjas soon fell.

After realizing the true cause of her grandfather's death, Tsunade developed an uncontrollable and intense obsession.

She wanted to personally retrace the steps taken by Hashirama Senju, learn the Sage Mode of Shikkotsu Forest, and find a solution to the side effects of natural cell activation through her own power.

If she can do this, Hashirama Senju, if he knew in the afterlife, would surely be proud of his beloved granddaughter.

"Compared to the air of Mount Myōboku and the soil of Ryūchi Cave, the concentration of natural energy in this hot spring is much higher, making it easy to lose control during cultivation. However, please rest assured, my clone will be there to assist you and try to prevent any accidents from happening."

As the slug spoke, its three-meter-tall body split into dozens of smaller slugs, which then divided into two groups and came to the two of them.

Tsunade frowned and glanced at Kisame, then pointed to the hot spring and said:

"How about we split this pool in half, you on the left and me on the right? That way we won't bother each other, okay?"

"no problem."

Kisame readily agreed and immediately began taking off his outer clothes and shoes. Soon, he was only wearing shorts and swaggered towards the hot spring.

"Humph."

Tsunade watched Kisame's retreating figure, snorted softly, and turned to walk towards the other side of the hot spring.

She stood on the shore, unbuttoned her coat, and took off the green trench coat with the word "gamble" printed on the back, revealing a white swimsuit that she had changed into at some point.

The style is a bit conservative, but given Tsunade's figure, it's definitely not suitable for her to wear bolder styles.

She carefully entered the hot spring. Her snow-white skin became even smoother and more slippery as it came into contact with the warm water, and it looked incredibly alluring against the backdrop of the rising steam.

Any normal man would be unable to resist the surge of anger and blood upon seeing this scene.

Tsunade had worried that Kisame might be spying on her, but when she glanced in his direction, she realized he hadn't even looked at her.

Instead, it smiled broadly and interacted affectionately with a group of slugs.

谷冲

Clearly, in Kisame's eyes, the slug was far more attractive than Tsunade in her swimsuit soaking in the hot spring.

abnormal.

She cursed inwardly, then ignored Kisame and prepared to begin her cultivation immediately.

"Huh? Why can't I feel any change? It's just like soaking in a regular hot spring."

Soon, she looked at the little slug beside her with a puzzled expression and asked.

"Lady Tsunade, that's because you haven't sensed the existence of natural energy yet. Before absorbing natural energy, you must first enter a state of absolute stillness, so let's start by calming down."

The little slug patiently offered the suggestion.

Guided by it, Tsunade tried to stretch her limbs. Because the spring water was very dense, she quickly floated to the surface like a piece of driftwood.

Then, she closed her eyes, lay sprawled on the water, and entered a deep state of tranquility, enveloped by the warm spring water.

On the other hand, Kisame entered a training state earlier than Tsunade.

In terms of temperament, Kisame, although only a teenager, is a second-generation human and does not have the lively and active habits of a teenager. Instead, he is deep and reserved and has an incredible and powerful focus.

On the contrary, Tsunade, who is twenty years older than Kisame, is physically mature, but sometimes not so mature mentally. She is impatient and easily angered, and went through a long period of depression, indulging in alcoholism and gambling. Therefore, her self-control and concentration are much weaker than Kisame's.

Simply put, Tsunade finds it difficult to eliminate all distracting thoughts and completely calm her mind to enter a state of perfect tranquility.

Therefore, although she really didn't want to lose to Kisame in the cultivation of immortal arts, she still fell behind right from the start.

An hour later.

Kisame floated quietly in the hot spring, motionless, as if he had truly turned into a piece of wood, gently swaying back and forth with the flow of the spring water beneath him.

At that moment, he reached a state of selflessness, his entire spirit and body merging into the hot spring, becoming a part of heaven and earth.

In this state of mind, he finally sensed the existence of natural energy.

Kisame subconsciously raised his hands, clasped them together, and tried to absorb the surrounding natural energy.

In an instant, they swarmed towards him from all directions, like a swarm of sharks that had smelled blood, and poured into his body.

The natural activation of the cells has begun.

Kisame knew that from this moment on, there was no turning back.

But he felt no hesitation or fear whatsoever. Instead, his heart was as firm as iron, and he fearlessly accepted the erosion of natural energy, allowing it to transform his body.

The slugs around Kisame also crawled onto his body, attaching themselves to his shoulders, chest muscles, abdomen, thighs, and other parts of his body.

When cultivating immortal arts, one must remain focused throughout the entire process. If one becomes distracted, there is a risk of being devoured by natural energy.

The task of these little slugs is to constantly sense Kisame's physical condition and help him absorb excess natural energy when he encounters danger due to distraction.

One minute, five minutes, ten minutes.

Before they knew it, another hour had passed. Kisame's body showed no abnormalities, and his absorption of natural energy continued steadily.

Even the Slug Immortal was surprised by this.

Kisame's talent is even better than I imagined, even surpassing that of Hashirama Senju back then.

However, Kisame is, after all, human, and humans have their limits.

At one point, after maintaining his focus for several hours, Kisame was finally distracted and broke free from his state of absolute stillness.

The next second, a thrilling scene unfolded.

gurgling.

The spring water beneath Kisame suddenly began to bubble violently, as if the water were boiling.

His hair grew at a visible rate, quickly turning from short hair into shoulder-length hair, and showed no signs of stopping.

Even more terrifying, Kisame's right ear suddenly split open and a third ear grew out; a sixth finger also grew out next to his left thumb.

This is how natural energy consumes humans.

If one fails in the process of practicing the Myoboku Mountain Sage Techniques, they will grow frog eyes, nose, and webbed feet, until finally their entire body turns into a frog statue.

In the Wet Bone Forest, the risk of cultivating immortal arts is that it causes the cell division in one's body to completely spiral out of control, splitting into a large number of limbs and organs in a short period of time, ultimately turning the loser into a deformed flesh and blood monster.

Kisame's situation was about to worsen.

The little slugs that were clinging to him quickly sprang into action, absorbing the rampant natural energy within his body.

Soon after, Kisame's appearance returned to normal, and he slowly opened his eyes.

"Thank you, live slugs." He smiled and expressed his gratitude to the little slugs.

"Lord Kisame, you are already very tired. Let's stop today's training for now. Don't push yourself too hard."

The little slug offered a kind suggestion.

"Yes, that makes sense. Haste makes waste."

Kisame nodded, not trying to be stubborn, but gladly accepting the slug's suggestion.

So he swam ashore and got dressed.

Only then did Kisame have a chance to look at the other side of the hot spring, curious about Tsunade's training progress.

Unexpectedly, after most of the day had passed, she still hadn't been able to achieve a state of mental tranquility.

"Damn it, I failed again."

Tsunade opened her eyes with a look of frustration. Just now, she was almost able to sense the presence of natural energy, but unfortunately, her mind went blank at the last moment.

Just as she was feeling troubled, she discovered that Kisame had finished his first day of training and was watching her from the shore.

Kisame smiled at Tsunade, shook his head, and then turned and walked into his luxurious wooden house.

"This guy looked down on me again."

Tsunade gritted her teeth and slammed her fist into the water.

However, perhaps provoked by Kisame, she quickly calmed down after venting her negative emotions, closed her eyes again, and immersed herself in cultivation.

Finally, Kung Fu pays off.

After numerous attempts, Tsunade successfully sensed the existence of natural energy and eagerly began to absorb it.

She was determined to catch up with Kisame's progress.