Immortality begins with the ninjas of Konoha

Excellent results should have been a good thing, but Obito has been unable to muster any energy for the past two months, and he often finds himself spacing out during his lunch break.

"Are you alright, Obito?"

"You've been looking like this ever since the Chunin Exams ended, making people worry."

Rin Nohara came to the boy's side, tilted her head, and asked. Seeing the girl's concerned expression, Obito, who had just come to his senses, stammered in response:

"Ah, I...I'm fine, thank you, Lin. Only you will always care about me..."

As Obito spoke, he lowered his head again, and finally couldn't hold back any longer, so he muttered out his inner turmoil:

"That guy Daohuo was ridiculed by the people in the tribe, but he was really good and taught a lot of people a lesson."

"The Sharingan... I'm afraid that even if I awaken the Sharingan, I still won't be able to catch up with them..."

Why was the Sharingan so easily defeated?

Obito clearly remembered that Kakashi had praised Furukawa Osamu's ninjutsu talent more than once, and as a result, he defeated all his opponents in the Chunin Exams using only taijutsu.

After carefully considering what would happen if he appeared, Obito concluded that he would probably unleash a Fireball Jutsu and then be carried off the field...

Why would someone have such a problem?

"Shu is our comrade, so it's not a big deal that he defeated the Sharingan!"

"In the medical team, Xiu would patiently answer any questions anyone had."

Rin Nohara, straightening up, blinked her big eyes and expressed her feelings. Obito, hearing this, felt even more frustrated and a pang of jealousy, and subconsciously retorted:

"Not only this guy, Kakashi also doesn't seem to care about the Sharingan."

"The only person I don't want to lose to is him... Lin, I..."

His voice trailed off as he spoke. Obito had wanted to muster the courage to confess his feelings, but he couldn't hear what Rin Nohara said after that. When she mentioned Kakashi, she said with a look of longing:

"Kakashi? I'd feel really safe if he were the captain."

"A graduated genin said that Kakashi is very strict when leading the team, so we still need to keep working hard!"

"Let's do our best together, Obito!"

The bitterness in his heart intensified, and Obito couldn't ignore the girl's expectant expression. After holding it in for a long time, he said in a low, aggrieved voice:

"I will try my best, Lin..."

-

On his annual birthday night, Osamu Furukawa was once again summoned to Tsunade's house.

Two shadow clones were cooking in the kitchen, and Furukawa Osamu pretended not to hear their complaints. This ninjutsu was quite amazing.

Shizune, who was helping out, chuckled occasionally; Tsunade-sensei really didn't have any talent for cooking...

Tsunade, dressed in casual clothes, came out carrying a huge scroll. Seeing Furukawa Osamu's surprised look, she proudly showed it off:

"This is the legacy of Shikkotsu Forest, one of the three great holy lands in the ninja world, and it is unique to us all!"

"If we trace back to history, it should have existed since the time of the Sage of Six Paths. In short, the live slug has lived for a very long time and has a very gentle temperament, which is completely different from the situation in Ryuchi Cave."

"Even if the contractor is not strong, there will be no problem."

"She has a level of physical regeneration that surpasses human comprehension, and I have borrowed some of her medical ninjutsu techniques from her."

Tsunade unfurled the scroll, which listed the contractors of the Senju and Uzumaki clans, followed by Tsunade herself.

"Sign your name in blood, leave your fingerprint, and I'll come back when you're done!"

Before Furukawa could respond, Tsunade had already quickly left, and soon sounds came from the kitchen:

"Tsunade-sensei, you should go back. That's just a minor character..."

"He's clearly just an avatar, yet he's so arrogant. As a disciple, he must have secretly been criticizing me! Today, I must prove myself!"

"Um, Tsunade-sensei, the eggshell is still in the bowl..."

"What does it matter? Just pick them out!"

Soon after, a troubled voice appeared, and Tsunade, ever the troublemaker, laughed heartily, making the kitchen even more lively.

After signing his name, Furukawa closed the scroll. So far, the books he had looked through did not contain any information about the Wet Bone Forest Immortal Technique, which still needed to be clarified.

When Tsunade returned to the living room, her face still covered in flour. Seeing Furukawa Osamu hand her the scroll, she smiled and said:

“Look closely, it's Hai-Xu-You-Shen-Wei.”

"Spiritual communication!"

A slug the size of a palm appeared on the floor. It had a white body with blue stripes on its back. Upon seeing Tsunade, it immediately greeted her in a soft, sweet voice:

"Lady Tsunade, is this the disciple you mentioned before?"

It wriggled to Furukawa Osamu's side, shook its tentacles, then climbed onto his shoulder. After asking a question, it was about to greet him when it suddenly stopped moving.

"Teacher, what's going on...?"

Before he could finish speaking, Furukawa Osamu vanished with a "bang." The slug, who had landed on the sofa, saw Tsunade get up and immediately spoke in a soft, sweet voice:

"Don't worry, Lady Tsunade, this is the reverse summoning technique of the main body."

"Your disciple possesses extraordinary talent."

"teacher!"

Shizune rushed into the living room, calling out nervously. Tsunade shook her head, a thoughtful expression on her face, and whispered:

"The true form of the live slug...?"

-

In a dense forest grew indescribably huge trees. Furukawa Osamu tried to look up, but because night had fallen, he could not see the view above.

"Lord Xiu, this way. Please follow me. The main body is not here."

A live slug several meters tall came to Furukawa Osamu's side, gestured to come up on his head, and continued its introduction:

“These glowing insects are attracted by natural energy. The abundant natural energy created this lush forest, and many clones like to live here.”

"We are heading to a naturally formed and expanded underground space where there is a more concentrated natural energy."

"Your original self has always lived there. If you like this place, you can come here anytime."

"..."

Withdrawing his curious gaze, Furukawa Osamu stopped looking at the glowing insect. After a while, he came to a giant tree, where the slug unleashed chakra, and then the scenery before him changed again.

The surrounding rocks seemed to be glowing, and countless twisted, enormous white tree roots emanated from the bottom, where an unusually large slug emitted a joyful sound.

"I'm sorry, Master Xiu, I haven't taken care of this place in a long time."

"I'm so happy! I've finally found someone like me!"

Furukawa Osamu jumped to the ground. The slug in front of him was several hundred meters long, its erect body resembling a tall building. Hearing the cheerful sound, his eyes twitched slightly, and he subconsciously asked:

"similar?"

"..."

Chapter 24 The "Immortal" of the Shikkotsu Forest... (Part 1)

"A thousand years ago, I was just a weak slug."

"I don't know when it started, but I gradually developed 'consciousness' and then vaguely sensed a kind of energy."

"I instinctively absorbed and utilized this power, and after an unknown amount of time, I finally became aware of my own existence."

"My fate was completely changed when this continent welcomed visitors from outer space."

In the hidden, dense forest, the giant trees sway in the wind as if stretching their bodies under the sunlight, and huge slugs share their experiences in soft, sweet voices.

"You mean extraterrestrial beings visited?"

Osamu Furukawa, who had just celebrated his 8th birthday, was visiting Shikkotsu Forest for the second time. Sitting atop a live slug, he asked a question, which the creature kindly replied:

"Yes, this is something I only realized later through continuous learning."

Slowly wriggling through the forest, the slug led Osamu Furukawa on a tour of his habitat:

"Perhaps a battle took place, or perhaps there was some other problem; in any case, the visiting creature was injured."

"The scattered flesh and blood eventually became the nutrients for evolution. Now, it seems that it was not flesh and blood, but a kind of energy that I cannot understand."

There was no boasting; the live slug simply shared its knowledge. After leading Furukawa Osamu to a branch of the giant tree, it suddenly exclaimed in amazement:

"It is this energy that made me who I am today, allowing the weak slug to gradually grow stronger."

"After modifying my body, I can absorb energy from nature more efficiently, and I also met the toad clan later."

"The White Snake, now known as the White Snake Sage, has also mastered the same ability. At that time, we will communicate with each other until this land undergoes another change."

A hint of sadness crept into her soft, sweet voice; the slug seemed to miss that time. Lost in thought, Furukawa asked again:

"The change is those huge tree roots you showed me?"

"It seems you guessed it, Master Xiu. Gamamaru told us that the monster has turned into a giant tree, and the natural energy is weakening."

"At the time, we had no way to deal with it. After many years, the giant tree bore fruit, and the natural energy gradually returned to normal."

"The Goddess of the Rabbit was a visitor from outer space. She took the fruit, but the giant tree remained, and even transformed into a monster at one point."

"The turmoil was eventually quelled, but the natural energy began to weaken again."

The slug's tentacles twitched, and seeing that Furukawa Osamu's face didn't show any confusion, it breathed a sigh of relief.

"Giant trees not only absorb natural energy, in fact, they can absorb all kinds of energy, including life."

"A few years later, the Goddess of the Rabbit had two more children. It was around this time that Gamamaru's suggestion led us down different paths."

As Furukawa Osamu gazed at the forest, he noticed that it differed somewhat from the trees in the Land of Fire; the "essence" energy gathered here seemed to be more concentrated.

The trees were of different species, but Furukawa Osamu couldn't recognize them. Some leaves even had live slugs wriggling and communicating on them, making the whole environment vibrant with life.

"Does the Great Toad Sage want to stop the Giant Tree from plundering the planet's energy?"

Seemingly surprised by Furukawa Osamu's excellent understanding, the slug swayed its body in agreement and continued to add:

"Yes, Gamamaru is worried that one day the Goddess of the Rabbit and the monster will drain all the energy, so he wants to take the initiative."

"However, this idea was not accepted by me and the White Snake, because we chose different paths in utilizing energy."

"Coexisting with nature has always been the philosophy of the toad clan."

"Does the white snake want to evolve and become a dragon?"

"But all I want is to survive, Master Xiu. You should be able to understand that we all have the ability to absorb energy and coexist with natural energy, which is inherently difficult."

Although he felt that the other party had misunderstood something, Furukawa Osamu did not explain, but instead nodded in agreement.

The slug, seemingly pleased to receive a response, continued to calmly recount its ancient "secrets" as it slowly wriggled around:

"In the end, Gamamaru chose to contact the two children, and his prophetic abilities came into play. The Goddess of the Rabbit and the monster disappeared."

"However, tree roots that are scattered throughout the planet have been left behind, and it took me a long time to pinpoint the main locations of these roots."

"That is indeed an unimaginable power. If the giant tree were allowed to absorb it, this planet might really lose all its energy."

"Next is the story of Hagoromo Otsutsuki, who is known as the Sage of Six Paths. He seems to be more powerful than the Goddess of the Rabbit, but he is a advocate of peace."

"His descendants seem to have been at odds with each other over time due to conflicting ideologies and traditions, eventually evolving into the ninjas we know today."

"..."

After a moment of silence, allowing Furukawa to process the information, the slug wriggled off the tree trunk and returned to the ground to continue moving through the forest.

"In my later studies, I learned that the giant tree was called the 'Divine Tree,' the monster was called the 'Ten-Tails,' and the goddess was named Kaguya Otsutsuki."

"Although it's impossible to be sure what happened before, the energy that changed me was most likely 'chakra'."

"As for my Sage Mode, it is not suitable for humans unless someone can perfectly create Sage Chakra within their body, then they can resonate with me."

In the end, the live slug seemed a little embarrassed, because humans, who could perfectly create Sage Chakra, might not need her.

Furukawa Osamu jumped down from the head of the giant slug, and soon another palm-sized slug appeared beside him and climbed onto his shoulder, occasionally waving its antennae, waiting for the question.

"Does 'resonance' refer to the Seal of a Hundred Heroes?"

"While absorbing natural energy to power yourself, have you ever tried compressing energy within your body?"