After Katsuyu's detailed explanation, Sakura roughly understood Shikkotsu Forest's Sage Mode.
So, since the theory is finished, time for practice.
Brought to the edge of the Sage Mode mucus-filled lake for the second time by the Katsuyu Sage, Sakura changed into a swimsuit before entering the water.
Her under-developed chest was wrapped in matte fabric. The one-piece, backless swimsuit traced the lines of her waist and hips. Sunlight filtering through the thick mist fell upon her long, pale legs, showcasing her lovely figure to the fullest.
Sakura lifted her foot, placing it on the ground, her slender toes lightly gripping the sandy, muddy lakeshore.
"Well, actually, you don't have to wear that. It'll just get dissolved by the mucus once you soak anyway."
Katsuyu, watching the girl flaunting her figure, kindly reminded her.
"Katsuyu Sage, have you evolved to the point of abandoning even the natural instinct for beauty?"
Sakura suddenly felt a bit sorry for this Great Sage, having sacrificed to such an extent for power.
It seemed her own purity on the path of pursuing power still fell far short of this Great Sage.
"Don't look at me with those eyes!"
Pricked by Sakura's pitying gaze, the Katsuyu Sage angrily shouted, "I'm considered a stunning beauty with gem-like bones and an icy demeanor in slug aesthetics, you know!"
As if afraid Sakura wouldn't believe it, it straightened up and wriggled.
But the entire Shikkotsu Forest had only it, one slug. Such matters were whatever it claimed, since Sakura, a human, couldn't tell anyway.
"Fine, enough teasing. I need to try Sage Mode training first!"
Sakura waved a hand, dismissing the Katsuyu Sage.
Raising both hands before her chest, she formed the Release seal. The lock of the Yin Seal was opened by her Chakra.
Black, thread-like patterns spread from the diamond-shaped block on her forehead, soon covering her entire body.
"Alright, here I go!!!"
Taking a deep breath, Sakura took a few running steps towards the lake.
Her foot sank into the mud, using the recoil to leap high, performing a diving motion as she plunged into the water.
"Wait, Sakura!"
Katsuyu on the shore let out a sharp shriek. Now it truly regretted only joking around and not quickly explaining the precautions.
Even for normal swimming, you should splash some water first to let your muscles adapt to the temperature.
Not to mention this was a mucus pool filled with Sage Mode energy, practically equivalent to a permanent Sage Mode technique released here by the Katsuyu Sage. Plunging straight in like this would probably reduce her to a fertilized egg in an instant.
'Oh no! I finally encountered such a kindred spirit… she wouldn't just disappear like this, right?'
"Not good, I got to save her quickly!"
With thoughts racing, Katsuyu shook its body. Invisible waves enveloped it, rapidly altering the structure of its worm-like form.
Immediately after, a figure leaped up over the acid mist-covered lake and dove into the water.
"Mmm..."
Under the lake, Sakura, unable to see her surroundings with her eyes, felt herself continuously sinking.
Intense pain filled her entire body. The erosion and destruction by the Sage mucus and the creation and regeneration of the Strength of a Hundred Technique barely maintained a dynamic equilibrium.
But this tug-of-war seemed endless. Once her Chakra was exhausted, she would immediately undergo molecular-level reversion by the surrounding mucus, completely dissolving.
'This was really reckless.'
The muscles exposed by her dissolving skin twitched bitterly. Sakura tried to forcefully part the mucus, swimming upward.
But the moment her raised arm exerted force, it directly crumbled and dissolved in the mucus pool, causing her to sink even faster.
"Sakura-chan!!!"
In her dazed state, Sakura's Observation Haki seemed to sense a humanoid figure rapidly approaching.
Then the surrounding mucus began to pulse with life, lifting Sakura, pushing her towards the brighter, shallower water area.
Splash!
On the mist-veiled lake surface, a water column suddenly erupted.
Two figures were flushed out of the lake by the mucus flow, thrown towards the shore.
Katsuyu landed a step ahead of Sakura, opening its mouth wide to inhale sharply.
Its body swelled, forming a soft cushion, finally catching Sakura, whose tissues and organs were half dissolved.
"Ssss, cough cough cough!"
Lying on Katsuyu, Sakura coughed up some mucus, gasping for breath.
The dissolved parts of her body rapidly regenerated under the Creation Rebirth Technique, gradually restoring her to completeness.
But even after restoration, Sakura's body had shrunk to a certain extent, roughly reverting to the small state of a ten-year-old.
"Hey, hey! Did you just turn into a human earlier?"
Sensing her body was mostly repaired, recalling the blue-haired older sister in the water, Sakura excitedly sat up.
Her head happened to bump into Katsuyu's, who had leaned over to check on her.
"Sakura, you idiot! Is this the time to focus on that?!"
Katsuyu, relieved, shrank slightly, incidentally bouncing Sakura off onto the ground.
Then, wriggling closer, it extended a small tentacle, placing it on its 'hip' as it scolded Sakura vehemently. "Thought you were a sensible child, but you turned out as reckless as Tsunade-chan..."
"Sorry, sorry. I won't do it again."
The inflated feeling from mastering the Strength of a Hundred Technique vanished completely. Sakura scratched her head apologetically.
No wonder Tsunade, a descendant of the Senju, hadn't managed to master Shikkotsu Forest's Sage Mode after all these years.
The Chakra required to sustain such a terrifying tug-of-war until every cell in the body was replaced with resistant ones was simply astronomical.
It seemed she still had a long way to go in Sage Mode training. The Yin Seal needed some improvements to store as much Chakra as possible for emergencies.
While Sakura endured the Katsuyu Sage's nagging, elsewhere in Shikkotsu Forest…
A white-haired figure with a missing arm stepped onto this land. His red coat and the brown Ninja Attire beneath were severely torn.
"Cough cough cough, finally made it. Not in vain, taking all those detours."
In a wretched state, he released his Observation Haki, searching for the girl's aura within Shikkotsu Forest and running towards it.
Soon, he arrived at the shore of a vast lake.
He saw a girl, wearing a similarly 'defeated version' swimsuit... being lectured by a slug.
"Hmm?"
Sakura, who had been looking down, had a flash of rainbow light in her eyes, sensing someone approaching.
She looked up at the man covered in wounds standing in the distance, surprise showing in her eyes.
"Jiraiya-sensei?!" Sakura stood up, holding onto the oversized swimsuit as she ran towards him.
"Yo, Sakura... Haven't seen you for a while. You've become... younger." Jiraiya, looking utterly exhausted, raised a hand in greeting.
Then he could hold on no longer, collapsing to the ground unconscious. Crimson blood spread across the sand, making Sakura and Katsuyu, who had walked up to him, freeze for a moment.
"!!!"
Coming back to her senses, Sakura's eyes reddened with urgency. She turned back and shouted at Katsuyu.
"Hurry! Save him!"