Sakura was shattered… literally shattered into pieces.
The Katsuyu Sage dragged its soft body to the scene. After extinguishing the lightning imbued with Senjutsu Chakra, it found Sakura, split into hundreds of pieces, still twitching in the center of the charred crater.
Katsuyu: "..."
With a meaningful glance at Jiraiya nearby, the Katsuyu Sage roughly guessed what the two had done.
'You toads from Mount Myoboku always manage to come up with something new.'
'Look at Sakura. What a good child she was before, diligent and down-to-earth in her training every day.'
'How did things start changing as soon as you toads showed up?! It must be your Mount Myoboku's bad seed!'
Jiraiya obediently hid to the side, not daring to make any eye contact with the Katsuyu Sage.
"You two!!! How dare you secretly do something so dangerous!" Katsuyu's gentle voice was unusually stern.
It opened its mouth, sucking Sakura's fragments off the ground like a vacuum cleaner.
"Sakura is one thing… she's a beginner and doesn't know the risks. But you, Jiraiya-chan, are a senior in Sage Mode training. How could you lead her into such mischief?!"
"Sorry... Katsuyu Sage." Jiraiya apologized straightforwardly.
Recalling the image of the girl clad in emerald-green Chakra Robes, lightning running rampant over her body, he took several deep breaths to calm his wildly beating heart.
That was a thunderstorm imbued with Senjutsu Chakra!
If he hadn't summoned toad stomach wall to block it at the critical moment, and if Sakura hadn't disintegrated for unknown reasons, he'd probably be reuniting with Hiruzen in the Pure Land by now.
But then again, this incident was indeed due to his lack of caution towards Natural Energy. So Jiraiya had no intention of denying his fault in apologizing.
"Sigh!" Katsuyu sighed, no longer scolding Jiraiya.
It wriggled forward, picking up Sakura's pieces still crackling with Senjutsu Lightning, putting them in its mouth to chew.
Under the fusion of Senjutsu Chakra, this slug clone directly merged into the girl's body, helping her reconcile the rejection reaction caused by the conflict between Senjutsu Chakra and Sage cells.
It extracted the excess Natural Energy from her body, finally reassembling Sakura's form.
"Whoa!" Sakura, whose perspective and consciousness had been split into hundreds of fragments, finally unified, able to control her body again. "What just happened?"
"You entered a Pseudo-Sage Mode and unconsciously used Katsuyu Division."
Sakura's arm wriggled. A large amount of Natural Energy seeped from beneath her skin, eventually coalescing into the Katsuyu Sage's head.
"No wonder. For a moment, it felt like my consciousness split into hundreds of pieces..." Sakura raised her arm, opening and closing her fingers, finally relieved.
"However, you also turned misfortune into fortune. You successfully pioneered a Pseudo-Sage Mode for Shikkotsu Forest, a state between perfect Sage Mode and the normal state. On behalf of future Shikkotsu Forest's practitioners, I thank you."
More and more Natural Energy overflowed from Sakura, slowly forming into Katsuyu's shape on the ground. Its voice serious, it bowed to Sakura.
During their brief fusion earlier, the Katsuyu Sage had already used its Celestial Evolution Technique to back up Sakura's data onto itself.
If future Shikkotsu Forest Sage Mode's practitioners were unwilling to face the lake's dissolution trial for perfect Sage transformation, they could enter the Pseudo-Sage Mode Sakura accidentally created by fusing with Katsuyu.
"Hehe, as expected of me." Sakura proudly placed her hands on her hips.
"But!" Katsuyu's tone shifted. "I'll have a good talk with you later about misusing Sage Mode. Be prepared!"
"Huh?" The girl's triumphant expression froze on her face, visibly wilting.
Ignoring the girl's antics, Katsuyu turned its gaze to Jiraiya. "Hey, Mount Myoboku's!"
"Here, what are your instructions?" Jiraiya immediately stood straight.
"Shikkotsu Forest has taken your secret technique this time. That won't be a problem, right?" Katsuyu's voice was soft, its tone calm.
Yet this gentle voice carried an undeniable force.
Cold sweat dripped down Jiraiya's back. He pounded his chest in assurance. "Don't worry, I'm also responsible for this. I'll explain it to Fukasaku-sama and the Great Toad Sage."
"Mhm, good." Katsuyu turned back, crawling to Sakura's side. "Stop pretending. Hurry and try out your new Sage Mode!"
Hearing Katsuyu's words, Sakura immediately perked up.
Clumsily scrambling up from the ground, she scurried outside the crater.
As she ran, she turned back to urge, "Hurry up, Katsuyu!"
Katsuyu shook its head helplessly and followed.
As Sakura pressed her palms together, closing her eyes to sense natural energy, Katsuyu straightened and merged into her body.
The moment Natural Energy and Chakra blended, the miracle of life's evolution and transformation was born within Sakura's body.
Countless strands of emerald Senjutsu Chakra intertwined, weaving a burning, rising emerald robe.
Sparkling emerald particles danced with the two ribbons on the robe, surrounding the girl.
As the raging Natural Energy gradually calmed, the purple diamond on Sakura's forehead bloomed, replaced by an emerald cherry blossom pattern.
A silver-white long horn grew from her forehead. A slightly fierce silver mask hung from the horn, half-concealing the girl's increasingly ethereal face.
"This is... Sage Mode..."
With a single step, Sakura was already high in the air.
With Katsuyu helping her connect and purify Natural Energy, she felt connected to the entire world.
"Perfect timing. Use your Wood Release to help repair Shikkotsu Forest's environment!"
The Katsuyu Sage, co-piloting the Haruno Sakura model, tapped the girl's consciousness within, reminding her.
"Easy!"
The girl raised a slender finger. A suddenly appearing rose was held in her hand.
Her vermilion lips parted slightly, taking the flower stem and inhaling deeply, then exhaling white mist as if puffing smoke.
A line of silver-white fell from her mouth to the ground. Upon impact, dazzling light erupted.
Clusters of pure white roses bloomed from the scorched earth. An infinite pale sea of flowers suddenly erupted. Dreamlike petals flew, instantly mending the scorch marks left by the lightning on the earth.
A gentle breeze blew, swaying the sea of flowers, releasing a refreshing, heart-soothing fragrance.
A single green leaf from the surrounding forest, blown by the wind, drifted into the flower sea. The lingering life force on it was instantly plundered, buried in the earth.
The leaf instantly turned withered yellow, decayed, and finally crumbled into dust.
"Whoa, whoa, that technique is too terrifying!"
Jiraiya, sensing the power of decay hidden within, paled.
Immediately covering his nose, he retreated, putting distance between himself and the flower sea.
"Mmm, not bad. So this is your Senjutsu."
Katsuyu inside Sakura's body looked at the restored Shikkotsu Forest, emitting a satisfied sound. "Give it a name. As the first derivative technique of the Celestial Evolution Technique."
The girl stroked her chin, chuckling lightly.
"Then let's call it… Celestial Evolution Technique: Decay!"