Konoha Notes.

Chapter 99 Cultivation

Chapter 99 Cultivation

The ruins of Wochao Village are no longer recognizable; large, irregular stones are scattered near the coastline, some submerged in the sea and covered with thick seaweed and shellfish.

There are still some fortifications and building foundations that can be vaguely identified, and occasionally you can see blurry, faded swirling patterns.

The three of them stopped in a relatively flat area.

Tsunade stood still, surveying her surroundings, her gaze sweeping over the ruins.

"If you want to cultivate immortal arts, then do it here. Since the destruction of Whirlpool Village, no outsiders have ever come here."

"No one will disturb us."

Shuji did not respond immediately. Instead, he carefully surveyed all the corners and shadows around him, and only after confirming that there were no signs of life or potential danger did he slowly sit down cross-legged.

The psychic spell flashed across the ground and disappeared in an instant.

A small figure appeared in Shuuji's palm, and a soft, gentle voice said as always: "Shuuji."

"Lord Huoshu, I am preparing to begin my cultivation of immortal arts."

Little Huo's tentacles twitched slightly, sensing the energy flow in the surrounding environment, before turning towards Tsunade.

"Send over a small one, alive." Tsunade's tone was direct and decisive. "I'll have to provide him with chakra support later."

"Understood. With Lady Tsunade's chakra support, the risk will be greatly reduced." The living voice was full of approval, and the body quickly split into a smaller individual, which wriggled and climbed onto Tsunade's shoulder.

Shuji closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and completely calmed the shockwaves from his battle with Tsunade. He focused his mind on his body, and his senses, following the flow of chakra, slowly extended outward, beyond the boundaries of his physical body, touching the vast and primal energy permeating the air, seawater, and rocks—natural energy.

He had long been able to clearly perceive them, but this time, instead of using the wooden clone as a buffer, he directly tried to introduce what was initially just a tiny bit of energy into his body, like a trickle of water.

However, the next moment—

A massive, chaotic torrent of energy seemed to have finally found an outlet, and it surged into his body!

Shuji focused all his energy on refining his chakra, attempting to contend with this violent natural energy.

However, the cells in the Hashirama cell craved energy far more than expected, greedily absorbing all the energy that poured in, like parched land, and in an instant pushed him to the edge of irreversible alienation—the skin on his arms and neck quickly lost moisture, became dry and rough, and showed obvious and terrifying woody texture!

"Troublesome brat—." Tsunade snorted, but her actions were not hesitant at all.

The Yin seal on her forehead instantly dissipated, and at the same time, she continuously channeled chakra into Shuji through the small object on her shoulder.

The energy on Xiu Si's body swelled slightly, emitting a soft glow as it accelerated the absorption of the rampant natural energy within him.

With strong external chakra support, the lignified characteristics were quickly suppressed and faded away.

Shizune held Tun-Tun tightly, anxiously watching over him. She watched as black eyeshadow would sometimes appear around Shuuji's eyes, and at other times his limbs would become woody in parts, with tiny twigs even sprouting from his fingertips in the worst cases. Her heart was in her throat.

The process is cyclical and extremely dangerous. But as time goes on, the frequency of the lignification flashes gradually decreases, and the duration becomes shorter and shorter. The balance of the three energies within Shuji's body is being painstakingly established.

After an unknown amount of time, his condition finally stabilized. The unusual lines on his skin disappeared, and the magical eyeshadow around his eyes became clear and stable.

He slowly opened his eyes.

For the first time, natural energy is introduced, and with external assistance, it initially achieves stable coexistence within the body.

Successful.

Although this is only the first step and the balance remains fragile, it is undoubtedly a crucial start.

Tsunade cut off the chakra supply: "At least my efforts weren't in vain."

"Thank you so much, Lady Tsunade. And Lady Katsumi."

The Hashirama cells' excessive greed for natural energy made the training process more dangerous than expected. This was the first time since arriving in the ninja world that he had felt such profound exhaustion from refining chakra.

"After successfully absorbing natural energy for the first time, subsequent cultivation will gradually become smoother, Xiu Si," Huo Wen added gently.

Shuji thanked him again with deep gratitude.

Tsunade turned and walked to the side, releasing the Yin Seals one by one to replenish her chakra. If she didn't replenish it in time, she would temporarily lose her youthful appearance and even show signs of aging far beyond that of ordinary people. She absolutely did not want anyone to see her like that.

Silently handed her the prepared food.

Just then, Tsunade suddenly felt chakra surging into her previously somewhat empty body.

"This is--

"Tch, this kid actually has this level of chakra."

Feeling the cheers of her body's cells, Tsunade smiled.

From this perspective, it doesn't seem like we're losing too much.

Shuji checked his Sage Mode status—there were no animalistic features, only black markings, and his pupils had changed slightly, but only the outer edges were a bit yellowish.

This is Hashirama Senju's Sage Mode. It's unclear whether it's due to a training method or residual genetic information in Hashirama's cells.

Fortunately, as a perfect Hashirama cell fusion user, he didn't have Hashirama Senju's face on his body; he just resembled Sage Mode.

very good already.

After the first day of training, the three rested on the island.

"Shuji." Tsunade called him by name, which was unusual for her. "What do you know about Uzushio Village?"

"This is a country founded by the Uzumaki clan. They were once allies of Konoha and distant relatives of the Senju clan," Shuji replied. "The whirlpool markings on the Jonin uniforms are a symbol of the friendship between the two sides."

"Yes, my grandmother was also from Uzushio Village. The Uzumaki clan was indeed powerful." Princess Senju looked at the remaining vortex mark, her tone becoming deep. "Do you know why they perished?"

Please advise me.

Tsunade said calmly, "Because it was untimely. Even with Konoha as an ally, we still couldn't survive the Shinobi World War."

"Konoha is constantly under siege, but it doesn't actually take too long to support the Land of Whirlpools, which is not far from the Land of Fire."

"Even if we can't spare any troops right away, as long as Uzushio Village can hold out for two or three days, Konoha will always be able to send reinforcements."

"But the village was still destroyed, and this powerful nation vanished just like that."

Her gaze swept over the broken swirling patterns, her voice carrying an almost imperceptible sigh.

"Even with the skills they possessed, in the end, they couldn't even hold out for a few days."

"It was then that I truly understood why even my great-uncle Tobirama agreed to my grandfather's decision to disband the clan."

"A single ninja clan, without power at my grandfather's level, could not have survived the brutal ninja village wars."

Shuji. "