Yeah, so calling her mommy would be weird now, I should wait for a few years and do it.
Anyways, it was time to act, I can’t just let her know that I knew about that being the Shikkotsu forest summoning contract right?
Maybe I could... she would probably just make some fangirl type meaning out of it, but still, it better to just do some acting.
"...Wait, wait, wait. You’re saying this is the Shikkotsu Forest contract? That, One of the three holy summoning places Shikkotsu Forest?"
I blinked, looking down at the scroll in my hands like it was going to start hissing or glowing or maybe whisper dark secrets into my ears.
Sigh, I should have become an actor in my past life, studying just wasn’t the thing for me...
Tsunade just crossed her arms and tilted her head. "You didn’t have a summoning contract. That is unacceptable.
Even Orochimaru and Jiraiya have got them, Orochimaru has snakes from ryuchi cave, Jiraiya got toads from mount Myoboku.
So, I thought you should also get one, and I wanted us to have matching ones, since, well... we’re a couple."
I stared at her, sighing in my mind...
’Author-san, do some time skip or something, at least make me like 16 or 18... being only 12 is troublesome...’
"And Katsuyu is the best one among them, we can even communicate with each other easily through Katusyu’s clones, and she’s super strong too." Tsunade continued to advertise Katsuyu.
"You know, Tsuna-chan, you don’t need to defend your reasons for doing so, I know that you gave me summoning because I did not have one, and everyone else among our friends did..." I sighed, then continued
"And, of course, I know that your summoning is the best one of all." I chuckled, and raised my hands and started to pinch her cheeks,
Tsunade glared, turned red, but did not stop me, her reaction was the fun which motivated me to continue...
"Well," I said, rolling the scroll back up. "Have you ever been to Shikkotsu forest? How about we both go there together?"
"I have never been there, yes let’s go." she said excitedly.
"Fine. Let’s just tell Tobirama-sensei first." Yeah that was the necessary part, We can’t just disappear without telling anyone, I don’t have that much free will.
But the good part was,
Tobirama didn’t even lift his head when we showed up in his office and his about our plans.
"You’re going to the Shikkotsu Forest?" he asked flatly.
"Yeah, wanted to get to know my new summon, and it would be fun, I was rather bored" I said with a straight face.
He glanced at Tsunade, then back to me, sighed, and waved a hand like he was shooing flies.
"...That’s it?" Tsunade asked.
"You’re both strong, and Inaba here is already a jonin, both of you are masters of medical ninjutsu, so yeah, that’s the only thing left I suppose."
"It’s annoying how you sometimes make that much sense." I sighed at Tobirama’s words
"Disappear before I consider rejecting your request." he said without emotion.
And, complying, we did run off, leaving the Hokage building.
Oh, yeah, another thing, I forgot about that part, I turned and asked Tsunade, "How do we get there anyway?"
"How am I supposed to know that?" she muttered, already biting her thumb.
One of the tiny-sized Katsuyu clones crawled forward from her shoulder.
"Lady Tsunade and Lord Inaba, no need to worry about that part, I can relay the message to the main body, and reverse summon you both to Shikkotsu forest." The slug said in a sweet voice.
"Thanks, Katsuyu, please do that."
"Understood, Lord Inaba, just a moment."
"Ready?" I asked Tsunade.
She shrugged. "As I’ll ever be." Then, she proceeded to hold my hands, gripping tightly.
After a moment of... well nothing...
A burst of smoke, and we both disappeared.
The world twisted, peeled apart like layers of smoke, and reassembled again with a scent—wet earth, musky bark, and a faint tang of medicinal herbs.
We landed gently in Shikkotsu Forest.
It was nothing like I’d ever seen before.
Forget lush green trees or anything like the Fire Country’s usual terrain. This place looked like something from a high fantasy forbidden forest.
Towering trees rose around us—but they weren’t normal trees.
They were bone-white, with rough, ridged bark that looked more like calcified coral than wood.
The ground was soft, damp, and slightly squishy underfoot, almost like standing on soaked moss.
Marshy puddles reflected the strange white canopy overhead, giving the whole forest an eerie glow, there was also some bioluminescence here and there, giving the forest both scary and beautiful vibe.
Tsunade took a deep breath and smiled. "This feels nice..."
I was about to respond when I saw it.
And instantly forgot how to breathe.
The main body of Katsuyu.
Even from this distance, it towered above everything—larger than the Hokage Monument, larger than the entire Academy grounds, hell, it was larger than a small mountain.
Fuck it, this was larger than tailed beasts, the thing was like the size of an entire city block...
Katsuyu was like the massive sea beasts of One Piece world...
I don’t know if Katsuyu is larger or the Ten tails is, but I would wager them to be around the same, leaning a bit towards Katsuyu.
It pulsed slightly with slow movements, as if breathing in tune with the planet itself. Its pale, slimy skin gleamed under the faint light, and each slow shift it made sent minor ripples through the ground.
"...Wow," I muttered.
Tsunade also joined me, "Wow..."
’I’ve seen skyscrapers before. But this thing... this thing...’
I couldn’t even finish the thought.
The sheer size alone made my chakra sense go fuzzy—like staring directly at a mountain at point blank distance.
I swallowed slowly. "Alright. So... do I say hi first or..."
Tsunade gulped. "I think we should wait..."
"...Let’s do that..."
Then the ground shifted.
Like a mini earthquake.
And I realized the giant creature had turned ever so slightly—just enough for its many eyes to glance in our direction.
The air grew heavier.
It wasn’t killing intent or anything malicious.
It was just... attention.
Those massive eyes turning towards you... enough to scare anyone, literally...
’Okay, now this is scary...’
I sighed, encouraged myself, and straightened up, looking forward I muttered to Tsunade,
"Let’s go meet the slug sage."