Shikkotsu forest (Part 2)

Ryuu's Clones dispersed.

After a few minutes of Ichika convincing Ryuu to do it, both Ichika and Ryuu started their training.

Ryuu had made a shadow clone to train with Ichika as he started climbing.

"Alright, it's time to begin." Ryuu charged chakra to his arms and legs.

'This whole tree has a lot of slime on it, maybe if I try to go where the least is I'll be able to climb it.' Ryuu started running.

He jumped on the tree and latched onto it.

"Woah!" He slipped off and fell, but backflipped onto the floor.

"I don't understand, my chakra control was perfect," Ryuu said as he tried again.

He would try again and again for many hours, and eventually, he got exhausted.

"Any ideas, Nobu?" Nobu took a form and appeared beside Ryuu.

"Let me look at it, loosen the seal a little." Ryuu nodded.

After loosening the seal, Nobu walked over to the tree and stared at it, he sniffed it and exhaled hot steam, which froze the slime.

"Wait a minute, can't you do that the whole way up?" Nobu nodded.

"I'll do something even better."

He walked over to Ryuu and breathed fiery red and black flames into Ryuu's hands, but they didn't hurt him.

"But how? I thought you said I can't use Phoenix Flame anymore." Nobu nodded.

"This is a temporary power-up, I can only give you enough firepower to cover your hands alone. But at some point, it will hurt you, since I'm not good at using my power and you'll need to use your own chakra to be stable."

Ryuu nodded.

"That will do." Nobu vanished in a pile of ash.

"Alright!" Ryuu removed his shirt and jumped high to grab the tree, the slime dried up and Ryuu's hand dug into the tree.

"Awesome." Ryuu climbed the tree with his hands.

'There aren't any places I can relax, maybe if I...' Ryuu closed his eyes and focused.

6 adamantine chains grew from his back.

He stabbed them into the tree, but they didn't stay on for long.

"Fuck! At this rate, I'll fall to my death."

Ryuu tightened his grip on the tree and pushed himself further.

"It's been a day since I started climbing, I can't hold on any longer." Ryuu's hands were quivering.

'Times like this, people are told not to look down but for me, I don't think I should look up, I've barely made it through a quarter of this damn tree and I still can't see an end.'

Ryuu clenched his fist.

"Damn It!" Ryuu punched through the tree.

Ryuu held onto the tree using that hand and used his other hand to unseal a bottle of water.

Ryuu drank the water and continued climbing.

Three weeks passed and Ryuu had reached halfway through the tree.

He was panting and sweating a lot, he would bury his hand into the tree to take a break.

"There has to be a quicker way to climb this tree." Ryuu activated lightning chakra mode.

His lightning chakra mode didn't last a minute and started dimming.

"It's draining my chakra." Ryuu gritted his teeth.

"Nobu, isn't there any way you can refill my chakra?" Nobu didn't respond.

"Nobu?" Nobu didn't speak again.

"I guess I'm alone." Ryuu clenched his fist and swung himself, thrusting with so much power, and then he started climbing again.

"At least now I can see the end."

Above him was a giant forest, and slime dripped from it.

Ryuu entered sage mode.

"At least this way I'll be faster than normal."

Another 3 weeks passed and Ryuu had finally reached the top.

Ryuu widened his eyes after seeing what was ahead of him.

'A monstrous slug laid in front of me, I couldn't believe my eyes.'

The slug turned around and saw Ryuu.

"Ryuu-sama, you're finally here."

"Katsuyu-sama…" Ryuu fainted.

"He's over exhausted, I'll treat him.

Ryuu-sama, I apologize, but the actual test hasn't even begun."

She sent a clone towards Ryuu's body.

"But for now I'll heal you, you don't have energy at all, but at least you'll be happy to hear Ichika-sama is doing well."

After 3 days Ryuu had recovered his chakra, and they covered his wounds in bandages.

"Ugh." Ryuu held his body as he sat up.

"Ryuu-sama, you're finally awake."

Katsuyu was standing beside Ryuu.

"Katsuyu-sama, how long have I been asleep?"

"After you reached the top of the tree, you fainted in exhaustion and slept for 3 days."

Ryuu's eyes widened.

"Three days?!" He tried standing up but quickly regretted it after feeling pain in his chest and hands.

"My hands…" Ryuu's hands were in bandages and his skin was burned.

"Nobu, what happened to my hands?"

Nobu appeared beside Ryuu.

"After you fainted, before I took them back, my flames burned your hands, but luckily I took them back before they spread to your body.

I apologize for my lack of control over my powers." Ryuu stood up.

"Ryuu-sama, you have a real-life Phoenix with you?! How lucky.

However, we must hurry. My real body is waiting for you outside." Ryuu nodded.

"Climb on." Nobu transformed into a giant wolf.

"How did you do that?"

"Ryuu, Phoenix's are shapeshifters, I can transform my body into whatever I want, or whatever you want, you like wolves and so I transformed myself into one."

"That's amazing."

Ryuu climbed on.

Nobu carried him to Katsuyu.

Nobu dropped Ryuu off in front of Katsuyu's real body.

"Ryuu-sama, are you ready to complete the last task?" Ryuu nodded.

"Very well.

You had to climb all the way up here because that task was to prepare your body for what's coming."

"And what is coming?" Katsuyu sent a clone to get something.

A minute later, the clone came back with a wooden mug, and inside the mug was a grey and green slimy drink.

"Ryuu-sama, I'm sure you're wondering what this drink is."

Ryuu nodded.

"We made this concoction out of poisonous fungi that grow on this tree and mixed with slime."

Ryuu's eyes widened.

"Katsuyu-sama, you can't possibly make me drink this!"

"You're right, I can't make you drink this, it's up to you, if your body is strong enough, you'll wake up from the coma, that's why you had to harden your body and immunity system by climbing all the way here with your bare hands.

However, if your body is still not strong enough, you'll die.

The choice to drink this is yours."

Ryuu nodded.

"I understand." Ryuu took the mug.

Nobu tapped Ryuu on the shoulder and then spoke telepathically to him.

"Ryuu, a little confidence boost, don't forget, the prophecy says you can master all senjutsu, the question here isn't if you'll die, the question is when you'll wake up."

"Thanks a lot, Nobu," Ryuu replied sarcastically.

"You're welcome," Nobu replied with a small grin.

"Katsuyu-sama, do I have time to think about this?" Katsuyu nodded.

"Although you have a lot of time, I suggest you decide quickly.

As long as you stay in Shikkotsu forest, you're fine, but if you leave without drinking it, unfortunately, you can never become a slug sage." Ryuu nodded.

"In that case, Nobu, let's go."

Nobu transformed back into a Phoenix.

Ryuu sealed the mug and walked towards the edge.

"Can't you simply teleport to Ichika?"

Ryuu nodded.

"I can, but I won't look as good as when I jump from here and make a cool entry."

Nobu nodded.

Ryuu looked below him and took a deep breath.

"You ready, Nobu?" Nobu nodded.

Ryuu took a step and fell from the tree.

Meanwhile, Ichika had opened her eyes from her sage training.

Ichika had a dark green pigmentation that appeared around her eyes through to her ears and yellow irides.

She also had markings on her forehead that resembled a target.

And beside her was Ryuu's clone, he also had these markings.

"Ichika-chan, he's above us." Ichika nodded and looked above them.

Nobu wrapped himself around Ryuu and they looked like a giant fireball falling from the sky.

Nobu quickly spread his wings and made them land perfectly and safely.

"That was awesome!" Ryuu said as he walked over to Ichika.

"You did it!" Ichika hugged him tightly, giving him no chance to react, but he hugged her back forgetting his body was still aching.

Realizing she hugged him for too long, Ichika quickly let go.

"Sorry for that."

"No, it's fine… I needed this."

"Ahem!" Ryuu turned around and saw Nobu waiting with his clone.

"That's right, I have to make that decision."

"What decision?" Ichika asked.

Ryuu told her about the requirements to become a slug sage.

"What do you think I should do?"

"You drink it and you go into this coma, and possibly miss Kushina-sensei giving birth to her son, but if you don't, you'll never become a sage?"

Ryuu nodded.

"Ultimately, this is your choice, but I think you should drink it." Ryuu nodded.

"What about you, Nobu?" Nobu appeared beside Ryuu again.

"I too think you should drink it.

However, I hope you recover quickly, when I look through your memories and thoughts, I can see what will happen if you're late to his birth."

Ryuu nodded.

"Then it's decided."

Ryuu unsealed the mug.

"It's time for me to do this now."

Ryuu brought the mug closer to his lips.

"Alright, it's time to become a slug sage!"

He chugged it all with nothing spilled.

"I… felt nothing."

As he was putting the mug down, Ryuu felt a sharp pain in his stomach.

"Everything is dizzy, I… can't… breathe…"

"Argh!" Ryuu fell down, hitting the ground.

His skin quickly became pale, and he resembled a rotting corpse.