Chapter 23: A Slug's "Kindred Spirit"...
By early September, the buzz from the joint Chunin Exams had mostly settled, though the Academy students were still talking about it.
Furukawa Osamu hadn't used any flashy ninjutsu in the third stage. Hadn't touched his short blade either. Pure taijutsu and shuriken work, and somehow that left a deeper impression on the audience than anything else could have. Speed the eye couldn't follow, a simple downward strike that cracked the arena floor, a single punch that carved out a crater in the earth.
Apart from Uchiha Inabi managing to take two hits before going down, every other opponent that round had stepped onto the field and surrendered almost immediately.
The outdoor exercises had wrapped up the month before. Uchiha Obito had placed in the top ten of the A-class, finally clear of the dead-last label he'd been carrying around for years.
That should have felt good. Instead, Obito had been in a fog for two months straight, and on this particular afternoon he was sitting alone through the lunch break, staring at nothing.
"You alright, Obito?"
"You've had this look on your face ever since the Chunin Exams ended."
Nohara Rin came and sat beside him, tilting her head. The concern on her face snapped him back, and he stumbled through a response.
"Oh, I'm, I'm fine. Thanks, Rin. You're always the only one who checks on me..."
He trailed off and looked down, and then, because he couldn't keep it in anymore, said it quietly.
"Inabi got laughed at by the clan. But he's really strong, he put a lot of people in their place." He paused. "The Sharingan... I'm scared that even after I awaken mine, I still won't catch up."
"Why does the Sharingan lose so easily?"
He remembered Kakashi saying more than once that Furukawa Osamu had exceptional ninjutsu talent. And then at the Chunin Exams, Osamu had handled every opponent with just taijutsu. Obito had thought through how his own match would have gone. He'd probably throw a Grand Fireball, and then get carried out of the arena.
"Why would that bother you?"
Rin straightened up, blinking. "Osamu is our friend. It's not a problem that he beat the Sharingan, is it?"
"In the medical corps, he patiently answers everyone's questions no matter what."
Obito felt his mood sink further. The sourness in his chest made him mutter without thinking.
"It's not just him. Kakashi doesn't seem to care about the Sharingan either."
"He's the one person I really don't want to lose to." He looked at her. "Rin, I..."
His voice got quieter with each word. He had been working up to saying something, and he almost managed it, but Rin hadn't caught the last part. She was already answering, and her expression had gone a little dreamy.
"Kakashi? If he's leading a team, that probably feels really safe."
"Some of the genin who graduated said Kakashi is really strict when he leads. We need to keep working hard."
"Let's both do our best, Obito!"
The sourness got worse. Obito couldn't look away from her expectant face. He sat with it for a long moment, then said, quietly and a little miserable:
"I'll work hard, Rin..."
* * *
For his birthday that year, Furukawa Osamu was called to Tsunade's home again.
Two Shadow Clones were working in the kitchen. The complaints coming from that direction, he chose not to hear. The technique was genuinely strange when used this way.
Shizune, who was helping, kept stifling small laughs. Tsunade-sensei genuinely had no talent for cooking.
Tsunade came out of the back room in casual clothes, carrying an enormous scroll. She caught his expression and looked pleased with herself.
"This is the summoning contract of Shikkotsu Forest, one of the three great sacred lands, one of a kind in the entire ninja world."
"Trace it back far enough and it goes to the era of the Sage of Six Paths. The point is that Katsuyu has been alive for a very long time and has an exceptionally gentle temperament. Nothing like the situation with Ryuchi Cave. Even if the contractor isn't particularly strong, there won't be any issues."
"Her understanding of physical cellular activation is beyond anything a human could achieve. I drew on some of it for my medical ninjutsu."
Tsunade spread the scroll open. The contracts listed were the Senju and Uzumaki clans, and then Tsunade herself.
"Sign with your blood, leave your handprint. Come get me when you're done."
She was already heading back to the kitchen before he could answer. Then a voice from inside:
"Tsunade-sensei, please step back, that's not soy sauce..."
"This is just a clone and it's already giving me attitude. You've been mentally criticizing me this whole time, haven't you. Today I'm proving myself."
"Ah, Tsunade-sensei, there are still eggshells in the bowl..."
"So what, just pick them out."
Shizune's strained voice joined in shortly after. The kitchen got louder. Tsunade laughed.
Furukawa Osamu finished signing, closed the scroll, and set it aside. In everything he had read through the archive so far, he hadn't come across anything about Shikkotsu Forest sage arts. That was a question for later.
When Tsunade came back to the living room she had flour on her face. She took the scroll, smiled, and ran through the seals.
"Watch. Boar, Dog, Rooster, Monkey, Ram."
"Summoning Jutsu!"
A slug the size of a palm appeared on the floor. White body, blue markings down its back. It looked up at Tsunade and spoke in a soft, rounded voice.
"Lady Tsunade. Is this the student you mentioned?"
It wriggled over to Furukawa Osamu, antennae swaying, climbed up to his shoulder, and was just about to say something when it went completely still.
"Sensei, what's happ—"
Before he finished the sentence, Furukawa Osamu vanished with a sound like a crack of pressure, leaving nothing behind. The slug dropped onto the couch. Tsunade stood up. The slug's voice came again, soft and untroubled.
"There's no need to worry, Lady Tsunade. That was the main body performing a reverse summoning."
"Your student has truly exceptional ability."
"Sensei!"
Shizune hurried in from the hallway, calling out with a note of alarm. Tsunade shook her head slowly, something thoughtful settling across her face.
"The main body of Katsuyu..."
* * *
Deep in a dense forest, trees of an almost incomprehensible size grew in every direction. Furukawa Osamu craned his neck back but the darkness above was too complete to make out where they ended.
"This way, Lord Osamu. Please follow me. The main body is not here."
A slug several meters tall came alongside him, waited for him to climb up, and continued as they moved.
"These glowing insects are drawn to the natural energy. The density of it here is what produced this forest. Many of the divided bodies like to live in this area."
"We're heading to an underground space, partly natural, partly expanded over time. The concentration of natural energy there is even higher. The main body has always lived there."
"If you like this place, you're welcome to come back whenever you want."
Furukawa Osamu pulled his gaze away from the insects and said nothing. After some time they reached the base of one of the great trees. The slug's chakra flared, and the scene changed.
The rock walls around him seemed to give off light. Enormous white roots twisted in every direction, warped and countless, filling the underground space. At the far end, a slug of staggering size spoke with a warm and open sound.
"I apologize, Lord Osamu. I haven't maintained this space for quite some time."
"I'm so glad. I've finally found someone of the same kind."
Furukawa Osamu dropped to the ground. The slug in front of him was, by any reasonable estimate, several hundred meters long. The part of its body held upright looked like a building. He heard those warm, delighted words, and something in his expression shifted.
"The same kind?"