"No problem."
Uchiha Katsu interrupted him, his tone calm. "I have my own ability. Dying once is just another experience."
Gamamaru was silent for a moment and ultimately did not try to persuade him again.
Thus, the training began.
Uchiha Katsu's talent was extremely high. Combined with the vast knowledge he had accumulated in his previous life and his deep understanding of chakra, he absorbed the essence of senjutsu at an almost crazy speed.
During his first attempt, when natural energy poured into his body, half of his body instantly turned to stone.
The next moment, Izanagi activated. He stood up unharmed, but there was an extra trace of clarity in his eyes.
Second time, third time, fourth time...
Every petrification, every collapse, every "death" was erased by Izanagi.
And through each resurrection, he quickly figured out the patterns of natural energy's flow and the optimal ratio for merging it with his own chakra.
———
In just a few days, Uchiha Katsu had already grasped the basics of senjutsu.
Faint natural energy began to circulate around his body. Even with every breath, he could sense those originally invisible forces in the air.
Gamamaru watched from the side, and for the first time, a complicated emotion flashed through his cloudy eyes.
This speed... had already far exceeded the ordinary range.
———
[The Ninja World]
A pitch-black spatial rift silently opened, and Arisu's figure stepped out from within.
Arisu stood at a high place, his gaze sweeping indifferently across the entire continent.
The next moment, his perception spread out instantly like an invisible net.
Soon, that familiar yet slightly strange chakra was precisely locked onto.
Arisu raised his brows slightly.
"At... Mount Myoboku?"
Uchiha Katsu was actually at Mount Myoboku.
———
Deep within Mount Myoboku, in a hidden stone chamber, Gamamaru's enormous body was half-lying on a wide stone bed, his shoulder and several other wounds wrapped in thick medicinal herbs that faintly gave off the scent of herbs.
Because Gamamaru had never learned how to make Toad Sage Talismans, the Toad Sage Talisman technique had already been lost.
Gamamaru closed his eyes, his cloudy eyelids trembling slightly as he let out a long sigh.
"I've really disgraced Mount Myoboku..."
He was the dignified Great Toad Sage, yet he had actually been forced into such a state by a human youth.
His senjutsu was nearly exhausted, his elites had suffered considerable casualties, and in the end, he had no choice but to compromise and let the other party enter the library to train.
This humiliation was enough for him to chew over again and again in the years to come.
Just then...
The air suddenly became slightly tense.
Without the slightest warning or any fluctuation of chakra, a figure appeared out of thin air in the center of the stone chamber.
Gamamaru suddenly opened his eyes. His enormous body instinctively shook, and he almost rolled off the stone bed.
"You... who are you?!"
Gamamaru widened his cloudy eyes, his voice filled with obvious shock and wariness.
Arisu stood calmly where he was, his gaze falling peacefully on Gamamaru as he immediately questioned him, "What happened? How did Uchiha Katsu get in?"
Gamamaru looked at the person who had suddenly appeared before him, and his expression instantly fell into extreme shock.
This person...
He seemed to have seen him somewhere before.
That face, those eyes, and even the faintly revealed aura all carried an indescribable sense of familiarity.
But he had clearly lived for so many years, yet no matter how he searched his memories, he could not find a corresponding name.
Seeing him like this, Arisu frowned slightly and asked again in a deep voice, "What happened?"
Gamamaru came back to his senses.
There was no killing intent from the person before him. Instead, there was a kind of lofty pressure, as well as... faint concern.
He realized almost instantly that this person had come to help him.
Without having time to think further about that sense of familiarity, Gamamaru hurriedly reported everything from beginning to end...
From Uchiha Katsu forcing his way through the entrance and defeating Fukasaku and Shima with his strange ability to resurrect infinitely, to personally taking action himself only to be forced into a desperate situation, and then to the other party holding a chakra short blade against his neck and forcing him to take him into the library to learn senjutsu... Every detail was reported without holding anything back.
After Arisu finished listening, less than a breath passed in silence.
Then, looking at Gamamaru's appearance, Arisu could not help but think of that silly Gamamaru disciple from his first life cycle.
Arisu felt a little reluctant. Although the Gamamaru of this life cycle was different from the Gamamaru of his first life cycle, Arisu still had feelings for him.
Then Arisu created a Toad Sage Talisman out of thin air and threw it to Gamamaru.
Arisu had learned how to make Toad Sage Talismans long ago. Back then, it was the White-Browed Toad who had taught him.
Gamamaru widened his eyes and looked at the Toad Sage Talisman in Arisu's hand as if he were looking at a ghost.
"Here. Take it and use it for treatment.", Arisu said indifferently.
Gamamaru received it with both hands as though it were a priceless treasure, tears flashing in his eyes.
How many years had it been? How many years had it been since he had seen a Toad Sage Talisman.
The last person who knew how to make Toad Sage Talismans was the White-Browed Toad.
At this moment, Gamamaru finally remembered where he had seen the person before him. He was just about to speak when...
The next instant...
Arisu's figure instantly disappeared from the stone chamber, as if he had never appeared.
Gamamaru was left alone, stunned on the stone bed, his cloudy eyes filled with shock and complexity.
———
[Deep In The Library]
Uchiha Katsu sat cross-legged on an ancient stone platform, faint natural energy slowly circulating around him.
"This feels so good..... After finishing my senjutsu training, my strength will increase greatly. When that time comes, the ninja world will be within easy reach."
Katsu was completely focused on sensing the intricacies of senjutsu. His breathing was steady, his Sharingan slowly turning as he tried to perfectly merge more natural energy with his own chakra.
Suddenly...
Uchiha Katsu's back turned ice-cold.
That incomparably familiar aura had appeared behind him without warning.
Uchiha Katsu's entire body instantly stiffened.
That aura...
It was too familiar.
So familiar that even with his eyes closed, he could accurately recognize it among hundreds of millions of people.
Katsu suddenly opened his eyes, disbelief flashing through his blood-red pupils.
"This... how is this possible..."
The next moment, Uchiha Katsu almost tremblingly turned his head.
The instant his gaze landed on the figure, his entire body was struck as if by lightning.
Floating in midair was precisely the person he had wanted to see countless times in the Pure Land in his previous life, yet had never dared to truly face...
Arisu.
Uchiha Katsu's breathing instantly stopped.
Katsu instinctively turned his head back again. His face was pale, his lips trembling slightly as he muttered, "I must have gone insane while practicing senjutsu... This is impossible... Absolutely impossible..."
Arisu floated in the air, his gaze calmly falling on the Uchiha Katsu below, who was clearly having a "hard time holding it together."
Arisu raised his brows slightly, and a strange feeling suddenly arose in his heart.
'Why does it feel like...'
'The Uchiha Katsu of this life cycle is a little dumb and silly?'