#shikkotsu

[shannaro-sakura]

Incredible artwork! The power she is radiating… Breathtaking.

art by Jope (@.jopedARTh)

[primnroses]

— An insight about summons: Katsuyu, the slug of the Shikkotsu Forest

The information presented in this post has been checked and revised. My aim is not to hate or to discredit any of the characters mentioned. Please read about me for further information.

This post will contain evidence in picture format directly from the manga Naruto (1999 - 2014) created by Masashi Kishimoto and published by Shueisha in 1999. I will also use information from the official databooks of Naruto.

This informative post will analyze the concept of animal summons in the world of Naruto and highlight Katsuyu’s unique abilities throughout the series providing evidence. This meta will also mention other animal summons from the Three-Way Deadlock. I will not use information present in the novels because there is none.

This meta is crossposted in AO3.

I give my permission to use or share this thread with informative purposes as long as you credit me.

I do not support the anime or the work of Studio Pierrot in regards to Naruto because I consider it over exaggerated and beyond biased. Furthermore, these fillers include some actions that these characters are unable to do in the canon according to official sources and they also generate unnecessary debate.

Please, take this into consideration.

Katsuyu, also known as Katsuyu of the Shikkotsu Forest, is a giant slug from the Shikkotsu Forest, a secret and legendary place from the Three Unexplored Sage Regions (仙人三大秘境, Sennin Sandai Hikyō). 

The Three Sage Unexplored Regions according to the Fourth databook.

She is the personal summon of the Fifth Hokage Tsunade, and later, her disciple Sakura Haruno; both women are probably the only people in the world that have been able to summon the slug.

Katsuyu possesses one of the most unique qualities and abilities among animal summons, most of which are still a mystery within the series. 

— WHAT IS A SUMMON AND ANIMAL SUMMONS?

A summon is the ability to invoke objects, weapons, people or animals. This action is carried out through a Summoning Technique (口寄せの術­, Kuchiyose no Jutsu), a special hand seal based jutsu to transport any element to the user’s location for a limited amount of time. 

A Summoning Technique is classified as a space-time ninjutsu and a C-Rank (chūnin level) difficulty jutsu. 

Summoning Technique according to the First databook.

Usually, in order to summon objects or weapons, users apply scrolls or special sealing techniques to contain the desired material. This is the case of Tenten, for example; she uses scrolls to seal multiple kunai, shuriken and any weapon of her choice, granting her the title of “Master of space-time ninjutsu”.

However, for animals and living creatures, this is different.

An animal summon is a technique that adds to the ninja’s ninjutsu repertoire, as a shinobi can take advantage of the animal’s abilities for battle or other purposes.

Before any animal can be summoned, the animal and the user must sign a contract with the species or the specific creature using their blood. In order to summon said animal, the user applies some of their blood, normally by biting their fingers, and channels their chakra to their hands thus invoking a sealing pattern that transports their summon to that same location. The amount of chakra used to summon the creatures determines the size and number of summons. 

The summoning contract of the Toads of Mount Myōboku, Naruto chapter 92.

In the case of the Three Unexplored Sage Regions, the summoning contracts vary. 

Naruto Uzumaki Jiraiya and Minato Namikaze sealed a contract with the toads of Mount Myōboku using their own blood, so when they perform a Summoning Technique, any available toad can offer their services to them. 

Orochimaru has his contract with the snakes of the Ryūchi Cave tattooed on his arms. The methods his disciple Sasuke Uchiha uses to summon snakes from the same location is unknown. 

Tsunade and Sakura Haruno do not have a physical contract, or at least it has never been revealed. However, by reading the manga, the contract with the Shikkotsu Forest might be through their Strength of a Hundred Seal, as it is only possible to summon Katsuyu if the summoner possesses this seal.

It is unknown if there is a blood contract involved, but it is likely that there is since the method of summoning is blood like his companions. 

Orochimaru's contract Naruto chapters 165 and 344.

— KATSUYU AND HER ABILITIES, WHAT MAKES HER SPECIAL?

Katsuyu is a very intriguing and interesting animal and the only one whose past has never been explored.

Summon’s habitats and the Three Unexplored Sage Regions are home to a single species of animals. 

The Ryūchi Cave is home to snakes such as the White Snake, Manda or Aoda, and Mount Myōboku is home to toads like Gamakichi, Gamamaru or Gamabunta.

But, unlike those, Katsuyu is the only organism living in the Shikkotsu Forest. She does not have any other slug companions. 

Following the same scheme as the rest of summons, Katsuyu resembles a real slug. 

She is white or ivory in color, with three turquoise stripes running on her head and sides that start on her head and end in her tail. 

One special feature about her appearance is that her true size has never been seen. Using one summoner, Katsuyu is bigger than the Hokage Residence, and using two summoners, Katsuyu is the size of the roots of the God Tree, which is just one tenth of her real size according to Tsunade. 

Katsuyu's size summoned by one person or two, Naruto chapters 422 and 650.

Her size changes depending on the amount of chakra used to summon her. She can appear as a small slug used to gather intel or help in supplementary tasks, or she can appear as a giant creature using one or two summoners. 

Small Katsuyu summoned to assist Headquarters Naruto chapter 561.

Her age is a true mystery. It is known that toads and snakes live many years and have descendants, such as Gamabunta and Gamakichi’s father and son relationship, or Aoda having great grandchildren; or certain summons retiring when they reach an age while their companions or children replace them. 

The Three Unexplored Sage Regions are legendary places known for many generations. 

Katsuyu, on the other hand, is the only inhabitant of the Shikkotsu Forest. She does not have descendants or companions in her home habitat. Her age or her true origins are a mystery. The first shinobi to discover her existence or previous masters before Sakura Haruno and Tsunade are also unknown.

The first and most important thing to point out is that Katsuyu can only be summoned by users of the Strength of a Hundred Seal. This seal is an extremely difficult jutsu to learn and achieve, so there have only been two summoners in history.

The reason for this is that Katsuyu is such an enormous animal that it requires an immense amount of chakra to summon, and that chakra is stored inside the seal. 

Tsunade and her disciple Sakura Haruno are the only beings able to summon Katsuyu Naruto chapter 650.

The primary skill Katsuyu has is the ability to divide herself in many fragments, hundreds or thousands of them in fact. This technique is called Slug Great Division (蛞蝓大分裂­, Katsuyu Daibunretsu) and it can be used for supplementary purposes, as well for battle. 

In a fight, thanks to her rapid ability to transform her body and divide herself, she can separate herself to nullify attacks by avoiding any strike at incredible speeds. She can do this as many times as she wants without exhaustion. Each of these fragments are also quite fast, able to throw themselves in front of people to shield them from danger.

Manda trapping Katsuyu but she escapes Naruto chapter 170 and Second databook.

She also has the ability to spit a sticky and elastic acid, a jutsu called Tongue Tooth Sticky Acid able to melt stones and vaporize everything it touches (probably senjutsu although never truly revealed). It is also very difficult to dodge due to its unpredictable nature. 

Slug acid, Naruto chapter 170 and Second databook.

Unlike Shadow Clones or other regular clones that are independent from each other and are not interconnected, what Katsuyu does is divide her own body in equal parts, so she is in as many places as she wants at once. She is one entity divided into many other independent and interconnected parts while remaining one single body. Each of her divisions behaves like their own person, so she can complete different tasks while also knowing what her other parts are doing in other places.

Being the summon of medical ninjas, Sakura Haruno and Tsunade take advantage of Katsuyu’s ability to divide herself in order to channel their healing chakra and treat as many people as necessary. 

With a technique called Immense Network Healing (蛞蝓・網療治夥­, Katsuyu: Mōryōjika), Katsuyu collects chakra from the Strength of a Hundred Seal to transform it into healing chakra and treat the injured. 

Using the Great Division and Immense Network Healing in tandem, Katsuyu has the ability to heal and protect everyone she makes contact with. Healing any kind of injury or absorbing people inside her in order to shield them from attacks or sudden explosions is her specialty. Her body is able to resist explosions and even Kurama's corrosive chakra.

Katsuyu divides her body and heals the Alliance Naruto chapter 634 and Fourth databook.

In fact, Katsuyu's power is not only limited to healing wounds, but regeneration too. One of her most impressive feats is the ability to maintain a patient in suspended animation, keeping them alive for as long as she possesses chakra from the seal in order to ensure their survival. 

Katsuyu was able to keep Tsunade alive despite having her body bisected, which on normal circumstances, would mean instant death. However, the slug's regenerative abilities allowed Tsunade to remain alive until she obtained a chakra boost from a third party. This fact is known as Tsunade does not really present the unique Uzumaki Clan ability to keep themselves alive for as long as possible.

Katsuyu kept Tsunade alive despite having her body cut in half, an impressive feat Naruto chapter 635.

This jutsu also acts as a sensing technique due to Katsuyu being connected to the chakra of the injured in order to heal them and her master. Katsuyu is able to relay Kakashi Hatake and Chōza Akimichi’s conditions to Tsunade through their connection, as the slug is connected to the Strength of a Hundred Seal; as well as being able to tell Sakura that Kurama’s chakra was still connected to the Allied Shinobi Forces.

Katsuyu can transmit the chakra levels and the condition of everyone she is in contact with Naruto chapter 427.

This way, Katsuyu was able to protect Konoha’s citizens from Pain’s Shinra Tensei and even survive Kurama’s toxic chakra. 

Able to be in many places at once, her ability to cover infinite distances while her parts remain interconnected allows her to fulfill communication and intel gathering roles. Being in many places and her clones being part of the same body, Katsuyu relays information to one person or multiple people, something she could do by attaching herself to someone’s shoulder and speaking. 

It was Katsuyu the one giving Naruto Uzumaki information about Pain and also told him that Nagato had revived Konoha citizens through the clones that stayed in the village, kept every villager informed about the situation and followed evacuation protocols when Naruto transformed into six tails, and told Tsunade everything that was happening in the battlefield thanks to having another body summoned by Sakura on the other side of the country, and vice versa.

Sakura instructing Katsuyu to evacuate the area through the multiple clones Naruto chapter 438.

This communication ability can cover immense ground at once because the communication is instant. It works similar to regular telepathy, but instead of hearing the other person's voice in their head, people are talking to Katsuyu, and Katsuyu in turn is actually talking to herself through her clones.

Katsuyu's clones on different parts of the Land of Lightning tell Tsunade and Sakura the events that have taken place on both ends Naruto chapters 635 and 647.

An animal summon can only perform at the top of their abilities for a limited amount of time, what is known as the summoning time limit. 

It is unknown exactly how long the invocation lasts, or whether it varies between animals. A summon will help its master before the jutsu runs out or the summon has exhausted its power. 

Gamakichi mentions the summoning time limit Naruto chapter 642.

However, for Katsuyu, this is not the case. 

The slug can be summoned for unlimited periods of time and several times a day, as seen when Katsuyu spent the Fourth Shinobi World War by Tsunade’s side in the Headquarters, primarily helping Shikaku Nara and participating in the planification of the troops, and later with the Five Kage against Madara and Sakura with the Allied Shinobi Forces.

This could be explained by the symbiotic bond Sakura and Tsunade share with Katsuyu through the Strength of a Hundred Seal. 

The seal stores unimaginable quantities of chakra inside, which are used by Katsuyu to perform healing on people. As long as Katsuyu has been transmitted every drop of chakra in the seal, she will continue her work, as seen when Tsunade gave the slug all the chakra inside her Byakugou to the point it disappeared but Katsuyu physically remained in Konoha until her services were no longer needed.

Tsunade's Byakugou disappears but Katsuyu still serves her purpose as a summon to evacuate Naruto chapter 430.

Still, like any other summon, Katsuyu can be exhausted from battle and disappear. When the Ten Tails absorbed the chakra of every shinobi in the battlefield as the Kurama Chakra Cloak, every Katsuyu fragment attached to them was also absorbed and vanished, but the main body remained intact protecting Sakura Haruno form the tree. 

Katsuyu's clones disappeared absorbed by the God Tree Naruto chapter 647.

— THE PERFECT SUMMON?

Katsuyu is very different from the rest of summons. 

From the immeasurable amount of chakra it requires to summon her, to her multiple multitasking and supplementary abilities and her mysterious origins, Katsuyu might be the perfect summon and the strongest animal summon of Naruto and Boruto.

Her ability to divide herself in thousands of fragments, a body and chemical composition resistant to blasts that can reshape her own state, no summoning time limit, outstanding healing and regeneration factor, the unlimited wide range communication she offers, acidic attacks, useful to gather intel by herself and turn small enough to offer battle assistant, and a sensory connection with her master and other people she is attached to. 

Katsuyu is the ultimate creature.

Without a doubt, the most essential ally in desperate times. A valuable help in case a village is being attacked by powerful enemies that threaten to destroy everything around them, Katsuyu is the only weapon able to protect thousands of people from any attack and offer assistance while in contact with her master and everyone she is with.

Thanks to her, every Konoha villager that had not been killed by the Pain Paths previously could survive the Shinra Tensei explosion that destroyed Konoha, which later allowed the surviving shinobi to handle evacuations, as well as allow Naruto to obtain intel about Pain and Nagato or be told that Konoha's villagers were revived.

Katsuyu is an unrivalled intel summon Naruto chapters 431 and 449.

She was also the main link of communication between the Headquarters and the two different fronts of the war, Five Kage and Allied Shinobi Forces, and the reason why the Five Kage survived the fight despite their fatal injuries.

Lastly, it was also Katsuyu who protected the Allied Shinobi Forces against the roots of the God Tree, saving a large portion of the shinobi from death, and later offered a healing area for their future fight against the Kanzeon Lotus King.

— CURRENT WHEREABOUTS.

Ever since the death of Madara Uchiha, Katsuyu has not been summoned again.

With no threats to the destruction of Konoha or the need to establish connections between battlefields, Katsuyu was not summoned in the Blank Period. 

In Boruto, Katsuyu’s debut is strictly linked to Sakura’s appearances: if Sakura does not appear, neither does the slug. This is something that is hard to fathom considering that the village has been exposed to explosions, invasions and multiple deceased shinobi ever since the start that could be prevented by Katsuyu like previous times.

Katsuyu appeared in the anime arc “Kawaki and Himawari in the Academy” where the students had to put on a play about the Sannin and Kawaki dressed as Katsuyu.

Kawaki representing Katsuyu in Boruto episode 267.

-

[spacealligator]

Kakashi Ninken Sage?

So, we know that you can become a sage when you train under your summons, and that they even have their own worlds where they live:

Frogs/toads -> Mount Myōboku

Slugs -> Shikkotsu Forest

Snakes -> Ryūchi Cave

(yes I had to use Narutopedia to get these names correct)

This implies that every summon has its own world and their own way of training shinobi into sages, like Gai's turtle, Itachi and Shisui's crows, Temari's Kamatari (a personal favourite of mine) AND Kakashi's dogs!

How do you think it's the world of ninken? They are summons, and not trainned dogs like the Inuzukas use (even if Tsume's Kuromaru can talk for some reason) so surely they have a dog world of their own and could train Kakashi into a dog sage which would be so cool

[mira--mira]

I put all of my current WIPs for @hashimada-week​ below the cut, instead of making separate posts. A quick summary of everything below.

Day 1: Childhood Crush (Marriage proposals, Hashirama raised by the Uchiha!AU)

Day 2: Yokai (Jubokko[blood drinking tree]!Hashirama)

Day 3: Healing (Fem!HashiMada, Banshee!Madara, Fantasy!AU)

Day 4: Love (Accidental Jutsu, Canon-verse, Cat!Madara)

Day 5: Sharingan (Genjutsu, Madara and Hashirama in genjutsu)

Day 6: Flowers (Sex Pollen!AU, Canon-verse, SFW excerpt)

4.2K words in total.

Day 1: Childhood Crush

“We should get married,” Madara says as confidently as he can, praying to Amaterasu that his voice doesn’t crack. The goddess listens and the sentence comes out almost flippant despite the ways Madara’s body wants to shake and how sweaty his palms are. 

“What?” Hashirama blinks at him and then leans closer until their noses almost bump. Madara does not gasp at the sudden intrusion of his space, he absolutely does not. “Are you serious?” Hashirama whispers even though it’s just the two of them in their room, hidden away behind the tansu chests like they used to do when they were little. 

“Y-yes!” Dammit, there’s the crack. Madara clears his throat and does his best to straighten up, shoulders back, and chin raised. “If the Senju are going to try and argue their blood claim is strongest—which is utterly ridiculous, what do you have in common with such [savages] after being raised an Uchiha, obviously you’re one of us—but if they insist, a marriage tie would be another point in our favor. Think about it, Hashirama.” With only the slightest bit of hesitation, Madara reaches out, making sure to wrap his hand around the sleeve of Hashirama’s mantle so he can’t feel Madara’s sweat practically dripping off his hands. Why didn’t he think to put his gloves on before this? “I’m not…no one is going to let them take you away. We’ll do whatever it takes.” Madara squeezes his wrist, hoping Hashirama understands all that he’s trying to say but not the secrets underneath Madara would prefer to keep hidden.

Day 2: Yokai

In the heart of Shikkotsu Forest there is a tree that feeds on blood. It is an inconspicuous oak, no different from the rest except how inhumanely tall it towers in the forest where other ancient trees tower no larger than saplings next to it. There is a [rope] around it that marks it as sacred, a flat stone shrine at its base, and an entire compound that curls built in and on top of its massive roots. 

The Uchiha have served as diligent guardians for as long as anyone can remember. When the lands are ravaged by war, countless shinobi clans and daimyo determined to destroy others along with themselves, their small settlement nestled into the vast roots remains untouched. Invaders and killers brush by them, but all unfortunate enough, those ignorant of the legends of Shikkotsu Forest and foolish enough to seek violence in its depths, find their last moments in those same protective roots, their throats open and lifeblood gushing out. 

Madara is born into this clan, heir of the 44th generation, but he is markedly different from the rest. Like all the heirs, when the cord that connects him to his mother is first cut, his small bloody body is laid on the stone altar at the base of the tree. It is a tradition as old as the second generation, according to the stone tablets. He was to lay there, untouched, for seven minutes before he was blessed by the forest. When his father went to lift him from the altar, he discovered a halo of leaves around his body, despite none falling from the great tree above, and a single leaf with a perfectly shaped hole through the middle gently alight on his forehead. All the leaves but the last fell harmlessly away. The one on his forehead eventually drifted to the ground, but a perfect imprint was left on his forehead, one that would mark him for the rest of his life. 

Madara has heard the whispers about him, about the mark, for as long as he can remember. It means something the elders say, surely it is a blessing. But the specifics of said blessing, what it means, what the god tree wants…none of them know. 

It’s tiring to be the subject of such expectations and gazes. As soon as he’s able, Madara picks his way from the manicured houses and paths among the aerial roots, choosing to lose himself in the less explored and maintained ones instead. The god tree is big enough, wild enough, that he could be lost in its embrace for years. Madara is nine summers old as he walks across the tallest moss-covered aerial roots he can, bare feet slipping and sliding along their slick curves. He is ten summers when he drops to the middle layer, surrounded in constant twilight between the roots and the great canopy above and with no torches like the Uchiha compound to light the way. Eleven summers when he plunges to the lower depths, seeking to find dirt and mud to squish between his toes in this wild place. 

Twelve summers when he finds a pseudo cave at the base of the tree and Hashirama waiting for him inside. 

“It took you long enough,” are his first words to Madara, delivered with a haughty pout. 

“Who do you think you are? What are you doing here?” Madara splutters back, confused and disoriented to see another child so far away from the compound, and a non-Uchiha one at that. Madara knows the face and name of every member of the clan. Hashirama, naked as the day he was born, with skin the color of the god tree’s trunk, unnaturally straight hair, and glowing yellow eyes ringed in red is certainly not one of them.

“I’m Hashirama and I’ve been waiting for you. Now let’s go find the rinnegan!” Hashirama moves, quicker than Madara expected him to, and grabs Madara’s hands. 

“You have one chance to explain yourself or I’m gutting you and feeding you to the roots.” Madara yanks himself away before drawing his kunai and holding it up in front of him. Hashirama merely cocks his head to the side. 

“I already told you—”

“No you didn’t! Not enough!” Madara interrupts, peeved as Hashirama puts his hands on his hips, lower lip jutting out. “How did you get here? Why were you waiting for me? And what happened to your clothes?” 

“Ok, maybe I got a bit overexcited.” Hashirama starts to pace around the small cave but the way he walks is…weird. It’s dark and gloomy here, but every time his heels leave the packed earth, there’s a flash of white and he doesn’t take steps so much as raises his feet and shuffles forward. “I’m Hashirama, a jubokko, though you’d probably call me the god tree—”

“You’re claiming to be the god tree?” Madara can’t help but scoff. So Hashirama is clearly delusional. 

“Why do you keep interrupting me?” Hashirama crosses his arms with a huff. “And no I’m not ‘claiming’ to be anything, I am the god tree in my…temporary human form.” He gestures to himself, chin raised high. “If you’d like to take a moment to bask in my presence, I’ll allow it.”

Day 3: Healing

Once she passes through the village, the edge of the world greets her. There is a sharp difference from their trees to the otherplane, no blurring of boundaries as they seep into one another. There can be no lies, not even to herself, as Hashirama crosses the line. The inhuman willows greet her, their strands brushing along her dress in welcome. 

There is no difference in temperature, snow covers both their lands, the wind an [not picky] traveling blowing through both, but everything is sharper. The chill, the crunch of ice, it all prickles over Hashirama’s skin, countless little reminders that she has crossed over. 

As if she could forget. 

There is no path through the willows, but Hashirama makes her own. Her steps are sure and unhurried. She has traveled this way over a hundred times before, she could do it as a specter walking in her sleep. 

The tree she comes to is no obviously different from the willows around it. If one peers closely it may be a little bigger, perhaps with a few more roots bursting to the surface, and deeper colors in its fronds, but none so great for a simple curious passerby to notice. 

What sets this tree apart from all others is the banshee haunting its branches. 

Hashirama has long heard the villagers whisper and mutter about the banshees’ [complexions]. Her father raves that their appearance is proof of their wickedness, that any poor soul unlucky enough to lay eyes on their visages shall know it as immutable truth. 

“Hashirama.” Madara smiles, twisting toward her. “You came.” 

She is divine. Hashirama’s heart swells and she blinks back tears that well in her eyes as she looks upon her betrothed. 

Here in the weak day, Madara is not as solid as she is under the watchful moon. Her skin is translucent, the image of the willow shining faintly behind her. Yet still, Hashirama can pick out the details that she so loves. Madara’s fathomless pure black eyes, the snaking blue and purple veins beneath them, her wild spiky hair, and the almost delicate pink curl of her lips. She’s dressed in her typical daygown, a high-collared white dress with long sleeves that nearly brush her knuckles, and a hem that completely swallows her feet. Madara does not feel cold the same way Hashirama does and certainly not during the day, but she always worries about the thin material, questioning her endlessly on comfort.  

“Of course, I came.” Hashirama steps up to the willow, reaching for the lowest branch to pull herself up into its safe cradle. Her muddy boots threaten to slip as she climbs, but this—as finding the path through the woods—is something she has endless practice at. Hashirama pulls herself up to the higher branches, fitting herself between the trunk and limb. Madara floats after her, alighting by her side in a mimicry of sitting together. 

Hashirama longs for the moon’s gaze, for Madara to be flesh and blood next to her. How she wishes to wrap her up in her arms and kiss her pale cheeks. 

“Pardon me, but you’re the one who said it’d be a miracle if your father let you out of his sight so close to the Blood Moon.” Madara rolls her eyes, it’s rather difficult to tell but the faint reflection, her tone, and years of experience guide Hashirama to the simple conclusion. 

“Yes, well…I am surprised.” Truthfully it was a little unnerving Father had said so little and left her without a guard. She had been careful to express only her commitment as the Senju heir to the banshees, not her personal relationship with Madara. “Father wants to end our [contract], but I don’t know how much is bluster and how much is truth.”

Day 4: Love

Kagami is a good student, a gifted one, but choosing Madara to practice this specific lesson with shows his lack of experience. Perhaps if it were another jutsu the results may have been different but…

Madara feels the spike of his chakra every time he attempts a henge and he easily flicks the brat between the eyes to dispel it before he can attempt to reach out to Madara’s. He’s a genin and Madara is a god. 

They do this useless dance over a dozen times, each to the same disastrous result for Kagami. 

“That’s enough,” Madara says, swirling the last of his tea in its cut. “You made a valiant effort, but you need more practice before—”

“One more time, Madara-sama, please!” Kagami’s pale face is red with how hard he’s concentrating, hands pressed together in a [seal]. Determination shines a black fire in his eyes. 

Madara sighs. “Once more and then we’re done.” If he’s late to work Hashirama will start whining and Tobirama will never let him hear the end of it. 

“Thank you, Madara-sama! I won’t disappoint you or the Uchiha!” Kagami says and slams his hands together again. 

The words—I’m sure the pride of the Uchiha will [survive] one genin’s assignment—never leave his mouth. Something other than a henge sparks in the air. It’s similar to it, but Kagami’s papers have all mixed together and the wet ink mixes together and redirects inward. It’s going to [hit] him, not Madara. 

Madara reaches forward and grabs his hands but he’s too late. The jutsu doesn’t [hit] Kagami…it [hits] him. 

There’s a flash of light and a blinding shock of pain. It stabs at his lungs, through his skull, shooting down into his legs. It’s not the worst pain Madara’s ever felt, physically that’d been an infected [cut] that left him feverish and the handful of medics worrying about amputating his arm, emotionally that’d been watching Tobirama cut down Izuna and then sitting next to his side waiting him to die before Hashirama came, but it’s the suddenness of this pain, unexpected and out of place here in the peaceful village that takes his breath away. 

Then, between one blink and the next, it’s gone and Madara’s entire body has gone numb. He can’t move his limbs, blinking takes nearly too great an effort. 

What happened? The words float in and out of his mind, but when he opens his mouth to ask, nothing comes out. 

No, that’s not true. He meows. 

Kagami recovers first, before Madara can get his wits about him and then leans over him, eyes wide with horror. Had he fallen to the engawa? How disgraceful. 

“M-madara-sama, you’re…you’re…” Kagami’s face has gone sheet white and finally Madara manages to get some coordination in his arms to push himself up. Or he tries. His muscles flex, but the world swims and he stumbles half up into a very distorted scene. Kagami towers above him, the table he was sitting at tripled in size and the long familiar purple fabric of his mantle swallows him, the fabric a faint weight on his back.

Madara tilts his pounding head down and sees…paws. A cat’s paws. His paws, he realizes with a lurch. 

He’s a…a…cat. 

“I’m so sorry, Madara-sama! I don’t know what happened! I’ll get Tobirama-sensei to fix it, I promise!” Kagami cries and lunges to pick him up. His words, the fully realization of what happened, and some instinct of fear of a larger creature looming over him has Madara darting from the engawa, claws digging into wood as he runs as fast as he can. 

He darts into the [bushes] around the house, hunkering between the leaves. His mind is scattered and he has half a mind to stay here until the thoughts unravel in his mind, but he hears Kagami calling and running toward his hiding place and dozens of other Uchiha turning toward him. Madara’s ears flatten against his head and he bolts from the bush, rushing out in the Uchiha district. 

He runs and he doesn’t stop. Logic is far away, only adrenaline and fear pumps through his veins. The familiar Uchiha buildings fall away into Konoha proper. It’s a mistake. There’s so much noise, people walking past with thundering steps, their voices ringing around in his skull. The children are screeching banshees trying to burst his poor eardrums and make them bleed. Worst though is the smell. Madara gags and it’s only his overwhelming panic that prevents him from throwing up. The normally pleasant smell of the buildings—fresh wood and new paint, all of the promise of his and Hashirama’s dream—is overwhelming. The street food stalls are a mix of appetizing and [nauseating], the oil and meat makes his stomach rumble but each is so intense it sends tremors through his body, pain spreading in fiery waves across his face. 

“Madara-sama!” Kagami is at the gates, head frantically swiveling around to find him. Madara is already gone. 

He doesn’t know where he’s going or how far he runs. The world is reduced to overwhelming stimuli around him that blots out everything but his fear until—

There’s grass underneath his paws, its texture strange and foreign compared to touching it with his human hands. A lure in the distance draws him near promising sanctuary and—

“Oof!” Madara trips over the lump on the ground and instinctively digs his claws in. “Ow, ow, ow!” The lump grabs him and moves upright. 

Person. Madara thinks foggily. 

“Are you okay, kitty?” A broad hand strokes his back. 

Hashirama. If he were human, Madara would be in hysterics.

It’s the last thought he has before he passes out. 

Day 5: Sharingan

“How long do we have?” Hashirama asks as he reluctantly tears his eyes away from Madara to trace familiar patterns in the stars. He finds the Great Tree, the Endless Fields and wonders if Madara knows the same stories. Probably not. 

“Half an hour? It’s been a rough couple days…” Madara doesn’t apologize directly, but Hashirama can hear it in his words. 

“It’s alright,” he whispers, despite the disappointment he feels. “Any time is better than none.” One of the best things about Madara’s genjutsus is how easily he could manipulate time and stretch it out. On the good days when he had the energy, an hour of time in the real world could become a week here. On the bad days, it’ll last only half a day. Hashirama has to work with Madara to stretch out the time though, if he gets impatient or makes his chakra surge in a way Madara doesn’t expect, the whole thing will shatter like ceramic. He has to be careful, exceedingly so, but it’s worth it to spend all the extra time with Madara. 

Here, they can almost pretend there is no war, that they’re two normal kids living what they think should be normal lives. Everything is an illusion—and Madara is always quick to remind him of that—but they can treat it like reality, give it the same meaning and weight. They can sleep next to each other in matching futons, eat meals together around the same hearth, play and train together on the cliffs and in the forest. In the real world, they can only do the last one and not nearly enough to Hashirama’s liking. They can’t meet up every day and whenever they’re apart, he feels Madara’s absence like a deep, painful bruise he can’t heal. It won’t kill him—eventually he’ll see Madara again—but he’s always aware of it. He can’t stop poking it, wishing Madara were by his side, thinking of whatever menial chore he has to do in the Senju compound, all of Butsuma’s pointed words and lectures he has to endure, the isolation and knowledge that, as much as he tries, because he’s the clan heir, because of the mokuton, because he likes boys too that he’ll always be different from everyone else…all of that would be easier to endure if Madara were with him. 

Sometimes Hashirama wishes more than anything the genjutsu could be the real world, but if he doesn’t phrase it right Madara gets all skittish and starts worrying that he’ll get reality-sick or whatever the Uchiha call it. He’ll refuse to take them into the genjutsu and then Hashirama has to mourn all the time he’s not getting to spend with Madara. He’s become very good at his phrasing. Hashirama sorta understands Madara’s worry, the Senju don’t use genjutsu but he gets the concept of being reality-sick, but he doesn’t actually think the genjutsu is the real world. He would never mistake the two and he doesn’t so much as want to leave the world behind and live in a genjutsu, but take this image of paradise to the real world. He has a special fondness for it because it’s the most access he’s ever had to Madara, the most time he’s ever gotten to spend with his friend but…there is something more to it. 

In the process of making this genjutsu, breathing life into the village at the mountain’s base so they could walk around the buildings, interact with it like a real compound, and see it from every angle without the whole thing falling apart…it became ironically more real to both of them, Madara especially. Hashirama had always been the one to envision a village, see it in his mind’s eye, the peace that could be if they changed the world. Madara by contrast, was the spark, the one to ignite the dream, the one to want to change their reality so badly so no other kids would suffer as they had. He had trouble envisioning the end though, the village that could be. Here, in a genjutsu he was forced to create step by step, well both of them built the village far earlier than they ever imagined. 

The real thing will be different, Hashirama knows. Their houses probably won’t be side by side, the Senju and Uchiha architecture faithfully interwoven and mixed until they look almost like one cohesive clan rather than two separate ones. The gardens won’t be in the places Hashirama chose, nor the spaces for all the contracted animals and non-contracted ones that Madara [chose/did]. The food stalls, some familiar and others whacky as they pushed what they think people would sell as food, definitely won’t. But it’s these small things, the things that’ll never be, nonetheless make the idea real. 

They can see a version of their village. An illusion, a genjutsu, but a happy one to take refuge in as they start to plan the details, start to look forward to what could be if they manage the impossible. 

Day 6: Flowers

“Do you know how long it took for him to eat the damned food? Hours, Hashirama, hours! It would have been so much easier to slit his throat but nooo the daimyo wanted to use poison so I had to skulk about this idiot’s house for weeks waiting to infiltrate it unseen and then when I finally poisoned his dish and only his dish he didn’t want to eat it and—”

Madara is still ranting, his cheeks flushed bright red in anger as he gestures sharply with his hands, emphasizing every point. Hashirama is still listening to him, but his voice becomes a comforting background noise as he gets to stare openly at Madara’s face. Silhouetted by the setting sun and the dark copse of trees further back on the cliff, he’s perfect. 

Hashirama had been warned about the mission in advance, an easy but long and dull one to complete properly and that he might not see Madara for a few weeks, maybe even months, until it was finished. There was nothing he could say, they’re shinobi after all it’s what they do, but he can’t deny that he’s missed Madara, felt his absence like an unhealable gaping wound and only now with his surly, prickly self returned to Hashirama’s side does it finally stitch itself up. 

Hashirama is overcome and he finds himself tilting forward before he knows it, leaning into Madara’s space and pressing a kiss to the side of his mouth. He’d kiss him in full, but Madara is still complaining and Hashirama would prefer not to have his lips bitten off. 

“Are you even listening to what I’ve been saying?” Is the first thing Madara asks when he pulls back. Hashirama tries to take it as a good sign, Madara definitely has never protested against his kisses, when Hashirama first pecked him on the lips when they were fifteen he even seemed to enjoy it, but he says absolutely nothing about the kiss this time, only his listening demands. 

“Of course I have, the noble and his refusal to eat poisoned food, thwarting all your well made plans,” Hashirama teases, forcing himself to be light about it. Madara calms and looks pleased for the first half of the sentence and then prickles angrily by the end. Before he can wind himself up to start yelling at Hashirama, about how his plans were not thwarted, only delayed by human idiocy and refusal to be poisoned and die, Hashirama continues. “You know…I could try and make you an airborne poison. Disguised as a flower? Fast acting so you’d only have to slip it into his room at night and then…” Hashirama sticks his tongue out, head hanging limply as he croaks. 

To his delight, Madara doesn’t immediately reject the idea. Instead, he purses his lips and looks past the cliff’s edge and their dangling feet below. “That’s…not a bad idea. I wouldn’t use it every time, obviously,” he waves his hand before Hashirama can get too excited, “I won’t depend on you alone to complete all my missions Senju, but gods I hate the poisoning ones. If there were a way to get them over with quicker…fine. Try and make the air-borne poison. We’ll see how it works out and I may just give you a reward if you’re successful.” Madara smirks and Hashirama knows he’s talking about bragging rights or bringing him one of the disgustingly hot Uchiha candies he claims even babies like to suck on and surely Hashirama doesn’t have a weaker constitution than a baby…but all Hashirama can think about at eighteen after three and a half long weeks away from Madara, his lips still burning from his short little kiss is something decidedly more erotic. 

Madara kissing him for a change, Madara trailing his hands over Hashirama’s chest, down his sides, Madara sinking to his knees with a smirk before he wraps his mouth around—

“Sure! I’ll make the best air-borne poison ever, just you watch!” Hashirama laughs and he hopes Madara thinks his blush is the bleeding red light from the sinking sun.

[munchbell45]

Are YOU READY for some FLUFFY SLUG ROMANCE???

If so, then you'll love my latest fic, Slugs in Love. I wrote this fic for an event on AO3 called Launch the Ship. Now that fics have been revealed, I decided to share it here.

Relationships: Katsuyu/Saiken

Characters: Katsuyu, Saiken, Original Character(s)

Additional Tags: Shikkotsu Woods, Fluff, Nonbinary Katsuyu, Nonbinary Saiken, Saiken is Good with Children, Nonbinary Character, Original Slug Characters- Freeform, Reminiscing, Trees, Gift Giving, Cuddling and Snuggling, Falling in Love, Requited Love, Happy Ending, One Shot, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Post-Fourth Shinobi War.

Summary:

Katsuyu is woken up from a nap in their home of Shikkotsu Woods. It turns out that the Six-Tailed Slug Saiken is there to see them, carrying a tree in one of their tails as a gift.

How does Katsuyu feel about the gift? Where will they plant the tree? What if some other slugs find out?

[iryonin]

THE EARTH IS LIKE A CHILD THAT KNOWS POEMS BY HEART — — #IRYONIN: SELECTIVE, HIGHLY PRIVATE [ SAKURA HARUNO ] FROM MASASHI KISHIMOTO'S NARUTO SERIES. HEAVILY HEADCANONED. UNDER21 DNI. STANDARD RULES APPLY. BIOGRAPHY AND VERSE INFO UNDER READ-MORE.

— — i’m paranoid about thievery. bad experiences! so, you know, don’t lift my lore / take inspiration ('cause i’ll know) because i’ll turn into the hulk if the hulk was the hulk but worse. but also hi 💖 — — ask responses are left open-ended on purpose, to act as starters, considering i don't post starter calls often. feel free to continue them! * BLOG LINKS: PROMPTS. STUDY. META.

BASICS.

NAME: sakura haruno.     in japanese,   her full name can be interpreted as "spring field of cherry blossoms"   (春野桜,   haruno sakura)   or "cherry blossoms in spring"   (春の桜,   haru no sakura).  AGE: verse dependent,   12-33.     (part II is the baseline,   so upwards or backwards from there! i’m not caught up to boruto and i don’t really care about it,   either,   but the naruto timeline spans around 20 years,   give or take. by default, i write sakura in her late 20 / early 30s.) BIRTHDATE: march 28.   (an aries through and through!) SEXUALITY: bisexual. FAMILY: maternal grandparents. AFFILIATION: konohagakure. allied shinobi forces. shikkotsu forest. CLASSIFICATION: medical-nin. RANK: jonin.

* speaking of the basics, here's some extended reading!

APPEARANCE.  

HEIGHT: 5’9. HAIR: pink;   she keeps it relatively short   (shoulder-length)   for combat-convenience.  EYES: seafoam green;   her eyes used to be her biggest tell when she was younger.     still are,   if you know her.  OTHER DETAILS: 

her hands are pretty heavily scarred;   mainly the skin around her knuckles (from punching) but also the soft parts of her palm   (from palm strikes);   lots of healed-over blisters,   as well,   but the multitude of tiny scars on her knuckles are pretty immediately noticeable.     it was worse before she started wearing gloves   (her healing couldn’t keep up with it,   even with chakra coating)

her legs are the strongest part of her body;   stocky,   packed with hard,   dense muscle.     a lot of her taijutsu involves immobilization techniques so having strong legs to use in various locks comes in handy.

her nails stay trimmed short and neat,   but she likes to paint them;   her toenails too.     loves experimenting with colors.

she has a very faint scent... sort of leafy! medicinal, but organic — herb-like, like a home remedy. earthy, but fresh.  her hair probably catches the nose the most and smells the most like something definite; she deep treats and dry-conditions her hair so it's always distinctly sweet :)

her ears are pierced;   she has double sets of lobe piercings because she likes the one long/dangly   +   one stud earring combo,   but no other piercings,   and no artificial tattoos/body markings.

has freckles but they're so faint you don't notice them unless you’re super duper close to her face;   it’s like a little surprise :)

PREFERENCES.  

LIKES: sweet over savory desserts,   scoping out new restaurants to eat at,   feeding her friends and loved ones,   hair care,   memorizing difficult books on theory application she has no previous knowledge of,   visiting the market to pick out fresh produce,   following current trends,   meditation,   organizing dinner dates and little daily excursions in general,   feeling needed 👍 DISLIKES: weather that’s either too hot or too cold,   a messy work station,   protein bars,   rations in general,   being cooped up inside,   being on her own for too long,   foods that are too spicy,   being sedentary,   having her work habits criticized,   eating alone,   early-morning showers as opposed to late-evening ones,   feeling excluded👍 LOVE LANGUAGE: physical touch and acts of service.

PORTRAYAL NOTES.

almost totally immune to poisons and alcohol;   basically any inebriating substances have little-to-no effect on her.

has photographic memory! her hobby in the series is literally memorizing books on medical theory — this is also why she’s canonically super proficient at hand-signs.

sakura’s shallow chakra pool is a result of years of dietary restrictions and disordered eating: her poor self-image and her shaky relationship with food resulted in heaps of health problems;   she’s still working on it today and needs to stay mindful,   but her chakra pool does start growing once she starts focusing on her body’s needs.

combat medic 👍

canonically a sensor! this is so epic for her actually i’m so glad this was mentioned in the series.

* sakura’s old home ie. the haruno estate where she used to live with her parents gets completely destroyed in the orochimaru invasion;   she moves in with her maternal grandparents after the third’s funeral but eventually gets a place of her own some time during the blank period of the first timeskip.

she meditates every day;   it’s one of the ways in which she works on her chakra pool and her seal simultaneously.     her knowledge about chakra,   about the body,   about the connection between those two and her ability to mold it makes this a lot easier than it’d generally be for other ninja

her stamina’s her weakest point,   so she focuses a lot of attention on endurance exercises;   the seal helps,   of course,   but she doesn’t want to be put into a situation where she has to rely on it.

embodies medicine as an ideal;   something that's in place to serve your well-being,   and her approach to her patients exemplifies that.

VERSES.  

* under construction. the verses listed below are not the exhaustive list, but i have other shit to do. ask me about the others :)

NARUTO:     what it says on the tin; compliant with story canon. no boruto shit. MODERN: med school student. back alley doctor. other stuff going on. HAIKYU: aoba johsai third year; nurse's aid. no volleyball for her! DRAGON AGE:     spirit healer + warrior berserker double-class.     resistant to mind-control   /   possession. JUJUTSU KAISEN:     part of the teaching staff generation,   but isn't actually part of the school in any official capacity. * NOTES. WITCHER: a traveling doctor. keeps her rates humble. older than she looks. DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: keeping this simple: naruto verse sakura transmigrated into the forgotten realms; disguised as a traveling cleric monk. doubles as a baldur's gate verse. THREE HOUSES: konoha's envoy. exchange student at garreg mach officer's academy.

[xzepp]

Alternate universe Akatsuki OCs, taken at least at the same parallel time as the beginning of Shippuden

Will comment their backstories below this image

Left: Fuyune Sazanka

Right: Shizuka Hansei

The background image was made by Blue Willow AI

Fuyune Sazanka

The Sazanka Clan is mostly known for their Crystal Release, but their most legendary shinobi from the Warring States Era had the only naturally occurring kekkei tōta - Winter Release. (Also worth noting that it is widely believed that the Sazanka Clan is not a descendant of the Sage of Six Paths but of a malevolent entity called Jashin, which resulted in them being viewed as barbarians during the Warring States Era.)

Fuyune Sazanka is the only other person who was born from the clan who had Winter Release after the death of Shimon the Soothsayer by the hands of the Second Tsuchikage, Mu.

Just a three year old during the end of the Third Shinobi War, Fuyune witnessed the death of her pregnant mother in the hands of Hidden Cloud due to territorial disputes between the Land of Lightning and the Land of Frost.

The prodigy heiress of the Sazanka, she was 9 when she entered the Chuunin Exams held at the Leaf Village. It was the first time her power was truly exposed to the greater public. Her fight with Itachi Uchiha was the final round of the Chuunin Exams, where she lost. It was then she met Itachi's younger brother, Sasuke, who she surmised would've been the same age as the sibling her mother was carrying, causing her to have some resentment against him, as he had everything she lost. However, it was not the last time they would meet as her father signed a secret treaty with Fugaku Uchiha, which led to joint operations with one of the founding clans of the Leaf Village.

A few years down the line, Hanzo the Salamander's adoptive son - Nagato - had begun calling for a joint operations team towards the minor villages, in hopes of having an alliance, asking for one jounin level shinobi from each village. Hidden Frost is such an example of one that received an invitation, and Fuyune was sent to be the representative to the formation of this joint military force - the Akatsuki.

---

Shizuka Hansei

It is a widely an open secret that the Hansei Clan was descended from a branch family of the Hyuuga, which accounts for their strange ocular power that can see in infrared light. It was not a secret, however, that the Hansei resent the Hyuuga for countless generations that Goro Hansei, the clan head during the formation of villages, refused to join the Leaf because the Hyuuga are there and proceeded to become one of the founding fathers of the Haze Village, alongside their allies.

As the Hansei Clan beliefs go, being a shinobi alone would not be enough to get by, Goro Hansei gambled investments in various things to a point where the Hansei became the richest shinobi clan in the world and the Haze Village being the most technologically advanced, that they have never been invaded by others.

As the direct descendant of Goro and heiress of the Hansei, Shizuka has been noted to be of very similar personality. Her constant seeking of business ideas and opportunities, investments, and ways to profit starting at a young age often take people aback. Her hatred for the Hyuuga isn't because of the old generation's resentment, but because her parents were killed by the Hyuuga during the Third Shinobi War. As the Akatsuki was formed, she knew that not only Rain sought her clan to handle some of the finances, but that the bigger villages will force their way in. She threatened Hanzo that she would stop the funding if the Leaf sent a Hyuuga when this happens.

Due to her accidental exposure to the strange purple meteorite Goro Hansei kept hidden in the basement of the clan manor, Shizuka became physically weak. However, her chakra became more potent. Due to this, she specializes mostly in sealing techniques and genjutsu, along with her clan's kekkei genkai, radiation release. She had sought the Shikkotsu Forest, and is able to perform sage techniques.

[thefairyletters]

6, 24 and 25 for the naruto ask thing? :)

6: Byakugan, Sharingan, or Rinnegan?

Sharingan.

It's a fascinating doujutsu. Like, each mangekyu is unique on their own (because each of their pain and experience is different when they unlock it!!) Shisui's can change and twist reality at mass level (the ultimate technique that madara or pein could have used to achieve world peace, dominate world, whatnot and called it a day). Sucks that we never saw it in action. I also find Amaterasu very beautiful in poetic way, a fire that never dies out. Suits Sasuke aptly.

24: Favorite weapon?

*eyeing Sakura's axe that she would never be allowed to use on screen*

But Scrolls.

Not only super cool to handle (just look at Tenten), but also the most versatile tool you could have: unlimited storage space for your weapons, and summoning contracts. If I was in Narutoverse, I'd become a master summoner. It would be kinda like becoming a Pokemon master lol

25: Favorite clan?

Hyuga.

I hate that they, like other clans, were casted aside after part 1. Both uchiha and hyuga are considered, on paper, the two of the most powerful and largest clans in konoha, but where do you see hyuga characters given any due importance than be a scapegoat (Neji) or used as fanservice (Hinata). Any relevance given to Hyuga clan post ch 699 doesn't matter or count. What 699 chapters could not give, one random shougo-esque movie or boruto cannot chose to bring up out of blue and expect longtime fans to buy it. So yea, I'm bitter that Uchiha are given all relevance when Hyugas were mentioned to be on same or comparable level.

We missed out on Neji vs Sasuke. I'll forever mourn the loss.

I headcanon hyuga clan related to Shikkotsu forest (alongside Nara). They could be a spiritually powerful duo. They give the vibes.

I wanted Kishi to have Hinata grow a pair and lead Hyuga clan to greatness and resolve their internal conflict. But no, hyuga clan instead got more or less lost in translation.

[rico-hyuuga]

"Valid assessment."

His mind began to work hard as he took in what was said by Shikamaru. Getting them to the leaf would be a pain, but he could summon or, more so, reverse-summon them. There were a few of his wasps still in the village, so getting them back wouldn't be hard. The sound of chirps and pheromones filled the air, showing the insects were working. The wasps began to envelop the rogue ninja before going back to the Shikkotsu forest. Some of the wasps stayed with Choji but transformed into a Hyuga man and a Shinigami female to seem like a full squad.

"So what is the primary goal... the insects or the rogue ninja?"

Ryu knew that they could only do one thing at a time and needed guidance. Either way, he would have to hold back as an all-out battle could kill the insects. Fighting like an assassin was out as they knew he was there, and the element of surprise was gone. His jutsu was varied but had a limit, much like all ninjas. Yet now he was on a team and did not have to carry the mission alone. He had Choji, his summoning, and Shimakaru, which came in handy.

"Sometimes, I wish I was a cloud, just floating along."

NARU: Sound of Hidden Pain

[shisui-uchiha-anon]

Going on a mission with both Shisui and Itachi wasn't exactly a bad thing, provided one could keep up with both Sharingan users. Which Ami could do easily. But ever since losing her Genin team, the silver haired kunoichi had been doubting her own abilities and didn't think sending her was a good idea. She said so as much in the meeting between them and the Third Hokage.

"Hokage-sama? It might be better to let another medic nin go instead of me. I'll just slow Shisui-san and Itachi-san down."

/Ami and Shisui - also hey!

After facing the Third Hokage, Shisui was dismissed with papers, personal info, and a set of skills of his new companion. No matter of his personal achievements or Itachi's having a medic one should never refuse. Reflecting back on his missions having a medic was always a positive experience for him. His late friend Alustriel was a medic and six tails a Jinchuuriki. This girl was so young, and Shisui hoped to have her on his team. Since Shisui unlocked his Sage mode as a last step in the power structure, he and Itachi were taking young nin under their wings for training and missions outside the village.

Shisui finished reading the provided info, and he got up, folding both hands against his back. This gesture became his habit ever since he mastered sage mode. Shisui would fold his hands on the back. Kakashi would always tease him about it saying-- Shisui you are only thirty that gesture is made by old retired ninjas.--

Sometimes Shisui would feel way too old and tired. While others could think about childhood, about the next step in their education or in training, Shisui just ran through that phase of his life. Ten years went by just like one bloody night. Sometimes he would think that all that happened was just a nightmare, but it was not, a dull ache in the right side of his skull was a reminder. The right eye was a gift from Itachi--after the deed was done.

"So you have arrived, Ami-chan." Shisui greeted her when she arrived at the meeting spot. The younger version of Shisui would crack a joke now...but this Shisui gulped the joke down remaining composed. Expressionless.

His intuition told him, that this was the right choice...A light smile bloomed on his face.

Intuition is a gift, but it can be a curse as well. It's a voice calling to us from places that are better left unexplored. Shisui knew that when he explored the deepest and darkest parts of his soul he found Shiroi looking back at him. She was and still is part of him, she is his beast to call, and Shisui....her human to call. Who wins? That is a thin line, the weak one shall obey.

The Shikkotsu Forest is a legendary place and one of the three unexplored sage regions; there Shisui trained and got wolf sage mode. This mode is all about control if one's emotions aren’t in check Shiroi is able to possess the user's body for her own purposes.

-Go with your guts if nothing else works-

Intuition has your best interests at heart. It is a voice that can tell you who is a friend and who is a foe. Which one is to hold at arm's length and which one is to keep close. Yet too often Shisui got distracted by fear, doubt, by his own stubborn hope thus he refused to listen...

"So you are our new team member? Shall we have a test mission drill? Before I explain to you our mission and before we depart?"

(Hello! I picked Sage verse, I hope that is okay. Let me know if this works for you ^^)

[ao3feed-hashimada]

ao3feed-hashimada

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/1XglTwo

by Mari_kel

In the heart of Shikkotsu Forest, there lives a tree that feeds on blood.

Words: 4513, Chapters: 1/5, Language: English

Series: Part 2 of HashiMada Week 2023

Fandoms: Naruto

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Categories: M/M

Characters: Senju Hashirama, Uchiha Madara, Uzumaki Mito

Relationships: Senju Hashirama/Uchiha Madara

Additional Tags: HashiMada Week 2023, Yôkai, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Jubokko!Hashirama, Human!Madara, Adventure, Moral Ambiguity, Growing Up, Quests, Fluff and Angst, Childhood Friends, First Kiss, Biting, Worldbuilding

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/1XglTwo

[starbucksfromkonoha]

YOUTUBE VIDEO

Shikkotsu Woods | Kimimaro [Halloween] Gameplay | Naruto Online - LA

[evilkitten3]

#im anti snow leopard summon for tbrm myself#he IS his own summon#both FTG and edo tensei are summoning techniques#so katsuyu is better but still not one id give him#katsuyu works like hashirama cells with her healing and body regeneration#so the one tsunade would inherit her from is hashirama#tobirama is not a medic or a healer#hc katsuyu is a honor senju anyway#she's the same age as the founders#naruto

if you want to get technical, they both DO have canon summons (edo tensei for tobirama, the rashoumon gates for hashirama) but neither one is really an animal, so i guess they don't count lol

for me, i definitely get the idea of hashirama having been katsuyu's previous summoner- it fits with his own healing, and realistically it's probably what was intended to be canon (bc surely someone got sage mode in shikkotsu forest, right?????), but i sorta like the idea that like. hashirama is just a fucking freak of nature lmao. i read one fic where all the summons regard him as some kind of abomination and i loved it so much i adopted it lol

anyway, i mentioned this in a different reblog, but my backup summon for tobirama would be the baku that danzou used! thoughts?

ngl i don't understand at all why the fandom decided tobirama should have a snow leopard summon. it would be way more interesting imo if he was the one tsunade had inherited the slug contract from

[jingmcastle]

For @naruto-fantasy-week Day 2: Mythical | Monstrous

[ultimateanna]

Slug (Naruto Part III)