There is only one slug in Shikkotsu Forest, and that is the Living Slug Sage.
The slugs usually summoned by contract holders are all split bodies of the Living Slug Sage, and the size of the summoned slug varies according to the amount of chakra the caster injects.
The little slug in front of Aoba was also a part of the Living Slug Sage.
He actually quite liked the Living Slug Sage.
Because it always maintained humility and addressed its contract holders as "sama," being extremely polite.
Unlike the snakes of Ryuchi Cave, which require sacrifices every time they are summoned, nor like the toads of Mount Myoboku, who come with a bunch of nonsense.
"Aoba-sama, I feel like you're thinking of something rather rude," The cold and elegant voice of a mature woman rang out again. Although it was questioning, it was still gentle.
"No, I wasn't!", Aoba immediately denied it, then curiously asked, "Living Slug-sama, how did you know my name?"
There was some introduction about Shikkotsu Forest on the summoning scroll, so he had learned the Living Slug Sage's name.
"When Aoba-sama signed your name on the summoning scroll, I sensed it."
"Tsunade-sama," The Living Slug noticed Tsunade beside her and politely greeted her as well.
"Slug!", Tsunade also responded politely, then glanced at Aoba and explained, "He's my disciple, so I let him sign the contract with Shikkotsu Forest and try summoning. Didn't expect it to succeed in one go."
"I see, Aoba-sama's talent is truly rare in my experience," When it first emerged and saw a child, it was a bit surprised.
This was the first time it had encountered such a young contract holder.
"Thank you for your praise, Living Slug-sama," Although Aoba's expression didn't change much, he still felt a bit happy in his heart.
The Living Slug Sage had lived not just for hundreds of years, at least a thousand for sure, so when it said something like 'rare in my experience,' even if partially out of politeness, it still made people feel a wave of comfort.
'This is human relationships.'
"So, is there anything you need my help with now?", The Living Slug asked again.
"Please heal Shizune for me," Tsunade spoke first, looking at Shizune, who had a swollen bump on her head and was still unconscious.
If she wasn't treated, she'd probably have a headache tomorrow.
It was also a good opportunity to show Aoba the healing ability of slugs.
"Understood, Tsunade-sama," After agreeing, the Living Slug began crawling toward Shizune.
But this speed... was a little bit...
Aoba bent down, picked up the little slug, and placed it on Shizune's head.
"Thank you, Aoba-sama."
"It's what I should do," After placing the little slug properly, Aoba began observing closely.
The Living Slug just laid on Shizune's head, and the bump visibly disappeared.
Soon, Shizune slowly opened her eyes.
"Uh… what happened?", Just waking up, Shizune wasn't clear on what had happened, only feeling that her head seemed a bit heavy, like something was on it.
She instinctively picked the little slug off her head.
For a moment, she was stunned.
"Shizune-sama," The Living Slug politely greeted Shizune again.
"This… Living Slug-sama, who summoned you?", There was doubt in Shizune's voice, 'Tsunade-sama now have hemophobia and can't perform summoning alone.'
'Could it be...'
Shizune looked at Aoba in surprise, "Aoba, was it you?"
Aoba smiled and nodded, saying, "Shizune-neesan, I've already mastered the summoning technique."
"Amazing!", Shizune first felt happy for Aoba, but then quickly became a bit melancholic.
Now she really didn't have any sense of presence left.
Looking at Shizune, whose emotions were all written on her face, both happy and melancholic, Aoba didn't really know what she was thinking.
He could only look at the little slug, "Sorry to trouble you, Living Slug-sama."
"This is also what I should do," The Living Slug still spoke in a gentle tone, and added, "Aoba-sama, you can just call me Slug from now on."
"Okay, Living Slug-sama."
"..."
'Did I hear that wrong?'
"Aoba-sama, is there anything else you need help with?"
Aoba looked at Tsunade, and seeing her shake her head, he finally said, "No, that's all."
"Very well, then I'll take my leave. Aoba-sama, if you ever need anything in the future, feel free to call on me," After the gentle farewell, the Living Slug disappeared into a puff of smoke.
This personality of the Living Slug was probably already the most pleasant among all summoning beasts in the ninja world, and it would basically fulfill any request from its contract holders.
Way better than the toads and snakes.
"Didn't expect Aoba to be able to summon the Living Slug-sama in just one night," Shizune sighed a bit. Back then, she had to practice for quite a while before she could successfully summon the Living Slug-sama.
"Just lucky."
"...", Shizune walked to Aoba's side and reached out her sinful hands, pinching his cheeks and patting his head.
Aoba realized that among everyone, Shizune touched his head the most.
"Aoba, being too modest sometimes can backfire!", After venting a bit, Shizune held Aoba's face and said seriously.
"I understand, I won't do it next time," Aoba replied somewhat unclearly.
Only then did Shizune nod in satisfaction, blushing a bit as she let go and went to sit on the sofa opposite Tsunade.
Looked like she didn't dare sit next to Tsunade anymore.
'Hmph, bullying the weak and fearing the strong!', Aoba couldn't help but complain in his heart. Once he toughened up in the future, Shizune definitely wouldn't have it easy.
"Alright, brat. Since you can already summon the Living Slug now, I'll tell you more about some of its special traits," Tsunade rarely entered teacher mode.
Aoba also got serious, but since his seat was taken by Shizune, he had to sit next to Tsunade.
"You already know that the entire Shikkotsu Forest has only one slug, the Living Slug Sage. What we usually summon are all split bodies of the Living Slug Sage."
"And although the Living Slug Sage can split into countless parts, they're all able to connect with each other, so we can make use of this trait for visual sharing, chakra transmission, and intelligence communication."
"At the same time, we can also use the split bodies of the Living Slug Sage for reverse summoning, which allows for rapid transportation within the ninja world."
"And under the state of performing Yin Seal, one can use the split bodies of the slug to achieve remote healing, even large-scale healing."
It could be said that the Living Slug was the strongest summoning beast for medical ninjas. Its functionality was already maxed out. Not only could it rapidly transmit intel, but it also had a mini Flying Thunder God-like role.
Others needed to mark with the Flying Thunder God, but it just threw a slug out. [T/N: Reminds me of Slugterra]
However, reverse summoning required some casting time, so it was good for escaping, but a bit weaker for combat.
Aoba also thought of another ability Tsunade had mentioned, "Teacher, when can I learn the Yin Seal?"
[T/N— (A little info for those who don't know) Yin Seal: The Strength of a Hundred Seal, which takes the form of a diamond on the user's forehead, is used to gradually build up and store the user's chakra over time.
Yin Seal: Release opens that seal, giving the user access to the accumulated chakra. Upon release, a pattern starts to appear from the diamond shape, spreading out across their forehead and potentially the rest of their body; by spreading the seal's pattern to another, the user can transfer the seal's chakra to them instead. The stored chakra amounts to far more than what the user has on their own, allowing them to perform chakra-demanding jutsu that they wouldn't be able to use otherwise, such as Creation Rebirth. If not all of the chakra ends up being used, it can be stored in a new Strength of a Hundred Seal.]
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