Chapter 174: The Legendary Slug Sage

The sky-covering white smoke instantly swallowed Yuto and Madara’s vision.

Whether it was Madara in Kanzentai Susanoo (Perfect Susanoo), or Yuto in his Kongō Fūsa: Kyōjin-ka (Adamantine Sealing Chains: Giant Form)—

Even though both of them had reached a scale comparable to a tailed beast, that vast curtain of white smoke still made them feel… small.

Whoooosh!

A ferocious gale suddenly tore through the air, and in the next instant, the sky-drowning smoke was blown away completely.

What appeared before Yuto and Madara was an unbelievably enormous slug—so massive its size almost defied imagination.

Just its shadow alone blanketed all of Konoha.

Too big.

So big it far exceeded anything anyone could have imagined.

In everyone’s vision, it was as if the entire world had been reduced to a single colossal slug standing there.

As for everything else—people, buildings, even the horizon—their minds were already filled to the brim by that overwhelming silhouette.

Most of Konoha’s residents couldn’t even stay standing. They slumped to the ground, eyes dull, staring up at the gigantic figure covering the village.

What… was that?

Was this really still just a battle between the “Three Legends”?

“T-That figure… don’t tell me it’s the legendary…”

Jiraiya unconsciously staggered two steps back, his voice trembling.

“The Slug Sage from the legends…”

Tsunade went pale, disbelief shaking her voice.

As someone who had signed a contract with Shikkotsurin (Shikkotsu Forest), Tsunade was one of the very few in the shinobi world who had truly seen the Slug Sage.

So the instant that sky-covering presence appeared, she was already certain.

“Grandpa… actually managed to summon the Slug Sage.”

Tsunade’s voice turned dry. Even now, deep down, she still couldn’t quite believe it.

Because even if she released the Byakugō no In (Strength of a Hundred Seal) and went all-out, she could only ever summon a tiny portion of the Slug Sage’s body.

The stronger the summoned creature, the more chakra it held, and the larger its body—

The more terrifying the chakra cost of summoning became.

This wasn’t “one plus one.”

It wasn’t even linear.

It was explosive, compounding growth.

To fully summon the Slug Sage… the amount of chakra required was far beyond what Tsunade could even comprehend.

Staring at that incomparably massive slug, both Yuto and Madara were momentarily stunned.

A towering figure three to four hundred zhang—well over a kilometer tall—radiated a terrifying aura, as if it dragged everyone back into an ancient age where humanity was frail prey beneath the beasts.

A fear that couldn’t be put into words surged into Yuto and Madara’s hearts.

It wasn’t fear born from a gap in strength.

It was something deeper—like fear carved into human blood itself.

The kind of instinctive dread an ordinary person feels when staring down a wild beast.

The Slug Sage…

Yuto swallowed hard, a rare bitterness appearing on his face.

Beside him, Madara’s expression had stiffened as well.

In the shinobi world, there were three great inherited sanctuaries:

Myōbokuzan (Mount Myōboku), Ryūchidō (Ryūchi Cave), and Shikkotsurin (Shikkotsu Forest).

The sages of these three lands had existed since the Kaguya era—each with at least a thousand years of history.

Unlike the other two sanctuaries, both the Gama Sennin (Toad Sage) of Myōbokuzan (Mount Myōboku) and the Shirohebi Sennin (White Snake Sage) of Ryūchidō (Ryūchi Cave) had countless descendants—

And the sages themselves had grown old.

Like the Gama Sennin (Toad Sage) of Myōbokuzan (Mount Myōboku): even if you used Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Technique) to bring him out, he likely wouldn’t have much combat power left.

But Shikkotsurin (Shikkotsu Forest) was different.

That sanctuary held only a single slug—one existence.

The Slug Sage.

And whether it was Tsunade or Sakura, the “Katsuyu” they summoned with Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Technique) was only a fragment of the Slug Sage’s body.

Even more different from the other two—

Compared to the extremely aged Gama Sennin (Toad Sage) and Shirohebi Sennin (White Snake Sage), the Slug Sage still seemed… young.

You could tell from the Katsuyu that Tsunade or Sakura summoned.

A Slug Sage who had lived from the Kaguya era to the present for over a thousand years—just that fact alone was enough to make both Yuto and Madara feel how troublesome this would be.

The unknown… was the true source of fear.

“I didn’t think you’d actually manage to summon me, Hashiboy.”

The Slug Sage’s soft, almost squishy-sounding voice reached Hashirama’s ear.

At this moment, Hashirama was sitting cross-legged on a spot atop the Slug Sage’s head.

Hearing that voice, Hashirama’s pale face immediately took on a respectful expression.

Back then, he had only barely managed to summon the Slug Sage by burning through all his chakra and life force.

But summoning it wasn’t the end.

Hashirama still needed to consume someone else’s chakra to maintain the Slug Sage’s presence.

Any Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Technique), beyond the massive initial cost, also required ongoing chakra afterward—just to keep the summoned creature anchored.

Of course, that “small amount of chakra” was only “small” in relative terms.

If an ordinary shinobi tried to maintain the Slug Sage, they’d be drained dry in an instant.

Even Hashirama—now in Sennin Mōdo (Sage Mode)—could feel his chakra being consumed at a terrifying rate.

“Slug Sage… I’ll be relying on you.”

Hashirama spoke respectfully, his voice carrying a hint of weakness.

“There are two of them now?”

The Slug Sage’s puzzled voice sounded again.

“It used to be one. But an old friend of mine has also been revived. Both of them pose a huge threat to the shinobi world—one of them has a special physique that’s practically like immortality.”

Hashirama answered quietly.

“Immortality? I’ve seen plenty of that. Just put him inside my body.”

“As for the other one without immortality… that should be the friend you mentioned. Are you sure you want to kill him too?”

The Slug Sage’s tone remained flat.

Hashirama fell silent for a brief moment… then spoke again.

“I’m counting on you, Slug Sage.”

The instant his words fell—

A terrifying presence erupted from within the Slug Sage.

An indescribable pressure, laced with senjutsu chakra, slammed down on both Yuto and Madara at once.

Bang! Bang!

Kanzentai Susanoo (Perfect Susanoo) and Kongō Fūsa: Kyōjin-ka (Adamantine Sealing Chains: Giant Form) seemed to take a sudden heavy blow.

Yuto and Madara both staggered back several steps.