Burble… burble…

Izuna dashes towards the sound of falling water. Soon, he reaches near the source of the sound and spots a gigantic waterfall. ​​

Izuna gapes at the scenery and immerses in its beauty for a while. The reflection from the sun creates a large rainbow at the top of the waterfall. The fresh breeze flows near the waterfall and he could feel his body getting revitalized near the waterfall.

"This is Nature Energy. My body is passively absorbing a little amount of Senjutsu energy and is rejuvenating itself." Izuna inhales deeply and walks toward the waterfall.

He cups his hand and collect water from the stream and taste it.

"Such clear water and the taste is so good. This scenery is so enchanting. It is… it is so…"

"Beautiful, right?"

Izuna is interrupted by a sudden feminine voice. He turns around to spot the newcomer. He spots a giant two-tail fox. Izuna raises his guard and warily looks at the fox and gets ready to engage in a fight.

"Relax. Calm down, I am not looking for a fight." The fox tries to relax Izuna.

Izuna relaxes his guard a little and questions the fox,

"Who are you? Do you have any issues with me?"

"I am Kurumi. One of the natives of the Shikkotsu forest. I am a part of the Fox clan."

The Fox introduces herself.

"Sorry for interrupting you earlier. It wasn't my intention."

The fox apologies.

"I am ordered by Lady Katsuyu to summon you. Lady Katsuyu wants to have a chat with you." The fox informs Izuna.

"Oh! So, Katsuyu finally remembered me. I have some questions to ask from her. Lead the way."

Izuna responds to the fox. The fox walks towards one of the cavern passage. Izuna follows the fox while still on guard.

The fox continues to lead him inside the cavern. After a while, they exit out of the cavern in a vast open area. There are no large trees out there, only some vines and shrubs. The size of shrubs and vines easily scaling a two-story or three-story building.

Izuna continues to follow the fox. He spots many slugs slithering around. One of the smaller slugs raises its head and greets Izuna.

"Hello. Izuna-kun. It has been a while since we last met."

Izuna skeptically looks at the slug which greatly resembles Katsuyu. He activates his Sharingan and checks its chakra Signature.

"Katsuyu, you are Katsuyu."

"Hello! Izuna-kun. How are you doing?" Another giant slug greets him.

Izuna turns his head and looks at the new slug.

"You are also Katsuyu. Are both of you her clones or fissions?" Izuna questions them.

"No, both of us are Katsuyu." Both the slug reply to Izuna.

"Then which of you is the real one, or are you suffering from an identity crisis?" Izuna remembers a filler episode of Naruto where Naruto's shadow clones held the real Naruto as a hostage.

"Both of us are real." Both of them reply simultaneously again.

"Hey! Can you take me to the real Katsuyu? I can't quite understand the situation here." Izuna stares around and spots various gigantic versions of Katsuyu.

The two-tailed fox nods to him and continues to lead him towards the Katsuyu.

They walk for a while and soon reaches near the roots of a gigantic tree. The fox points towards a cave and explains,

"Lady Katsuyu is inside that cave. My task is over if you want to meet me again, then visit me at Fox clan."

The fox turns around and dashes in a particular direction. Izuna enters the cave and soon spots a massive slug slithering back and forth inside the cave.

"Katsuyu! You are the real Katsuyu, who was looking for me, right?" Izuna question the slug.

"Yes, I am indeed the Katsuyu who was looking for you."

The giant slug turns its head and looks at Izuna.

"It is quite late to say it, but still 'Welcome to Shikkotsu Forest Izuna-kun'." The slug welcomes him.

"Hey! Before we start our conversation, I have a question for you. Do you mind answering it?" Izuna question the slug.

"Go on! I will try to answer your question." The slug assures him.

"What's the deal with all these Katsuyu out there? Are they your fission clones or something? All of them are Katsuyu right?" Izuna questions Katsuyu.

"Oh! That. It is not a secret for the natives of the Shikkotsu Forest. Actually, all of them are Katsuyu. We share every information with each other, and all of us are linked telepathically to each other.

After a certain period, the Katsuyu will undergo binary fission and split into two new Katsuyu. The new Katsuyu will inherit the memories of the Old Katsuyu. This way we have survived for a very long time."

Katsuyu answers to Izuna. Izuna looks at Katsuyu with a surreal gaze.

'That's it. That's the secret of Katsuyu. I thought it would be something mind-blowing. But this, I can't put my head around it. It is amazing actually but still, it lacks in compared to my fantasies.'

Izuna sighs to himself. He questions her again,

"I placed my teleportation seal on one of your smaller body. When I teleported here, why I appeared so far from your location?"

Izuna looks at Katsuyu.

"Izuna-kun, Shikkotsu Forest is isolated from the rest of the world by a space-time barrier. The founder of the Uzumaki clan constructed this barrier. I help to maintain the barrier around the forest.

It is because of this reason that your teleportation formula wasn't able to pick up my co-ordinates closely. Thus, you were teleported at the outer edge of the forest. Various low-intelligence creatures reside at the outer edge of the forest."

Katsuyu continues to explain,

"Izuna-kun. We Katsuyu are the protector of the Shikkotsu Forest. It is us who take care of the Forest and maintains its eco-system despite it being isolated from the rest of the world. Shikkotsu forest existed way before the era of Rikkudou Sennin, and I have been maintaining it for such a long period.

Over the passage of years, due to continuous fission, I have turned into multiple Katsuyu who help me maintain the forest more efficiently. Many of Katsuyu died through accidents, death in battle, or through various other reasons."

Katsuyu explains about her herself.

"Katsuyu, who was your former summoner? I mean before Tsunade who contracted with you." Izuna asks in curiosity.

"I was a former summon of Mito Uzumaki and before that, I had summoning contracts with Uzumaki clan members. One Uzumaki clan member helped me once by sealing a berserk creature present in the Shikkotsu Forest.

That battle caused the death of many Katsuyu. Thankfully, the Uzumaki clan member sealed the creature before any major harm was done. It was during that moment when I formed a summoning contract with the Uzumaki clan members."

Katsuyu laid a summoning contract in front of Izuna. Izuna opens the scroll and starts to filter through the names of her contractor.

"Tsunade Senju, Mito Uzumaki, Ashina Uzumaki...."

He continues to skim through the name of her previous contractor. After skimming for a while, Izuna stops at the first name on the list.

"Kenshiro Senju…"

Izuna looks at the scroll once again.

Kenshiro Senju…

He looks at Katsuyu and questions her.

"Lady Katsuyu! Who is this Kenshiro Senju? You made a contract with the Uzumaki clan members, right? Then why is a Senju clan member first on your contractor list?"

Izuna question Katsuyu.

"Oh, that! I guess you are aware of the fact that the Uzumaki clan and Senju clans were relatives, right?"

Izuna nods to Katsuyu.

"Kenshiro is the first Uzumaki clan member. You can also call him the founder of the Uzumaki clan. He is the person who sealed the vicious creature and protected the Shikkotsu forest a few centuries ago.

After he made a summoning contract with me, he founded the Uzumaki clan and separated from the Senju clan. If you are interested in his story, then I will narrate it to you."

Izuna nods to her as he gets ready to listen to her tale.

'I am pretty interested in the story of this Kenshiro Senju. He is the founder of the Uzumaki clan and had a 'Sin eye' in his possession. I wonder how he got hold of the 'Sin eye'.'

"Then listen attentively!"

Katsuyu starts to narrate the story of the First Uzumaki to Izuna.

---------------------------

A/N:- Hello everyone, your shameless author here. I am adding another of my Original Origin story here. I want to immerse in the Naruto world and I want to explain many unexplained parts of the plot. So, this is one of my attempt to do so. Leave your thoughts in the comment. When I mentioned Slow-paced, I really meant it. I hope you continue to read my story despite my shortcomings.