Chapter 8: The Location of Shikkotsu Forest
Early in the morning, Yokota Kiyomi woke up. Seeing the unfamiliar surroundings, she immediately sat up and grabbed her short blade, scanning the area in vigilance. When she saw Shen sitting cross-legged on the wooden bed, she came back to her senses. Only then did she remember that last night's pursuit had already ended, and that she had reached an agreement with this god-like young man.
Watching Shen cultivate, the chakra in his hands burned like blue flames. For a moment, she became completely captivated, staring blankly at the manifested chakra.
In fact, Shen had already noticed her the moment she sat up. He simply didn't care, as his training was about to end anyway. What he didn't expect, however, was that she would become so absorbed just watching him cultivate.
Is my training really that fascinating to watch?
Before long, Shen opened his eyes, and the chakra in his hands disappeared. Seeing this, Yokota Kiyomi suddenly cried out in alarm:
"It's gone! The divine power is gone!"
Shen looked at her excited reaction, utterly speechless.
What's wrong with this woman? She got mesmerized watching me train, and now she's even more excited than I am just because I withdrew my chakra.
"It's not gone—I simply retracted it. And that's not called divine power. This energy is called chakra. The so-called Rabbit Goddess of your world, Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, also uses this power."
"Let me introduce myself first. My name is Ōtsutsuki Shen. I am of the same clan as Ōtsutsuki Kaguya—but I am her enemy."
Unable to stand it any longer, Shen explained. The way she looked like she wanted to approach and investigate but didn't dare step forward was honestly a bit foolish… or perhaps foolishly cute. After all, Yokota Kiyomi was quite attractive—when a pretty girl acted silly, it wasn't stupidity, it was charm.
Besides, with how similar Kaguya and his pale features are, isn't it obvious they're the same kind?
"Ah—my apologies." Snapping out of it, Yokota Kiyomi immediately bowed to the ground in apology, while thinking to herself: If he's from the same clan as the Rabbit Goddess, then isn't he basically a god anyway…
"Can you cook?"
"Yes! I often fight alone outside, so I know a bit."
"Then breakfast is your responsibility."
"Yes!"
Upon receiving the order, Yokota Kiyomi quickly stood up and began preparing breakfast. Shen watched her for a moment, then suddenly glanced at the samurai lying by the doorway. Remembering that this man knew something about the Slug Sage, he walked over.
Looking at the samurai—still alive but extremely weak—Shen revealed an excited smile.
Finally… he had a chance to grow stronger again.
Due to his injuries, he was currently limited to a Chūnin-level amount of chakra. It was unbearably frustrating.
With a flick of his hand, a ball of water formed and was thrown onto the samurai.
"Ah!" The cold shock jolted the samurai awake. He looked around in panic, and when he saw Shen standing before him, terror flooded his face as he recalled the lightning from the previous night.
"D-divine lord! P-please don't kill me! I'll tell you everything I know!"
Before Shen could even begin interrogating him, the samurai—completely broken by last night's lightning—volunteered everything.
"Then tell me everything about how you pursued that Yokota… what was it—Fuichirō," Shen said, somewhat speechless as he watched the man repeatedly kowtow.
"Yes, yes!"
"Three days ago—no, four—we received information from wandering samurai that the strongest member of the Yokota family, Yokota Fuichirō, had appeared alone near the Nogawa Lake region. Our Fūma clan head then gathered over twenty of our strongest warriors to hunt him down."
"But Yokota Fuichirō truly lived up to his reputation. Of the more than twenty of us, only seven survived—and even then, we weren't the ones who killed him."
"Stop the nonsense! I want to know how you found Shikkotsu Forest!"
Startled by Shen's interruption, the samurai quickly realized that the place with the giant slug must be what Shen referred to as Shikkotsu Forest.
"Yes!"
"After killing more than ten of us, Yokota Fuichirō was finally exhausted and fled south of Nogawa Lake. That area is covered in miasma all year round—even warriors like us don't dare enter lightly. But cornered as he was, he rushed in."
"To ensure his death, the seven of us followed. We chased him closely, no more than five meters apart. Then suddenly—he disappeared."
"There was thick miasma at the time, but we could clearly see that he vanished instantly."
"We were terrified and didn't dare advance further. Just as we were discussing what to do, Yokota Fuichirō suddenly flew out from deeper within—"
"Damn it! You monster! Just become my battle pet already! Hmph—watch as I, Yokota Fuichirō, conquer you!"
After being knocked out of Shikkotsu Forest by a clone of the Slug Sage, Yokota Fuichirō failed to realize that he had survived only because the benevolent Slug Sage had spared him. Instead, his arrogance made him believe his own strength had allowed him to endure the impact.
Watching from afar, the seven men saw a massive figure gradually emerge before him from the mist. The figure towered like a mountain.
They stared in horror as Yokota Fuichirō challenged it.
"Human, this is not a place you should be. Leave at once. I am the Great Slug Sage—far beyond what a mortal like you can challenge."
Despite the Slug Sage's warning, its voice remained gentle and soft, lacking any real intimidation.
But Yokota Fuichirō paid it no mind. He assumed the Slug Sage was afraid of him and merely putting on a show. Wielding his katana, he charged forward and slashed at the Slug Sage's clone.
To the Slug Sage, such an attack was meaningless. But just like how a person would find it annoying if an ant kept crawling over them, it was still irritating.
So, the Slug Sage spat a mouthful of acid.
In the blink of an eye, Yokota Fuichirō vanished completely.
After killing him, the Slug Sage turned toward the seven men in the distance.
"Are you with that arrogant human as well?"
"N-no! Absolutely not! We are warriors from an enemy clan. We meant no offense—we only pursued him here. Please, Slug Sage, spare us!" Already terrified, the seven immediately responded.
"Then leave. Humans are still so fond of killing each other… Go quickly. This place is filled with deadly miasma. Do not return."
With visible disdain, the Slug Sage turned and disappeared back into the dense mist.
Only after it had completely vanished did the seven men slowly regain control of their stiffened bodies. Without hesitation, they fled back toward Nogawa Lake.
"So, the place where you encountered the Slug Sage is south of Nogawa Lake, within that miasma-covered forest, correct?" Shen frowned as he confirmed.
The clues were far too vague. The southern region of Nogawa Lake alone was vast, and the miasma forest itself was surely extensive. Locating the exact spatial entrance to Shikkotsu Forest would not be easy.
However, there were still ways to find it.
For example, areas with unusually dense natural energy… or locations showing large-scale collapse from the Slug Sage's appearance.
"That means… you're no longer useful."
With a flick of his hand, a chakra arrow pierced through the samurai's skull. The man collapsed slowly, his face frozen in terror.
"Yokota girl, dispose of the body in the forest."
Without another glance, Shen walked out, heading toward the area where he had cut wood the previous day. He resumed chopping—today, he planned to lay wooden flooring throughout his new house.
Yokota Kiyomi, who had been preparing breakfast while listening, finally accepted that her second uncle was truly dead. She abandoned any thoughts of searching for him and resolved to fully cooperate with Ōtsutsuki Shen.
She glanced at the pot cooking over the fire, estimating it wouldn't boil over before she returned. Then she stood and walked toward the corpse.
First, she searched the body, unfastening the armor and removing it. She collected coins and medicine from his belongings, placing them neatly on a nearby cabinet. Then she hoisted the corpse onto her shoulder and carried it deep into the forest.
After finding a suitable spot, she tossed the body into a large pit filled with bones—clearly a feeding ground for wild beasts. It wouldn't take long before the corpse was devoured.
After disposing of the body, she hurried back, worried the soup might boil dry.
When she returned, she saw the soup was still simmering gently. Letting out a sigh of relief, she relaxed.
Shen, who had just returned carrying wood, looked at her and felt speechless.
Is this woman crazy? It's just soup…
Swinging a chakra-forged blade, he cut the wood into planks about three centimeters thick, stacking them neatly.
Watching him, Yokota Kiyomi was once again shocked.
She hadn't expected weapons formed from chakra to be this sharp. If she could use such power, her combat strength would skyrocket.
A thought emerged in her mind—
She wanted to ask Shen to teach her.
If she could master this power, she might be able to lead the Yokota family to the peak of the world.
But she hesitated.
Would asking anger him? Would he kill her?
Or… would he agree?
With such conflicted thoughts, she sat by the fire, waiting for the soup to finish. She planned to bring it up while he was eating.
"Lord Shen, breakfast is ready. Roasted taro, and crab soup."
From a distance, Shen replied that he understood. Looking at the nearly finished floor, he decided to eat first and finish the rest afterward.
The planks were already prepared—it was just a matter of laying them down one by one.