After understanding how to use the gathering and building functions, everyone immediately entered the forest and mountains in the center of the island.
"Hmph!"
Kasumi assumed an iaido stance, then swung her katana.
The two trees in front of her fell in response.
"Your skills haven't dulled. Want to compete and see who cuts down more?"
Maki, also holding a katana, walked up to Kasumi.
"Sure. I won't lose when it comes to swordsmanship."
Kasumi smiled and raised her Dance of Fine Snow.
"Alright, let's start."
With that, Maki swiftly swung the short katana in her hand.
Tree after tree was felled by Maki.
The katana taken from the Thousand Machine Umbrella was inferior to Kasumi's Dance of Fine Snow in both blade length and thickness.
The light feeling was not Maki's favorite either, so after swinging it for a while, she reinserted the katana into the bottom of the Thousand Machine Umbrella, then switched the Thousand Machine Umbrella to its double-edged greatsword form.
"This feels much better to use."
Feeling the heavy weight in her hands, Maki nodded in satisfaction.
Then Maki swung the greatsword, which visually appeared larger than herself, like a door panel, sweeping across the entire forest.
"Wait, weren't we competing in swordsmanship? Maki, you're cheating!"
Seeing Maki fell a whole swath of trees with one swing of her greatsword, then looking at her own "slender" Dance of Fine Snow, Kasumi cried out in protest.
"A greatsword is also a sword, so we are indeed competing in swordsmanship."
Maki showed a refreshed look.
"How cunning! I won't lose to you!"
With that, Kasumi once again increased the speed of her katana swings.
"They're really energetic."
Nobara looked at the two in front of her speechlessly, mechanically tapping the screen with her hands and gathering the trees Maki had cut down into her backpack.
"Indeed."
Momo, who was also gathering the trees Kasumi had cut down nearby, nodded.
The girls had gotten along well these past few days, so there was no situation where they fought over resources.
Of course, this was mainly because both of their strengths were greatly diminished now, and Nobara's small hammer and Momo's broom were not present.
If they really fought, it would most likely turn into a catfight of pulling hair and scratching faces.
This was unacceptable for both of them, who valued their appearance greatly.
Ultimately, this led to the current situation where they chatted a few meters apart, each minding their own business.
While the girls were having fun in pairs, the situation on the boys' side was similar.
Todo, who exuded strength, and the strong sports student Yuji went up the mountain to gather stone materials.
They swung their Cursed Energy-enhanced fists, striking a protruding rock with a force that would make ordinary people wince.
Crack, rumble.
The rock broke, and a stone about one meter in size fell to the ground, which Yuji then gathered.
"Nice job, brother. I won't lose either!"
Todo looked around for a target. After finding a rock buried underground with only a portion exposed, he injected Cursed Energy into it.
Todo carefully felt the contours of the rock, then clapped his hands.
Clap.
A huge rock appeared where Todo had originally been standing.
Todo, however, only had his head sticking out of the ground.
"Hahaha, how lame, it's like a Todo grew out of the ground!"
Yuji said, covering his stomach with one hand and slapping his thigh with the other.
Clap.
"Huh?"
Yuji spat out the dirt that had fallen into his mouth and looked at the surrounding trees, which had suddenly grown a section taller.
"This perspective is surprisingly interesting."
Yuji curiously observed everything around him. With his line of sight lowered, he also saw many insects.
"Oh, so this is what this insect looks like. I never paid attention before."
Sometimes, by changing your perspective, you would find that the world had many interesting changes.
"Don't get so caught up playing that you forget our task, brother."
Todo squatted down and kneaded Yuji's pink hair with his large hand.
"Ah, I still need to collect rocks."
Yuji's right hand broke through the soil, then he slapped his forehead.
"Alright, to truly embrace our youth, let's not use the gathering function. Let's push the rocks back with our bare hands!"
Todo, his blood boiling, pointed at the spherical boulder next to him that he had moved to the ground with his Cursed Technique.
"I won't lose! Where's my rock?"
Yuji pulled himself out of the dirt, then searched for a rock similar in size to the one in front of Todo.
By the sea, Noritoshi and Megumi were catching prey for dinner.
After all, by the sea, the most abundant food source was definitely the ocean.
Megumi was holding a fishing rod, fishing out of boredom.
A large fish swam nearby, circled Megumi's hook a few times, then shook its head and turned to leave.
Megumi's eye twitched.
This fish was a bit too rude.
The next second, the pile of sand beneath the hook moved.
The previously raised sand pile suddenly lifted even higher, like a predator opening its gaping maw.
A long, pink tongue shot out, grabbing the impolite fish.
The Ten Shadows Technique's shikigami, Toad.
"I'm done."
Feeling his Cursed Energy fully restored, Megumi tossed the fishing rod in his hand, and the shadow-formed fishing line and hook dissipated with it.
"Great Serpent."
A white great serpent emerged from Megumi's shadow, then swam into the sea to hunt.
Not far from Megumi, Noritoshi was also catching prey in the water.
However, unlike Megumi's fishing method, he relied on traps.
A faint smell of blood diffused underwater, and soon several fish gathered.
Noritoshi, who had been as still as an old monk in meditation, suddenly opened his eyes and forcefully clenched his right hand forward.
"Blood Manipulation: Crimson Binding!"
The bloody sphere that had attracted the fish suddenly exploded, then transformed into ropes that bound the surrounding fish.
Noritoshi gave the fish no chance to break free.
The moment these fish were bound by Blood Manipulation, he controlled his blood to return to the shore.
He also immediately jumped into the water to catch them by hand.
The reason for such haste was that seawater would greatly affect Blood Manipulation. Crimson Binding would weaken more and more due to the influence of seawater and would not last long.
Furthermore, the blood bags he had prepared for this activity were not brought onto the island, so Noritoshi was using his own fresh blood.
Therefore, he did not dare waste a single drop.
After all, he did not possess Reverse Cursed Technique, so lost blood could not be replenished in time.
If he failed to control the intensity and collapsed from anemia, it would be a loss of face for the Kamo Family.
Although the Kamo Family no longer had any face left for him to lose.
Placing the fish on a large leaf prepared in advance, Noritoshi glanced in Megumi's direction.
Then he saw Toad hop ashore and spit out several fish.
"...Um, can those be eaten?"
Having grown up in the Kamo Family, with somewhat strict standards for food, Noritoshi felt a hint of resistance rise in his heart as he looked at the fish and shrimp that had passed through Toad's and Great Serpent's mouths.
(To be continued.)