Chapter 23: Reaching an Agreement with Shikkotsu Forest
After receiving the message, the Great Toad Sage was startled. Shen, as a fellow clansman of Kaguya, was of utmost importance to Earth at this point. He immediately summoned the toad responsible for monitoring Kaguya and questioned it. Only after confirming the situation did he finally relax—Kaguya had merely glanced in that direction once before losing interest.
After passing along the good news to the Great Slug Sage, Shen also received the update and let out a long breath of relief. He still had great confidence in the toad clan's capabilities. Unlike Shikkotsu Forest, which had only the Great Slug Sage, Mount Myōboku and Ryūchi Cave were entire races, filled with all kinds of talent—whether human… or otherwise.
Since there was no immediate danger, Shen could finally relax. To be honest, while waiting for the news, he had been extremely tense. If no word had come by sunset, he had already planned to take the entire Yokota clan overseas to find a secluded island.
Fortunately, Kaguya did not have a habit of relentlessly pursuing every anomaly. Otherwise, in the original story, she wouldn't have ignored the strange behavior of her sons—only to eventually turn against them.
Looking at the now fully concealed barrier, Shen let out another sigh of relief.
With that, the barrier was complete.
What remained was the transformation of the trees engraved with sealing formulas—a task beyond Shen. That was the Slug Sage's domain.
"Ninja Art: Summoning Jutsu!"
Boom!
With a burst of pressure, a massive clone of the Slug Sage appeared.
"Nice to meet you for the first time, Shen-kun," the enormous slug clone greeted, lowering its head.
"Uh… nice to meet you too."
Knowing that slugs shared their senses under certain conditions, Shen found himself at a loss for words. Though each slug clone possessed independent thought, they were all, in essence, extensions of the Great Slug Sage.
"Um, Slug Sage… did you bring the mushroom tissue?" Shen asked. This was the key material for transforming the trees.
"Of course. Before coming, I consumed quite a number of mushrooms and selected the most stable variety."
As she spoke, the slug clone's mouth wriggled, and a pile of crushed mushroom fragments fell out.
Shen looked at the fragments on the ground. "Can broken pieces still be used?"
He picked one up, examining and squeezing it. It felt soft—just like ordinary fungi.
"They can. In fact, broken pieces are even better. These trees are ordinary—they can't handle too much mushroom material. This amount is already close to the limit," the slug clone explained.
"I see. As expected of the Great Slug Sage. Then I'll leave it to you."
Shen nodded in understanding. It was best to leave such specialized work to the slug clone.
"Leave it to me."
As soon as she finished speaking, the clone split into countless smaller slugs. Each one took a fragment of mushroom and began crawling off in different directions.
Watching them get to work, Shen stretched lazily and flew back toward the construction site. Upon arrival, he saw the Yokota clan gathered together, discussing something nervously.
"Hm? Uncle Ruma, what's going on?"
Shen asked curiously. Had something gone wrong with the construction?
"Lord Shen, it's like this—we saw a transparent, unknown force covering this entire area earlier. Now it's gone, so we were worried," Ruma explained.
"Oh, that. The barrier is already complete—no need to worry. You can also use chakra freely now. With the Slug Sage's help, it was finished ahead of schedule."
"Oh, and soon a group of slugs will pass through here. Don't panic—just continue your work as usual."
Shen explained calmly. In his rush to wait for news from Mount Myōboku, he had forgotten to inform them beforehand. To avoid unnecessary panic, he added the explanation about the slugs.
"Yes, I'll inform the clan immediately. Thank you, Lord Shen."
Hearing that the barrier had been completed, Ruma was overjoyed. He quickly dispatched someone to spread the news and expressed his gratitude. With chakra use unrestricted, construction would proceed much faster.
"It's nothing. Go ahead and get back to work—I'll just look around."
Shen waved it off, not wanting to be followed around constantly. He casually beckoned Yūko, who was nearby, to accompany him instead.
Ruma took the hint and immediately returned to work.
Yūko happily ran over and guided Shen around the construction site, introducing the layout.
Overall, the new settlement closely followed the original layout of the Yokota clan, saving them a great deal of effort. After all, having an existing template made things much easier.
Before long, Shen spotted a large group of slugs approaching. The Yokota clansmen briefly panicked, but recalling the earlier announcement, they quickly resumed their work—though many couldn't help sneaking glances.
After all, these were said to be incarnations of sages.
Some of the braver ones even greeted the slugs, who responded in return. Hearing the slugs' gentle voices emboldened them further.
A few mischievous children even picked up the smaller slugs. Though they were immediately scolded and told not to disrespect the sages, the fascination in their eyes only grew stronger.
Watching from a distance, Shen couldn't help but twitch at the corners of his mouth.
No matter the world… there were always mischievous kids.
And these were slugs of Shikkotsu Forest. If this had been Ryūchi Cave—where sacrifices of living humans weren't uncommon—the Yokota clan wouldn't have had enough people to feed them.
Freed from their "captors," the slugs quickly fled. While they didn't dislike the attention, being handled like toys by children was something they couldn't quite tolerate.
What Shen didn't know was that, from that day on, a trend of raising slugs quietly began within the Yokota clan. Many hoped that their own slugs might one day become sages.
As the night deepened and the stars filled the sky, Shen received word from the Slug Sage that the task was complete.
He used a ninjutsu to examine the barrier and confirmed that chakra within the engraved formulas was continuously replenishing. Moreover… whether it was his imagination or not, he sensed that the natural energy within the barrier was slowly increasing.
"It seems you've noticed it as well, Shen-kun," the Slug Sage said. "The natural energy here is indeed increasing. Slowly—but steadily."
"So it's real?"
Shen had thought it might be a misperception. Hearing confirmation, his surprise turned into delight.
"Yes. This will be quite beneficial for those living within the barrier," the Slug Sage said happily. She had always acted as Shen's support—being able to contribute something so significant made her equally pleased.
"Thank you so much, Slug Sage."
Shen expressed his gratitude earnestly. The Slug Sage simply shook her head, indicating it was nothing.
Looks like things here are mostly settled… I should head to Shikkotsu Forest soon and have the Great Slug Sage treat my injuries.
Watching the Yokota clan settle into a stable rhythm, Shen knew he couldn't delay his recovery any longer. Without sufficient strength, he wouldn't stand a chance when the time came to obtain a chakra fruit.
"Lord Shen, shall we head back? Dinner should be ready by now," Yūko reminded him after checking the time.
"Then let's go. Haha… your stomach must've reminded you first, didn't it?"
Shen teased as he began walking toward the dining area.
"W-What are you talking about? My stomach didn't make any noise!"
Yūko protested, flustered. In truth, she had heard it herself—but she thought Shen hadn't noticed.
"Hahaha!"
Shen burst into laughter, walking ahead. Behind him, Yūko glared at him in embarrassment, as if trying to convey through sheer will how improper it was to tease a girl—but Shen remained completely unaffected, laughing even louder.
After a pleasant dinner, Shen returned to his room with Yūko. Once they had washed up, he lay in bed, thinking over the day's events.
Recalling the harmonious scene between the Yokota clan and the slug clones earlier, a bold idea formed in his mind.
"Slug Sage, I have an idea—but I'll need the Great Slug Sage's approval."
"What is it?"
The slug resting on his chest raised its head curiously.
"Mount Myōboku and Ryūchi Cave are both sacred lands with entire races. But Shikkotsu Forest… only has you."
"I was thinking—what if we develop a dedicated sage faction for Shikkotsu Forest?"
"Today, when your clones appeared, the Yokota clan reacted very positively. They're not a warlike people. And with the increasing natural energy inside the barrier, they'll gradually be influenced by it."
"My idea is this—once they adapt to natural energy, they can begin cultivating senjutsu chakra and form summoning contracts with you. The Yokota clan could become your exclusive human force."
After laying out his thoughts, Shen waited for the Great Slug Sage's response, knowing she was already aware of everything he had said.
"Shen-kun… this is very difficult."
The Slug Sage shook her head.
"Setting aside whether the Yokota clan can even cultivate senjutsu chakra, just adapting to natural energy alone could take countless generations. Before refinement, natural energy is violent and heavy—something ordinary humans simply cannot withstand."
Those capable of mastering senjutsu were extremely rare.
The Three Great Sacred Lands existed because of unique geographical conditions, saturated with immense natural energy. The creatures living there had evolved over countless generations to become what they were today.
Trying to create a sage faction from a single human clan… was simply unrealistic.
"So it really won't work…"
Shen sighed. He thought of Jūgo's clan from the original story—people who lived in areas rich in natural energy. While they could use it, they were also driven into uncontrollable berserk states.
"This kind of thing can only be developed slowly. Humans are remarkable creatures—perhaps, in some distant future generation, they really could become a sage clan."
The Slug Sage offered gentle reassurance.
"It's fine. I know I was being overly optimistic."
Shen smiled, then continued,
"But could you at least consider allowing the Yokota clan to form summoning contracts with you?"
"That is possible," the Slug Sage replied with a nod. "However, unlike you, anyone from the Yokota clan who wishes to become my contractor must first pass my trial."
"That's only natural. Thank you, Great Slug Sage."
Shen's mood lifted immediately.
Even if they couldn't become a true sage clan, becoming representatives of Shikkotsu Forest was already a significant step forward.