UNKNOWN POV
It had been some time since my last visit to the Shikkotsu forest, and as I felt myself surrounded by the abundant flow of natural energy, a soothing sensation washed over me.
It was like a cool stream flowing through my veins, cleansing the fatigue of a long journey. I felt my body relax and my mind calm, easing some of the persistent anxiety that had been clinging to me for weeks.
I didn't know the source of this anxiety that had been plaguing me for a while, a subtle unease that was neither fear nor worry, but something like in my mind telling me of a premonition.
Still, I didn't let it affect me. Letting go of the irrelevant thoughts, I allowed my senses to expand their range, feeling the vibrant life of the nature surrounding me.
But something felt different. The ambience of the forest felt subtly changed from before.
I immersed myself completely, trying to find the reason for this subtle difference. I closed my eyes and focused on the energy, the feeling, the very essence of the place. How should I put it?
Hmm... the forest feels livelier than before. Yes, that's it.
In the past, the forest had been completely silent whenever I arrived, save for some occasional subtle chirps from animals that were too small to feel my presence.
It was a place of serene, almost sacred, stillness. But now, a clamor of sounds—chirping birds, buzzing insects, and the rustle of unseen creatures—was carried on the winds of what used to be an almost completely silent place.
As curiosity took a firm root in my mind about the cause of such a profound change, I didn't hesitate to move toward the source of the sounds to find my answers.
I walked through the forest, the path seeming to guide me to the source of its new liveliness.
The deeper I went, the more the natural energy seemed to concentrate, and the more vibrant the sounds became. I reached an open clearing and saw what appeared to be a gathering of summoning beasts near a makeshift shed by the lakeside.
The sheer variety of creatures was astonishing—monkeys, foxes, and wolves all in one place, their different energies mixing in the air without conflict.
I didn't hide as I approached, and some of the beasts were immediately alerted to my presence.
Their heads snapped toward me, and they moved in tandem with a discipline that was surprising. They took a defensive stance, their eyes fixed on me, and a low growl rippled through the group.
As they moved in sync, their formation became a solid wall of muscle and scales, and I could feel them surrounding something in the center. I
focused, and my senses picked up what felt like a small flickering life force at the heart of their group. It was weak, yet radiating a subtle, natural energy.
At first glance, it seemed like they were protecting a cub, but my trained eye as a shinobi made me reconsider this notion. I instinctively picked up the discrepancies in the surroundings, details that didn't fit the simple picture of a den.
Just like the crude shed, which, while crudely built, appeared to be made for human housing, there was a tree trunk that seemed to have been used as a table for a shogi board on top of it.
A small cart sat between the summoned beasts, and from it, I sensed the small life signs of the cub. All these constructs hinted at something more than what met the eye. While I didn't deny the wisdom of some of the summoned beasts, a gathering of so many different species along with these man-made items wasn't something I felt was commonplace.
Definitely... something is happening here.
I thought as I approached their gathering place to see more, but my actions seemed to have aroused the group's vigilance.
As I tried to move closer, I felt that their vigilance might give rise to hostility, and my senses told me that a conflict would be a an unnecessary one. I immediately stopped to prevent it.
Ugh... I should probably declare I have no hostile intentions, or this might start a fight.
I thought, nodding to myself, a small sigh of exasperation escaping my lips. While I was pondering how to proceed, I suddenly saw a familiar giant slug near the shed turn toward me.
Grasping the opportunity, I immediately called out, my voice resonating with an echo of a past friendship,
"It is nice to see you again, Lady Katsuyu. I hope my arrival didn't disturb you, ha ha ha."
"It is nice to see you too, Hashirama-sama," she replied, her voice soft and soothing.
My strategy seemed to have worked flawlessly. I immediately saw the animals relax as they heard their sage greet me. The tension in the air dissipated, and they opened a path to the center, revealing what was hidden and I was stunned by what I saw.