Chapter 93 — The Island's Secret Soil
S.C. 1510 — Early December
Hidden Island — Center Clearing
The sun over the small island was polite today—bright enough to work under, soft enough to not roast Ren alive.
Perfect weather for science.
Ren stood in the center clearing with a wooden box under one arm and determination under the other.
Zemo circled him with the enthusiasm of someone convinced something exciting was about to happen—even though Ren was literally here to inspect dirt.
Ren knelt in the grass.
"Alright, Zemo… today is soil day."
Zemo blinked at him slowly.
Ren added, "Yes, it matters."
Zemo yawned dramatically.
Science was wasted on some foxes.
---
The Setup
Ren opened the wooden box. Inside were:
small clay pots
wooden tags
tiny scoops
diluted Compound X (the safe version)
and neatly grown control sprouts in little cloth bundles
The tools of a seven-year-old scientist who definitely wasn't normal.
Ren dug into different sections of the island with his spade-head:
1. Beach-edge soil — sandy, dry, salty
2. Central clearing soil — loose, balanced
3. Cliff-base soil — dark, cool, with tiny metallic grains
4. Shrub-area soil — rich, moist, almost fluffy
He filled each pot and lined them neatly like soldiers awaiting orders.
Zemo immediately attempted to sit between the pots.
Ren blocked him with a hand.
"No. Your tail is a demolition tool."
Zemo slowly stepped back, deeply offended.
---
A Drop of Possibility
Ren planted one sprout in each pot.
Then he uncorked the diluted extract and whispered:
"One drop each. Nice and fair."
Zemo watched intensely, like he was witnessing black magic.
Ren dropped the extract into the first pot.
Then the second.
Third.
Fourth.
No explosions.
No sparkling lights.
No soil trying to eat the pots.
Just quiet absorption.
Ren let out a relieved sigh.
"Good. No panic today."
Zemo sniffed each pot in sequence:
Beach soil → sniff… uninterested
Clearing soil → sniff… normal
Shrub soil → sniff… friendly
Cliff-base soil → sniff… sniff… ACHOO.
Ren blinked.
"…Again with the sneezing?"
---
The First Changes
Ren leaned closer to the cliff-base pot.
The soil there was darker, cooler, with a faint metallic scent. Almost like the ore nest back in Foosha's deeper forest.
He stared at the sprout.
After a few minutes…
"…Oh."
The leaf tips darkened slightly.
Nothing dramatic.
Nothing scary.
Just… faster nutrient absorption.
Ren scribbled in his notebook:
No vibration (good)
No strange twitching (very good)
Root uptake faster than normal
Leaf pigment darkening
Zemo "sneeze reaction" noted
He checked the others:
Beach soil — sprout struggling like Ren during Garp's training.
Clearing soil — average.
Shrub soil — healthy and stable.
Cliff-base soil — best reaction by far.
Ren tapped the pot thoughtfully.
"This soil… it's like a gentler version of the deeper forest soil."
Zemo sat beside the pot, squinting at it as if waiting for it to misbehave.
Ren patted him.
"It's safe. Probably."
---
Understanding the Island
Ren stood and turned slowly, looking over the entire island:
the cliffs
the central clearing
the untouched vegetation
the isolation
the quiet
Everything felt calmer here.
No predatory weird animals.
No strange forest energy.
No unexpected ecosystem quirks.
Just a normal island with just enough mystery to be useful.
Ren whispered:
"This place… it really can become our main base."
Zemo pressed his head against Ren's leg in full agreement.
Ren closed his notebook with a decisive snap.
"Tomorrow we start the first chamber.
And this soil? We'll use it for more than farming."
He looked at the cliff with a small smile.
"This island is going to be our future."
Zemo barked sharply— the confident "lead the way, captain" bark.
Ren grinned back.
The island wasn't just a fallback plan anymore.
It was the beginning of his world.
---
End of Chapter 93