Chapter 10: Arriving at the Yokota Clan
During the midday rest, Shen sat cross-legged on the bed. Compared to that wooden plank bed, the new one really was much more comfortable, he muttered inwardly. Not wasting any time, Shen began cultivating. Although he currently had no way to increase the total amount of his chakra, this kind of training could still serve as tempering. In future battles, the speed at which chakra flowed through his meridians would become much faster, and the time needed to launch his attacks would be shortened considerably. That way, he would be better able than his enemies to seize the decisive moment.
Yokota Kiyomi was not idle either. She began checking her equipment and the items she was carrying—her original short blade, the long sword taken from the samurai, as well as the weapons, medicine, and money she had gone back to gather from last night's battlefield whenever she had the chance. There was also a set of armor, though it was too large, and wearing it would only hinder her movements, so she had no intention of bringing it.
After sharpening both her short blade and long sword, she set them aside. As for the other weapons, Yokota Kiyomi tied them together with a strip of tree bark, preparing to carry them with her. Shen had actually been watching everything she was doing, but said nothing. These things were of no use to him anyway. Still, when he thought about how he would have to carry her while flying later, he felt a little irritated…
Very soon, Shen finished his cultivation. Feeling the chakra in his body brimming to fullness once again, he got off the bed. Walking out of the bedroom, he looked at the already-prepared Yokota Kiyomi and said, "Let's go. I'll carry you while flying in a moment. We'll be going very high, and it'll be very cold. Put on a few more clothes, then point out the direction."
"Yes!" Wearing three extra layers of clothing, Yokota Kiyomi stepped outside. Shen looked at her, then took the helmet from the armor nearby and pressed it onto her head. With one hand gripping her shoulder, he spread chakra over her body. Yokota Kiyomi felt something covering her, but when she looked down, she couldn't see anything at all.
Shen slowly lifted into the air with Yokota Kiyomi in tow. Her mouth fell open wide. Watching the ground grow farther and farther away, she panicked and clung tightly to Shen's waist. Seeing that although she was frightened, she was adapting fairly well, Shen decided to speed up.
Then, like a jet plane, he shot upward at terrifying speed, carrying Yokota Kiyomi high into the sky. Before long, they had risen above the clouds. At this altitude, even if someone on the ground looked up, they would never be able to see the two of them. Protected by Shen's chakra and the helmet, Yokota Kiyomi was spared the rushing wind, but the rapidly thinning air from the swift ascent still left her gasping deeply for a while before she adjusted.
After Yokota Kiyomi pointed out a direction, Shen flew that way with her. Though Shen's flight speed was not quite as fast as a fighter jet, it was still comparable to a small aircraft. And how fast could people of this era possibly travel on foot? So after flying for less than ten minutes, Yokota Kiyomi pointed toward a certain hill and said her clan was there.
Only after descending some distance away did Shen see a cluster of buildings on the flat top of the hill. At the center of the settlement stood a fairly luxurious manor. Shen brought Yokota Kiyomi down directly into the middle of the compound, and before they had even fully landed, they were surrounded by a large group of samurai.
However, after seeing Yokota Kiyomi, the samurai did not rush to attack. Even so, they all stared in fear at Shen in his white robes. If not for the responsibilities and conviction they still clung to, some of them probably would have tried to run by now. After all, no one would think they could possibly be a match for Ōtsutsuki Shen, who had descended from the sky like a god.
"Kiyomi!" At that moment, a middle-aged man wearing battle armor cried out excitedly when he saw Yokota Kiyomi standing beside Shen.
"Father! Ah, Father, please order everyone to disperse. This lord is the powerful ally I brought to help our Yokota clan," Yokota Kiyomi said happily upon seeing her father, though what mattered more now was properly settling Shen in.
"Everyone, stand down. My lord, please come with me to the main hall so we may speak further." Yokota Kiyomi's father, the head of the Yokota clan, ordered the samurai surrounding them to disperse, then personally led Shen toward the main hall, with Yokota Kiyomi following behind.
After arriving in the main hall, Yokota Kiyomi served tea, then began acting as intermediary to introduce the people present.
"Father, this is Lord Ōtsutsuki Shen. He is of the same clan as the Rabbit Goddess, Ōtsutsuki Kaguya. However, his relationship with the Rabbit Goddess is somewhat complicated, so I'll explain that in a moment. First, let me tell you what happened to me during this time."
"Ever since the day I left home to look for Second Uncle, I've been hunted by the Fūma clan. Yesterday, when I had no path left to take, I passed through a village. The villagers told me that a powerful hunter had recently arrived in the forest nearby. I thought it might be Second Uncle training there, so I entered the forest."
Only then did Shen finally understand why Yokota Kiyomi had entered the forest where he was staying. So she had mistaken him for that idiot uncle of hers.
"Obviously, I didn't find Second Uncle—but instead, I encountered Lord Shen by chance…"
After Yokota Kiyomi recounted the experiences of last night to her father, the Yokota clan head began looking at Shen as if he were truly a god. He seemed only one step away from falling to his knees and begging for Shen's blessing. Seeing that gaze, Shen nearly rolled his eyes. Still sitting upright, he simply sipped his tea slowly.
"Lord Shen, this is my father, the head of the Yokota clan, Yokota Ruma. Just as we discussed before, please help us defeat the Fūma clan. In return, we will mobilize all of our clansmen to search the area around Nogawa Lake for the entrance to Shikkotsu Forest," said Yokota Kiyomi, once again confirming the arrangement between herself and Shen.
"There's no need for that. As repayment for bringing me this information, I will help you deal with the Fūma clan. All you need to do is find someone to guide me to that miasma-covered forest." At this point, Shen shook his head. Just as the Slug Sage had said before, that miasma was far too deadly for ordinary humans. The fact that those few members of the Fūma clan had survived there at all already seemed to Shen like a blessing from the Slug Sage herself.
"Then we shall follow your will. Next, may we discuss the matter of chakra?" Yokota Kiyomi asked tentatively.
"Yes. But just as I told you before, if you wish to cultivate chakra, then your clan must withdraw from the world. That is an absolute condition." Shen's tone remained one of complete indifference, as though any outcome was fine with him.
"Then if we do withdraw from the world, may we ask you to become the guardian deity worshiped by our Yokota clan?" At that moment, the head of the Yokota clan spoke. As expected, like father, like daughter—they had exactly the same idea.
"Hm? I believe I made myself quite clear. I am no deity. I'm simply a lifeform somewhat stronger than the rest of you." Ōtsutsuki Shen had no intention of becoming some kind of god. Excessively decadent theocracy would only make him lose the very heart that drove him to grow stronger.
"Although you are not a deity, that does not prevent the Yokota clan from worshiping you as one. If you ever have matters that require attention, you may order us as you please. All we ask is that when the Yokota clan faces disaster, you will lend us your aid and help us through our hardships. You may simply regard us as a subordinate clan under your command." At this point, the Yokota clan head explained what he meant. In other words, the Yokota clan would henceforth become subordinate to Shen. If anything needed doing, he need only give the order, and in return, he would help them when they encountered danger.
"In that case, I don't particularly mind. But if you people bring trouble upon yourselves, then I won't concern myself with it." At this point, Shen issued a warning. He was afraid that once the Yokota clan gained his protection, they would start to become arrogant. Though he required them to withdraw from the world for now, that state would eventually come to an end. The time they needed to remain hidden would only be a few decades. With those decades of his guidance, they would certainly become much stronger than ordinary people. If they then relied on that strength to abuse others, Shen would not be able to accept it.
"Please rest assured, Lord Shen. My Yokota clan is not the sort of family that goes around provoking others lightly. The fact that my younger brother turned out the way he did is not something I ever wished to see. In truth, my younger brother has already left the clan to wander and temper himself for seven or eight years. But as for the people of the Yokota clan, I understand them very well." Yokota Ruma spoke with a solemn expression.
"That means nothing. What the Yokota clan will become can only be seen in the future. As for now, I don't mind entering a cooperative relationship with you. That's all for today. Tonight, just tell me where the Fūma clan is located. Tomorrow, I'll pay a visit to the Fūma clan. Enough—take me to my room." Not wanting to continue the discussion, Shen ended the topic and urged Yokota Kiyomi to show him to his room.
"Then I'll take you there now, my lord." Clearly sensing Shen's impatience, Yokota Kiyomi rose and led him out. Yokota Ruma also bowed respectfully and watched Shen leave.
Following Yokota Kiyomi, Shen arrived at a room whose interior was extremely well arranged. It seemed the Yokota clan truly placed great importance on him, which was only natural. This was a matter of life and death for their clan, after all. With such a powerful figure appearing at such a critical time, anyone would have taken him seriously.
When Shen opened the door on the other side of the room, he found a courtyard outside. The courtyard was arranged almost like a garden, and in the middle of the garden stood a small pavilion. Shen walked into the pavilion and carefully studied the layout of the courtyard, wondering whether he should imitate something similar when he returned home later.
At that moment, a group of maids arrived outside and stood along both sides of the doorway. Clearly, they had been assigned to attend to Shen, but did not dare approach and disturb him, so they simply stood there waiting for his orders. Truth be told, this kind of life was a first for him. Whether it was the Shen from his original world or this world's Ōtsutsuki Shen, neither had ever lived like this before. On the contrary, this world's Ōtsutsuki Shen had plenty of memories of serving others.
Sitting there in the pavilion and thinking to himself, Shen eventually decided to practice the five elemental nature transformations to pass the time. As a Naruto fan, he remembered quite a few jutsu of the basic, non-bloodline elemental types. He had even looked up the methods and sequence of their hand seals online.
He knew all twelve basic seal forms, and had practiced them quite a bit. It was just that back on his previous Earth, there had been no such thing as chakra, so ninjutsu could not actually be performed. And with his physical condition in his previous life, being able to complete one seal per second had already been considered fast.
But with the strength of this current body, Shen was confident that he could reach Uchiha Itachi's level of six seals per second. In truth, Shen had also noticed that hand seals were not limited to just twelve. It was only the five elemental techniques that used those twelve. Certain bloodline techniques and secret arts definitely required more than that.
So, sitting in the pavilion, he began practicing hand seals. The maids at the door, though they had no idea what Shen was doing, instinctively knew that these gestures were not simple. The clever ones had already begun memorizing the seal patterns, intending to return later and practice them themselves.
Truth be told, Shen had underestimated the racial advantages of the Ōtsutsuki clan. In his previous world, he had only been able to manage one seal every one and a half seconds. But now, after merely ten minutes of practice, he had already reached two seals per second, and he could clearly feel his speed continuing to increase. As for the maids, all they could see now was a blur of afterimages from Shen's hands. They could no longer distinguish which seal was which.
Those maids who had memorized the seal patterns earlier felt immensely fortunate. Thankfully, they had committed them to memory beforehand. They believed that if they went back and practiced diligently, then even if they could never match Shen's speed, they could at least become familiar with them. And when Shen eventually passed down the clan's new power, perhaps they might stand out from the rest and cast off the identity of a maid forever, becoming someone above others.
Unaware of the thoughts running through the maids' minds, Shen continued practicing his hand seals. His current limit had already reached three seals per second. Feeling his sealing speed improve so clearly, Shen was naturally delighted as well. He stopped practicing the speed of his hand seals, then began forming the seals corresponding to the five elemental natures.