Natsume let out a confused "Huh?" and looked at Rowan.
The Daibutsu Fruit wasn't powerful?
What kind of joke was that?
During the battle just now, he could clearly feel that the Daibutsu Fruit was extremely powerful—ridiculously powerful, even.
Kato's attacks had been enough to break through Tsuchigumo's defenses and injure him, yet the golden Buddha Natsume transformed into had endured Kato's attacks again and again without suffering the slightest injury.
Every punch he threw caused a huge explosion, with shockwaves sweeping outward like landslides and tsunamis.
And that wasn't considered powerful?
It was obviously far too powerful.
Rowan said, "You've misunderstood something, Natsume. The reason you feel the Daibutsu Fruit is so powerful is because you yourself are also extremely powerful."
Natsume froze.
I'm powerful too?
Rowan nodded toward Nero. Nero released the Golden Theater, and everyone returned to the apartment's living room.
Rowan dropped onto the sofa and said, "Have you forgotten that ordinary people can't see yokai?"
Natsume said, "Isn't it only natural that ordinary people can't see yokai?"
"Then why can you see them?"
Rowan's question immediately left Natsume speechless.
He had been able to see yokai since childhood and knew he was different from normal people, but he had never seriously considered why he could see them.
Nyanko-sensei said, "Natsume can see yokai because he inherited Reiko's power."
"That's right."
Rowan snapped his fingers.
"That is the true reason. Natsume, you inherited Natsume Reiko's power and possess tremendous spiritual energy. That's why you're strong."
"It's just that no one ever taught you how to use that power, so you've always believed you were an ordinary person."
"Whenever you encounter a yokai, your first reaction isn't to fight, but to run."
"You regard yourself as an ordinary person and believe you can't defeat yokai. But that isn't actually true. If you could use your power, you could easily defeat many yokai, just like Natsume Reiko did."
Natsume could not help turning toward Nyanko-sensei.
Was that true?
Nyanko-sensei licked his paw and said, "That's right. Natsume really does possess powerful strength. Unfortunately, no one ever taught him how to use it, so he has always been an ordinary person sitting on a mountain of treasure he couldn't access."
Hearing this, Natsume lowered his head and looked at his hands.
So I've possessed powerful strength all along?
Rowan said, "The Daibutsu Fruit is merely a switch. After obtaining the Daibutsu Fruit, your power finally gained a place where it could be used and could be fully brought out through the fruit."
"So the thing that's truly powerful isn't the Daibutsu Fruit."
"It's you, Natsume."
"Is that really true?"
Natsume still found it difficult to believe.
Rowan smiled faintly and asked, "You enjoyed that battle just now, didn't you? Then have you ever considered where you got the stamina to recklessly use the Daibutsu Fruit and fight my shikigami?"
Natsume froze, then immediately realized something.
That's right.
According to the rules of Devil Fruits, using their abilities consumed physical stamina.
But how should he describe his own stamina?
It couldn't be called terrible, but it definitely couldn't be called good either.
He could probably run a hundred meters, but after a thousand meters he would definitely be panting heavily. He might not even be able to lift something weighing more than fifty kilograms.
Yet when he had transformed into the golden Buddha and fought just now, he had seemed completely at ease and had not felt much exhaustion at all.
That wasn't normal.
It was absolutely abnormal.
He looked toward Rowan.
Rowan explained, "Devil Fruits are very strange. When someone has no supernatural power, using a Devil Fruit consumes their physical stamina."
"But when you possess supernatural energy, whether cursed energy, chakra, mana, or something else, you can prioritize using that supernatural energy to power the Devil Fruit."
"You inherited Natsume Reiko's power and possess tremendous spiritual energy."
"So during the battle just now, what you consumed wasn't your physical stamina, but your spiritual energy."
"Because your spiritual energy is so powerful, you could fight Kato recklessly and even gain the upper hand."
"Without that tremendous power, with your physical stamina alone, there would be no way for you to suppress Kato. After throwing a single punch, all your stamina would be drained. You would be forced out of the Buddha form and might even fall unconscious."
Natsume understood.
It was because he possessed powerful energy that he could use the Devil Fruit in battle.
Without that energy, no matter how powerful the Devil Fruit was, he would have no way to fully display its abilities.
That was why Rowan said it wasn't the Devil Fruit that was powerful, but Natsume himself.
Even so, Natsume remained extremely grateful to Rowan.
Perhaps he was strong and possessed great power.
But without the Daibutsu Fruit, he would have had no way to fully bring that power out.
If he relied solely on diligent practice, he had no idea how long it would take him to master that strength—especially with Hagoromo-Gitsune possibly attacking at any moment.
The Daibutsu Fruit Rowan had given him was exceptionally valuable.
Thinking of this, Natsume thanked Rowan once again.
Rowan could not help rolling his eyes.
"You people who apologize or thank others at every opportunity are the most annoying. Are you Bowing Sages or something?"
What in the world was a Bowing Sage?
Natsume looked confused. He wanted to tell Rowan that he was thanking him, not apologizing, but seeing Rowan's frown and impatient expression, he swallowed the words that had reached his lips.
"Alright. That's enough for today."
Seeing that everything had more or less been settled, Rowan began sending them away.
"Don't forget our agreement. If you encounter Hagoromo-Gitsune's subordinates in the future, remember to capture them and hand them over to me."
Natsume and Nyanko-sensei exchanged a glance before nodding together.
"By the way, where are the two of you staying? I'll send you back."
Rowan asked as he prepared to open a door.
Natsume picked up Nyanko-sensei and said, "We're currently staying with the Nura Clan."
"The Nura Clan?"
Rowan's hand stopped in midair, and he looked at Natsume in surprise.
"How did you end up with the Nura Clan?"
Natsume lowered his head and looked at Nyanko-sensei.
Nyanko-sensei said, "I have some history with Nurarihyon. After leaving the countryside, I brought Natsume to stay with the Nura Clan so we could avoid Hagoromo-Gitsune's pursuers."
"In this era, there aren't many forces willing to offend Hagoromo-Gitsune. The Nura Clan is one of them."
Rowan suddenly understood and clapped his hands.
"That makes sense. The Nura Clan and Hagoromo-Gitsune are natural enemies. With the two of you under the Nura Clan's protection, you really don't need to fear Hagoromo-Gitsune's pursuit."
He activated farsight magic and swept his gaze outward. Before long, he found the Nura Clan's headquarters.
He raised his hand and pushed at the air.
An air door opened, leading directly into the Nura Clan's headquarters.
At the same time, inside the Nura Clan,
Nurarihyon was entertaining members of the Supernatural Disaster Countermeasures Division—Yomi Isayama, Kagura Tsuchimiya, and Noriyuki Iizuna.
The sudden appearance of the air door immediately drew everyone's attention.
When Nurarihyon saw the door, his expression did not change much, but his eyebrows twitched repeatedly.
Was this right?
This didn't seem right at all.
What kind of place was the Nura Clan?
It was his headquarters.
To prevent enemies from breaching the headquarters from within, Nurarihyon had established more than one barrier here.
These barriers surrounded the area layer upon layer, protecting the entire Nura Clan headquarters from every direction.
Because of this, Nurarihyon could proudly tell others that his headquarters was as impregnable as a fortress and would never give an enemy the opportunity to breach it from within.
But now, something unexpected had happened.
An air door had appeared, completely ignoring the Nura Clan's numerous barriers and opening directly in front of him.
If Madara and his young friend Natsume had not been standing on the other side of the air door, Nurarihyon would already have leapt up and prepared to fight the intruder.
This was far too frightening.
It simply treated all of the Nura Clan's defensive mechanisms as though they didn't exist.
What did that mean?
It meant the other party could invade the Nura Clan's headquarters whenever he wanted. He could even appear beside Nurarihyon while he slept and cut off his head while he was unconscious.
Just thinking about it made Nurarihyon's hair stand on end.
"What happened?"
In front of outsiders, Nurarihyon would not lose his composure. He quietly suppressed the chill in his heart and looked in apparent surprise at Madara, Natsume, and Rowan standing behind Natsume.
After Natsume walked through while holding Nyanko-sensei, he said softly, "Sorry to disturb you, Supreme Commander. A small accident occurred while we were outside. A friend brought us back."
Nurarihyon looked toward the cat in Natsume's arms.
Nyanko-sensei nodded.
"That's right. A small accident happened. Lord Rowan brought us back."
Nurarihyon gave an "oh" and looked at Rowan.
"So you are Rowan?"
Standing before the air door, Rowan nodded and looked back at the Supreme Commander of the Nura Clan.
He looked more or less the same as in the manga, perhaps even older.
It was difficult to imagine that he had once been a handsome and dashing yokai in his youth.
Time truly was a butcher's knife.
"Since you're Madara's friend, then you're my friend as well. Would you like to come in for a drink?"
Nurarihyon raised the tea in his hand and extended the invitation with a smile.
Rowan shook his head. His gaze swept over Yomi Isayama, Kagura Tsuchimiya, and the others.
"You already have other guests. Another day."
With that, he closed the air door.
Nurarihyon narrowed his eyes and asked curiously, "How did the two of you meet this Rowan?"
Nyanko-sensei jumped out of Natsume's arms and onto the table.
"Don't mention it. We were terribly unlucky today and actually ran into Tsuchigumo on the street."
"Tsuchigumo?"
Kagura Tsuchimiya could not help crying out.
That was a legendary great yokai.
Yomi Isayama and Noriyuki Iizuna exchanged a glance.
Could the battle today have been related to those two?
Nyanko-sensei's gaze fell on Kagura Tsuchimiya.
"Who are these people?"
~~~
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