Chapter 3: Barren Land
After Ren calmed down, he thought of how he will get by, he doesn't want to rely too much on Elder Fukasaku and Elder Shima but it seems like he needs to. After thinking for a while, the only thing he could think of... is to become a farmer. The God said it himself that he'll make his main occupation, a farmer. Simple as that. He could grow his own food, he won't have to eat insects and bugs for three meals a day.
Ren's only problem is... he doesn't have any land to develop and he doesn't have any basic knowledge about it. Its also rude for others to just develop their land without the Elder's permission.
After mulling all of his decisions, he stood and picked up Yoruichi and put the cat on his shoulder as he opened the door. What he saw surprised him. There are lots of really big mushrooms around him. Even the house he's sleeping on is a mushroom. After roaming around the place, he saw a little orange toad feasting on insects and bugs.
"Uhm... can you speak?" Asked a wary Ren.
The little toad turned around and looked at him weirdly.
"What do you wa- oh, you are the one brought by Fukasaku-sama and Shima-sama." the toad said.
"Can you bring me to Elder Fukasaku? I have something to ask him. By the way, what's your name?" Ren said to the toad.
"You don't have the right to know my name because you look really weak. I can bring you to the elders though. Follow me." The toad said as he hopped away. Ren wryly smiled. He can't do anything about it, he doesn't have a deep understanding of the things around him so he can't recklessly use alchemy or he would be deemed as a hostile.
Alchemy is the scientific technique of understanding the structure of matter, decomposing it, and then reconstructing it. If performed skillfully, it is even possible to create gold out of lead. However, as it is a science, there are some natural principles in place. Only one thing can be created from something else of a certain mass. This is the Principle of Equivalent Exchange.
Ren followed the hopping toad and on the way, he saw many types, shapes, and color of mushroom and he also saw some giant toads far in the distance. They seemed to be fighting with each other or maybe training, he don't know. The orange toad seeing Ren staring at the sparring toad.
"Amazing, right? The one with a pipe on his mouth, is my father. One day, I want to be like him." The toad said.
"Yeah, nothing's impossible as long as you work really hard." Ren said to the toad and to himself.
'I could obtain peace for myself by getting stronger. Peace would only come when you are strong enough to ward off all troublemakers.' Ren thought.
After a while, the toad stopped in front of an enormous mushroom.
"Fukasaku-sama, Shima-sama, I've brought someone, he said he would like to talk to you!" The toad shouted and the door opened after a few moments.
"Oh, Ren-boy. Come in." Elder Shima said as he motioned Ren to come inside.
"I'm going back to training, Shima-sama." Said the toad as he hopped away from them.
"Training...? All he's doing is eating?" Ren smiled wryly at the toad's words.
"Haha, Gamakichi maybe condescending at times but once you know him better, you will know that he's a good kid at heart. " Shima said as they entered the house. When they sat down, Elder Shima asked him.
"So, what is your question Ren-boy?"
"Elder Shima, may I know if there are any plot of land here that can be used for farming? I, at least want to do something to help out since I don't want to be a freeloader." Ren said sincerely.
"What a thoughtful child. Well... I can't recommend any open land here near the mountain because as you've seen, the forest in mount Myoboku is sometimes being uprooted because of the training toads.
If I remember correctly, there is a big plot of land at the foot of the mountain... but it is barren, no vegetation is growing, whatever we do. We can't even grow a mushroom in there. Other than that plot of land, the other land suitable for farming is really far away,near the toad town, and I don't think your body can travel for a long distance." She said as she looked at the skinny figure of Ren.
"I see... then I guess I'll see it for myself." Ren said but Elder Shima's words brought him back to reality.
"Let me go with you. Otherwise you'll be lost in the forest. Its your first time being here, after all." She said and Ren understood that if he goes alone, he would be drifting from place to place.
"Thank you, Elder Shima." Ren said.
"No problem, Ren-boy, if you have more questions don't hesitate to ask." She said and Ren nodded his head.
"Elder Shima, where is Elder Fukasaku? I didn't notice him earlier back at your house." Ren asked.
"He just left to see the Great Toad Sage when you came to our house." She said.
"Great Toad Sage?" Ren asked in curiosity.
"Yes, he is also the one who informed us of your arrival before you even entered Mount Myoboku." Shima said and Ren is surprised about it.
"You mean... he can see the future?" He asked.
"He can see the future but there are restrictions and he can only see bits and pieces of it." She replied.
"I wonder what my future is?" Ren blurted out unconsciously.
"It all depends on what you want, Ren-boy." Elder Shima said to Ren with a smile.
When they arrived at the barren plot of land, the sun is at its peak, but it is not overly hot.
"Here we are. Have you memorized the way back to the mountain?" Shima asked.
"Yes. Thanks to your guidance, Elder Shima." Ren politely said because Shima made some marks on the trees they passed by on the way so he could come back safely.
"Well then, I should head back now. You can do what you want in this plot of land. No one wants this barren land anyway." She said to Ren. She's not worried about Ren's safety because she knows that the cat that's been with him the entire time could protect him should danger arise.
A few minutes after Shima left, Ren stared at the vast barren land in front of him. The size of the barren land is so vast that it could fit a huge marketplace.
After strolling around, he remembered that he doesn't have any knowledge regarding farming at all. He could be considered a layman in terms of farming. Instead of wasting his time about complaining about his problems, he decided to look around the place hoping to see all this barren land could offer.
Strolling around for a few hours, Ren found out interesting things in the barren land. There's a lake at the other end of the barren land but the water is not clean, it is really polluted. He also found out that the land has some extremely toxic poison or something in it because when he tried putting a fresh leaf in there, it withered in seconds.
Noticing that the sky is about to turn dark but he can't remember where in the heck is the marker. Noticing his problems, Yoruichi spoke up.
"I can trace back where we came from." Hearing that, Ren gave a relieved sigh.
"Thanks for that." He said as Yoruichi jumped down and he followed his companion. He would have to stop for a few minutes to rest because climbing a mountain is way harder than descending. While he's resting, he would pick up a stick and draw transmutation circle on the ground before transforming the ground into stalagmite so he would have a much more prominent marker so that he won't get lost.
Ren didn't use alchemy when he was with Elder Shima because his instincts has been telling him not to show anyone about alchemy. At least not yet. He is grateful for the elder toads but he don't want to trust anyone yet, other than himself and his companion.
Yoruichi, although curious about what Ren has done, he didn't question him about it.
When they returned home, Ren was surprised to see that there are fruits to eat and clothes for him to wear. He didn't pick up any fruits on the way because he didn't know whether they are edible or not. After eating the fruits till his full, he rested as he thought of how he should fix his problems, step by step.
Weekly Power Status
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