Chapter 289: Return to the Nest
He thought to himself that it would be nice if his son were also named Yuma.
"I hope he can grow into a magnificent, spirited horse," Uchiha Fugaku said with a straight face.
Mikoto seemed to believe him and continued, "What if it's a girl?"
Fugaku replied without hesitation, "If it's a girl, she'll be named Marei."
Uchiha Mikoto grew curious about the origin of the name.
After all, Uchiha Yuma already had an older sister named Uchiha Marei, who had once voiced many beautiful anime characters.
If it were a girl, she would simply be named Marei.
Of course, he couldn't explain that to Mikoto.
Fugaku's eyes shifted slightly as he improvised, "I hope she grows into a sincere and polite child."
While the couple shared their quiet affection, far across the sea in the Land of Hot Springs, Uchiha Itachi and the others returned to the town.
The streets were nearly empty when they arrived.
It was already past three in the morning.
As the saying goes, send the Buddha all the way to the West.
Uchiha Itachi had Naruto's Shadow Clone escort the rescued women to the local police station, while another clone went to a nearby medical hall to look for a doctor capable of performing abortions.
After handing the women over to the guards and explaining their situation in detail, Uchiha Itachi left with Naruto, Sasuke, and Yakushi Kabuto.
They had done all they could.
The rest was no longer their responsibility.
After returning to the inn, Uchiha Itachi did not visit the hot springs. Instead, he summoned a crow, preparing to contact the village and request the assistance of the Hyūga Clan.
First, to confirm Hyūga Castle's identity.
Second, to thoroughly re-investigate the cave.
A living person vanishing right under their noses was far too abnormal.
Although their previous search had yielded no results, that alone wasn't enough to dismiss the matter.
With the Byakugan, no hidden passage or secret door could remain concealed.
Uchiha Itachi suspected that there might be a concealed entrance deep within the cave that they had overlooked.
What puzzled him most was Hyūga Castle's sudden disappearance.
Was it voluntary—or forced?
If it was voluntary, what was his motive?
Was it merely to lure them there to eliminate those strange summoned creatures?
If it was involuntary, then perhaps surviving goblins had abducted him.
In fact, Itachi had already left a Shadow Clone outside the cave to keep watch.
Any creature exiting the cave would immediately be detected.
Still, he held little hope.
If there truly was a hidden passage deep underground, it would likely connect to the outside through an entirely different route.
This was merely a precaution.
Better safe than sorry.
In the cold early morning, hazy light filtered through the drifting clouds.
Birdsong echoed softly.
Ichikawa Ao, who had spent the night perched on a tree branch, slowly woke up.
His back ached badly due to his awkward sleeping position.
After resting for a moment, he cautiously scanned his surroundings, confirming there were no threats before climbing down from the tree.
He remembered seeing a lake about a kilometer away while perched above.
Hungry and thirsty, he picked up a wooden stick and carefully made his way toward it.
Birds and squirrels were active near the lake, and there were no monsters in sight.
Relieved, Ichikawa Ao knelt down and drank several mouthfuls of water.
Drinking raw water didn't bother him.
After all, he was now in a goblin's body—this should be fine.
Once his thirst was quenched, the issue of food surfaced immediately.
He had walked most of the night and was likely far from the goblin nest by now.
With water nearby, food sources should also be plentiful.
More importantly, no monsters had appeared here.
This place was suitable for temporary survival.
He had seen plenty of birds and small animals.
Whether hunting or fishing, starvation shouldn't have been an issue.
Unfortunately, reality proved otherwise.
The wild chickens near the lake were fast and extremely alert.
After several failed attempts, Ichikawa Ao gave up.
In his previous life, he had been nothing more than an otaku with zero survival skills.
Even with the Rapid Mastery talent, he still needed techniques to learn.
Without ninjutsu like Fireball Jutsu or Ice Release, all he could do was sigh helplessly at the fleeing chickens.
He lay weakly in the grass, despair filling his eyes.
If this continued, his stamina would be completely exhausted.
Worse still, his goblin body was still in its infant stage, far from fully developed.
A bit later, he forced himself to think.
A bow… If only I had a bow.
With Rapid Mastery, he could quickly learn archery.
If he could attack from a distance, he wouldn't scare the prey away.
The goblins in the cave had weapons—greatswords, iron hammers, axes, and even bows and arrows.
He didn't need anything fancy.
Just a bow would do.
He could even make arrows himself.
Sharpen a wooden shaft, attach a stone arrowhead—simple enough.
That was exactly how the goblins did it.
Ichikawa Ao made his decision.
He would return to the nest.
At the very least, he needed a knife.
With a knife, he could craft tools, set traps, or even make a bow himself.
Without one, everything was difficult.
Before leaving, he picked a lotus leaf, scooped up some water, and carefully carried it with him.
If he had a blade, he could cut bamboo from the nearby forest to make a water container—or even boil soup.
Fish soup.
Chicken soup.
After several hours of cautious travel, Ichikawa Ao finally found the nest.
It was extremely well hidden.
If not for his night vision and memory of the surroundings, he might never have found it again.
There were no goblins in sight.
Peering from behind a large tree, he gathered his courage and slowly stepped into the cave.
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