CHAPTER 38 — Lines in the Earth
📅 16 June, S.C. 1510
👦 Ren — 7
📍 Windmill Village → Ren's Shed → Forest Edge
For two days, Windmill Village was quieter than usual.
The fishermen noticed Zemo's restless pacing.
The elders felt the tension in Makino's voice.
Even little Luffy was strangely subdued.
Ren felt it too—
a shadow in the back of his mind.
Every time he closed his eyes, he saw the stranger's smirk.
Valuable things get taken.
Ren clenched his notebook until his knuckles whitened.
Not again.
Not this time.
Not this life.
PART 1 — A PLAN IS BORN
Ren stood inside his shed, staring at a blank page.
Zemo lay beside him, ears alert, eyes sharp.
Ren whispered,
"…We need protection."
Zemo whimpered quietly, nudging Ren's foot.
"You felt it too, didn't you?
He wasn't lying. There will be others."
Zemo nodded.
Ren took a deep breath and began to write.
Objective:
Protect workshop, salt area, and forest edge.
Requirements:
• Alerts
• Barriers
• Non-lethal traps
• Early warning systems
Tools available:
wood, rope, stones, nails, simple resin, clay, hemp twine, charcoal
Kiro peeked into the shed.
"Ren? You okay?"
Ren didn't look up.
"Kiro… I want to build defenses."
Kiro blinked.
"Like… traps?"
"Yes.
But not like the fishing ones."
Kiro looked at Zemo and then Ren.
"…You're scared."
Ren stopped writing.
"I am. And I'm not ashamed of it."
Kiro stepped inside and put a hand on Ren's shoulder.
"You're not alone."
Ren's breath trembled.
"…Thank you."
PART 2 — GATHERING RESOURCES
Ren went to the village workshops, asking for supplies.
Mr. Wolt frowned.
"You're building more traps? Dangerous?"
"No. Protective."
Roji crossed his arms.
"Against who? Those boars again?"
Makino stepped out with a serious face.
"Against people."
The elders froze.
Kiro explained quietly,
"The stranger threatened Ren."
Mrs. Muri gasped.
"Threatened him?!"
Makino placed a gentle but firm hand on Ren's shoulder.
"Ren wants to protect himself… and Zemo. We should help."
A heavy silence followed.
Then old Roji grabbed a bundle of rope.
"I'll bring rope."
Wolt lifted a toolbox.
"And nails."
Mrs. Muri lifted wooden stakes.
"And protection charms."
Makino smiled faintly.
"See? You're not alone."
Ren bowed slightly, overwhelmed.
"…Thank you. All of you."
PART 3 — BUILDING THE FIRST DEFENSES
They started where it mattered most:
the forest edge.
Ren walked the perimeter slowly, studying slopes, rocks, and thick roots.
Zemo followed beside him, nose sniffing the air constantly.
Ren stopped beside a narrow gap between two trees.
"This place is a blind spot."
Kiro tilted his head.
"Blind spot?"
Ren pointed.
"If someone sneaks in from this angle, we won't see them."
Zemo growled softly.
Ren knelt and began digging.
"What are you doing?" Kiro asked.
"Making a pressure-triggered alarm."
Kiro blinked.
"A what?"
Ren tied a rope to a flexible branch, then connected it to a thin strip of wood wedged under a stone.
"Step on this spot," Ren said, "and the branch will snap up."
Zemo watched with curious intensity.
Ren tied a hollow bamboo tube to the branch.
Kiro squinted.
"…What does that do?"
"Listen."
Ren stepped on the pressure plate.
FWIPP—!!
The branch snapped upward and hit the bamboo tube—
THOK—THOK—THOK—!!
A loud knocking sound echoed through the forest.
Luffy screamed from behind,
"THE TREES ARE TALKING!!"
Ren smiled slightly.
"That sound tells us someone's there."
Kiro gaped.
"That's… actually amazing."
Zemo barked proudly.
PART 4 — THE WEB OF PROTECTION
For the next hours, Ren built:
✔ Noise traps using bamboo tubes
✔ Tripwires that rattled stones inside clay pots
✔ Scent markers using strong herbs Zemo reacted to
✔ Wooden stakes hidden under leaves (non-lethal)
✔ Wind chimes that moved with unusual disturbances
✔ Boundary lines marked with carved wooden sigils
Zemo inspected every trap, sniffing and growling at suspicious places.
Ren tested the tripwires himself.
Kiro sighed.
"Ren… you're building a fortress."
"No," Ren replied softly,
"I'm building safety."
Luffy tripped over a tripwire and set off three pots and one bamboo tube.
The noise echoed across the forest.
Makino shouted from afar,
"LUFFY!! STOP TOUCHING THINGS!!"
Zemo barked approvingly.
PART 5 — THE FINAL LINE
As the sun lowered, Ren placed the last wooden charm into the dirt.
A carved piece of driftwood Makino gave him.
"For luck," she had said.
Ren tied it to a rope near the final trap.
Kiro brushed his hands off.
"You think these will work?"
Ren exhaled slowly.
"They'll warn us.
That's enough."
Zemo nudged Ren gently.
Ren knelt and hugged him tightly.
"We'll protect our home together."
Zemo licked Ren's cheek once.
PART 6 — NIGHT RESOLVE
That night, Ren sat by his desk, writing by lamplight.
Defensive System — Stage 1 Complete
• 5 bamboo alarms
• 3 tripwire rattles
• 2 scent-based alerts
• perimeter lines
Effectiveness:
Medium
Next needs:
• stronger traps
• deterrents
• improved animal biology knowledge
• Zemo training
Conclusion:
I will not wait for danger.
I will prepare for it.
Ren closed the notebook.
Zemo curled in front of the shed door — guarding it.
Ren whispered into the quiet:
"…We're ready now."
Outside, the night wind rustled gently through Ren's new defense lines.
Somewhere in the forest, a bamboo alarm creaked softly…
…but did not trigger.
For now.
END OF CHAPTER 38