In the end, I decided to leave.
Staying in the mansion served no real purpose. My father would continue living his life, believing his son had simply run away or disappeared. Humans were remarkably good at accepting such things after enough time passed.
Attachment was unnecessary.
Besides, there was somewhere far more important I needed to go.
Camp Half-Blood.
If the myths were even partially accurate, it was the safest place for demigods in this world. A sanctuary protected by ancient magic, hidden from monsters and mortals alike.
Finding it, however, would normally be extremely difficult.
Normally.
I simply summoned snakes.
Hundreds of them.
Thin grass snakes. Large constrictors. Fast hunters that could slip through forests and fields unnoticed. They spread out in every direction, their senses linked faintly to my own awareness.
My connection to Ryūchi Cave made controlling them effortless.
They became my scouts.
My eyes.
My warning system.
Whenever monsters approached, my snakes detected them long before they came close enough to threaten me.
Of course, avoidance wasn't always possible.
Occasionally, one would find me.
A twisted creature emerging from the forest.
A lurking beast drawn by the scent of a demigod.
When that happened, I dealt with them quickly.
Even with the body of a twelve-year-old, my mind carried decades of combat experience. Strategy, positioning, timing—all of it came naturally.
A small snake summon to distract.
A precise movement.
A quick strike.
Battle ended.
I avoided unnecessary fights whenever possible. There was no reason to waste energy or attract attention.
Efficiency was always preferable.
The journey itself was… long.
I traveled mostly through forests and quiet roads, staying away from large towns. My snakes constantly moved ahead of me, scouting the terrain and mapping the area through their senses.
Slowly, piece by piece, I built a mental map of the land.
It took time.
But eventually the path became clear.
By the time I finally reached my destination…
Two months had passed.
I stood at the top of a grassy hill, looking down at a valley surrounded by forest.
Even without sensing the barrier directly, I could feel it.
Ancient magic.
Protective power woven into the land itself.
Hidden within that valley was the sanctuary of demigods.
Camp Half-Blood.
My snakes slithered through the grass around my feet, quietly observing the area.
No monsters nearby.
The barrier was working.
Good.
I stepped forward.
As I crossed the invisible boundary, I felt the subtle shift in the air—the sensation of entering a protected domain.
Interesting.
The magic here was very different from chakra.
Older.
Divine.
I studied the sensation carefully, memorizing it for later analysis.
Because understanding new power systems was always valuable.
Down in the valley I could see buildings, training areas, and groups of young demigods practicing with weapons.
Future soldiers of the gods.
Or future corpses.
Statistically speaking, most demigods didn't live long lives.
But that didn't concern me.
I had survived wars between shinobi.
I had studied immortality itself.
This world would simply become another field of research.
I allowed myself a small smile.
"Let's see what the children of the gods are capable of."
Then I began walking down the hill.