"So, did you tell him everything that happened when he was asleep?" Ishin asked plainly, his tone casual but his gaze sharp.
"Half of it, yes," Nobunaga answered confidently, his expression unbothered.
Ishin stared blankly at Nobunaga, his silence heavy with unspoken disapproval.
Seeing Ishin's reaction, Nobunaga took a moment to grasp the meaning behind the look, then replied with a tired sigh, "Come on, don't look at me like that. I was going to tell him everything. By the way, is it done?"
"Yes, it is," Ishin replied, his voice calm. "Now that Reyoma's awake, why don't we show him instead of just explaining?"
"Show what?" Reyoma asked, confusion evident in his voice and on his face. 'What are they even talking about?'
"Nothing much," Ishin said, smiling humbly, but there was a hint of something more behind his eyes.
"Yeah, nothing much," Nobunaga echoed, his smile tilting toward smugness as if he knew something Reyoma didn't.
Ishin extended his arm toward Reyoma, who grasped Ishin's left hand with his own and pulled himself up. The pain from his severed finger and the wound on his right shoulder flared, a harsh reminder of his weakened state.
Telling him to do anything strenuous would have been cruel, but in their current situation, letting him rest would have been crueler.
An injured man should be treated or allowed to rest, but in this world, sentimentality was a luxury they could not afford.
To leave Reyoma behind would be tantamount to abandoning him, a fate as dishonorable as the crippled bull gator they had once killed. In the Akatsuki, they were taught that it was better to die with honor than to live in disgrace.
No matter how much Reyoma loathed his clan, he was still their descendant. Such an influence is understandable.
Ishin understood this very well. They were warriors, bound by a code that did not allow for weakness or pity. Even if Ishin had wanted to abandon Reyoma, he didn't have the luxury to do so—they were only three in their cohort, and every man counted.
Not to mention, there were shinobi watching over them, evaluating their every move. The moment Reyoma showed any signs of being unable to continue, the entire cohort would be disqualified from the examination.
But if that was the case, the shinobi should have intervened much earlier. Why hadn't they? 'Why?' Reyoma questioned himself internally. Since yesterday, nothing had been making sense.
Ishin, showing Reyoma his back, crouched down slightly. "Climb up."
Reyoma was taken aback for a second. 'Do I really have to do this? It's… quite… shameful.' Despite his hesitation, he carefully settled onto Ishin's back.
There was no helping it—their entire camp was set high in the trees, and with his wounds, doing anything that required both hands was almost impossible.
"What are you getting embarrassed for?" Nobunaga snorted as he began climbing the rope that connected their camp tree to another. "You should have seen your stupefied face last night when I carried you here."
Reyoma's brow furrowed in surprise as he looked at Nobunaga, then turned to Ishin for confirmation. "Did he really?"
"Yes, he did," Ishin confirmed with a small smile as he started to follow Nobunaga, hopping from one tree to another with Reyoma on his back. Reyoma was astonished by the sight.
It wasn't just the camp tree and its immediate neighbors—many trees, both near and far, were connected by ropes, all leading in a specific direction. On the first day, when they had decided to camp in the swamps, Ishin had made a lot of grass ropes.
Even yesterday, he had continued to weave them, and now it was clear why. 'Clever fellow,' Reyoma thought.
As Reyoma indulged in his thoughts, Ishin came to an abrupt stop, his eyes narrowing. "Keep quiet from here on. The next tree is our destination. They're there."
"They?" Reyoma whispered, confusion lacing his voice.
"He's talking about Gekizaru," Nobunaga interjected, his tone matter-of-fact as he began gliding to the other tree.
"Gekizaru? And not just one, but multiple of them?" Reyoma repeated, bewildered. Gekizaru were creatures known to mostly stay in water, but as Ishin had indicated, they were residing in the very tree ahead.
"Wait, isn't that where we fought Rook?"
"Yup," Ishin replied with a smirk as they reached their destination. 'It makes sense,' he thought.
Reyoma climbed off Ishin's back, his eyes widening as he took in the macabre scene before him. Gekizaru, colossal alligator-like creatures towering at twice the size of a bull gator, were tearing off the last bits of remaining flesh from Rook's carcass.
The ground was stained with dried blood, and the air was thick with the scent of decay. These monstrous beasts were covered in a hard exoskeleton, with sharp bones protruding from their backs like rib bones pointing menacingly towards the sky.
Their muscular tails bristled with spikes, adding to their terrifying appearance. Despite their massive size, the Gekizaru moved on all fours, tearing into the flesh with ferocious intensity.
"Last night, after you lost consciousness and we slayed Rook, we got both lucky and unlucky, fortunately, we immediately made preparations one of which is these trees connecting ropes" Ishin explained, his voice grave. "We took half of Rook's meat, but soon after, these corrupt monsters swarmed the grounds.
These Gekizaru are the last to feast upon Rook, but it looks like they haven't had their fill." Ishin turned towards his teammates, his tone serious. "I want to hunt them."
Reyoma turned to look at Nobunaga, who had been silent up until now. "You think just the two of you are enough to kill them? And not just one of them, but all of them?" Reyoma's face broke into a disbelieving grin before he burst into laughter.
"Hahaha… ahhh… hahaha!"
"What's so funny, Omen? Stop laughing already, or we'll lose track of them if they spot us," Nobunaga said, irritation creeping into his voice.
Ishin, however, remained resolute. "Reyoma, we're going to become seekers if we pass this trial. This trial is the only thing standing in our way.
Power… in this world, nothing comes without power. Are you really going to laugh it off? If you're going to give your injuries as an excuse—"
Reyoma wiped a tear from the corner of his eye, still chuckling. "I wasn't saying I won't participate. It just seems funny—a handicapped trainee seeker cohort wants to kill corrupt beasts that are significantly more powerful than them.
And not just one, but multiple. Do you know how absurd that sounds?" His laughter had an edge of irony, his eyes reflecting both amusement and the underlying tension of the situation.
Reyoma abruptly stopped laughing, his expression hardening. "I wasn't laughing because I'm afraid or unwilling.
I know how dangerous this is. But it's just the reality of our situation, isn't it? We're injured, outnumbered, and facing beasts that could easily kill us.
The people who were supposed to protect us are nowhere in sight, even if the situation becomes dangerous. Maybe they think this is the ideal situation to test us. Until just recently, I had only read about people getting stuck in situations like the one we're in right now. It feels so novel.
Now that you ask me to join you in your hunt, what do you ask me to do?" Reyoma said calmly, as a soft grin played on his face.