"Little Shimoku, did you actually succeed?"
"This... this is the Human Sage Mode?"
Old Lord's eyes nearly popped out of his head as he murmured in astonishment.
"Yeah, I've successfully transformed all my chakra into Sage Chakra."
Shimoku nodded with a cheerful grin.
To demonstrate, he raised his right hand and gave a light squeeze.
*BOOM!*
The air compressed. A sonic explosion erupted like thunder...
Startling Rouzong uncle beside him.
He couldn't help but whistle inwardly:
"Holy smokes… That's one hell of a punch!"
"With just a single grip, could it crush my skull completely?"
"After absorbing natural energy, humans really become this powerful?"
"They're already comparable to brute-force types like Old Three..."
Of course, Rouzong uncle didn't know the real reason was...
That Shimoku simply had an exceptionally outstanding physical constitution.
This kind of perfect [Sage Body] wasn't something to be taken lightly!
When it came to multiplying bodily capabilities, could ordinary ninja's [Sage Mode] possibly match Hashirama's [Sage Mode]?
The difference could easily be tens of times or more...
"But how exactly did Little Shimoku succeed?"
"That shouldn't be possible!"
"This Sage Art was incomplete. Logically speaking, success shouldn't have been achievable at all!"
Rouzong uncle still couldn't believe it, whispering in awe.
"This child possesses extraordinary talent and boundless good fortune; that he succeeded unexpectedly is quite understandable..."
Old Lord sat back down on his cushion, stroking his beard with a satisfied sigh.
"I completed the missing parts myself..."
"What?! You... you completed it?!"
"Yeah. Is that hard? Without completing it first, how dare I cultivate it?"
Shimoku replied with a smugness bordering on annoying.
What could he do?
He definitely couldn't mention the System.
In that case, he might as well reluctantly accept the credit.
*Sigh...*
Lying's not right... So why does it feel so good?
...
Shimoku's reply shocked both Old Lord and Rouzong uncle beyond comprehension.
How could anyone possibly...
Complete their clan's centuries-old incomplete Sage Art scroll within such a short time?
Impossible. Absolutely impossible!
Not until Shimoku explained the complete version of [Maku Zhutai Sage Art] from beginning to end...
Did these two bears finally have no choice but to accept reality.
So much so that even Old Lord, who had lived for centuries, felt as though dreaming.
He looked at Shimoku like he was some kind of freak phenomenon.
Even suspecting involuntarily—
Exactly who is the true Panda here?
Could this little punk actually be a panda in human disguise?
Otherwise, how could he possibly reconstruct his clan's ancestral Sage Art so quickly?
Nevertheless...
Completing this Sage Art constituted a tremendous favor toward [Maku Zhutai], and the entire Panda Clan!
It was the biggest celebration in hundreds of years.
Old Lord was delighted;
Rouzong uncle was delighted;
The whole Mao Beast Clan shared in the joy!
They immediately decided—this little Shimoku must be properly thanked,
And they would hold a grand banquet to celebrate this moment with great fanfare.
Thus, the entire Mao Beast Clan sprang into action, bringing out their treasured fine wines and delicacies.
They were preparing a feast for Shimoku to honor him and celebrate.
Shimoku was delighted.
He readily accepted the Mao Beast Clan's invitation with pleasure.
But not long after,
Shimoku realized—he was still too green, too trusting! He should've kept his guard up!
In the vast plaza,
Besides dozens of barrels of preserved fruit wine and just a few baskets of bamboo shoots—none of them particularly fresh—
There wasn't a single other dish!
Are they seriously expecting me to chew on bamboo like a panda?
And with just that little bit of bamboo shoots, it was questionable whether it would even be enough for one bite from Uncle Copperluo!!
At the same time,
Across the square, big or small, dozens of pandas had all gathered in a circle,
Eagerly staring at Shimoku, looking at him with quiet expectations.
Even several of them were drooling!
Sure, seeing dozens of cute giant pandas sitting together was indeed heartwarming at first glance.
But... why did it feel slightly off?
Very quickly, Shimoku understood.
No need to doubt—it was obvious these guys had ulterior motives!
Using the excuse of hosting a banquet, they simply wanted to trick him into feeding them!
...
Well, there was no choice. Shimoku couldn't bear to see these creatures starve.
After all, back in his previous life, they were all national treasures—
The kind who always had someone waiting on them hand and foot, served every meal—living in luxury!
Anyway, it's just eating.
It wouldn't cost much money.
With the current size of their [Homuragakure], supporting dozens of pandas shouldn't be a problem.
This could also help build better relationships later by encouraging the Mao Beast Clan to sign summoning contracts with more shinobi from their village, becoming their exclusive Summoning Beasts.
Soon, Shimoku returned once to the village,
Transporting large amounts of food back.
After all, pandas were omnivores through and through; besides bamboo, they enjoyed meat just as much.
Anything edible—vegetarian or not—they would readily eat!
And just like that, a lively feast began.
Holding two enormous drumsticks, chewing as he walked, Shimoku arrived at the edge of the plaza
To find Mooncake sitting alone, facing away from the crowd of bears, holding a cup of wine and drinking by himself.
"Huh?"
"Mooncake, why are you drinking here all alone?"
"There's so much grilled meat over there—why aren't you eating?"
Mooncake kept drinking silently, showing no response, appearing rather desolate.
"How about a drumstick?"
Shimoku offered one chicken leg, fragrant and delicious.
Unfortunately, Mooncake remained indifferent...
So Shimoku took matters into his own hands.
He grabbed Mooncake and turned him around.
Only then did he notice—
Poor Mooncake's half-bear face was completely swollen red, making it impossible for him to chew any meat.
All he could do was hug his wine cup, drowning his sorrows alone.
"Ha ha ha!"
"So you hit on someone? Who punched your face?"
"You're hilarious!"
Seeing Mooncake's puffy face, Shimoku burst into laughter,
Laughing wildly and joyfully!
This infuriated Mooncake, filling him with bitterness and resentment.
He looked like he was about to throw a full-blown tantrum any second...
After all, how could he possibly explain what had happened?
This was his own shameless father—the mark on his face was a "loving" souvenir he'd left after snatching the chicken leg right out of his hand.
How utterly embarrassing!
No choice but to swallow his pride and admit that it was a token of "respect" he had offered to his father...
"You're still laughing? I'm really mad, you know!"
"Shit! My mouth!"
"So painful~~~"
Mooncake grimaced in pain, which was truly hilarious.
"Hahaha!"
"Alright, alright!"
"Come here and stretch out your face."
"I'll treat you."
Still chuckling happily, Shimoku continued, feeling quite refreshed.
Of course, he didn't mock Mooncake too much.
He immediately stretched out his hand and released a wave of chakra to heal Mooncake's swollen left cheek.
With his [Perfect Sage Body], having already mastered Yang nature chakra,
though he didn't know any advanced healing jutsu,
basic treatment came easily.
Before long, he had healed Mooncake's left face completely.
Quickly recovering as good as new, Mooncake became instantly ecstatic.
He did a backflip and stood up.
The next moment, without even pausing to thank him,
he directly flung away the wine cup in his arms, belly wobbling with each step, running eagerly
toward the wide array of delicacies at the banquet,
fearing that if he hesitated, Sanshu and others would finish everything off...
...
This meal—
the entire Mao Beast Clan feasted joyfully and satisfyingly.
Even Old Lord drank several extra buckets of fruit wine and savored several charcoal-grilled ham hocks.
As for Rouzong uncle, Copperluo uncle, and others,
they were dripping with grease around their mouths, rolling gleefully all over the place...
In just one sitting, these fellows had devoured nearly half a month's worth of rations from Homuragakure.
Truly astonishing!
No wonder an entire large bamboo grove of [Maku Zhutai] could be completely eaten up.
They truly lived up to the name "Feast Clan!"
After the banquet ended.
For the next few days, Shimoku had no intention of leaving in a hurry.
He planned to stay a little longer in [Maku Zhutai].
First—to get even more familiar with the new [Sage Mode].
Second—to guide this "Feast Clan" a bit, restructure this secret realm and establish a sustainable bamboo forest.
And incidentally,
he could also train his close-combat abilities and taijutsu techniques.
After all, besides his signature [A Thousand Flames Blades],
his skill in pure taijutsu wasn't particularly high.
There was plenty of room for improvement.
The Mao Beast Clan, specializing in physical power, had considerable accumulation in close combat.
[Bensan Shiki], [Iron Formation Eight Combos], [Wolf Fang Qi], etc.,
were all celebrated martial arts styles created by the Mao Beast Clan—worthy of reference and study.
Anyway, Shimoku possessed the Sharingan, making learning these taijutsu techniques effortless and quick.
It wouldn't take much time—
Certainly not because the Ninja World was freezing cold while it was so cozy here.
<><><><><><><><>
Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!
~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** this weekend!
<><><><><><><><>
~ 100+ Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!
~ More *Free* Chapters and Books Available on Patreon!
patreon.com/Tansnovel
<><><><><><><><>