Contemplation [Contract Search]

[Kato Hana]

As they surveyed the area Sluggy seemed to have an idea on a place to start. It was an interesting idea. After all wild animals that would hunt the slugs would be less likely to be around civilizations. Hiding from a human was going to be a lot easier than hiding from a hawk. Humans had a tendency to miss the most obvious things around them. Particularly if they were small like a normal sized slug. A slug the size of Sluggy he suspected would get spotted pretty quick in a village, even by the most unobservant human.

Manzo broke off another branch for Sluggy to ride on. As Sluggy would transfer to it, Manzo would ask ”I don’t want to be rude, Sluggy but out of curiosity are you able to control the acid you secret? Just thinking for long term, riding plans. If you are going to walking with me it is one thing but if you are going to be riding on me then I was trying to think what could make it easier for you. Carving something wouldn’t last long if you are always secreting the acid which means I would need to get something more durable.“ He truly hoped Sluggy wasn’t self conscious about it, he did not know if that was something of pride for slugs or shame or something they just never thought about.

”I have to say, going near the towns to look is a pretty good idea, particularly if the slugs we seek are smaller than you, most humans won’t never see them but their presence would keep a lot of the other bigger predators away.“

As they neared the town he thought of another question to ask Sluggy, he figured they would likely be doing a lot of talking over the next month or so it took to complete this so might as well ask the questions as he thought of them. ”So the Slughouse, do you have an area already picked out or are we going to need to find it on our travels?“

Stopping just outside the border of Crater City, Manzo looked around. ”It would probably be best if we search outside the city for now. Looking inside is going to be pretty difficult with all the houses and building that people won’t let us access.“ He started to look for signs, but then realized he had no idea what he was looking for, it wasn’t like he had ever been on a slug hunt before. ”So what kind of signs are we looking for? Or do you have some way to communicate with other slugs in the area?“ He knew some animals could and he hoped that slugs were one of them, it would certainly make finding them a lot easier.

 

[Tomomi]

As they traveled along, it would appear that the human part of this dynamic duo would want to have a lot of small talk to pass the time as they traveled from the Valley of the End to Crater City. Most of the conversation however was one sided as they journeyed and Manzo was getting somewhat personal in regards to little ol' Sluggy's slime. Luckily for him, the slug didn't truly care about his comment as he was used to others of his kind questioning him about it all the time since it was acidic and could be quite deadly. While he wanted to respond to the comments right away, Manzo would not allow him to do that as he continued to talk and talk and talk about numerous things like how to questioning where to place this "slughouse" and how to find the other slugs. His slug companion simply nodded as when they were at the outskirts of the City, they could see smoke and commotion near them which Sluggy would motion to go that way.

When they did, Sluggy would inform him that he would address everything that he mentioned when the time was more ideal. As for now when they turned a corner from the entrance, which was the outskirts of the City, they would be met with a small army of fire slugs with one of them having a hard shell on its back. They were all spewing what appeared to be flames from their mouths which had made many people run from the location and their flames had engulfed a building already while they began to attack another one. They seemed to be barbaric in their nature as they were showing no remorse for their actions as people continually ran and others were forced to drop and roll as they were set ablaze in the process.

In the distance, one could see other people of Manzo's kind getting irritated from the actions of the slugs as they were grabbing weapons and seeming to form a small little militia of their own almost like they were going to engage in combat against these creatures which would only further wreck things between humans and slugs. On the one hand, the creatures were larger than normal slugs and even bigger than Sluggy so they could be seen quite honestly as threats to humanity. But on the other hand, they were animals that were separated and abused by humanity in the past so they had a right to be more or less pissed off at them and this was their way of getting even! In any case, the small little army of fire slugs seemed to be roughly four "normal" slugs and then the hard-shelled one had to be a leader of sorts to them and Sluggy did remember them, but their names were escaping him at this time.

In the end however, the question that everyone would hopefully be asking that are reading this thread or involved in this issue would be as followed: What would Manzo do in this scenario as there were many options for him with pros and cons for them all. He needed to be careful in what he did next or he could be incarcerated, Sluggy could be harmed or something even more catastrophic could happen! But, we will have to wait until the next episode of "My Friendly Sluggy and Me, starring Manzo and Sluggy".

 

[Kato Hana]

It seemed to Manzo that they were having a nice walk through the forest. It wasn’t as if they were in a particular hurry moving like he would normally would through the forest. This mission was a marathon not a sprint. They had some small talk but any specifics that Manzo would ask about would only get brushed off as something to be talked about latter.

Manzo wondered if they were being brushed off as something he was not trusted enough to hear or if they did not have the details yet and did not want to appear that the mission was not fully detailed before it was given to him. He wouldn’t be surprised if there were other slugs working to find the place right now and Sluggy would find out latter.

As they approached their first destination, Manzo could hear a commotion going on ahead of them. Well there went the peaceful day, all good things have to end

Rushing forward he saw the chaos unfolding. Buildings were on fire and villagers were starting to form a militia to repel the fire slugs. Seeing how this was going to get out of hand very quickly. Well more out of hand than it already was.

Acting quickly he created a Elemental Clone of water which immediately raced towards the villagers to talk to them. He then created an Earthslide Wall to separating the two groups. The last thing he needed even if wasn’t working to help the slugs was a mob of untrained villagers going to war and creating more of a problem.

With both groups separated he went up to the fire slugs. He would not attack them but he would dodge any attack they throw at him, or at least try. Fire, why does everyone love fire so much He thought to himself.

He would let Sluggy do the first introductions. He knew that he was an outsider right now and they needed a face they could trust to start this talk. He needed to know how Sluggy was going to address them before he could start on whatever speech he could come up with.


On the other side of the wall

The Water Clone would approach the villagers. ”I will take care of the Slugs. We need to work on getting these building put out. So put down the weapons and grab a bucket.“ He would tell them. He did not have much in the way of water jutsu, despite having a natural affinity for it but he would go to work using his Grand Waterfall jutsu He would work diligently to help put out the fires but careful to give the non-clone time to work. If all the work was done too quickly they might the bright idea that they could help and that would would be disastrous.

 

[Tomomi]

The tension in the air had been thick to put it mildly as the burning slugs had been emitting flamethrower-like attacks at the humans who faced them. The damage had been done, but the emotions of both sides were far from being concluded as the slugs held their ground while the inhabitants of the "city" would begin to march towards them with their weapons tightly gripped ready for a full-scale massacre for both sides to occur. Unfortunately for these two parties, their conflict would be stopped by a gigantic wall that rose from the ground and stopped the slugs' attacks from reaching their targets. Of course, this "barrier" would not be the best thing to do with humans and animals allowing their emotions to get the better of them as the slugs would glare back at Sluggy and Manzo while the clone of Manzo's on the other side had been cornered.

Continuing on the other side, the clone would try to talk to the city dwellers, but they were cursing and slinging insults towards the clone which Manzo would be able to obtain after it poofed. However, the Leaf shinobi was wise to give his clone an order to start to put out the fire to some of the nearby buildings as to not have it stand there looking dumbfounded or put in harm's way. Not surprisingly however, more of the people would continue to berate and speak their minds without any filter at the clone and some of them had even tried to attack the creation, but thankfully were restrained by fellow militia members. It was certainly appearing like nothing was going to get through to the thick skulls of these people, but the clone was doing its job or at least trying to as it fought the flames with a powerful water-style jutsu and was managing to put out some of the buildings who had little to no structural damage fortunately. Sadly, some of the buildings that were practically engulfed in the flames would probably burn to the ground and need to be repaired using the funds of either the city, the Hidden Leaf, or from the Daimyo. All three entities would surely not be too pleased with having to rebuild Crater City due to an animal invasion. But what could they really do aside from being more prepared in the case of another attack?

On the other side of the wall, Manzo and Sluggy were not exactly being welcomed as the attention of the flame-spewing creatures' attention had shifted to them with the hard-shelled individual moving from his position from the now-rear to the front of his "army". In the process of moving, his body had burned the ground below him and Manzo would realize that it appeared that majority of these creatures were slowly burning the very ground that they walked/slid on. Once the hard-shelled individual, who one could assume was the leader, had made his move to the front, Sluggy would take a "step" forward.

A conversation between Sluggy and the hard-shelled individual would follow:
"Hello Fellow Slugs! It is I, Sluggy, who has a human with me who had been sent on a mission from Za. He is on a 'mission' as his kind call it to gather as many of us as possible and then will be building us a shelter to keep us safe from other animals and his kind. He sincerely feels terrible for how his kind treated us during the Fire Country Civil War and while he cannot turn back time and stop his ancestors and fellow villagers' actions, he wants to make it up to us and that is why he has accepted this 'mission' from Za."
"Sluggy, are you sure that you are not being delusional and imagining things that our great overlord said? It doesn't seem like you would've actually talked to him since he apparently loves to spend his time in Wind Country or so the legends say. How exactly did you even talk to him?"
"I went to the Plains where he was at. While many of us are unable to go to that sacred land due to a lack of training or other circumstances, I managed to get myself there in one piece and could stay long enough to talk to Za who thought it was an excellent trial to give Manzo here if he was willing to take up the offer."
"Very interesting...you trust this boy then? He doesn't look like much..."
"I do. He saved me from a hawk in the area that his kind call the Valley of the End even after I attacked him by spitting my acidic goo at him. He put that initial interaction to the side and saved me even though he had no idea if I would retaliate or harm him afterwards."
"And you both came all the way from there to here, Sluggy? That is a long journey on foot, he must be tired."
"He probably is, but he seems adamant about helping us out. I say that you trust him and talk to him to see if you can see what I see in him."

It was at this point in their conversation that the flaming slug would give a simple nod as he looked up at the human being who had been able to hear their whole conversation. He would then give a slight sigh and would shrug his shoulders if he had any. At the very least, Sluggy seemed positive about this kid and thus the leader of this small fire army had to give him a chance. So he would begin to initiate their conversation with a simple question: "Manzo as Sluggy calls you, why did you bring him out here and why did you put up this wall between your species and my family and friends? Speak now, Kid."

 

[Kato Hana]

Manzo’s clone really didn’t care about the insults that were being thrown at him. It thought about spewing a few back at the villagers but knew that tensions were already high. It would keep trying to talk the villagers down as it worked to control the fires. The last thing that this situation needed was for the real Manzo to get the slugs on his side only to have the villagers to renew their efforts at attacking at the end.

On the slug side of the wall the real Manzo listened to the exchange between the slugs. He waited until they were done, knowing that even with Sluggy’s introduction there was going to be tension between the slugs and him. They were just attacking humans after all.

As he was prompted to speak he started to talk to him. ”I put the wall up because I did not know the situation and why there was conflict between slugkind and humankind. I do know that no good will come from you fighting with them though.“ taking a breath, he knew that he was either going to get a look or asked to explain. He had learned on the road with Sluggy he needed to give the slugs a chance to speak.

”No matter what started this conflict both sides are going to lose if it continues. It is obvious that you are more powerful than your average slug and you could destroy this village. But to what end? Word of this will get back to other humans that slugs attacked them, no matter how it started “ he added the last part quickly. The why it started truly wasn’t important at the moment, only how it ends. ”Are you going to be everywhere to protect the slugs that are not as powerful as you? Think of all the humans stopping on every innocent slug they see. I am sure it happens now but not everyone, some just toss them outside when they come into their houses, others just let them be.“

Pausing for a moment he let that statement sink in. Not every human wanted to hurt slugs, some just wanted them to get away from them.

” When word of this gets back to you and other powerful slugs, you are going to want to retaliate, causing even more of a cycle of violence. Violence and hate only breed violence and hate. That is why I took this mission presented to me by your Lord Za, though Sluggy here. Fighting isn’t going to anything to help those that are innocent or to small or not strong enough to defend themselves against humans or other wilderness predators. By creating a slug sanctuary, we can help break the violence against slugs. “

”It is for the hope of peace and protection of slugs is the reason I have come and Sluggy. It doesn’t matter if I am tired or not, missions of peace are never easy. So the question I have for you is will you join us, gather all the slugs around and go to the slug sanctuary that we will build?“

 

[Tomomi]

There was tension in the air on both sides of the wall as Manzo and his clone were doing their best to diffuse the situation that they were left with. On the clone's side, the poor creature was putting out fires as quickly as it could with the assistance of some of the militia who reasoned that fighting and flinging insults at the clone would not help anyone in this situation. Of course, there were individuals who were being bull-heads and continuing to act like children that never got their lollipops or candy that they were promised which was still making the overall feeling from this side of the wall unsettling. But, nobody had attempted to actually strike the clone yet so it had that going for it right now. However, it was likely only a matter of time before something was going to happen as human beings were unpredictable creatures that put their self-interest before others more often than not. Our hero of this story did not appear the same way as his species but it was likely he was still performing this task for his own self-interest.

On the other side of the wall, Manzo had been told to talk and talking is exactly what he did as he explained why he put up a wall to cut off the two factions that were fighting amongst themselves and try to reason with the hard-shelled individual on why this fighting was only going to create a bitter aftertaste regardless of what side would ultimately win as it would merely split the sides even more and create even more devastating effects in the long-run among the two factions. He even asked the flaming leader if he and the other powerful slugs were going to be able to be everywhere to protect the weaker slugs and a clear sign of annoyance and frustration appeared on the creature's face as he knew that was impossible even from a powerful being like Za. His dialogue would continue on for a good while as the leader would nod numerous times as he had to agree with Manzo especially if another slug even as asinine looking as Sluggy trusted him.

It would be a few moments as they would the noise level steadily increasing on the other side as some buildings collapsed and people were growing more and more irritable or so it would appear. After giving himself a reasonable amount of time to think it over, he would look at Manzo and say: "You seem to have everything already planned out like you spoke with Sluggy about it as you traveled. I will be willing to travel with you along with my crew, but I still am not entirely sure of you. But if you have somewhere planned to keep the slug population safer, it will be better than trying to be conquerors and taking over this city here. We are ready when you are, Manzo." Although there were some individuals among his group that seemed against following this filthy monkey, they would keep their traps shut as their leader made the ultimate decision and they would merely have to follow or they could stay behind and probably be murdered as soon as the wall collapsed behind them. It was their choice, but all of them seemed willing to follow Manzo and that was good at least. But, it would make the Konoha shinobi more of a target as he now had Sluggy along with a party of fire slugs following him around and he really could not carry any of them as he would burn from Sluggy's acidic buddy or burned by one of the bodies of the fire slugs. Fun times, fun times.

 

[Kato Hana]

It appeared that Manzo’s speech was resonating with the fire slugs. It was good especially since he could sense that the tension on the other side of the wall was not releasing. But since it seems that the fire slugs were coming around then the villagers could sling insults at his clone all day long, well at least until the clone was still there.

”I am glad you have decided to join us. It truly is the best solution for everyone. Fighting can be fun but wars are anything but fun.“

He turned to face Sluggy. ”It looks like our troop has grown, Now to find more slugs.“ He presented the question to the Fire Slug leader. ”Do you know where we can find more slugs? We are trying to gather everyone first in order to provide safety for those that need it. “

Manzo would take the directions from any of the slugs that might know where more were, After all he was just a human, and it was doubtful he would be able to think like a slug.

Once they were safely away from the village going in whatever direction they needed to go, Manzo’s clone would address the crowd and militia.

”Now that the dangers to buildings is under control, the dangers on the other side of this wall have been taken care of. Remember the shinobi of the village are here for your protection so you don’t have to take up arms. “ And with that he would release the wall and the clone would join the puddles of water on the ground.

 

[Tomomi]

So, another successful party of slugs had joined his party and now Manzo was ready to round up more of them. He seemed ambitious to prove himself to Za and Sluggy who was seemingly so damn happy right now with his work thus far. Of course, that could always change in a minute's notice but for now, Manzo could bask in his work. However, he would not as he would ask the burning leader of the pack that he just befriended if he knew where any more of them were. Fortunately for him, the slug would nod and respond with the following: "Indeed, Manzo. There is a family hiding in the forests that you passed by on your way here since they weren't following you. They are very weary of others regardless of the race that you are and the parents are very protective of their children. I will lead you to them, but I cannot promise you that they will want to follow us especially with all their children as that could be putting them in danger. However, we will not know unless we try right? Follow me and summon up some support if you can. Sluggy, you stand beside Manzo and my fellow slugs will surround you two."

Without waiting for a response, the fire leader begun to head off as they would follow. Fortunately for all of them, nothing would get in their way as they traveled. However, they would have to stop numerous times for the slugs to do their business which slowly was irritating their hard-shelled leader more and more as they were wasting time that could be better spent taking care of their business. Regardless though, they would continue to walk and eventually head into a forest on the way back to the Valley of the End which was heavily covered. Fortunately for them, the leader knew where these other slugs lived which was a secluded part of the forest that was not easily to access as one had to crawl, jump, and fit into tight spaces to get to the clearing where they all resided. As soon as they were in the clearing, Manzo would be able to see what was presumably the entire family that this hot-headed slug had been talking about.

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As had been alluded to earlier by the flaming slug, the parents would quickly slide in front of all of their children with an intense look of fear on their faces as they couldn't believe that they were seeing a human nor others of their kind and in such a huge capacity! They had believed that they were safely away from the main part of civilization, but life had a funny way of playing with people and here they all were. Without a moment of hesitation, the fire slug would turn around and look up to Manzo. The look would tell it all, it was time to speak to them. Of course, Sluggy being Sluggy would slide from his location burning the ground below him as he tilted his head at the couple and their children in a friendly gesture, but it was not very effective!

 

[Kato Hana]

Things were looking good. Manzo had managed to defuse the situation with the villagers, at least as much as he cared, and the slugs. The slugs seemed to come around to Manzo’s thinking. He must have said something that resonated with them.

Hearing that they had passed a family of slugs on the way to the fire slugs did not supprise Manzo. They were animals easy to miss if you did not know what you were looking for. At this point in his life he was far from an expert in slug hunts. Perhaps by the end of this adventure he would become an expert and finding them.

Getting to the family was certianlly a workout, but that was a good thing. One could not just rely on walking to keep in shape. Despite the terrain it wasn’t long before their party came accross the family. It looked almost as if the children were currious but the parents were certinally not happy to see a human in their clearing. Humankind truely had done wrong by these slugs.

Being given his cue by the slugs of his party Manzo knelt down as if to see less imposing. He was not a very big person to begin with but despite this slugs were still much smaller than he. He wanted to make the parents feel as safe as they could.

”Greetings, my name is Manzo. I come in peace and mean you no harm. Know that your fellow slugs would not have betrayed you if I wished ill to you.“ Manzo swept his hand back to the fire slugs and Sluggy.

”I am seeking to help the slugkind and give them safety from the hazards around them.“ Manzo would take a pause to let them speak if they wanted to before resuming.

”We are gathering all of the slugs as we travel to a new area were we might build a house of saftey for you.“ Again he would pause. He was learning that slugs teneded to wait their turn to speak and if you didn’t give them a chance they wouldn’t

”I am here helping to give security so you won’t have to worry about your children as we travel the land.“ Manzo then stoped talking to allow them to ask any questions or voice any concerns they might have.

[MFT]

 

[Tomomi]

The slug family would watch as the human who would introduce himself as Manzo would kneel down to become closer to their eye level as he began to talk. In all honesty, he didn't seem like a threat to the family, but the parents were still a little concerned as they watched him. They would do nothing as it appeared that the slugs of Fire Country actually had some manners and allowed one to finish speaking before they responded. It was an admirable trait to say the least, but something so minor that it didn't truly matter right now.

After waiting their turns, the pink one of the adult slugs would speak. As assumed, this would be the mother of the group and the ladies were always first, right? Well, in this case, she would go first and her husbando would follow: "So you helped out all of them behind you? How did you manage to do that by yourself and keep all of them safe as you traveled? Surely you must've dealt with some form of a predator that tried to engage in a fight with you over them. I mean Sluggy is acidic and the others are burning in flames, but if targeted correctly, they all could be sitting in someone's home as their pets or food for the evening. Explain yourself, Manzo."

Before Manzo could respond to the pink motherly slug, the father would follow up her comments with some of his own. Neither of them had appeared to be standoffish or hostile towards the group as of yet. But, the response that came from Manzo could certainly change that. Of course, he would first have to listen to the fatherly blue slug speak and he would keep it short like his waifu: "My lady is just concerned for her children and us. You see you already have a lot of followers behind you, but surely you couldn't be able to escort us on top of them without putting the party in danger of being ambushed or separated. Have you thought of a way to handle more and more slugs joining you?"

When he was finished, the floor would be given back to the human among all the slugs, a slug prophet if one wanted to call themselves that. What would Slug Jesus do in response to their comments? Would he reassure them that they were making the right decision or would he show them with actions instead of words? Hopefully, he wouldn't do something stupid that would wreck all his progress thus far with the slugs and he had best make a wise decision if he was going to be able to attract this family to his cult, erm, I mean his following and protection! Yeah!

 

[Kato Hana]

It felt good to talk to slugs that were not looking to attack him right off the bat. Manzo briefly wondered if parenthood had mellowed these two slugs out or if this was their natural disposition. The pleasure of not having to worry about being attacked was refreshing.

It was plain to see that these slugs were concerned about one thing, their children. They were right too and it only made sense. The children were the future. Without them this entire endeavor would be pointless.


Manzo pondered their question for a moment before speaking. ”It really depends on what kind of threat we are faced with. The nice thing about traveling with such a large group is others can help provide protection, if you get separated from me.“ looking around he saw an area that was free of slugs and created a wall from the earth itself. ”The first priority is to ensure that you and your children are safe from harm. I can handle a lot of things but to ensure they are safe while I am doing that the best thing is to ensure no harm can catch a glimpse at them. We can set rendezvous points along the way in case we get separated we can all meet up.“ Manzo looked back at the slugs that had already joined him. ”I don’t like to hurt animals or humans if I don’t have to but sometimes there is no choice. The entire point of moving all of the slugs together is to provide a place of sanctuary and security. Larger groups may attract more attention like you fear but it also provides the best security. This is the best time for your family to find a more secure place to live.“

 

[Tomomi]

They would listen to his comments in response to their concerns intently since they could be putting their children and themselves into the hands of a human being. So far, Manzo hadn't shown them anything that could make them feel uneasy about him especially with the followers that he already had. However, they still didn't feel completely sure of traveling in a large group like this especially with their little ones as there were so many things in their minds that could go wrong so they came up with an alternative idea and would whisper it to one another agreeing that it was a smart idea in their little slug minds. Their idea would keep them safe and also help the future slug generations, it was brilliant and all they had to do was tell Manzo their idea.

The pinkish female slug would speak up and say the following: "We have an idea, Manzo. Instead of us traveling with you and our fellow slug family, what if we build this 'sanctuary' that you speak of here? It is secluded and there is plenty of space for expansions if need be. Also, there wouldn't be a lot of people or animals interfering with it and you could visit us and help us as need be, right? I think that is a reasonable suggestion, don't you?"

If Manzo would look at his followers, he would see Sluggy, the flame slug leader, and a few others nodding their heads in agreement at the suggestion. It made somewhat sense to them as it was an area that was hard to get to and it would keep them all safe and secure. However, they would need to be cautious of what they eat and what their bodies emitted as it would be give off smells that could easily attract other creatures. In other words, the slugs would need to learn how to control their bodies or risk everything if they built it here. Also, their bodies could destroy the structure that was decided upon if they were not careful as well. In other words, there was a lot of problems and things to consider if they build here.

[Short post is short. Sorry.]

 

[Kato Hana]

It felt good to get the family of slugs on board with the plans but it seemed that they liked their home to much to want to leave. Truth be told it did seem like the perfect place for them. Sluggy had told him that the details for the Slughouse would come later so perhaps this is the best place for it.

Manzo looked back at the silent members of the party who all seemed to be liking the idea. Seeing that Sluggy in particular liked the idea, and since Manzo was relying on him to let him know where to build, he was going to go along with the idea.

”It looks like your home here is about to get a bit bigger“ Manzo said with a smile to to the parents. Looking around he started to address the entire group. ”When we started this journey I did not think to take into account the different kinds of slugs and their environmental needs. If we built a house for Sluggy out of wood, I am not sure how long it would last. But if we built the house out of metal to take that into account, our firery friends would likely cook everyone else. Because of this I am thinking instead of a Slughouse, it should be more of a Slugcompound with different homes for different kinds of slugs.“

Manzo would wait to see how they thought of that idea before continuing again. ”One of the other advantages to building here, is it is close enough to the village that I can get supplies.“ Assuming that they would agree to Manzo’s idea to build multiple houses he would then start to talk to each group to see what kinds of things they wanted for their houses.

Once he had ideas from everyone he would start to build. He would start by building down, using his mastery with earth jutsus to build underground in what would eventually become the basement or possibly a safe room for each groups house, once the above ground structures were built. This way they had a place to stay that was safe, secure, and out of the elements while Manzo took the time to build the rest of the compound.

He would also look to enhancing the security of the place. There was a nice overgrowth which would help against predators but he was concerned about predators from the sky. Using his newly discovered ability with wood he started to encourage the branches to grow together making a stronger canopy. He wasn’t the best at manipulating wood but for his purposes here he was good enough.

Once he was done with that work he would turn to the slugs ”It is a start until I can get some more building materials, but what do you think?“

[MFT]

 

[Tomomi]

It would appear that everyone, including the human known as Manzo, were on board with building the safe haven for the slug population in this location which relieved the mother and father of these adorable blue and pink babies that they had. They would not have to worry about trying to move their family around and worrying about predators which made them feel at ease. It also appeared that the other slugs also were in agreement and they all seemed to agree that the slughouse was not ideal now with their unique attributes with their groups. A slug compound was the optimal choice based on their current situations and once again, Manzo proved that he truly did care about the slug population and would more than likely be rewarded generously with hugs and kisses from these slugs if he didn't mind of course! In any case, he would talk to each respective group and get a general idea of what they were looking for and proceed to business.

He first would use his magic powers known as jutsu like he did before to begin the construction of the compound. The basement would be build first for each section of the compound and then use another form of jutsu to make a nice canopy to hide the little critters from potential predators. Again, he was being very smart with his methods as it offered two ways to keep them safe initially without any other form of defense. Of course, he would need to do more work before they were completely safe, but he had begun the process and the slugs could admire his work. However, many of them would look dumbfounded at what was in front of them as they were not accustomed to any of this and while they were highly intelligent, this creation thus far was intriguing to say the least.

Before too many thoughts and questions would spew out to Manzo, Sluggy would crawl with his acidic body and begin talking to him: "Don't worry about the others, they are just trying to grasp what you have created. Thank you thus far for your work, Manzo. Do you need to go back to the village right now to get more materials to finish and how long will it take you to finish? I mean we should be safe for now but if it takes too long, I fear that we will be found out."

A brief pause and then Sluggy would continue: "Go if you must to get the materials, but hurry back. I feel like we can handle ourselves for a little while with our numbers, but having this compound built quickly will make me feel much better!" At least, his companion slug was understandable with the situation on hand, but Manzo truthfully should probably not take too long since animals were notorious for getting into situations that they were not welcomed into. Case and point, raccoons into garbage or foxes eating chickens or squirrels tearing up garden beds for food.

 

[Kato Hana]

Manzo was happy to see the looks of wonder, at least he hoped it was wonder, he was sure the slugs had never seen anyone build a slug village with jutsu’s before. From everything he had heard, the only thing the slugs would have seen was destruction. It was good for them to see a different side of humans.

As Sluggy approached him letting him know that he was happy with the progress, Manzo felt good about it. ”Thank you Sluggy, but before I run out and get some supplies to build the hardier houses there is a bit more I want to do here.“

The family of slugs was much easier than Sluggy or the fire slugs houses. For them he used the woods around them to make a house that would protect them from the elements and from predators that might think his new friends were snacks.

Keeping with that theme he started to work on some defense to augment the natural defenses woods and thorns provided.

Looking around he was pretty happy with what he had created. He was far from a builder but he had created a sanctuary for those that had been forgotten in the rebuilding of the village.

”I am going run back to town and get some metal and some materials that are a little less flammable. Fortunately you are looking at the fastest person around so I won't’ be gone long. “ He told the slugs with a smile.

As soon he got an acknowledgment, unless one of them brought up a problem he would use his Quicksliver step to move through reality at the speed of thought. He wanted to move through the village with as few people noticing him, not wanting to answer questions.

With his shopping list of metal and whatever building materials that he could find that was fireproof, with as many people in the village that were masters of fire jutsus, it shouldn’t be that hard to find, he went back to the slug sanctuary with the same speed he left them at. He wanted to make sure they were as safe and as comfortable as he could make them before he had to leave them.

As he arrived, he would take a few moments to catch his breath, moving at that speed for such distance took quite a bit out of him. ”See I told you I can move fast“ he told them, if nothing else a chance to catch his breath without seeming to be out of breath.

Once he had regained his strength he would begain building Sluggy and the fire slugs new homes.

[MFT]

 

[Tomomi]

And like Boruto's grandfather, Manzo was off back to the village to get supplies for his new friends leaving them alone to defend for themselves while he was away. Fortunately for him when he returned, they were still all there even though many of them had fallen asleep or were playing with the little ones that the pink and blue parents had created. In any case, Manzo had returned and he could continue his master plan to build their "slug estate" or so he would think. First, he would have to address the colossal creature behind them that was black and had a body ridged with scales. Obviously, he had no idea who this was so the creature would talk to him as he stood there: "Hello the Human that they call Manzo. I am the slug overlord, Za Kuroi, who decided to come from our realm to see how things were going with Sluggy since our last communication with one another. He told me that you have been doing a fantastic job with him and his fellow slug relatives. Now, I must ask you, have you been doing a great job, Manzo?"

There you had it, Manzo just had to speak his opinion on how he was doing to the overlord of all the slugs who should've been sleeping as he was a nocturnal creature. It was likely that Za would not be staying too long as the climate of this country was far different from where he typically relaxed in while watching Sandworms and Carnasaurs fighting among themselves and trying to murder one another. Of course, the overlord had also seen other things as well while residing in Wind Country for as long as he did, but he had slowly been spending more and more time in the realm of the slugs where he could be left in peace and didn't have to be bothered by almost anyone. After all, he moved during the night and nobody was ever truly out at night unless they were doing bad things, right?

 

[Kato Hana]

As Manzo returned full of energy and happy to continue building his village he entered the area not sure what to expect. He did not really know a lot about what slugs did when not around humans. Heck as far as he knew slugs liked to attack humans. Of the three groups of slugs he had met only one had not been hostile towards humans. Granted it had all worked out in the end but still it was a little unusual to say the least.

As he looked around to see how the slugs were doing he saw the ginormous slug sitting waiting and looking at him. He wasn't’ sure how he missed a slug of this size to begin with, perhaps he simply expected everything to be normal. His brain was trying to rationalize the size of this slug. If there was a war between slugkind and humankind like some of the slugs wanted and the slugs had slugs of this size, humans would have a hard time with such a war.

Hearing the massive slug speak to him sounded like the earth itself was speaking to him. The voice wasn’t loud so much as it was as massive as he was. Though hearing that this was the overloard Za Kuroi, made sense. If this was not the overlord then Manzo could hardly believe how big the overlord would be.

Bowing before the slug overlord Manzo began to speak. ”Good day Overlord Za Kuroi, I am pleased to hear that you know who I am.“ Manzo was truly humbled before this massive slug. ”I would like to think that I am doing good for slug kind. But it doesn't matter how great I am doing right now. This is something that will always need care and tending. The idea was to build a safe haven for slugs all around the area which means that hopefully more will come, with that means that this village will need to grow, this is something that I intend to help with. All I can say is I hope this starts mending the troubles that humans have caused your kind in the past. “

[MFT 365]

 

[Tomomi]

Za would see this human bowing down to him and would give a chuckle form his abnormally large body. This man would then speak and give his honest assessment about himself which Za Kuroi would listen intently to. Manzo seemed like a good human being unlike many of his predecessors who decided to create barring wastelands. It did help that Sluggy who spoke with Za earlier also told him that he was impressed with the work that Manzo had put in and the amount of patience that he had for each and every single one of the slugs.

It was due to this that Za would say the following direct, but certainly not annoyed: "I can see and feel your true intentions as Sluggy told me before. You seem to have kindness in your heart and appear to understand that the Civil War that cursed these lands did not only affect humans, but also my kind and others as well. I must ask however if you are willing to protect all no matter the cost even if it would cost your life in the process. You have to understand that my followers are strong creatures, but they still are slugs and thus they are typically at a disadvantage when it comes to predatory animals including humans. If you are willing to protect them at all costs, please step forward from them and we will begin the Oath of Sakura."

What would Manzo do?

 

[Kato Hana]

Manzo listened to the overlord speak, it was an interesting speech though it wasn’t anything that Manzo was not planning on already. Manzo had grown quite fond of his new friends and he wasn’t going to let anything happen to them. He was going to have to go back to the village at some point, he still had duties to perform but before that happened he intended to build up the slug village some more and he wanted to try and find more slugs to inhabit it. There were so many out in the wild that were at the mercy of predators, just as the overlord had said.


As he took a step forward he wondered what this oath was but if it made the overlord happy for something he already was going to do then Manzo would gladly take it.

”I would gladly protect your kind, even if it meant my life, I have grown quite attached to them.“ It was time to see what this Oath was.

 

[Tomomi]

The man would step forward as his "followers" would take a step back allowing him to go through the Oath of Sakura that very few of them had ever been able to witness. Fortunately, that was going to change today as they had the overlord of all the slugs in front of them and they were going to be in for a treat to say the very least. Hopefully, Manzo would not disappoint Za Kuroi since he had come so far rounding up all these slugs and could almost probably taste success!

In any case, the overlord would give a small nod as to not cause a tremor to come from the ground from his movements. He would then speak once more to the Leaf shinobi: "Very well. Repeat after me. I, Manzo, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Slug Population of this world against all enemies, foreign and domestic. I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion. I will faithfully discharge the duties of this position on which I am about to enter should I ever turn my back on them. So help me, Lord Za Kuroi and Sakura."

While this was happening, Sluggy was inching ever so slowly closer and closer to them both. The little creature must've been curious about it all as his mouth was wide open as acidic goo dripped from it as his fellow slugs were also awestruck by all of this. It was truly breathtaking!