Bang!
Inside the Hyuga residence, a pitch-black summoning formula spread across the floor.
The next moment, Hyuga Wuye appeared in the room.
Half a year had passed, yet his appearance had not changed in the slightest, and his body was completely clean.
As a natural body, he was washed by natural energy and remained spotless.
"Slug, thank you for taking care of me these past six months. I'll visit you in Shikkotsu Forest next time."
Wuye smiled faintly.
To his surprise, Slug's two feelers instantly stiffened, and her gentle voice carried a hint of misery. "No, no, no! Please don't come again!"
"Why? Am I not welcome?"
A smile appeared at the corner of Hyuga Wuye's mouth.
Slug lay limply across his shoulder, looking utterly hopeless. "You absorbed almost all the natural energy in Shikkotsu Forest... I've shrunk by a whole size over the last three months..."
"Shrunk by a whole size..."
Hyuga Wuye's eye twitched. "How come I couldn't tell at all?"
Slug lay there pitifully. "If you look at the edge of my body, you'll find that my outer circumference has shrunk inward by a meter..."
"A meter..."
Considering her enormous size, comparable to several islands, losing a meter really was quite a lot.
Hyuga Wuye chuckled. "You idiot, didn't you leave a split body outside? You can absorb natural energy and bring it back!"
"Eh? That's right!"
Slug brightened up.
But Wuye reached out and stroked her feelers. "Take it easy when you absorb it. Don't leave me without natural energy even in Konoha."
This time, Slug showed no reaction whatsoever to him touching her feelers, because she had grown used to it over the past three months.
"Yes, Master."
She answered softly, then jumped down from Hyuga Wuye's shoulder and merged with the split body in