"Huh?"
Sato frowned as he looked at the thing not far in front of him and let out a puzzled sound.
Wasn't that a maneki-neko?
Hadn't it been a white fox youkai just a moment ago?
Suddenly, he crossed dozens of meters in an instant and appeared before Madara, lowering his head to curiously inspect the cat at his feet.
Madara's expression turned horrified.
He froze for a moment before swallowing hard.
How did he get over here?!
From Madara's perspective, Sato had simply appeared in front of him in the blink of an eye.
And despite moving that fast, there hadn't even been an afterimage.
Was that teleportation?!
Just who exactly was this human kid?
Suddenly, he felt someone grab the back of his neck.
Then he was lifted into the air.
Madara immediately began flailing all four limbs wildly while putting on a fierce yet adorable display.
"Hey! Let go of me! How dare a mere human treat me like this!"
"Don't make Lord Madara angry! Lord Madara is terrifying when he's angry!"
Sato's expression suddenly became strange.
"With the tiny bit of demonic power you have left?"
Madara froze instantly.
H-How did this kid figure that out?
Whoa!
This human is terrifying!
Even scarier than that vicious woman Reiko!
"Madara-sensei!"
A worried shout suddenly echoed through the forest.
Taking advantage of Sato looking up, Madara's eyes darted around.
He immediately began struggling harder.
Finally, taking advantage of a brief lapse in attention, he slipped free from Sato's grasp.
Sato lowered his head and smiled as he watched Madara flee somewhat awkwardly on all fours.
He didn't pay it much mind.
Instead, he looked toward the handsome young man not far away who appeared to be around the same age as him.
Through Observation Haki, he could sense an unknown energy rising from the boy's body like thick smoke.
Whether it was spiritual power or some other kind of force, he couldn't tell.
The supernatural systems of this world were exceptionally complex.
Even the system was unable to fully catalog them all.
"Madara-sensei, are you alright?"
"Waaah! Natsume, I got beaten up so badly! Look, this side of my face is all swollen. That human isn't human at all!"
"Not human?!"
Natsume Takashi looked up at Sato in shock.
The corner of Sato's mouth twitched.
He immediately shot an unfriendly look toward the maneki-neko in Natsume Takashi's arms.
"Ahhhh!!!"
Madara's fur instantly stood on end.
He desperately burrowed deeper into Natsume Takashi's embrace.
Seeing this, Natsume Takashi quickly bowed.
"I'm sorry! If Madara-sensei did anything wrong, I apologize on his behalf!"
The surroundings fell silent.
Just as Sato was about to speak, Kato Megumi's voice suddenly rang out.
Her tone remained calm, but a faint tremor could be heard beneath it.
"What happened here...?"
Hm?
Natsume Takashi cautiously raised his head.
The moment his eyes took in the surrounding area, his expression froze.
Within a hundred-meter radius, countless trees lay toppled across the forest.
Branches and leaves were scattered everywhere as if something had crushed its way through.
Some trunks had been driven deep into the soil.
Many more had been snapped cleanly in half, exposing fresh breaks.
A terrifying battle had taken place here.
Without even thinking, that conclusion immediately surfaced in his mind.
One participant was obviously Madara-sensei.
As for the other...
His gaze landed on Sato, who was slowly walking over.
Shock appeared on his face.
Could a human really possess such terrifying power?
"Your name?"
Sato asked the boy before him.
Natsume Takashi quickly recovered.
"Natsume Takashi!"
"Natsume, huh?"
Sato took out his phone and logged into the Hero Association database.
The result surprised him.
No records found.
"Your real name?"
Seeing that Sato didn't seem hostile, Natsume Takashi relaxed somewhat.
He nodded.
"My real name."
"That shouldn't be possible..."
Sato looked at him in confusion.
"With spiritual power fluctuations this dense, you should be someone who awakened recently and still hasn't fully mastered it. So why doesn't the Hero Association have any record of you?"
"Ah, Natsume's spiritual power is innate!"
Madara, whose head was still buried in Natsume Takashi's arms, suddenly spoke up.
"Innate? No wonder."
Sato nodded in realization.
People born with spiritual power naturally accumulated it from birth.
There was no sudden awakening event.
Without a dramatic surge of power, the Hero Association would never have detected them.
"Um... who exactly are you?"
After taking a small breath, Natsume Takashi looked at Sato and asked.
Hidden within his eyes were excitement and anticipation.
"Me?"
Sato pointed at himself and smiled.
"Just an ordinary high school student."
Madara: "..."
Natsume Takashi: "..."
Kato Megumi: "..."
Okuri-inu: "..."
Looking at their expressions, all of which clearly said Stop treating us like idiots, Sato smacked his lips and sighed.
"Fine. An ordinary high school student with a little bit of ability."
After speaking, he glanced once more at the spiritual power continuously leaking from Natsume Takashi.
"No wonder you can't conceal it. An innate spiritual power user, huh."
"You've had a hard time because of it, haven't you?"
Sato suddenly asked.
Natsume Takashi immediately looked up at him in shock.
"How did you know?"
"People with spiritual power can see things ordinary people can't. And since you've never had anyone teach you how to control it, you're basically a walking treasure to youkai."
Looking at Natsume Takashi's astonished expression, Sato explained his reasoning.
"Do you know a way to control it?"
"Uh... there's no need for the honorifics."
Sato coughed lightly.
"My name is Nohara Sato."
"I'm Natsume. Natsume Takashi."
Natsume Takashi formally introduced himself once more.
Sato nodded.
"As for controlling it, don't worry about that for now. I'll report your situation to the Association later. Someone will come guide you."
"Right now..."
His gaze first shifted toward Madara in Natsume Takashi's arms.
Then he glanced at the Okuri-inu, which had followed them over.
Before Madara and Natsume had arrived, the Okuri-inu had clearly sensed something.
Madara, crouching in Natsume Takashi's arms, waved his tiny cat paws indignantly.
"What do you mean by 'that thing'? I'm a Great Youkai!"