In the forest not far away.
A small bear cub hung high up on a tree branch. Its head hung low, the rope tied around its neck. A gust of wind blew, and the cub's body swayed with the breeze.
"RROOOO!" A large black bear with a crescent moon mark on her chest let out a mournful low growl. She reached out with her paw, constantly batting at the small bear, trying to free it. But no matter how her strong paws pawed, the tightly bound rope showed no sign of loosening.
Not far behind the black bear, a hunter with a somewhat foolish look and a slight squint held a hunting rifle, aiming it at the big black bear's head. Clearly, the small bear cub was his bait to lure the big black bear.
The old hunter, who had come rushing over after hearing the sound, was also stunned by the scene before him. Even though he was a hunter, professional hunters had their own rules. Taking an animal's young as bait was a cruel, heartless act, something they would never do. What's more, that cub was the offspring of the bear who had saved his life.
When he recovered his senses, the anger in his heart could no longer be suppressed. He decisively raised his hunting rifle and aimed at the other hunter.
"Bang!" A loud gunshot rang out.
The hunter's palm immediately became covered in blood. A copper bullet sliced through the air, piercing his hand. The old hunter, who had just raised his hand to pull the trigger, froze upon hearing the shot. That shot wasn't fired by him; it was someone else.
He looked up and saw a figure standing not far away. It was a strange person wearing a black robe. As for why he called him strange... The person had a small black bear cub tucked under his arm, wore a wooden mask on his face, and on top of his head, he seemed to be balancing a... mushroom?
*What the heck is that...?* The old hunter was completely bewildered.
"Ah!!" At that moment, the hunter whose hand had been shot through let out a sharp wail of agony.
"Damn it!" Coming back to his senses, the hunter didn't have time to react to how his hand had been shot. He struggled to use his injured right hand again, aiming the rifle at the big black bear.
"RROOOO!" The big black bear was also enraged by the gunshot and let out a furious roar. Turning around, she glared with wide, angry eyes at the two people behind her.
"Bang!" Another gunshot.
"Ah!" The hunter let out a cry of pain. The hand that had just been shot through was hit again. This time, he couldn't pick up the hunting rifle anymore. It was then that the hunter realized someone was shooting at him. Clutching his hand, he scanned his surroundings and also spotted the strange person with a mushroom on his head.
Fujino silently watched the old man and the hunter in front of him, slowly walking forward.
"Kumo!" At this moment, the small bear cub tucked under Fujino's arm suddenly cried out.
The big black bear Jubei, who had been glaring furiously, froze at the sound. She could sense that it was the cry of her child. Turning around, she saw Fujino holding her child.
"RROOOO!" The big black bear Jubei charged towards Fujino in a rage. Black bears are inherently intelligent, especially a big black bear that has lived for over twenty years. Having already lost one child, she hadn't fully recovered from the shock. She thought her child had been captured by hateful humans again.
Fujino watched the big black bear charging towards him, his eyes slightly narrowed. He silently activated his Detective Enhancement, added an Advanced Strength Enhancement Card, put down the small bear cub, and also charged towards the big black bear Jubei.
Under the perception of his Combat Insight, the big black bear Jubei's attack path was extremely obvious, a straight line. Fujino didn't choose to dodge. Having already upgraded his Detective Enhancement to Intermediate Four Stars, he wanted to test how he compared to the big black bear.
Detective Enhancement provided a 350% body enhancement, plus his base abilities, he was already at 700% without anything else. With the Advanced Enhancement Card stacked on top, his strength would reach a terrifying 900%. And that didn't even include other enhancements. In his previous life, he had heard that ten times normal human strength could take down a black bear. However, in this world, it was still unknown. He wondered if, going all out, he could fight the black bear to a standstill...
"Bang!" With a loud impact, Fujino and the big black bear collided fiercely. Fujino didn't choose to collide with his body but met her paws with his hands. In the instant of impact, Fujino felt his body halt, and a pressure spread from his arms throughout his body. Fortunately, it was still within a tolerable range.
The black bear Jubei, when standing upright, was over two meters tall. In terms of height, the difference between them was still too great. Compared to animals, the human body structure was still too fragile. Humans' dominance over nature initially relied on collective tools and intelligence. Later, with the change of times, humans mastered various martial arts through practical combat.
Martial arts were mostly used to fight other humans, but in a small number of techniques, there were also skills for fighting ferocious beasts. This kind of technique was a manifestation of human intelligence and the advantage of flexible limbs. With this in mind, Fujino kicked out, delivering a powerful blow to the big black bear's stomach.
The force of the kick, augmented, was terrifying. The big black bear was kicked back two or three steps, looking somewhat bewildered. The black bear Jubei's sense of smell was very keen. She could sense that this strange thing in front of her was a human. Living deep in the mountains, she rarely had conflicts with humans. Her impression of humans was just like little skinny monkeys.
The big black bear cautiously observed Fujino, not daring to make a move. She felt a dangerous aura from this human. It was like a Monkey King suddenly popping out from among the little skinny monkeys. It was truly surprising for a bear.
"Kumo!" A cry pulled her thoughts back, which had just cleared up. The small black bear cub waddled to her side. The black bear Jubei lowered her body, rubbed her neck against the small black bear cub's body, and licked its fur.
She looked up at Fujino, the fierce aura in her red eyes gradually receding. Fujino silently looked at the two bears, then turned around, untied the body of the small cub that was hanging from the tree branch, and gently placed it on the ground.
The small cub turned around and ran to the side of the dead small black bear cub. Seeing no response, it nudged it with its nose. Then, it ran back to the side of the big black bear Jubei. The big black bear Jubei lowered her head, looking at her only surviving cub, then at the dead cub, unable to hide the sadness in her heart.
She raised her eyes and looked at Fujino. She understood that Fujino meant no harm. She supported her heavy body and walked over, extended her tongue to lick the body of the small cub, then picked it up in her mouth and returned to the mountain forest with the other small cub. However, as she left, she turned back and let out a loud roar at Fujino. It was as if she was saying: Thank you, human!
Fujino silently watched the two bears leave. Turning back, he looked at the two people behind him, the aura around him intensifying significantly. The two hunters were also stunned at this moment. They had witnessed the entire scene just now.
The old hunter was okay; he was more composed. As an experienced hunter, he could tell that the other person was using some kind of pistol or something similar. As for wrestling with a bear... Although it was unbelievable, it was still within the realm of what a human could potentially do.
"A... a monster!" But the young hunter seemed extremely frightened. In his eyes, his hand was inexplicably mangled. And fighting a big black bear... Was this even a human?! Was this something a human could do?
"Human, you have angered the mountain god's reverse scale!" Fujino didn't speak, slowly walking towards the young hunter.
As a master of elaborate disguises, he knew that to keep his identity hidden, he needed to create a disguise that fit the scene. His current appearance was meant to impersonate a mountain god. The hunter immediately felt a chill down his spine and a bone-chilling cold throughout his body. At this moment, he noticed the old hunter behind him and desperately called out for help, "Big brother, save me!"
"A M... Mushroom Man!" The old hunter showed a look of horror and, cooperating, immediately abandoned the hunter and ran away on his own.
Fujino: "..." Mushroom... Man? What the heck? Although he had a mushroom on his head, which did contribute to the intention of impersonating a mountain god, that didn't make him a Mushroom Man...
"M... Mushroom Hermit?!" The hunter looked at the fleeing old hunter, and his heart sank by more than half. He also knew that the other person had once been the leader of a hunter group. He knew this mountain much better than he did... Although he didn't believe in things like Mushroom Hermits, even if the other person was human, he was still very dangerous...
Fujino: "..." Now he's a Mushroom Hermit. Can you not be so ridiculous? Taking a deep breath, Fujino looked at the young hunter, his eyes slightly narrowed. Immediately, he pulled out a very obvious, ridiculously thick large wooden stick from his cloak, something that couldn't possibly fit inside the cloak.
The young hunter stared at the large wooden stick that looked like it had just been snapped from the middle of a large tree, immediately filled with panic. "Don't come any closer!"
...
About ten minutes later, Genta rejoined the group, and Fujino also got the news. Howls of agony echoed from the forest. The young hunter had been severely beaten by Fujino. Although he wasn't beaten to death, he was in a pretty bad state.
After Fujino rejoined the group, everyone returned to the inn satisfied and enjoyed a mushroom feast.
"Matsutake mushrooms are really delicious!"
"Yeah!"
After a hearty meal and drinks, the three kids were very satisfied with this trip.
"I feel like I haven't eaten enough..." However, Genta sighed, clutching his stomach.
"Genta!" Ayumi complained a little. "You ate the most just now!"
"But it's still too little..." Genta pouted. "I wish we could have picked more."
"Yeah!" Mitsuhiko nodded. "But the inn's rules only allow us to pick this much; any extra has to be given up. I wish we could have kept more."
"Oh, come on..." Conan looked speechlessly at the three kids. "If all those matsutake mushrooms were picked by you, wouldn't the inn owner go bankrupt?"
"Alright, alright..." Professor Agasa smiled helplessly. "We can just come back together next time."
"Ahem, I knew you wouldn't eat enough," Fujino cleared his throat at this moment and whispered, "Actually, I secretly kept some matsutake mushrooms just now. You can come to my place to eat them another day."
"Really?!"
"As expected of Fujino-niichan!" The three kids' eyes immediately lit up!
Conan's half-closed eyes: "..." So, that's why this guy came back so late just now. He was secretly sneaking mushrooms... Why does this guy not seem like a detective at all?! He even secretly took some mushrooms.
"Shhh!" Fujino shushed them. "It wouldn't be good if the owner heard."
"Okay, okay!!"
"Shhh!" The three kids pretended to be secretive, which was kind of cute.
"Hey, by the way, how many mushrooms did you actually pick secretly?" Conan curiously leaned next to Fujino and asked in a low voice.
Fujino thought for a moment. "Maybe about a few dozen..."
Conan: "..." Oh no, the owner is definitely going to go bankrupt.
"Hey, hey, did you hear?" At this moment, a commotion suddenly came from the table opposite them. "That guy seems to have been severely beaten, and the ambulance just took him away."
The old hunter was also at that table. "I tell you, that guy must have angered the Mushroom Hermit!"
"Mushroom Hermit?" The people around were immediately surprised, and the people at Fujino's table were also drawn in, curious about hermits and such.
"It's an embodiment of nature!" The old hunter spoke with a mysterious air. "They say that since ancient times, the mountain gods of every mountain have been goddesses with extremely strong jealousy. To curb the extremely jealous goddesses, every mountain will also have an embodiment of nature with a very strong sense of justice at the same time. When they encounter excessive hunters, they will teach them a severe lesson..."
A young man at the same table asked curiously, "Then what did he do to get beaten up like that?"
"He shot and killed Jubei's child and then hung it on a tree to lure Jubei!"
"Huh?!" The people around were startled when they heard this.
"That's really awful!"
"He actually killed a bear cub to lure its mother."
"That's just too much..." The three kids were also a bit angry.
"Exactly! I say that guy deserved to be beaten up like that. If you anger the Mushroom God, you won't have a good end!" The old hunter was filled with righteous indignation. To make the story more believable, he even included his own personal experience. "As a hunter, you must have your own bottom line. Twenty years ago, I was kicked off a cliff because I angered the Mushroom God!"
"We've also heard about what happened twenty years ago..." A long-haired hunter rubbed his chin. "I didn't expect there to be such an old story."
The young man looked at the old hunter. "Did you actually see that... Mushroom Hermit back then?!"
"Of course!" The old hunter nodded, crossing his arms. "That Mushroom Hermit's face was covered in tree bark, and his whole body was black from being stained by the pollution of nature. On top of his black body, he had a mushroom... Even the big black bear Jubei was repelled by him with a single blow! The reason that guy's hand was injured like that was because the Mushroom Hermit cast a spell!"
Fujino: "..." This old man can really spin a tale... In just a moment, he's even made up the Mushroom Hermit's backstory? And he's thrown a big black pot over here. It's a bit ridiculous.
(End of Chapter)