Shiro's discovery was an unexpected one—it was poison, but surprisingly, it could also serve as food.
His infamous reputation as the "Human Walking Calamity" had spread far and wide, and wherever he went, only barren wastelands remained in his wake. Wealthy landowners in places he visited or was about to visit started putting bounties on his head through the black market.
As his bounty grew higher, it naturally attracted more and more bounty hunters eager to claim the prize. But Shiro and his two clan members were no novices, and every hunter sent after them met their end at their hands.
After killing eleven high-ranking bounty hunters in a single battle, Shiro's fame grew even further, scaring off many of the hunters. However, there were always a few who weren't afraid of death and continued to hunt for him.
After several failed attempts to defeat Shiro, these hunters concocted a sneaky plan—poison. They prepared a large amount of deadly toxic powder and scattered it in a small forest along Shiro's usual path. The poison, once it touched the trees and soil, would seep into the environment, rendering the entire forest undetectable from the outside. Anyone who stepped into it would quickly succumb to its effects.
It was noon when Shiro entered the forest, just as the hunters had planned. He dove straight in, eager to devour whatever was before him. From the hidden spots, the hunters watched as Shiro began to convulse and foam at the mouth, eventually collapsing to the ground, seemingly poisoned.
The hunters, thrilled by the sight, rushed out of their hiding places, quickly dispatching Shiro's two clan members and preparing to enter the forest and claim Shiro's head.
But just as they stepped into the forest, Shiro got back up, unscathed.
The reason for his convulsions and foaming at the mouth wasn't because of poison—it was simply because he had eaten too much. The tiny bit of poison had been enough to satisfy his hunger, leaving him feeling full, as if he had devoured an entire forest.
The bounty hunters were dumbfounded, staring at him in shock. After a brief pause, they instinctively screamed and charged toward Shiro.
Shiro, with his incredible defense, effortlessly dodged their strongest attacks, taking their lives one by one. Soon, only one bounty hunter remained alive.
The surviving hunter knelt and begged for mercy, pleading for Shiro to spare him.
"What did you put in this forest?" Shiro asked.
"It's... it's toxic powder extracted from a mountain pepperfish..." the hunter replied, trembling.
After getting the information he needed, Shiro quickly killed the hunter by snapping his neck.
With a heavy heart, Shiro buried his two fallen clan members and resumed his journey to find new food.
Year 16: Over the past few years, Shiro had wandered alone through the ninja world, sampling all the poisons he could find. While these poisons did provide some sustenance, they were far from the effectiveness of the toxic powder from the mountain pepperfish. That powder was so potent that even a small amount, no larger than a fingernail, sold for 8,000 ryo on the black market—an amount Shiro couldn't afford.
Determined to find the mountain pepperfish, Shiro planned to capture some and breed them, extracting their venom for food.
One day, while searching for the fish, Shiro arrived at a small village to buy supplies. A kindly old woman warned him not to go to the small restaurant ten miles east of the village. It was a notorious black market spot, and the owner often poisoned the food to make a profit.
Deciding to remove the threat and enjoy a good meal, Shiro thanked the woman and set off toward the restaurant. Upon arriving, the owner, a sneaky-looking man with a peculiar face, hurried to greet him.
"Are you here for a meal?" the man asked eagerly.
"Are you the owner of this place?" Shiro asked.
"Yes, that's me! What can I get for you? I can make anything you want," the owner replied.
Shiro casually pulled out a stack of silver bills, and the owner's eyes lit up with greed.
"What's your best dish?" Shiro asked.
"Ah, it must be my ginseng chicken soup!" the owner boasted.
"Alright, I'll have that," Shiro said, eager to see what this dish was about.
The owner ran into the kitchen, and soon he returned with a large pot of soup.
"Here's your chicken soup! It's the best when it's hot!" the owner said, smiling.
Shiro slowly ladled out a bowl of the milky white soup and stared at it for a moment before drinking it all in one go.
The moment he tasted it, he was shocked. The flavor of the soup, combined with the intense toxicity of the poison, created an entirely unique experience—something he had never felt before. It was truly an extraordinary taste.
He suddenly realized that the owner might be quite a talented person after all.
The owner, seeing that Shiro had not collapsed after drinking the soup, began to doubt whether he had put enough poison in it. He took a sip of the soup himself, but quickly spit it out in shock.
"This is impossible! How could you still be alive after drinking my poisoned soup? Who are you?" the owner demanded.
"I'm Shiro," Shiro replied calmly.
The owner blinked in confusion before scoffing, "What kind of name is that? Never heard of you."
Shiro smirked, "I have another nickname in the ninja world, though. It's 'The Human Walking Calamity.'"
The owner immediately turned pale, terrified. He had just realized the man in front of him was a living legend.
In the end, Shiro made the owner, who was a pangolin, his servant, and together they set off on the next leg of their journey.
Year 17: A full year passed, and Shiro still hadn't found any trace of the mountain pepperfish. But he didn't feel discouraged. He knew that Chiyo, the elder from Sunagakure, could create poisons more potent than the fish's venom.
Shiro decided to travel to Sunagakure to ask Chiyo to make him a batch of powerful poison. But as he journeyed halfway to the village, he received the news that Chiyo had passed away while saving the Fifth Kazekage, Gaara.
Shiro felt a deep sense of loss and sorrow for quite some time.
And then, from a distance, a large white bird appeared in the sky..