As soon as Taro stepped out of King Yama's palace, the seven colorful little birds perched on his shoulders resud their lively chirping. These tiny creatures might very well be the first living birds to ever enter the Netherworld.
The Yama attendant, a ghost with slicked-back hair and a suit, was assigned to guide Taro. He led him to a small car. Taro couldn't help but wonder—why were there cars in the Netherworld? What kind of fuel did they use? Could it be the ever-present yellow clouds of this realm?
"Please get in, Mr. Taro."
With a loud click, the ghost shut the car door and turned to Taro, who had just settled into the back seat. "You're probably the first living human to request passage along Snake Way to et the King Kai."
Taro, stroking the feathers of the seven birds on his lap, was contemplating how to temporarily care for them. His ki sense stretched outward, attempting to detect the energy of this entire realm. Hearing the ghost's remark, he asked nonchalantly, "Oh? Is that so... Is this Snake Way really that difficult?"
"Of course, it's difficult!" the ghost exclaid. "You have no idea. It's said that in the past hundred million years, only King Yama himself has managed to traverse Snake Way and et the King Kai!"
"How long is Snake Way?"
"About a million kiloters, or so they say!"
Taro fell silent. If he rembered correctly, Earth's equatorial circumference was approximately 40,000 kiloters. That ant Snake Way was equivalent to circling Earth's equator 25 tis!
The ghost glanced at Taro through the rearview mirror, grinning. "Now you understand how challenging it is, right? And that's not even the worst part. You have to be extrely careful not to fall off Snake Way. Because below it... is Hell! If you fall, there's no coming back!"
Taro closed his eyes and leaned back against the seat. "It doesn't matter."
The ghost shrugged. If this guy wasn't afraid of Hell, there was nothing more to say.
The Netherworld's peculiar official vehicle wobbled along the Hell Highway, and before long, they arrived at the colossal entrance to Snake Way. Taro stepped out of the car and was imdiately greeted by the sight of a massive, nacing snake head barring their path. Beyond this enormous serpent head lay an endless expanse of yellow clouds and a winding, seemingly infinite path.
Walking forward, Taro rapped his knuckles against the giant snake head statue with a series of bang bang bang sounds. It didn't feel like stone; instead, it seed to be made of so unique Netherworld material—extrely light yet incredibly hard.
"Oh, wait! There's sothing everyone forgot!"
The ghost had also stepped out of the car and, upon seeing Taro tapping on the snake head, suddenly recalled sothing. He exclaid, "You're still alive! Unlike the dead, you'll get hungry. You'll need food! Even if you manage to traverse Snake Way, how will you handle als along the way?"
He explained, "You see, everyone who's walked Snake Way before has been dead. I suppose even King Yama himself forgot that you still need to eat. And what about your birds? They won't survive without food either!"
Taro listened but wasn't concerned. Waving a hand dismissively, he replied with confidence, "It's fine. I've made preparations."
This journey was critical—it might very well determine whether he soared like a dragon or fell like a worm in this life. There was no way he'd be careless. Naturally, he had packed Senzu Beans.
Seeing Taro's calm deanor, the ghost decided not to press further. "As long as you're prepared, that's good enough. Well then, I'll take my leave. I wish you success in reaching the King Kai."
Taro nodded. "Thank you."
With that, his body slowly rose into the air, floating above the head of Snake Way. The ghost below looked up in surprise and remarked, "So he can fly, huh? As expected of a living human who managed to reach the Netherworld. Seems like he's quite a skilled martial artist!"
But as the ghost pondered further, he thought, "Still, he doesn't feel very strong. Even with the ability to fly, he probably won't make it all the way to King Kai. Most likely, he'll fall into Hell halfway through..."
As these thoughts crossed the ghost's mind, Taro's figure in the air suddenly vanished into thin air.
The ghost blinked in shock, taking off his glasses and wiping them. "Wait... where did that human go?"
After a mont of stunned silence, the ghost murmured, "...He's definitely sothing special. I have a feeling he'll pull it off!"
Shaking his head, the ghost eventually climbed back into his car and drove away.
---
Taro's figure flickered along Snake Way, each ti disappearing and reappearing thousands of kiloters ahead. The seven colorful birds on his shoulders chirped joyfully, gripping tightly onto his clothes as they gleefully accompanied him on the journey.
Such strong energy... about ten tis my own... And over there, that one feels about fifty tis stronger... So many beings, and many of them are powerful. As expected of Hell, the gathering place of the entire universe's damned.
As Taro sped along Snake Way, he extended his ki sense downward to the realm beneath the yellow clouds, probing the vast expanse of Hell below.
Ten tis his own power ant a battle level of around 4,000 to 5,000. Fifty tis stronger—that exceeded 10,000. Even by the standards of the entire universe, those were the power levels of elite fighters who could carve out a place for themselves.
After all, even Dodoria, one of the henchn of the mighty Frieza, only had a battle power of several tens of thousands.
I'm still so weak... Taro sighed inwardly, but it only solidified his resolve to reach Nak.
His ki sense radiated outward like a web, not just scouring Hell beneath Snake Way's yellow clouds but also the heavens above the white clouds over Snake Way. He was searching carefully for the person he needed to find.
"Hmm? Is it here?"
After about half a day and having covered roughly half the journey, Taro finally locked onto the energy he was searching for.
Swish! Taro's figure disappeared from Snake Way again.
This ti, however, he didn't reappear further along Snake Way. Instead, his energy signature materialized below, within the yellow clouds surrounding Snake Way—right in Hell itself.
---
Hell's Izakaya
Standing before what looked like a small, unassuming shop, Taro raised an eyebrow. He was slightly taken aback, but the energy he had sensed was undoubtedly coming from within this building. Without hesitation, he pushed the door open and stepped inside.
As soon as Taro pushed the door open, a cacophony of deafening music and raucous laughter blasted into his ears, causing him to frown in displeasure.
What a madhouse...
The setting inside was jarringly reminiscent of the bars and nightclubs he knew, yet the "patrons" were far removed from anything familiar.
A nagerie of grotesque ghosts, demons, and malevolent spirits filled the space. So played cards, others downed bottles of booze, while others danced wildly or ran gambling tables. The chaotic scene was a frenzy of madness.
The pounding music mixed with maniacal laughter reverberated through the room, almost shaking its very walls. Scores of spirits road about, sneering, shrieking, and indulging in their hysterics.
The birds on Taro's shoulders huddled closer to his neck, clearly disturbed by the oppressive atmosphere. Taro, his brow furrowed, gently stroked the little creatures to calm them before maneuvering through the crowd of... beings.
The demonic revelers, too intoxicated or preoccupied to notice, paid no attention to the living human who had entered their domain.
Following his ki sense, Taro navigated through the mayhem and found his target sitting quietly in a corner of the izakaya.
There she was: Fortune Teller Baba, wearing her signature tall witch's hat and draped in black, seated atop a large crystal ball.
She was speaking softly with a bizarre-looking individual seated across from her at the table.
Oddly enough, despite the chaotic and deafening surroundings, Baba and her companion seed to exist in a bubble of tranquility. Their calm and composed deanor starkly contrasted the wild hysteria of the rest of the establishnt.
As Taro approached, Baba paused her conversation and turned to look at him. This gave Taro a clear view of her face. Unlike him, who had retained his youthful appearance thanks to the Eternal Water, Baba's features bore the marks of ti. The sixty-odd years since they last t had transford her into a wrinkled old woman, far closer to the "Fortune Teller Baba" of his mory.
"What brings you here?" Baba asked, surprised. She waved dismissively at the odd-looking figure across from her, signaling for them to wait. Then, scrutinizing Taro from head to toe, she frowned and added, "You're still alive, aren't you? What's a living person doing in Hell? With your rits, even if you were dead, you'd belong in Heaven!"
"I'm not dead," Taro replied. "I've co to the Netherworld for sothing important."
He stepped closer and continued, "Sister, I need your help with sothing."
Baba's brows furrowed further. "What could a living person possibly need to do in the Netherworld?"
Taro got straight to the point. "I'm here to find Lord Kaiō. But that's not the issue right now. Sister, these birds ca with from Earth. They can't accompany to Kaio's place—the environnt there isn't suitable for them. So, I need you to take care of them for a while."
Baba didn't imdiately agree. Instead, she frowned and asked, "Have you lost your mind? You're planning to go to Kaio? What good will that do?"
---
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