The desert remained silent.
Noel stood on top of a newly formed stone platform, staring proudly at the small oasis below.
Water.
Trees.
A few patches of grass.
Several stone structures.
It wasn’t much.
But it was a beginning.
Noel crossed his arms.
“Not bad.”
The system appeared.
[Territory established.]
[Water source established.]
[Basic infrastructure established.]
[Nation status: Pending.]
Noel nodded.
“Great.”
He waited.
Nothing happened.
“…”
He waited another few seconds.
Still nothing.
Noel looked at the system.
“What’s wrong?”
A final line appeared.
[Population: 0]
Noel’s face slowly went blank.
“Ah.”
He had forgotten one tiny detail.
A nation needed people.
He looked around.
There wasn’t a single person anywhere.
Not one.
No farmers.
No merchants.
No families.
Not even a random traveler.
Just sand.
Endless sand.
Noel sighed.
“So technically…”
He pointed at himself.
“I’m the entire population.”
[Population: 1]
Noel’s eyebrow twitched.
“Don’t remind me.”
The First Settlement
Noel decided to stop thinking about the word nation for now.
First, he needed a settlement.
He used his Shukaku abilities to manipulate the sand.
The ground shifted.
Sand compressed into solid walls.
Stone pillars rose from beneath the earth.
A road formed between the oasis and the rocky valley.
Noel continued working.
By sunset, there were several simple buildings.
A storage building.
A water reservoir.
A small workshop.
And one large building in the center.
Noel stared at it.
“…That’s my house.”
He paused.
“Actually…”
He looked at the size of the building.
It was enormous.
He was a gigantic Tailed Beast, after all.
“…Maybe palace.”
The system appeared.
[Structure recognized: Residence.]
“No.”
[Palace designation requires an established government.]
Noel sighed.
“Fine.”
He sat down outside.
For several minutes, he simply watched the sunset.
The desert turned orange.
For the first time since his reincarnation, Noel felt strangely peaceful.
Then—
Growl.
He looked down.
“…I’m hungry.”
Noel stared at the oasis.
There were plants.
But not enough.
He needed actual food.
“Right.”
He stood.
“First nation-building rule.”
He raised one paw.
“Food.”
A Small Discovery
The next morning, Noel explored farther beyond the oasis.
Eventually, he discovered a narrow canyon.
Inside were strange plants growing around a hidden underground stream.
Noel crouched down.
“Interesting.”
He carefully examined them.
Some appeared edible.
Others didn’t.
He remembered enough basic knowledge from his previous life to avoid randomly eating unknown plants.
Instead, he used his chakra to carefully clear the surrounding area.
Then he noticed something else.
Footprints.
Human footprints.
Noel froze.
“…Humans?”
He followed them.
The footprints continued through the canyon.
One step.
Two.
Three.
Then dozens.
Noel’s eyes widened.
“There are people nearby.”
For the first time, the empty desert didn’t feel quite so empty.
Meanwhile…
Several kilometers away, a small group of humans struggled through the desert.
There were only twelve of them.
Families.
Hunters.
A few travelers.
They had been searching for water for days.
One of the adults suddenly stopped.
“Wait.”
Everyone looked at him.
“Do you see that?”
In the distance was something impossible.
Green.
An oasis.
One of the children stared.
“Water…”
The group immediately began moving toward it.
They didn’t know who had created it.
They didn’t know what lived there.
And they certainly didn’t know that the legendary One-Tail was watching them from the cliffs.
Noel looked down at them.
“…Twelve.”
His expression softened.
His first potential residents.
But he didn’t approach.
Not yet.
He remembered something important.
They’re going to be terrified if a giant Tailed Beast walks toward them.
Noel looked at his enormous body.
“Yeah.”
He nodded.
“Definitely.”
He activated the Morax template.
[Morax Template activated.]
[Human transformation available.]
[Current synchronization: 0.1%]
Golden light surrounded him.
His enormous body began shrinking.
The sandstorm around him disappeared.
His claws became human hands.
His tail vanished.
His fur disappeared.
When the light faded—
A tall man stood where Shukaku had been.
His appearance resembled Zhongli.
Noel looked down at himself.
He moved his fingers.
“…This is convenient.”
He walked toward the oasis.
The twelve humans immediately noticed him.
A man stepped forward cautiously.
“Who are you?”
Noel stopped.
He had rehearsed this moment.
Unfortunately, he had not rehearsed what to say.
“I’m…”
He paused.
Should I tell them I’m Shukaku?
Absolutely not.
“…the owner of this land.”
The group became tense.
The man looked around.
“You built this oasis?”
Noel nodded.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Noel looked toward the water.
“Because there was nothing here.”
He turned back toward them.
“And I wanted to change that.”
The humans exchanged glances.
One elderly woman stepped forward.
“Can we stay?”
Noel was silent.
This was the moment.
He could turn them away.
He could demand payment.
He could establish himself as a ruler immediately.
Instead, Noel smiled.
“Yes.”
The woman’s eyes widened.
“You can stay.”
The system appeared silently.
[First residents acquired.]
[Population: 13]
Noel blinked.
“Wait.”
He looked at the notification.
“Thirteen?”
The system highlighted one line.
[Host included.]
Noel sighed.
“…Right.”
He looked toward the twelve humans.
“Welcome.”
For the first time…
The future nation had citizens.
And somewhere far beyond the desert, the world continued moving toward the age of clans.
But here—
Something new had begun.
To be continued…