Rule VII / Rule 7 / 掟の七 / 失った物を探すな / Do Not Search for What Was Lost / Thicket / 藪 / Gold Axe / 金のオノ / Dog Ghost / 犬のお化け / Chipped Nata / 欠けたナタ / Rock-Cutting Nata / 岩切りナタ
Rule VII story authority · Ver.1.09
Village in the Shade Rule VII: Thicket, Gold Axe & Chipped Nata Guide
Rule VII / 失った物を探すな / Do Not Search for What Was Lost is the multi-visit Sacred Treasure route through Thicket / 藪. Prepare the Gold-upgraded Axe, follow the before-17:00 story windows and watch Sazanka's light during the ghost encounters.
This guide uses the Japanese-release Shade baseline. Winter 2–8 is one documented chronology, not a universal calendar schedule. Sunshine-mode parity and several low-level flags remain unverified.
Short answer
Rule VII in one screen
Prepare the hard tool gate, then follow story markers rather than dates.
Japanese rule
失った物を探すな
Start
Sazanka / サザンカ
Hard gate
Gold-upgraded Axe
Area
Thicket / 藪
Timing
Before 17:00 phases
Map
Unavailable in route
Combat
Sazanka light + Bow
Reward
Chipped Nata / 欠けたナタ
Spoiler boundary
The reward is not the later Rock-Cutting Nata
Rule VII ends with 欠けたナタ / Chipped Nata in the current route evidence. Keep it separate from later 岩切りナタ / Rock-Cutting Nata functionality.
1 · Start and preparation
Start at Sazanka's home
The home visit is the strong current start signal; the exact normal-access and Friendship rules are not exposed.
Start trigger
Sazanka / サザンカ
Visit Sazanka's home when the Rule VII story state is available. The current evidence does not establish a Friendship stage, a permanent calendar gate or a dedicated private-room override. If nothing starts, check prior story state, event markers and the active Sacred Treasure route first.
- Rules V, VI and VII can be taken in different orders.
- Only one Sacred Treasure route can actively progress at a time.
- Do not wait for Winter Day 2 as the first troubleshooting step.
Hard story gate
Gold-upgraded Axe / Gold Axe / 金のオノ
The Axe must be upgraded before the route sends you through the fallen-tree and stump barriers. This page does not duplicate Gold Mold, Gold Ingot or Anvil recipe data.
Open Gold Axe, Gold Mold & Ingot guide →Whether a higher-than-Gold Axe is accepted as a substitute is not independently verified.
2 · Location and navigation
Thicket / 藪 is its own route location
Do not replace Rule VII's Thicket with Rule VI's Forest / 森.
- Canonical ID
- thicket
- Japanese
- 藪
- English
- Thicket
- Map during route
- Unavailable
Read the barriers
Use every newly cuttable stump or fallen-tree barrier as a route clue. The current guide says the normal map cannot be used inside the Thicket, so keep your route compact and use the open area, cleared paths and event transitions as landmarks.
The repository names the general location Thicket with alias Brush. Some older Gold Axe copy uses 憑き藪; the new canonical story page uses the source heading 藪 and the shared location ID thicket.
3 · Spoiler route
Follow story state, not fixed dates
Reveal this sequence only when you are blocked. Each visit has its own timing window and end state.
Visit 1 · Sazanka
before 17:00
Objective: Enter the Thicket, clear the blocking barriers with the Gold Axe, reach the open area and complete the rest/story event.
End state: The first route day ends after the event; no final ghost or Chipped Nata is claimed here.
Example only: Winter Day 4
Visit 2 · Komako
before 17:00
Objective: After the intervening mountain-road bridge and morning visit, cut further barriers and reach the deeper Thicket event.
End state: The story returns the player to the village automatically. This is a scripted transition, not a fainting or Clinic result.
Follow-up: A General Store event follows in the documented chronology; service-day behavior remains unresolved.
Example only: Winter Day 6
Visit 3 · Ghost route
before 17:00
Objective: Progress through the Thicket, resolve the Dog Ghost encounters and the later large ghost encounter.
End state: The documented reward is Sacred Treasure 欠けたナタ / Chipped Nata, followed by a General Store-front story event in the example chronology.
Example only: Winter Day 7
4 · Ghost encounters
Sazanka's light reveals the damage window
The visible dog and the target revealed by the light should not be collapsed into one unverified enemy model.
Documented method
Light → revealed target → Bow
- Watch Sazanka's light / ライト.
- Wait for the other ghost or damage target to appear in the light.
- Fire the Bow when the target is revealed; do not continuously attack the visible dog by default.
- The current guide documents three successful hits for each standard encounter.
Bow type, arrow quantity and ammo consumption are not normalized in the current repository.
Evidence boundary
Sickle has two different claims
Documented environment role: cut Thicket brush with the Sickle during the second encounter.
Player-reported damage: one current comment says the Sickle also damages the revealed target and takes three attacks. That claim is kept as an alternative lead, not promoted to the main method without independent corroboration.
Open Hunting / Tools mechanics →First Dog Ghost encounter
Hits: 3
Avoid the encounter pressure, watch Sazanka's light and fire the Bow when the revealed target appears.
Second ghost encounter
Hits: 3
Clear the route vegetation as needed, watch the light and land the documented Bow hits.
Brush: Sickle brush clearing is documented; Sickle ghost damage remains player-reported.
Large final ghost
Hits: Unknown
Use the light-reveal principle and documented Bow method; do not infer that the final encounter also takes exactly three hits.
Final encounter: The guide reports more intense attack patterns, but does not publish HP, damage, hit count or a proper name.
5 · Reward boundary
Chipped Nata / 欠けたナタ
Acquire the story Sacred Treasure after the large final ghost; do not assign later tool abilities without evidence.
Rule VII reward
欠けたナタ · Chipped Nata
- Stable ID:
- chipped-nata
- Acquisition:
- After the large final ghost encounter.
- Immediate use:
- Story progression only is safe to claim.
Do not merge
岩切りナタ · Rock-Cutting Nata
The later Nata record is associated with breaking wood, grass and rock. The current evidence does not prove that 欠けたナタ immediately has those abilities, nor that the two labels share one inventory ID or automatic state transition.
Rule VII completion itself is also not fully normalized: the next-day/store-front follow-up is documented, but the exact flag that releases the active route remains unknown.
Example only
Winter 2–8 is a chronology, not a checklist
Route order, festivals, shop availability and earlier progress can shift these days.
| Example day | Documented bridge | Hard date? |
|---|---|---|
| Winter Day 2 | Sazanka home starts Rule VII; prepare Gold Axe | No |
| Winter Day 3 | Kisuke morning visit; Mukou Crossroads event | No |
| Winter Day 4 | Sazanka visit; Thicket before 17:00; first route event | No |
| Winter Day 5 | Mountain-road bridge event | No |
| Winter Day 6 | Komako visit; Thicket before 17:00; General Store event | No |
| Winter Day 7 | Thicket before 17:00; ghost encounters; Chipped Nata | No |
| Winter Day 8 | General Store-front follow-up | No |
If a before-17:00 marker is absent, check story state, active-route lock and the relevant NPC or General Store event. Do not conclude that missing one example day permanently misses Rule VII. After the three Sacred Treasure routes and follow-ups are complete, continue with the Rule VIII & Great Hole guide.
Troubleshooting and mode
What this guide can confirm
General Store follow-up
The normal follow-up is source-backed. Friday/closed-day delay, event override and next-marker behavior remain unresolved; check availability before calling the route broken.
Shops authority →Not a Night Anomaly
Dog Ghost is modeled here as scripted Rule VII story combat. Do not add it to repeatable Midnight anomaly counts without a taxonomy record.
Night Anomalies boundary →Shade vs Sunshine
Shade follows the current Japanese-release baseline. No separate Sunshine Rule VII timing, encounter or reward parity is verified.
FAQ
Rule VII questions
How do I start Rule VII?
Visit Sazanka's home when the Rule VII story state is available. The current evidence does not prove a Friendship stage or a universal Winter Day 2 requirement.
Do I need a Gold Axe for the Thicket?
Yes. The current route evidence requires a Gold-upgraded Axe to clear the Rule VII fallen-tree and stump barriers. Use the Gold Axe guide for Gold Mold, Gold Ingot and Anvil preparation.
Can I complete Rule VII after Rule V or Rule VI?
Rules V, VI and VII are parallel Sacred Treasure routes. Their order can vary, but only one route can actively progress at a time; neither Rule V nor Rule VI is a universal Rule VII prerequisite.
Why is the map unavailable in the Thicket?
Map-unavailable behavior is part of the current Rule VII route. Use newly cuttable stump or fallen-tree barriers as navigation clues and keep the route compact.
What does before 17:00 mean?
Several story visits require arriving at the Thicket before 17:00. The exact inclusivity and retry behavior are not verified, so do not treat 17:00 exactly as safe or assume the area closes every day.
How do I beat the Dog Ghost?
Watch Sazanka's light and use the documented Bow method when the revealed ghost/target appears. The current guide documents three successful hits for the standard encounters; it does not establish a three-hit rule for the final large ghost.
Can the Sickle damage the ghost?
Sickle brush clearing is documented. A player comment also reports Sickle damage against the revealed target, but that alternative is not independently corroborated in the current repository, so Bow remains the editorial method.
Is Chipped Nata the same as Rock-Cutting Nata?
Do not merge them yet. 欠けたナタ / Chipped Nata is the Rule VII reward; 岩切りナタ / Rock-Cutting Nata is a later separate record associated with wood, grass and rock breaking.
Written by: Village in the Shade Guide Editorial Team
Last updated: August 27, 2026
Sources: Official publisher and storefront pages, released-game research and linked source notes.