"Alright. I hope you keep your word."
There was a deep sense of sorrow in Tamamo Hotaru's heart, yet she had already resigned herself to her fate.
After all, she had nothing else left to offer. She couldn't very well hand Jiana over to him, could she?
"Then hand it over."
"W-what? Right now? Here?"
Tamamo Hotaru's face flushed bright red, waves of shame washing over her. Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes.
Shinji, however, sounded thoroughly impatient. "Hurry up. Why does such a simple thing need to be done somewhere private?"
"But... but there are people watching..."
"So what if they are? Do you really still care about that? You were pretty quick and bold taking it out just a moment ago, weren't you?"
Tamamo Hotaru felt certain this man was a complete bastard who was deliberately trying to humiliate her.
What woman wouldn't care about such things?!
But hearing his last sentence, she suddenly felt something wasn't quite right...
"Just now? Took it out...?"
"Don't play dumb with me! Do you have any more of these things or not? If yes, hurry up and hand them over as payment for escorting you to the Land of Vegetables. If not, then get lost and stop being such an eyesore! Snivelling and crying... honestly, I'm half-tempted to punch the other side of your face until it swells up too!"
Shinji—the definition of an unpolished, straight-talking man who couldn't read the atmosphere to save his life—was impatiently tossing and catching the Bear King Token in his hand. He was just about at the end of his patience, and once it ran out completely, he was fully prepared to just snatch whatever he wanted by force.
Tamamo Hotaru stood frozen on the spot, utterly bewildered.
It turned out they hadn't been on the same wavelength from the very beginning!
"Then... why were you staring at... there... with such a lewd look earlier?"
"What nonsense! You're telling me you didn't realize exactly where you pulled this thing out from? Do I really need to spell it out for you?!"
BANG!
Her composure instantly shattered completely!
Thinking back to how shy and awkward she had been acting just moments before, Tamamo Hotaru felt her face burn hotter than ever, turning as red as a monkey's backside.
If there had been an ant hole in the ground right then, she would have immediately crawled into it and hidden forever.
"Hotaru, what on earth were you thinking?! How could you misunderstand him like that?!"
She felt like she had died of embarrassment right then and there.
Though, it wasn't entirely her fault for getting the wrong idea. After all, given her previous occupation, it was only natural that her mind instantly jumped to those kinds of conclusions. Habits and mindsets were hard to break, after all.
Or simply put... she was a classic case of a woman with slightly inflated confidence!
Well, to be fair, she was indeed much more beautiful than the average woman... at least before her face got all swollen and bruised.
Following the intense embarrassment came the burning shame, which then quickly transformed into resentment and frustration.
This was just how women were. When a man looked at them, they thought he was a lustful beast. But if he didn't look at them, they would feel he had terrible taste and was clearly blind!
At this moment, Tamamo Hotaru was probably thinking: Am I really not as attractive as a mere jade tablet?! Am I really worth less than a piece of stone?!
Caught in the whirlwind of her complex, conflicting emotions—ranging from embarrassment to anger to hurt pride—she finally spoke awkwardly, "I... I actually do have another one. But I don't have it with me right now. I hid it away safely in the Land of Vegetables."
Shinji glanced sharply at her. "You wouldn't be trying to use this as an excuse to trick us into going there, would you? I think you understand the logic here perfectly well. Since I have the power to safely deliver you to your destination, I also have the power to hand you straight over to Kumogakure along the way. So I strongly advise you not to lie to me."
Tamamo Hotaru naturally knew exactly what the consequences of deceiving him would be. But what she said was absolutely true.
Long ago, when she was busy arranging her escape routes and safety measures, she had split her most precious belongings into several portions and hidden them in different locations.
One of those hiding spots was indeed in the Land of Vegetables, and included among them was the Fox Spirit Token belonging to the Tamamo Clan.
Still, the thought of handing over such a precious artifact pained her greatly.
Even though she was the sole surviving member of the entire Tamamo Clan, she had never given up hope that one day she might be able to restore her clan to its former glory.
Although the Fox Spirit Token was essentially just a symbol of status and authority with no actual combat power or special abilities, it was nevertheless her last tangible connection to her family and ancestors, the only thing keeping their memory alive.
Back when she was secretly smuggled out of the country, the elders had specifically instructed her to guard it with her life and keep it safe no matter what.
"I really do have one... but... can I pay you with money instead when we arrive? Including the jade tablet currently in your possession... I only left it with you temporarily as collateral..."
Tamamo Hotaru's voice grew quieter and quieter under Shinji's unwavering gaze—the kind of look that seemed to see right through everything.
"Pay with money, huh? Sure, that works too. In that case, let's say the total remuneration is set at one hundred million ryō."
"WHAT?! That's way too much!"
"Not at all. It's actually quite reasonable. Compared to your own precious life, things like these jade tokens are merely external objects not worth getting upset over. Don't you agree?"
At Shinji's subtle signal, Hidan grinned cruelly and pulled out a long black spear from nowhere, running his tongue slowly along its sharp tip.
Only then did Tamamo Hotaru remember clearly exactly what kind of people she was dealing with!
Even though they had saved her life twice already, that definitely didn't mean they wouldn't hesitate to kill or betray her the moment it suited them.
Although she wasn't entirely sure what exactly made these jade tokens so valuable to him, since he clearly wanted them badly, she had no choice but to agree for now. The most important thing was to keep herself alive.
If only I hadn't been so clever and misunderstood him earlier... she thought regretfully.
"Fine. I understand. As long as you safely escort me there, I will hand over another jade tablet as payment."
"It's a deal."
Seeing that he had successfully achieved his goal, Shinji smiled happily and carefully put the Bear King Token away.
Just thinking about the reward worth twenty thousand Cursed Soul Points alone made the trip worth it. No matter how many Cloud ninja came looking for trouble, they were all as good as dead!
If this woman could just give him five or six more tokens like these, he wouldn't hesitate to lead the charge and march straight into Kumogakure Village itself!
Standing quietly to the side, Tobi was secretly overjoyed. Yes! Exactly like that! Kill every single one of those Cloud shinobi!
Having temporarily accepted this new mission, the group prepared to change course and head toward the Land of Vegetables.
As they set off, Tobi naturally drifted to the very back of the group. Taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention to him, he quietly took out a small mouse with a tiny note tied to its leg and casually dropped it onto the ground.
In the blink of an eye, the mouse scurried quickly into the tall grass nearby and disappeared without a trace.
Tobi let out a silent chuckle, and even his footsteps seemed lighter and more energetic than before.
...
Some time later, the same small mouse darted out of the bushes and ran straight toward a group of shinobi wearing Kumogakure headbands.
Land of Lightning - Kumogakure Village
Thunder rumbled violently across the sky, and lightning flashed continuously, creating a scene that looked almost like the end of the world.
Down below on the ground, the Fourth Raikage was locked in fierce combat against a Cursed Spirit that possessed the body of a deer but the upper torso of a human.
This Spirit had the face of a beautiful, cool-looking young woman, but atop her head grew a pair of enormous antlers. She was clad in shining silver-white armor.
Every time she moved, hoof prints made of crackling lightning were left burning in the air behind her. She was incredibly fast—swifter than lightning itself.
In her hand, she held a massive, heavy lance wrapped in endless bolts of electricity. Just a light touch from this weapon was enough to shatter boulders and split mountains apart.
But the Fourth Raikage, enveloped in his Lightning Release Chakra Mode, was by no means inferior.
Wrapped in his 'Strongest Armor', A was not only fast enough to keep up with his opponent, but he also dared to clash head-on against the terrifying lance with nothing but his bare hands.
Even without weapons, he did not lose the upper hand in the slightest!
This fierce battle between man and spirit was shaking heaven and earth, darkening the sky and blocking out the sun.
The surrounding Cloud ninjas dared only to watch from a safe distance, not daring to step any closer.
Anyone foolish or brave enough to get too close had been either roasted alive by intense lightning or instantly skewered through the heart by that deadly lance.
Killer Bee and the other powerful shinobi who were capable of lending a hand had been forcefully stopped and ordered to stand back by the Raikage himself.
His voice boomed loudly over the sound of thunder: "This is a fair one-on-one battle! It will only end when one of us can no longer fight or admits defeat! Until then, I forbid anyone from interfering!"
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