Near a volcano within the Land of Earth.
Mr. Enemy had finally succeeded in recruiting another powerful ally.
Sanhu — a Special Grade Cursed Spirit born from humanity's primal fear of volcanoes. (Not the same as Jogo).
She took the shape of a human, but her head resembled a volcanic crater ready to erupt at any moment, with magma trickling out from time to time.
Immensely powerful, and with a temper to match!
It had taken Mr. Enemy, along with Mahito and Sybert, great effort to "persuade" her to join their alliance.
But it was worth it.
The stronger his companions, the happier Mr. Enemy was.
However, upon arriving at Black Mountain, his good mood vanished instantly.
Just by a matter of days… the Darkness Cursed Spirit had already been exorcised.
And this was someone Mr. Enemy had long identified as a valuable potential ally.
"What a waste."
Mr. Enemy couldn't help but sigh.
"Where to next? Any more targets to invite?" Mahito asked casually, squatting on the ground while toying with a grotesque, misshapen doll‑like figure.
"There are… but that one isn't exactly easy to get along with…"
"Are we here to make friends?" Mahito looked up, slightly surprised.
Mr. Enemy gave a bitter smile. "Never mind. Let's head elsewhere first. There's a 'Ghost King' in the Land of the Underworld, and a 'Snow Spirit' in the Land of Snow. Both are strong enough to be worth recruiting."
"I certainly hope so. If they're too weak, I'll just turn them into new dolls~"
Quality over quantity.
Mr. Enemy never regretted the rules he set from the start.
The strong should stand together. The weak were unworthy of joining them.
Perhaps once he had gathered all his core members, he could recruit a group of lesser Special Grades to serve as his backbone.
As for ordinary Cursed Spirits below Special Grade… in Mr. Enemy's eyes, they weren't even cannon fodder.
He could summon as many of them as he wanted, whenever he wanted.
---
Whether it was because news had spread or people had truly been scared off…
Ever since the bodies of the Rotten Bug Brothers were delivered to the Underground Exchange, Shinji and his group had not encountered a single further attack.
And the reputation of Akagi the Demon grew ever more terrifying!
Shinji traded those two useless corpses for two mediocre Cursed Objects, which he immediately redeemed for 2,000 Cursed Spirit Points — at least it was putting waste things to good use.
The Exchange once again brought up their previous request and offered a very generous reward.
But Shinji still felt the terms weren't right. He didn't agree immediately, only saying he would think it over.
However, just before leaving, his eyes darted cunningly. He took out an item he had kept stored away for ages — the Crystal Heart.
"What is this?"
"Hehe. A Cursed Object known as the Crystal Heart. Replace your natural heart with this, and you will gain a Bloodline Limit similar to Crystal Release."
The moment they heard this, the Exchange representative's eyes lit up!
"Any side effects?"
"No idea."
Shinji answered calmly. He knew exactly what the side effects were, but explaining them in detail would only raise suspicion.
The representative wasn't surprised by the answer. "Name your price."
They had cooperated long enough; there was no need to lie about such things.
Shinji shook his head. "Not for sale. Only for trade."
"What do you want in exchange?"
"Heh. You guys have been eyeing that Special Grade Cursed Spirit corpse held in the Cloud Village, haven't you? I want the head of that corpse — in exchange for this."
The Exchange wanted to use Shinji to steal the body and draw the Cloud Village's anger away from them.
But Shinji was just as happy to let the Exchange step forward and take all the heat!
This proposal completely stumped them.
"I… I can't decide something like this on my own."
"That's fine. Leave this item with you for now. You can test it and see for yourselves."
"You're that confident we'll agree?"
"If not, no problem. Just post a mission for me then. The reward will be this item. Whoever brings me the head of that corpse gets it. I'm sure there will always be people brave or foolish enough to risk their lives, don't you think?"
Shinji spoke with deep meaning.
The representative fell silent, smiling bitterly.
As he left, Shinji felt full of anticipation.
He wasn't worried in the slightest that they would simply keep the item. After all, the Crystal Heart itself was a massive trap.
Besides — just as he said — it didn't matter if they refused to fall into the trap!
He could always use it to trick someone else later… like Kakuzu, for example.
Just imagine — when Kakuzu read the description of the Crystal Heart, wouldn't he desperately want to get his hands on it?
If he did, he'd have no choice but to go steal the corpse from the Cloud village.
And in the process, he might very well drag the entire Akatsuki organization down with him!
And the moment Kakuzu finally got his hands on it… that was when the real trap would snap shut.
As soon as Kakuzu replaced one of his hearts with it… his days would be numbered.
There was no helping it — Shinji was the type who always paid back every grievance.
And besides, he wasn't forcing anyone to swap their heart.
---
After Shinji's departure, the manager immediately reported the news along with the Crystal Heart.
Once the powers behind the Underground Exchange had the item in their possession, they launched a series of experiments right away.
They confirmed that the effects described were absolutely real!
After implanting this strange Crystal Heart, the user could indeed utilize a power identical to Crystal Release. It was almost unbelievable!
And for the moment, no side effects had been observed.
But that was because the side effects of the Crystal Heart took time to manifest.
The longer it remained fused, the more memories the user would lose — until eventually they forgot their own identity, forgot how to breathe, and turned into a motionless crystal statue forever.
That was the exact description given by the System. It would be nearly impossible for anyone else to discover this on their own!
So naturally, they decided to keep the item immediately.
Besides, Shinji's request actually aligned perfectly with their own plans.
However… in their research, the head was the most valuable part. Giving it away would drastically reduce the worth of the corpse, even if they managed to steal it.
So they immediately drew up several proposals and prepared to negotiate with Akagi the Demon.
The item was valuable, but people were even more important!
They weren't so short‑sighted as to make an enemy of Akagi the Demon over a single object. That would be like picking up a sesame seed while dropping a watermelon.
The fact that the Underground Exchange operated throughout the ninja world for years with the implicit approval of the Five Great Nations proved that those in charge were far from shallow or short‑sighted.
---
Several days later, Shinji — who was busy deciphering a treasure map — received a message back from the Exchange.
They even sent an envoy in person.
And she was a stunningly beautiful woman.
The beauty tactic!
Too bad Shinji didn't fall for such cheap tricks.
Only when the negotiation reached a stalemate did he pretend to grow impatient and finally compromise — asking only for the eyes, ears, nose, and tongue.
In truth, he only cared about the eyes. The rest were just distractions to confuse them.
The woman agreed.
Compared to the whole head, those parts were far less important.
Besides, many Cursed Spirits had strange, distorted forms; there was no guarantee they even had those features intact anyway!
Shinji hadn't overlooked that possibility — he just didn't believe his luck could be that bad.
Most human‑shaped Special Grade Cursed Spirits definitely had normal facial features. It was rare to find one that didn't.
____________________
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