"Alright, alright — you win. Six it is!"
Old Eighth immediately raised his hands in surrender. The limit set by his superiors was five Cursed Objects, but honestly, throwing in one or two extra wasn't impossible.
Worst case, he could cover the extra one himself. After all, as a senior member, he had resources of his own stored away — it was just a matter of whether he was willing to part with them.
"Look — can you tell this young man to put his sword away now? That lightning crackling off it is making my hair stand on end."
Shinji glanced at him, then nodded at Sasuke, who immediately sheathed the Grass‑Cutter Sword.
Only then did the tense, stand‑off atmosphere finally fade.
"Good. I'm starting to trust the Exchange's reputation more and more. If you could just cancel my bounty, I think we'd get along even better. You must know how many 'bounty hunters' I've personally buried along the way — all trying to turn me in for that reward, right?"
Shinji patted Old Eighth firmly on the shoulder.
Old Eighth forced a stiff smile. "I'm sorry… but that's not something I can decide. And it goes against every rule we have. The Exchange's principle is simple: anyone can be put on the wanted list, as long as someone is willing to pay the price. If we did what you ask, we'd have to abandon all our branches and business in the Land of Lightning entirely. That's… practically impossible."
Old Eighth had put it very politely.
If it were someone else, the first thing they'd say would be: You aren't important enough.
Compared to the profits the Land of Lightning brought to the Exchange, what was one single "Demon Lord Akagi"?
If forced to choose between keeping the Land of Lightning's business or keeping the favor of Shinji… what did anyone think they'd pick?
The current smooth cooperation was just an illusion, temporary and fragile.
Everyone was just playing within the rules.
The Hidden Cloud Village didn't want to ruin relations with the Exchange and the powers behind it just because of Shinji.
And the Exchange certainly wasn't going to offend the Hidden Cloud just for Shinji's sake — though they did want Shinji working hard for them.
All these concessions were just appearances. They didn't actually need him specifically.
And think about it — how did those bounty hunters always manage to track Shinji and his group?
How many times had information regarding "Demon Lord Akagi" been sold to different people?
You really couldn't look too closely at these things, or even the superficial friendship would crumble.
Shinji chuckled — unsurprised at all. "Just joking. Really… with so many sacrifices showing up at my door voluntarily, Lord Evil God and I have been very happy indeed."
Old Eighth gave a bitter laugh. "Actually… ever since the Bug Brothers were killed, almost no one dares to come after you anymore. That bounty poster will soon be nothing more than decoration."
Seeing Shinji completely unfazed, Old Eighth seemed to think of something and quickly changed the subject.
"By the way — the mission board was updated a couple days ago. I noticed a job posted that you might find interesting."
Shinji read through the details — and was quite surprised.
It was a rare search‑and‑locate mission. And the person they were looking for was none other than Hotaru — the stage name Tamamo Hotaru had once used!
Every description matched perfectly. He was certain they were looking for her.
He frowned. Only a handful of people knew that name. Most likely, it was someone from the Land of Wu searching for her.
But why?
To hold her accountable for breaking her contract and running away?
Don't be ridiculous.
Those entertainment companies wouldn't go to the trouble of posting a job with the Underground Exchange just for something like that.
There were plenty of women desperate to become stars these days. If one Hotaru left, there would be another Lanlan, another Yuanyuan… business went on without anyone.
Besides — if it really were the company, they wouldn't have included words like 'save her' in the description.
So who was it?
Shinji couldn't figure it out — but he could always ask Tamamo Hotaru later.
"I'll take this mission. And I don't want payment."
"Excellent. Here's the location of the person who posted it. You can go straight there to find them."
Old Eighth wasn't surprised at all; he had everything prepared already.
Originally, he'd intended to use this to distract Shinji or calm him down if he lost his temper — though in the end, it hadn't been needed.
Now he could offer it as a friendly gesture.
And why did he know Hotaru was connected to Shinji?
Did he really think the Exchange's intelligence division was useless?
They had made such a huge commotion in the Land of Wu — it was impossible not to know about it.
But knowing and caring were two different things.
So far, it seemed to have worked well enough; he hadn't put his foot in his mouth.
By refusing payment, Shinji was also signaling that he appreciated the gesture.
---
After leaving the Underground Exchange, Shinji tossed the mission scroll to Tamamo Hotaru.
She read it, confused — and then stared blankly in shock.
"They're looking for me? Why?"
"You're asking me? I was hoping you'd tell me!"
"Could this be a trap set by the Hidden Cloud? Luring us right into their hands?"
Tamamo Hotaru suddenly looked nervous.
Shinji glanced at her dismissively. "No need. Do you think your whereabouts are still a secret? If the Hidden Cloud wanted to know where you are, they could buy the information from the Exchange in seconds. They're just too busy with other things to bother with you lately."
She gasped in surprise. "So we've been working with them all this time… and they've already sold us out ages ago?!"
"What's so shocking about that? Do you think we haven't been sold out a dozen times already? We just still need their intelligence network for now, so it's not worth turning on them yet."
It was true. Shinji knew from the start that these people were no saints, and he certainly didn't mistake their cooperation for kindness.
"So what do we do now? Do we really have to go?"
"If we don't find out exactly who is looking for you, they'll always be in the shadows while you're exposed — and it'll only get more troublesome later. Better to go find them now and take back the initiative. Besides… I'm here. What are you afraid of?"
"Right! Mr. Akagi is the coolest! I'll do whatever you say~"
"Talk properly. One more silly tone and I'll cut your vocal cords."
"…Yes, sir."
Tamamo Hotaru pouted, sulking slightly.
Ever since meeting Shinji and his group, she realized that all the skills and tricks she'd learned over the years in the Red Pavilion — everything she knew about charming men — had become completely useless.
No matter how much charm she radiated, no matter how hard she tried to catch his eye… it was like winking at a blind man. Her confidence had taken quite a beating.
And yet… she couldn't leave Shinji's side.
Without his protection, she'd probably be captured by the Hidden Cloud by the very next day.
But looking at the bright side… staying by his side for the rest of her life didn't sound so bad.
____________________
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