When Sasuke finally lay panting on the ground to rest, Shinji finally nodded in approval.
Using these techniques would certainly accelerate the deterioration of Sasuke's eyesight, but it was a necessary price to pay for greater strength.
Itachi could defeat powerful enemies through his mastery of genjutsu alone. But Sasuke simply couldn't do that.
How many opponents could he beat relying only on Chidori Stream? Even Deidara, whose explosive clay was naturally countered by Lightning Release, nearly killed him with a self‑destruction attack — forcing Sasuke to sacrifice Manda to survive.
If Sasuke truly wanted to grow stronger, he had no choice but to walk the path of the Sharingan to its absolute limit.
And even if he went blind, he had nothing to fear. He had an older brother who loved his "stupid little brother" more than anything.
Itachi had long prepared his own eyes, just waiting for Sasuke to come and take them. No one could stop that from happening.
Itachi knew his own body wouldn't hold out much longer. Plus, the immense guilt of having killed his parents and his entire clan had been tormenting him for years. If not for Sasuke, he might have chosen to end his life just like Shisui did.
---
Later, Hidan and Tobi returned. They brought back the latest intelligence they had obtained from the Underground Exchange.
It reported that the Raikage had led an elite force into battle against several extremely powerful Cursed Spirits at the Unnamed Mountain in the Land of Lightning.
But that wasn't the most important part. Although the Cloud Village had suffered heavy losses, they had successfully managed to keep one of their enemies behind.
In other words, the Cloud Village now held the nearly intact corpse of a Special Grade Cursed Spirit!
Upon reading this report, Shinji's first instinct was to rush straight to the Cloud Village, rip the eyes out of that corpse, and take them for himself.
However, when Hidan mentioned that this information had been voluntarily given to them for free, Shinji immediately calmed down.
"What are they up to?"
"They want us to go steal the body out for them. They said we can negotiate the reward. Oh right… here."
Hidan reached into his clothes, took out two items, and tossed them over.
Shinji caught them. He recognized one immediately — a jade tablet with a familiar design. The other was a comb.
---
Cursed Object — [Seal of the Pig God]
Description: Formed from the concentrated resentment and hatred of the entire Fenglie Clan after they were wiped out.
Effects:
1. Grants a Strength Specialty to a Ninja Pig. (Usable once per pig only) — Cooldown: 24 hours.
2. Grants a Stamina Specialty to a Ninja Pig. (Usable once per pig only) — Cooldown: 24 hours.
3. Grants One Random Mutation to a Ninja Pig. (75% chance of positive mutation). (Usable once per pig only) — Cooldown: 24 hours.
Note: The rise of a ninja clan lies in your hands.
Redemption Value: 20,000 Cursed Spirit Points.
---
Cursed Object — [Chinese‑Style Comb]
Description: A deadly weapon wielded by a barber who received countless bad reviews throughout his life.
Effect: Can easily style any hairstyle into a perfect middle‑part.
Side Effect: Once you change your hairstyle using it, all your hair will fall out completely.
Note: One middle‑part… a lifetime of middle‑parts~
---
The first item was something Shinji had asked the Exchange to help him find previously. The second was apparently the payment for this mission.
Shinji glanced at them briefly, then put them away — in reality, he immediately redeemed them through the system.
He would never wear a middle‑part hairstyle in his life! Not to mention that terrifying side effect. Using this thing meant you were stuck either with a middle‑part forever… or bald forever.
Truly useless junk — no wonder they gave it to Hidan as payment.
But Shinji didn't mind; they were still worth points.
His current Cursed Spirit Points total rose to 147,600.
The [Seal of the Pig God] alone sold for 20,000 — roughly the reward for exorcising several Special Grade Cursed Spirits that lacked a Domain Expansion.
The [Comb] was only worth 1,000 points, but it was better than nothing. Every little bit added up.
Now he was just over 50,000 points away from his goal of 200,000.
As for the Exchange's request… Shinji was undecided whether to take it or not.
Mainly because the difficulty level was incredibly high.
If he could just stroll into the Cloud Village, steal whatever he wanted, and walk away safely… he wouldn't need to trade for a Special Grade corpse in the first place.
Besides, news said the Cloud Village had suffered heavy casualties recently. Rushing in now and drawing all their anger and attention was the stupidest thing he could do.
"Not yet. Let me think about it first."
Shinji decided to stick to his original plan. If he could find and kill another Special Grade Cursed Spirit, he would gather enough points and get the Special Grade eyes he needed.
If he couldn't find one, then he could always turn his attention to the Cloud Village later.
---
After resting for a night, Shinji and his group set off again.
When the staff of Kamio Film & Entertainment went looking for Tamamo Hotaru later, they found the place empty.
And not only her — Fujiyuki Yukie was gone too!
Losing two popular leading actresses at once was a devastating blow.
Worse still, without Shinji's continued funding, the production of The Heroine Who Dominates the Ninja World — already halfway filmed — was forced to disband.
With both leads and the third female character gone, there was no way to continue. Not even a buyer could be found to take over.
Coupled with the unexplained massive explosion earlier and the long process of rebuilding, the film industry in the Land of Wu entered a deep winter and fell into a slump.
Of course, none of that concerned Shinji or Tamamo Hotaru anymore.
They were traveling toward the Land of Claws, where rumors said powerful monsters had appeared.
The Land of Claws was a small, remote nation. Nearby lay the Land of Fangs, a country of roughly equal strength.
The two had been fighting an endless war for years, making them a favorite destination for mercenaries.
According to intelligence Shinji received earlier from the Exchange, the Land of Claws had somehow gained powerful assistance.
They were now using terrifying monsters to push the armies of the Land of Fangs back at every turn.
It didn't exactly sound like Special Grade Cursed Spirits were involved… but if those "monsters" were actually Cursed Spirits, then the trip would be well worth it.
At the very least, he could farm 10,000 to 20,000 Cursed Spirit Points easily and without much trouble.
He didn't care about the history or grudges between the two nations. He just wanted to kill whatever monsters were there and leave.
However, shortly after leaving the Land of Wu, they found themselves being followed.
Or rather — Hidan and Tobi had already been tracked by several groups since they returned earlier.
It was their own fault; they traveled openly along the roads without making the slightest attempt to hide.
Wanted posters for Shinji and his group had spread everywhere from the Cloud Village.
Many bounty hunters were confident they could claim the huge reward and make a name for themselves by taking down the legendary figure known as Akagi the Demon.
Tobi, for his part, was delighted by this situation.
In fact, he hoped Shinji would make enemies of the entire world. That way, Shinji and Hidan would have no choice but to remain firmly on his side forever.
____________________
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