"Oh? There's still snake berries left?"
"Chizan, you're my summoned one—shouldn't I get a share of those snake berries too?"
Tagitsuhime's voice rang out with a smile.
Finally recovering from the dizzying sensation, Gekko Chizan looked at the Bamboo Viper and Snake Princess in front of him and nodded.
Then he pulled out a scroll and released two baskets of snake berries.
"Here, I bought them especially from the Land of Waterfalls."
"By the way, Kurohebi, take me to Jinlin. I left something with her."
At that moment, Kurohebi was completely captivated by the snake berries and hadn't heard a word Gekko Chizan said.
Instead, it was Tagitsuhime who scooped the snake berries into her arms and replied:
"You mean those fifteen carts of goods?"
"Yeah, those fifteen carts. I stole them from Kumogakure."
Tagitsuhime nodded and turned to walk deeper into the Snake Den.
"Follow me."
Following Tagitsuhime inside, it wasn't long before the massive body of the golden python appeared before Gekko Chizan.
"Jinlin, Gekko Chizan is here."
The golden python slowly raised her head upon hearing this, flicking her tongue as she looked at Gekko Chizan.
"My snake berries. Or you can forget about the cargo."
Gekko Chizan smiled helplessly and pulled out the final scroll. In a puff, three more baskets of snake berries appeared.
"Two baskets are what I promised earlier. As for the last one, Tagitsuhime, I need your help with something."
"I already found a buyer, but I can't deliver the goods alone. So I need you to help me reverse-summon the cargo."
When she heard how simple the task was, Tagitsuhime hugged the last basket of snake berries in front of Jinlin without hesitation.
"No problem, easy! Just a sec."
As she spoke, Tagitsuhime grabbed Gekko Chizan's right arm and pulled up his sleeve.
In the next moment, she bit her finger and began drawing on his arm.
Soon, a circular pattern appeared on his forearm.
Before Gekko Chizan could even ask, Tagitsuhime explained:
"This is a Ryūchi Cave contract seal. I infused it with my unique Sage Art power. With this, you can summon things to and from Ryūchi Cave freely—even your cargo."
Gekko Chizan looked at the faint red pattern on his arm and thought,
Isn't this the same as what Orochimaru has on his arm?
Though honestly, his looked better than Orochimaru's.
"Hmph. Orochimaru only carved his for convenient summoning. It's totally different from mine."
"Without permission from the Ryūchi Cave sages, he can only summon the snake he contracted with—Manda, nothing more."
"But this pattern—so long as you're willing—lets you summon any snake from Ryūchi Cave."
Gekko Chizan was thrilled. This was a valuable item!
But before he could celebrate for long, Tagitsuhime poured a bucket of cold water over his enthusiasm.
"Of course, summoning requires consent, hehe."
"Don't even think about force-summoning anything."
His cheerful expression instantly fell.
"Tagitsuhime-san, next time, could you please get to the point quicker? Got me excited for nothing."
"Whatever. At least with this, the cargo is settled."
"Send me back. I'm planning to enjoy a nice soak in the hot springs."
At those words, Jinlin, Kurohebi, and Tagitsuhime all looked at him strangely while munching on snake berries.
"Why are you all looking at me like that?"
Tagitsuhime smiled and narrowed her eyes.
"You're really just going for a soak? Not planning to peep or anything?"
Unfazed, Gekko Chizan said with a straight face,
"Nonsense. I'm a man of integrity. How could that be called peeping?"
"Such a refined act—how can you make it sound so vulgar?"
"Anyway, I'm off! Bye, everyone!"
Back at his place, Gekko Chizan looked at the pattern on his arm, growing more pleased the longer he stared.
Smiling, he headed straight for the bath.
...
At the same time, in Konohagakure.
Orochimaru arrived at a brick building by the riverside outside the village.
"You're here."
A casually dressed man slowly walked out of the building.
"Is the intel you sent reliable?"
"Hehehe, absolutely."
"A kekkei genkai?"
"Yes. Word from the Land of Waterfalls branch—the body has already been recovered. It'll arrive in the Land of Fire in a few days."
Orochimaru's eyes flashed with intensity.
Recovering ninja corpses with kekkei genkai via the black market was entirely his doing.
"What kind of kekkei genkai? Any details?"
"Yes. A Kumogakure jōnin—Troy. Magnet Release."
At that name, Orochimaru froze for a moment.
Troy? He knew that guy.
But when did he die? Who killed him? How did he end up sold to a bounty exchange?
"Not buying it? I didn't believe it either at first, but the info checks out."
Orochimaru nodded. The intel from the bounty exchange was usually trustworthy.
"Hehehe, excellent. Let me know when the corpse arrives."
The man nodded.
The building fell silent again.
Orochimaru rushed into the night, his mind still turning over the situation with the bounty exchange and Troy.
Something about it felt off—but if it involved the exchange, he couldn't dismiss it.
Even with Orochimaru's cunning, he couldn't have imagined...
...that the one behind this was his own student.
Nor could he guess that all his excitement would end up being for nothing.
...
The next day, Gekko Chizan returned to the bounty exchange—still in the form of Maggot.
"Gentlemen, is my payment ready?"
It was still the same two black-clad men from the day before. They nodded.
"Then let's do the exchange."
He bit his finger, smeared blood onto his arm, and under their watchful eyes—
A puff of white smoke instantly engulfed the room.
The black-clad men hurried to activate the ventilation system, clearing the smoke.
When it dissipated, all fifteen carts of cargo appeared before them.
"All fifteen carts are here. Check them."
Gekko Chizan casually leaned against the wall, arms crossed.
The two black-clad men exchanged glances and began inspecting the cargo.
They were extremely thorough—almost like Gekko Chizan was counting coins.
An hour later, they finished.
"Quite a haul—kunai, shuriken, explosive tags, and some rations."
"Estimated value: about 30 million ryō."
Gekko Chizan, who was nearly dozing off, immediately perked up at the number.
"Good. Let's see the money."
One of the men nodded and placed a chest of cash in front of him.
This time, Gekko Chizan didn't bother counting it.
By his estimate, Troy's faked death wouldn't hold up much longer.
He needed to vanish—fast—or trouble would come knocking.
And just as he took the chest in hand, a sudden system notification rang out.