"HA HA HA! Now that packs a punch! Feels great!"
Huddi rubbed his chest and grinned broadly, his laughter once again sending tremors rippling through the ground.
Everyone present was utterly stunned.
Though Mr. Enemy had not intended to kill Huddi outright, he had certainly not held back either — he had meant to teach the giant a sharp lesson.
Instead, he had only proven just how formidable Huddi was.
If they fought to the death, the outcome was far from certain.
The biggest unknown was that bizarre regenerative ability — how could it completely negate the effects of his Annihilation Curse?
Yet looking at it now, the contest he had proposed earlier had turned out to be a stroke of genius.
At first, he had only wanted to avoid a pointless, destructive battle; now it seemed his suggestion had accidentally hit the perfect solution.
Mr. Enemy quickly regained his composure, as if the earlier anger and tension had never existed.
"Remarkable skill. This is the first time I have ever seen someone take my curse head‑on and walk away completely unharmed."
"HA HA HA! Naturally! So why not simply hand over the position of leader to me? You and your group clearly lack the strength to hold it."
"Whether we can hold it or not will be decided by the final result. I only hope you will not refuse to admit defeat once it is over."
"Trying to goad me, are you? Clever enough. Very well — which human nation shall we target?"
"We have no need to waste our efforts on small countries. If we act, it must be one of the Five Great Nations. The closest to us here is the Land of Earth — let us make it our goal. Agreed?"
"Done! The Land of Earth it is!"
Huddi agreed without hesitation, completely unbothered by the thought that Mr. Enemy might be plotting some sort of trick.
As they prepared to leave, Mahito spoke up. "Do you truly believe you can win this contest, Mr. Enemy?"
Before Mr. Enemy could reply, Nana the Snow Woman cut in sharply. "We outnumber him — surely we can defeat that overgrown oaf if we work together?"
"Would you dare say that to his face?"
"What is there to fear?!"
"Hmph."
"What are you laughing at?!"
"Laughing at how empty your head is — and how you still refuse to admit it."
Sanhu sneered, and Nana's eyes flared red with rage. They were moments away from coming to blows before Mr. Enemy stepped in and stopped them.
"This is a wager between Huddi and myself. The rest of you will not interfere."
His words left everyone confused. They could not tell if he was supremely confident of victory, or simply preparing to lose with honor — and the latter seemed almost impossible.
Which meant Mr. Enemy must have some hidden plan up his sleeve.
---
In the Land of Grass.
"Here is what you asked for."
The moment Konan met Deidara and Sasori, she tossed a sealed box toward them.
Deidara opened it. Inside rested a glass vial, and within it floated a single, eerie‑looking eyeball.
To be honest, he had never expected Pain to actually agree to the terms set by that man.
Pain had even taken the time to travel out himself, then sent Konan to deliver this eye.
It seemed that while gathering intelligence on the Tailed Beasts, they had also encountered and eliminated a Special‑Grade Cursed Spirit.
But there was a condition attached. Once this matter was concluded, they were forbidden from having any further contact with the Cult of the Evil God.
Deidara agreed. Though he had already begun to consider defecting, since his leader had not given him the chance to leave on his own terms, he would play along for now.
Still, he could not help feeling a little disappointed — he had been looking forward to blowing up the Five Great Nations.
"Your failed mission to capture the Three‑Tails is forgiven. But there must be no more failures in the future."
She handed over a new scroll. "Here is the latest information. The Jinchūriki of the Five‑Tails will return to the Land of Earth in two days. Your new task is to capture him."
Deidara took the scroll, glanced at it briefly, then tucked it away.
"This time there will be no surprises. You have my word."
Konan studied them for a moment longer, said nothing more, and turned to leave.
Both she and Nagato were willing to give them one more chance — not entirely because of the mysterious warning they had received, but simply because they did not want to lose two valuable members.
At the same time, they were furious over the Cult of the Evil God attempting to poach their forces.
If they were not already stretched thin and occupied elsewhere, Nagato would have marshaled all his strength to wipe the cult out first.
In fact, Nagato and Konan had begun to suspect that the Cult of the Evil God was being secretly supported by the same "mysterious figure" — a way to keep Akatsuki from growing too powerful and out of control.
It was entirely possible.
If that was true, then their long‑term plans would have to be moved forward.
After Konan left, Deidara and Sasori went to the underground Exchange House in the Land of Grass.
They placed the vial in secure storage, leaving instructions to notify Akagi Kimiki to come and collect it.
Such a service was not offered to just anyone — but Akagi Kimiki was no ordinary person, and the manager agreed readily.
Deidara had hoped to meet him in person, but with the new mission pressing, this was the only way.
Two days later, Shinji received the message and successfully retrieved the item. He had not expected Deidara to actually follow through and deliver on his promise.
He fed the preserved eyeball into a sealing scroll, completing the second requirement of their agreement.
Now he was only short of less than 20,000 Cursed Spirit Souls to meet the final condition and unlock the Six Eyes.
Attached to the package was a note stating that Akatsuki had accepted his terms. For some reason, Shinji could sense a faint trace of regret hidden between the lines.
"Less than 20,000 souls left to activate the Six Eyes… but along the way, there are no large clusters of Cursed Spirits — only a handful here and there. It's barely enough to make a dent."
He frowned. "Looks like I'll have to dig up the last of the treasure maps first. If I still don't have enough after that, I'll have to ask Mei Terumī for some low‑grade cursed objects, or trade favors at the Exchange House. Though I'd rather not owe anyone a debt if I can help it — those always come back to bite you later."
He turned his gaze toward the horizon. "Let me see… the final treasure map points in that direction. It should be somewhere within the Land of Earth."
Shinji set off with his companions. Even when encountering only scattered, weaker spirits along the way, he never let a single one escape — every little bit counts.
It was becoming more and more obvious to everyone that Shinji had some kind of grudge against Cursed Spirits.
At least, that was what Tamamo Hikaru thought. She had even invented a tragic backstory for him: Shinji's entire family was devoured by Cursed Spirits when he was young.
Driven by vengeance, he trained relentlessly in the shinobi arts, gathered a loyal group of like‑minded companions, and embarked on a bloody path of revenge and destruction.
Once the idea took hold, she could not stop herself — she began writing it all down as a proper story.
Once she earned enough money, she planned to fund a production and have Yukie Fujikaze star in it.
What? Shinji is male? How can Yukie play him?
Simple — just rewrite the main character to be female!
No one knew exactly who Akagi Shinji was anyway, and artistic license allowed for plenty of exaggeration and changes.
It was no big deal.
____________________
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