All I Want as a Ninja Is to Live Off Others in Type-Moon

"You're certainly confident. I know you're strong, but don't underestimate a Magus's methods."

Luvia gave him a serious reminder, then asked with concern, "What are you planning to do next? Do you need me to send someone to help?"

"No need. I'll go take a look myself and hear why he wants to meet me."

Higashino Kanade's gaze turned cold as he added, "If his reason fails to convince me, I won't mind sending him on his way."

Although the information Hartless possessed was false, it could indeed threaten Higashino Kanade's survival.

And Higashino Kanade was also curious. Why had this plot character arranged to meet him alone? What was his reason? Did it have anything to do with the upcoming Mystic Eyes Collection Train?

In any case, he would gather some information first and decide what to do afterward.

Shadow Clone Technique!

Higashino Kanade created a clone and said to it, "Go test that former head of the Department of Modern Magecraft. If the conditions allow it, kill him directly."

"Understood, original."

Higashino Kanade's clone gave an OK gesture, then left the villa.

As night fell, Higashino Kanade's clone followed the information Hartless had provided and arrived at an abandoned medium-sized castle on the outskirts of London.

Following a stone path overgrown with weeds, Higashino Kanade arrived at a long-abandoned garden behind the castle. This was the meeting place specified in Hartless's text message.

The vegetation in the garden was lush, growing wildly and without any sense of beauty. It looked as though no one had trimmed it in a long time. This was probably just a temporary meeting place.

However, Higashino Kanade, with his Sharingan, discovered a massive magic circle beneath the garden. It was well concealed, and an ordinary Magus would never have noticed it, but under the Sharingan's insight, Higashino Kanade spotted the abnormal flow of Mana underground.

"He said he wanted to talk, but he actually wants to get rid of me. Has my existence obstructed Hartless's plan?"

As Higashino Kanade walked, he observed his surroundings with the Sharingan. Then his gaze stopped on the castle roof.

"Hartless, didn't you ask me to come out and talk? Why are you hiding now that I'm here?" Higashino Kanade taunted loudly.

A moment later, the figure of a man emerged where Higashino Kanade was looking.

"As expected of Jewel-level Mystic Eyes. Nothing can truly escape you!"

The man applauded, his eyes full of admiration.

He was a handsome, tall man with fiery red hair and skin as white as snow. He looked somewhere between twenty and forty years old, dressed in a gray-red cloak over black inner garments. He gave off the uncomfortable feeling of standing before a venomous snake.

"You're Dr. Hartless, right? Why are you standing so high up? Won't you come down and talk?" Higashino Kanade stared at Hartless, an icy chill radiating from his eyes.

"Unfortunately, I cannot come down for the sake of my safety." Hartless shook his head regretfully. "I forgot to tell you something. You need a certain level of qualification to negotiate with me. If you cannot pass my trial, it would be better for you to die here."

Hartless snapped his fingers, and the entire rear garden erupted with the radiance of Mana. If a helicopter happened to pass overhead at that moment, it would have seen an enormous magic circle enclosing the entire garden.

"Though it would be a waste to kill a surviving Phantasmal Species like you, my future plans do not require your existence. Lord El-Melloi II's disciple is already troublesome enough. If you are added to the equation, I would have no chance of winning." Hartless spread his hands helplessly, as though he were the victim.

So he really is targeting Waver. Higashino Kanade thought.

Getting too deeply involved with the protagonist would attract the attention of villains. Araya Souren had targeted him for that reason as well. Ever since he became Waver's disciple, second only to Grea, he had already ended up on many people's blacklists. Being dealt with now was within expectations.

"But do you really think a hastily arranged magic circle like this can trap me?"

Higashino Kanade felt the gravity pressing down on him grow stronger and stronger, yet his expression remained calm, as though victory were already in his grasp.

The next moment, Higashino Kanade transformed into a streak of lightning and abruptly vanished from Hartless's sight.

"So fast!"

Hartless revealed a look of surprise. He had already obtained Higashino Kanade's combat information from Fliyou and had taken precautions against his strength, but when he saw such astonishing speed for the first time, he could not help exclaiming.

Hartless was a genuine genius. Faced with Higashino Kanade's sudden disappearance, he was only surprised for a moment before immediately activating a defensive magical tool.

A barrier covered in lightning rapidly expanded beneath his feet, protecting his entire body. But the instant the barrier was completed, a gray-black hand forcibly broke through its defenses, seized his neck, and slammed him viciously into the ground, shattering the roof tiles.

"Cough!" Hartless coughed up blood. Looking at Higashino Kanade, who resembled an evil demon that had stepped out of myth, he barely forced out a smile and raised both hands in surrender.

"Well... I think I can explain that misunderstanding just now."

At that moment, Higashino Kanade had already entered the second state of the Curse Mark of Heaven. His superhuman body, combined with Lightning Release Chakra Mode, had pushed his speed into a whole new realm. Ordinary eyes could not even catch his afterimage, which was why he could defeat Hartless in an instant.

Higashino Kanade ignored Hartless's pleas. He grabbed Hartless by the throat with one hand and lifted him up, then used Lightning Release to electrocute him relentlessly.

"AAAAAH—"

"Sorry, but I prefer beating people up first and interrogating them afterward."

Hartless screamed repeatedly under the electric shocks, while Higashino Kanade coldly continued the torture, intending to electrocute him unconscious before interrogating him with Genjutsu.

"That's far enough!"

A familiar female voice came from nearby.

Higashino Kanade turned around and saw a beautiful pink-haired girl with twin tails laboriously climbing onto the castle roof, panting as she tried to stop him.

It was Yvette.

"Let him go. If you have something to say, say it properly, or I'll have to get rough!"

Yvette pulled off her eyepatch in one motion, revealing a beautiful Mystic Eye that glittered like a Diamond, then made a cute V-sign.

Higashino Kanade's Sharingan emitted an ominous red glow against the darkness. Combined with his current demon-like appearance, it made the previously aggressive Yvette's legs tremble in fear, and she began to regret coming here.

Honestly, Yvette truly did not want to fight Higashino Kanade. She had witnessed his dazzling performance in the arena from beginning to end. How could a beautiful and elegant lady like her possibly be a match for that demon?

But when she thought of the benefits Hartless had promised her afterward, Yvette found her motivation again.

People die for wealth, birds die for food. Yvette decided to take a gamble. Magi were exactly the kind of people who staked their lives for profit, and she also knew that Hartless had a trump card.

"Switching to Burning Eye mode!"

Yvette's single green Mystic Eye instantly turned burning red. At the same time, a triangular magical mark appeared on Higashino Kanade's body.

With a bang, blazing flames appeared out of thin air and swallowed Higashino Kanade whole.

Higashino Kanade immediately released Hartless and leaped backward, rapidly forming hand seals with both hands.

Water Release: Water Wall!

Higashino Kanade spewed a large amount of water from his mouth, quickly extinguishing the flames burning on his body and preserving this Shadow Clone's body.

"I'm done for! How was my Mystic Eye attack countered? The intelligence never said Uchiha could use Water Magecraft!" Yvette retreated a step in disbelief, then saw Higashino Kanade transform into a streak of lightning and charge straight at her.

"D-Don't kill me! That man forced me to do it! I'm carrying Waver's child, spare me!"

Yvette babbled frantically as she begged for mercy. She knew her combat ability was weak. The instant Higashino Kanade reached her would be the moment of her death.

Suddenly, countless withered branches burst from the ground. In an instant, an enormous forest enveloped the entire castle.

A thick branch pierced through the roof tiles, blocking Higashino Kanade's path.

Seeing the scene before him, like Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence personally cast by the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, Higashino Kanade stopped in his tracks. A name surfaced in his mind.

Einnashe!

The seventh of the Twenty-Seven Ancestors of the Dead Apostles, a vampiric plant that had evolved into a vampiric species—an unquestionably transcendent existence.

Higashino Kanade looked at everything before him with an ugly expression. He had copied several million Grimoires from the Clock Tower library with his Sharingan. Though he understood none of their theories, he knew the basic common knowledge.

The enormous forest before him, containing immense Mana and capable of hunting on its own, was undoubtedly the legendary Einnashe.

Though it was only a small fragment, not even one percent of the main body, it was still not something a mere Shadow Clone of Higashino Kanade could handle. Hartless had truly hidden an enormous trump card.

After blocking Higashino Kanade's path, the Forest of Dead Apostles did not attack him. Hartless, who had recovered consciousness, staggered toward him instead. It seemed he had no intention of continuing the fight.

"You don't plan to kill me? Even I am no match for the famous Einnashe." Higashino Kanade looked at the approaching Hartless and asked.

"With your speed, you would definitely kill both Yvette and me before Einnashe killed you. Dying together is not my style." Hartless sat opposite Higashino Kanade, gave a bitter smile, and began healing his body with Healing Magic.

Higashino Kanade also withdrew from the Curse Mark of Heaven state. Sitting cross-legged on the ground, he asked harmoniously as if speaking to a friend, "What is your purpose? Why do you want to kill me?"

"If you had no intention of boarding the Mystic Eyes Collection Train, there would have been no conflict between us. But you decided to board it. Given your relationship with Lord El-Melloi II, you would certainly interfere with my plan, so I decided to eliminate you in advance." Hartless answered calmly.

"What is your plan?"

"I'm afraid I cannot tell you unless you sign a contract with me."

Hartless smiled and handed over a contract he had prepared long ago. This was his Plan B, prepared for the possibility that he was no match for Higashino Kanade.

"A contract?"

Higashino Kanade raised his brow and calmly accepted the parchment containing the contract, reading its contents.

The terms of the contract were roughly as follows: from tonight until the end of the Mystic Eyes Collection Train auction, Higashino Kanade could not reveal any information related to Hartless to anyone, could not interfere with any of Hartless's actions, and could not harm Hartless.

As compensation, Hartless would pay Higashino Kanade ten million dollars as hush money and guarantee that he would keep Higashino Kanade's identity as a Phantasmal Species secret and would not harm a single hair on his head.

The penalty for breach was that the violator's soul would be bound by the other party, becoming the other party's familiar forever.

It seems Hartless really went to some effort investigating me in order to control me.

Higashino Kanade had thought the other party would make him sign something like a Self-Forced Geis, but Hartless, who had interrogated Fliyou, should have known that he had no Mage Crest. That was why he used another kind of contract to bind him.

Ten million dollars. That would be enough to pay off the five million I owe Luvia, and the rest could buy a whole lot of Phantasmal Species materials for the system to recycle. It seems like I'm making quite a profit. Higashino Kanade stroked his chin as he thought.

But money did not hold much appeal for Higashino Kanade. He was more curious about what Hartless wanted to do and how it was related to Waver. It might be connected to the follow-up quest the system would issue after he boarded the Mystic Eyes Collection Train.

"Tell me what your plan is, or I won't sign." Higashino Kanade tossed the Self-Forced Geis back.

"It is not impossible to tell you the plan, but another condition must be added to the contract."

Hartless took out a magical pen and wrote a series of terms on the parchment, then handed it back to Higashino Kanade.

The original terms remained unchanged. Hartless promised to reveal his entire plan, but in exchange, Higashino Kanade could not disclose the contents of the mission to anyone until the Mystic Eyes Collection Train auction ended.

"That's fair, but I have one more condition." Higashino Kanade nodded approvingly, but made no move to sign his name.

As a ninja in his previous life, Higashino Kanade had some skill at negotiating.

Although he had already decided to sign the contract with Hartless, Higashino Kanade decided to haggle a little in order to make the negotiation seem more genuine and secure more benefits for himself.

"Do you know what my relationship with Waver is?" Higashino Kanade suddenly threw out an unrelated question.

"Aren't you teacher and student?"

"Wrong! We are not merely teacher and student. Waver is also my dearest friend and sworn brother."

"Oh, are you planning to fight to the death?" Hartless's gaze turned cold as Mana began flowing through his magic circuits.

Hartless had not failed to consider the possibility that Higashino Kanade would turn against him for Waver's sake. For his plan, even if he knew he could not win, Hartless would still have to risk his life and force Einnashe to kill Higashino Kanade.

Just as the atmosphere became tense, Higashino Kanade suddenly smiled harmlessly. "If you want me to betray Waver... you'll have to pay more!"

"Pfft—hahahaha!"

Yvette, hiding nearby, clutched her stomach and burst into laughter. Between laughs, she said, "You really are short on money. I thought you wouldn't betray Professor Waver."

Although Higashino Kanade's "true identity" had overturned many people's assumptions about him, the fact that he lacked money seemed to be true. After all, if he were not short on money, who would lower themselves to become a dog for the notorious Edelfelt Family?

Hartless breathed a sigh of relief inwardly. If Higashino Kanade had truly intended to fight him to the death, Hartless was not sure he could survive. But he had not expected him to be so greedy for money. Anything that could be solved with money was no problem.

"Fine."

Hartless took back the contract and changed ten million to twenty million.

"I like straightforward people like you."

Higashino Kanade smiled as he accepted the contract and wrote his false name on it.

"Can you tell me your plan now?"

"Yes, but first we need to clear the area." Hartless looked at Yvette and said politely, "Miss, please excuse yourself. You cannot hear what comes next."

"Tch, as if I'm interested in your plan. Just remember to lend me that Jewel-level Mystic Eye for research after everything succeeds." Yvette irritably kicked a pebble beneath her feet, then climbed down from the roof.