A Hot Commodity

"Fox, Crow, Godzilla."

After writing down the options, Akihi Yu rubbed his chin.

Crow was the easiest. There were plenty of crows in Tokyo; he could just catch one and make it his Spirit Beast.

Akihi Yu planned to find a "bird destined to be his," grant it magical power, and make it his Spirit Beast. Though most of the time, he would use a Crow clone when he went out.

He definitely had to raise a fox, too. After all, foxes were the Divine Messengers of the Inari God, Miketsu: they preyed on mice, which harmed agriculture. Other shrines had komainu statues at their entrances, while Inari shrines had stone foxes.

But to achieve the vision of a "Divine Messenger" in Akihi Yu's mind, he still needed to develop a new ability.

That was Wood Release!

As everyone knew, Wood Release and Senju Hashirama were two different things.

Wood Release was never the thing that was powerful; Senju Hashirama was. Yamato, who often got beaten down, was a counterexample, as was Kazamatsuri Moegi, a friend of the Third Hokage's grandson, Konohamaru. She also possessed the Wood Release Kekkei Genkai, but could only use it for a bit of plant-based camouflage. She was so useless it was off the charts!

It was less Wood Release than "Grass Release."

"Earth and Water have both reached C rank. In theory, I can already try to combine them into Wood Release."

A Kekkei Genkai was the product of merging two types of magical power. For example, Earth plus Water made Wood Release, Water plus Fire made Boil Release, Water plus Wind made Ice Release, and Fire plus Wind made Scorch Release, among others.

If they were Ninja from the World of Fire, they had to be at Elite Jonin level before they were qualified to try to create a Kekkei Genkai.

For example, after losing Obito's Sharingan, Kakashi later developed his own Purple Lightning. If he passed it down to his descendants, it would become a new Kekkei Genkai.

Akihi Yu was basically an Otsutsuki, of course, so he didn't need to meet such strict conditions. He only needed two C-rank Ninjutsu to attempt to combine them into a Kekkei Genkai. Naturally, the resulting Kekkei Genkai would only be of "normal" strength. It would be stronger than ordinary five-element Ninjutsu, but not by much.

Strength wasn't the issue. In fact, no matter what the technique was, as long as he had enough magical power, he could make up for everything with sheer force.

The ability to bring withered trees back to life was what suited a god of Abundance.

As for Godzilla.

Tapping the notebook in front of him with his pen, Akihi Yu couldn't help shaking his head.

A Spirit Beast that huge would be taken straight to a laboratory in this technological world unless it could withstand a nuclear bomb. And to withstand a nuclear bomb, it would have to be at least as strong as a Tailed Beast.

That was still a long way off~~

"Yu, what are you thinking about?"

Class Monitor Nao's voice came from behind him. Akihi Yu turned around, sweeping his palm across the notebook as he did.

"Just daydreaming. What's up?"

By the time he turned around, the notebook was already completely blank.

"Amame Ei transferred schools."

As Class Monitor, Ai Nao was also a member of the student council. It had been easy for her to hear from the other members that Amame Ei had transferred.

"Mm."

"Is that all? Aren't you curious, Yu?"

"Why would I be? Now that Amame Ei's identity as a Young Lady has been exposed, it's only natural that she wouldn't be suited to staying at this school."

The two of them had seen Amame Ei dressed to the nines and surrounded by a group of important people with their own eyes.

So Akihi Yu's explanation made perfect sense, even though transferring schools hadn't been Amame Ei's choice.

Amame Ei was now the Mikiko of the Inari God. She had healing powers, and the Earthquake Catfish followed her around.

If she stayed at this public school, there might be a few clueless thugs who picked a fight with her. It wasn't that he was worried Amame Ei would get hurt; he was afraid the Earthquake Catfish might go on a rampage and kill someone!

Killing someone would be one thing.

It would just be a huge hassle for the government to cover up the incident.

"Sora texted me. Amame Ei transferred to her school, and she's in the same class as Nagisa."

"I see."

Although Class Monitor Nao still had questions about the matter, she was smart enough not to press him.

"After what happened yesterday, won't Imperial Sakura School be affected?"

During lunch break, Class Monitor simply struck up a casual conversation with Akihi Yu.

"Of course not."

"Imperial Sakura School is probably safer than the Prime Minister's Official Residence now."

Imperial Sakura School

"Whose people are those Black Suits?"

During the break between classes, one girl couldn't help looking at the Black Suits standing in the corners of the school. They had their hands clasped behind their backs and wore sunglasses, unmoving as statues.

"You don't know?"

The question immediately brought looks of "surprise" to the other students' faces. They gave a light laugh and walked away.

The girl who had asked was left standing there, bewildered.

As if she were "out of touch."

Imperial Sakura School was indeed a private school for the wealthy, but that didn't mean everyone there was rich and powerful. Some of the students were well-behaved girls from middle-class families.

Take Akihi Sora, for example. The two adults in the Akihi family had died in a car accident. They had both been doctors, so the family had enjoyed a decent income, enough to send Akihi Sora to a private school. As for Akihi Yu, he attended a cheap public school.

So not every girl at the school knew where those "Black Suits" came from.

In fact, even the girls from wealthy families only knew that they were bodyguards for the "second Young Lady of the Nagisa Clan."

At the same time, their parents had all warned them: they mustn't offend that "second Young Lady of the Nagisa Clan," or they would face punishment from their families! If they could befriend her, on the other hand, they'd be richly rewarded.

So—

"Amame Ei."

"We've arranged a welcome party for you."

"Let's all go singing and shopping together~~"

"The stores are all owned by my family, so there won't be any strangers around."

A group of wealthy young ladies surrounded Amame Ei and invited her along. Each wore a perfect smile, speaking warmly and gently without losing her manners.

But—

It was so fake!

Amame Ei could instinctively tell that they didn't truly want to befriend her.

Half of them had been given an assignment, while the other half were just going through the motions. That was right: quite a few of the girls were inviting her as though they were putting on a "performance."

"Thank you all for your kind invitations."

"But we've already made plans. I'm sorry."

Nagisa Kazuha was a Young Lady herself, and she kept helping her older sister handle the invitations. She made it look effortless.

"Waaah~~~"

"Xiao Yie, you're the best."

After the crowd dispersed, Amame Ei threw an arm around her younger sister and poured out her grievances, looking utterly miserable.

"Is being a Young Lady really that tiring?"

"Is it?"

After giving it some thought, Nagisa Kazuha realized that socializing had become part of her life. She didn't find it tiring, but—

"If you don't like it, you don't have to come to school."

"No way."

At that, Amame Ei shook her head like a rattle drum.

"At your house... there are a bunch of old men I don't know in our house. That's even more uncomfortable."

"How about it, Xiao Yie? Shall we go to the shrine?"

For Amame Ei, the shrine was the only place where she could find peace.

"After school."

Just then, a blonde, blue-eyed woman walked into the classroom.

She wore a "low-key" black business suit, but no matter how she moved, she couldn't hide her military bearing.

Or rather, she hadn't even tried to hide it. As a lieutenant colonel in America, she had the privilege of ignoring everyone else.

Of course, she also had her major general father to thank for helping her achieve all this.

"Miss Amame, may I ask about your divine power—"

Even she had to bow respectfully before the girl standing in front of her.

"It's fine. Let's go."

Amame Ei stood up. She had only taken a few steps when a black shape darted out of her desk.

Plop.

The shadow landed on the girl's head,

curling up into a ball like a cat.

But it was actually a black catfish, with a tiny torii gate stuck into its back. Anyone who knew what it was would be afraid to even look at it.

The Earthquake Catfish.

With the power of this supernatural creature, it could make a country an enemy, not just anyone within ten paces, or even a hundred.

It was a walking disaster.

"Kazuha, I'll be back soon."

"Be careful."

The two of them followed the lieutenant colonel to a black sedan and drove quietly out of the school.

Todai Medical School Affiliated Hospital

The name made it clear that the hospital belonged to Todai. Its facilities weren't quite world-class, but they weren't far behind.

Especially in the private section inside the hospital grounds, which was closed to the public and offered services exclusively to the powerful. The cost of its advanced equipment was enough to leave anyone dumbfounded.

Today, a group of experts had gathered here. Among them were Professors Osumi and Honjo, who had even left the underground base in Setagaya Ward where they were studying a Shiba Inu. They had come because they were about to witness a medical miracle that had nothing to do with science.

"The treatment is over. You can examine the patient."

The emerald light faded from her palm. Like a "traditional con artist," Amame Ei had simply held her hand above the patient for a few seconds before announcing that the treatment was over. She stepped aside, removed "Little Black" from her head, and held it in her arms as she played with it.

A crowd of experts immediately rushed into the room. After examining the patient from head to toe, they all wore incredulous expressions.

"The cancer has actually gone into remission?"

"The healthy areas weren't harmed at all. This is unscientific!"

"How did she do it?"

Even Professor Honjo, who had won the Nobel Prize for his work in cancer research, looked stunned.

"After a few more treatments, she might actually be able to cure it completely."

"Is this the power of demons... or spiritual energy?"

Cancer was one of the biggest threats to human health in the modern world.

Cancer hadn't been a problem in ancient times, because ordinary people simply didn't live long enough for it to develop!

Even the rich and powerful rarely lived long enough for cancer to emerge. But as human lifespans continued to increase in the modern era, the likelihood of developing cancer naturally rose as well.

If it was caught early, chemotherapy or surgery could save a patient's life. But for mid- to late-stage cancer, the advice from medical professionals was to take good care of the patient and keep them calm. They might live a few more days that way.

It wasn't as if wealthy people hadn't spent billions making targeted drugs. But usually, the patient died before the drugs were even ready.

Yet this girl in a high school uniform,

had turned the experts' worldview upside down with a treatment that defied belief.

"OMG! OMG! OMG!"

After hearing the results of his examination, the elderly white man who had received the treatment let out one exclamation after another. He waved his arms around, excited as a child of over seventy.

"Mr. Gore, congratulations."

The blonde, blue-eyed lieutenant colonel offered her sincere congratulations.

The old congressman and her family had been friends for generations. Traced back far enough, the bloodlines of their two families even led to the Mayflower. They were true "blue-blooded aristocrats," with longstanding influence in both the military and politics.

"Hahaha, call me Uncle, Tina."

The elderly white man was in high spirits. He pressed a hand to the area over his liver and turned to ask the experts he had brought along.

"Can this cure me?"

"Mr. Gore, there's no such thing as a hundred percent certainty in medicine."

The American experts had read the examination results. Though they still found the "miracle" before them difficult to imagine, they gave a measured assessment.

"First, let us congratulate you. After a few more treatments like this, there's a high probability your cancer will be completely cured."

The evidence was right there. Unless everyone in Japan, from the people to the equipment, had fabricated it, then—

The congressman's cancer was about to be cured!

"And as for your diet—"

"Okay! Okay!"

The elderly white man was in such a good mood that he kept nodding. The older he got, the more afraid he was of dying. He had long since stopped indulging himself as he had in his youth, just so he could keep looking at the world for a little longer.

"This scene... makes a lifetime of research feel utterly meaningless."

Professor Honjo, his silver hair neatly combed back and a bitter smile on his face, couldn't help shaking his head.

"No,"

Professor Osumi, whose white hair and beard framed his face, spoke up beside him.

"This is a true miracle, and it's destined to favor only a handful of important people."

"Our research is what can benefit the public."

"Isn't that right?"

Professor Honjo didn't answer his old friend. Was he supposed to say—

that he'd only conducted research for the fame and money?

With the treatment a success, Amame Ei turned to leave with "Little Black" in her arms. She still had to get back to class.

The experts in the room wished they could tie her up and study how she had performed such an unscientific treatment. But that was only a thought.

Given the abilities Amame Ei had shown, if anyone dared lay a finger on her, Japan and America would teach them what the iron fist of a capitalist country was!

A supernatural healer as precious as her was the supreme treasure of both nations!