Cross of Courage

Cross of Courage

"This is a high-purity Chakra Crystal. It only reacts to specific types of chakra and can suppress the power of a Jinchūriki. It's worth around three million." Shen Mo ultimately decided to tell the truth.

"That's all?" Tsunade pressed.

"That's all!" Shen Mo answered firmly.

There was no so-called Curse on this necklace at all.

As for Nawaki and Dan Katō—

In the world of Naruto, whose family hasn't lost a few people? The necklace wasn't at fault. The world was.

Tsunade stared at Shen Mo, the space between her brows already twisted into a knot.

There it was—the classic Tsunade look of irritation.

It was even more realistic than the most lifelike cosplay Shen Mo had ever seen. The key was the aura.

"Miss Tsunade." This was the first time Shen Mo had called her by name. He gazed at her solemnly. "You need to understand that I'm not an ordinary merchant, nor are the goods I sell ordinary. With an item like this alone, there's no chance I could have misidentified it."

"What a mysterious man."

Tsunade clutched the necklace tightly in her hand, unable to describe what she was feeling.

This necklace was her grandfather's keepsake.

She didn't believe it carried a Curse either.

But after receiving a certain confirmation—

The dark cloud hanging over her heart not only failed to lift, but grew even heavier.

"Chest Opening, Chest Opening!" she shouted as if venting her frustration. She gulped down all the alcohol remaining in the bottle, her face flushed red from the liquor, then casually tossed the empty bottle aside. "Shizune, go get some more wine."

Shizune opened and closed her mouth, seeming to want to say something, but ultimately said nothing.

She stood up, gave Shen Mo a slight bow, and turned to leave. She returned not long afterward.

Shen Mo looked at Tsunade and understood perfectly.

He should be able to make a hefty profit tonight.

Some people liked Opening Boxes when they were in a bad mood, as if they could use good luck to ease their feelings. Of course, if their terrible luck took over, they would only become more annoyed.

Since that was the case—

He might as well prepare some good stuff.

Shen Mo took out another scroll and stored away the pile of items from before.

"Don't just sit there like an idiot. Come drink with me." Tsunade smacked another jar to pieces with a bang and cast Shen Mo a bleary-eyed glance. "A merchant is supposed to accompany his customers for a drink, isn't he?"

Shen Mo was instantly helpless.

He had too many secrets.

He didn't dare get drunk carelessly.

Still, he didn't refuse.

"Then I'll accept your invitation."

He raised his hand and downed the small cup Shizune handed him in one gulp.

He spent some Trading Points to buy a hangover pill and swallowed it first. No matter how much he drank, he wouldn't get drunk.

"Good!"

Tsunade smashed another jar with her palm and excitedly examined the treasure inside.

Shen Mo watched her.

A woman like this—

Why was she so popular among Naruto fans?

A woman in her fifties, with an extreme personality, willful, addicted to gambling, and a spendthrift who also liked to punch people at the slightest provocation.

Still, her weak and strong sides, her gentle and violent sides, really did form a charming contrast.

Wait—

Shen Mo's gaze suddenly drifted toward a certain place.

He suddenly understood.

So that was it. Her greatest charm really was her enormous bust.

"Hey, kid, what's this?" Tsunade hooked an arm around Shen Mo's shoulder and leaned over, shaking the bottle in her hand. She reeked of alcohol.

"Uh." Shen Mo's expression grew slightly unnatural, but he quickly recovered. "Body Tempering Fluid. Use it when bathing. With long-term use, even an ordinary person can develop physical abilities comparable to a ninja. It can be called a supreme treasure for taijutsu users."

This old woman's body is surprisingly soft.

This isn't even some cultivation world where people live for hundreds of years.

That's cheating!

"Oh! This is good stuff. Shizune, I'm giving this to you." Tsunade happily tossed it to Shizune.

Among these jars, Shen Mo had selected items that would be useful to ninjas.

They were all cheap goods worth around six hundred Trading Points.

But some came from magical worlds, some from cultivation worlds, and the most valuable one even came from the Overlord World: a Red Potion capable of efficiently restoring a certain amount of injuries. Yet it was being sold for only six hundred and eighty-eight points.

After she used up those spoils, he managed to extract knowledge worth more than eight million in total from Tsunade—that was, three hundred thousand Trading Points.

By the time night fell—

The ground was covered in shattered Pottery Jars, potions, and medicinal herbs.

Tsunade looked extremely satisfied. She still had her last five hundred thousand.

"Let's do one more batch!"

"Miss Tsunade." Shen Mo blinked. "Congratulations. You've purchased more than twenty batches of Level 1 Chests in total, so you now qualify to purchase Level 2 Chests."

"Level 2 Chests?" Tsunade froze.

"That's right." Shen Mo took out another scroll. "They cost five hundred thousand each. The previous ones may have been relatively rare, but they were still just little trinkets. The real treasures can only be found in higher-level chests."

"Little trinkets?"

Tsunade's eyes narrowed slightly. Her mind, which had been on the verge of becoming completely drunk, regained some clarity.

The potions and medicinal herbs before her—

Even she couldn't make them.

If they were brought out into the open, they could easily shock every major Ninja Village. They might even be willing to start a war to obtain the methods of producing them.

And yet they were merely little trinkets?

"Then let's do one." Tsunade had clearly been piqued.

Shen Mo unrolled the scroll, and a jar more than twice the size of the previous one appeared.

Smack.

As usual, Tsunade smashed it apart with one slap.

Inside was a cross-shaped necklace.

Its value was six thousand Trading Points!

"Congratulations!" Shen Mo raised his voice and smiled. "I never expected the first Level 2 Chest to contain special equipment—the Cross of Courage!"

"The Cross of Courage?" Tsunade picked up the necklace and examined it for a long while before giving up. "Just tell me what it does."

"As the name implies, it increases the wearer's courage." Shen Mo explained, "Once worn, it will dispel fear to a certain extent, allowing people to face misfortune with greater courage. Items that provide this kind of mental enhancement are extremely rare. It's worth roughly seven hundred thousand."

It was an item from a game-like world.

It possessed the special effect Courage +2.

That was right.

This was something even more valuable to Tsunade.

Hemophobia!

After losing one important person after another, Tsunade had developed Hemophobia. Whenever she saw blood, she would instinctively feel afraid. For one of the Sannin, who had once made a name for herself on the battlefield, that couldn't help but seem ironic.

After hearing Shen Mo's explanation, Tsunade stared blankly at the necklace, her expression complicated.

Courage?

She slowly put the necklace around her neck.

It lightly collided with that ominous necklace.