Ōnoki frowned. Looking at the man's serious expression, he suddenly nodded. "All right, you can have what you want. But I want to see her first, and I'll decide the time and place of the exchange."
Shinji refused without hesitation. "You'll see her on the day of the exchange. You can choose the time, but I have to choose the place."
If he had casually agreed to everything, Ōnoki would instead have suspected some sort of conspiracy.
Seeing him argue his case, however, Ōnoki felt slightly relieved. It seemed he really did intend to make a trade.
Still, he couldn't rule out a conspiracy.
After all, he held this position and had spent his entire life embroiled in intrigue.
Suspicion had long since become instinct.
Thus, the two agreed to make the exchange three days later, on a mountain ten li from here. Neither side could bring more than three people, not counting Kurotsuchi.
Just like that, the deal was smoothly arranged.
So smoothly that Shinji once again began to wonder just what utterly outrageous thing Tobi had done last time.
Or had that old bastard Ōnoki already dug a pit, waiting for him to jump in of his own accord?
Shinji could more or less foresee that plenty of unexpected incidents would occur during the exchange three days later.
This old bastard was hardly the well-behaved sort. Shinji wouldn't believe it if he didn't pull something!
Over those three days, Ōnoki tried sending many people to search for the group of cursed spirits that had attacked several villages, but they all returned empty-handed.
That group of cursed spirits was as unsettling as venomous snakes lurking in the dark. Who knew when they might suddenly emerge and bite?
Today, however, he could only set everything else aside for the