The scarred man's gaze swept around the workshop before settling on Lin Shuo and Yuzuha-more precisely, on the two Bangboo at their feet.
One was a metal rabbit with an orange tail; the other was a pale blue, translucent crystal rabbit.
"Hey, kid!" The scarred man pointed his gun at Lin Shuo. "Where's that blue-flame cat demon? Did you see it?"
Before Lin Shuo could speak, Yuzuha laughed.
Her laugh was soft, but unmistakably mocking.
"Hey, mister~ If you're looking for a cat, try a pet shop. Why look for one in a place like this~?"
The scarred man's face darkened. "Cut the crap! Someone just reported that the cat demon ran in here!"
"Oh~"
Yuzuha tilted her head, a lock of red hair slipping out of her hood.
"Do we look like cats to you? Or..."
She deliberately paused and blinked her green eyes. "Are you getting so old your eyesight's going, mister? Mistaking Bangboo for cats?"
Several of the Hollow Raiders beside him couldn't help snickering.
The scarred man's face flushed red.
"You fucking-"
He suddenly stopped.
His gaze locked onto Bangboo Matatabi at Yuzuha's feet.
That pale blue Bangboo was far too distinctive-a translucent shell, eerie blue rabbit ears, and two mechanical tails on her back that clearly weren't something an ordinary Bangboo would have.
The flame nozzles at the tips weren't spewing fire now, but their shape was far too similar to the "blue-flame cat demon's tails" described in the earlier report.
"Wait."
The scarred man narrowed his eyes, slowly lowering his gun to point at Bangboo Matatabi.
"This Bangboo... something's wrong."
The Hollow Raiders behind him caught on too and raised their weapons.
More than a dozen guns aimed at the two Bangboo and the two people.
The atmosphere instantly grew tense.
The smile vanished from Yuzuha's face.
She stepped half a pace forward, shielding Bangboo Matatabi behind her-the movement was natural, almost instinctive.
"Mister, pointing a gun at someone else's pet isn't very polite~"
"A pet?" The scarred man sneered. "Ordinary Bangboo don't grow two tails-and that color, that texture..."
His voice abruptly rose. "Kid! Where'd you get this Bangboo?! Did you modify it from that cat demon?!"
Lin Shuo finally spoke.
His voice was calm, as calm as if he were discussing the weather.
"Found her."
"Found her?!" The scarred man laughed in anger.
"You think I'm an idiot?! Go find me another special Bangboo like this, then!"
"I really did find her," Lin Shuo said.
"If you don't believe me, ask her-Matatabi, did I find you?"
Bangboo Matatabi raised her head, the electronic screen beneath her crystal shell displaying an innocent expression.
"En-na-na~ (Yes, you did~)"
Standard Bangboo language.
The scarred man froze.
But he quickly recovered, his expression growing even darker.
"Stop fucking bullshitting me! Hand over the Bangboo! I'm taking it back for inspection!"
"Inspection?"
Yuzuha smiled again, this time with a distinctly devilish air.
"Mister, are you with TOPS? Do you have a search warrant? Or..."
She blinked. "Do you just think our Bangboo's special and want to steal her?"
The scarred man's face alternated between green and white.
Yuzuha was right-he had his eye on this special Bangboo.
Whether he failed to catch the cat demon or managed to snatch a rare Bangboo, TOPS would pay a bounty as long as he brought it back.
As for whether this Bangboo had transformed from the cat demon...
Who cares, as long as I get paid.
"Cut the crap!" The scarred man gritted his teeth.
"Hand over the Bangboo! Or else-"
He pulled the trigger. The bullet struck the ground beside Lin Shuo's feet, spraying stone chips.
"Or the next shot blows your heads off!"
Yuzuha's smile disappeared completely.
She looked at Lin Shuo, her green eyes holding no fear, only a question-what was he going to do?
Lin Shuo looked at her and nodded lightly.
Then he raised his eyes to the scarred man.
His Three-Tomoe Sharingan slowly spun in the shadows.
"Are you sure you want to fight?"
"No shit!" the scarred man roared.
"Boys! Get ready-"
Before he could finish.
Lin Shuo's pupils abruptly contracted.
It took only an instant of eye contact.
The scarred man and the dozen or so Hollow Raiders behind him froze simultaneously.
Their eyes went blank, their pupils reflecting the tomoe in Lin Shuo's eyes-those tomoe spun and spun and spun...
Then the world changed.
In their eyes, Lin Shuo and Yuzuha disappeared.
Their own people took their place.
The one standing in the center of the workshop became the scarred man.
Those standing around him became the other Hollow Raiders.
And in the "scarred man's" arms was that pale blue special Bangboo.
"Boss?!"
One Hollow Raider cried out, "How did you-"
"Shut up!" The "scarred man" in the illusion grinned viciously. "This Bangboo's mine! Anyone tries to take it, I'll shoot them dead!"
As he spoke, he raised his gun.
The muzzle pointed at... the real scarred man.
Meanwhile, what the real scarred man saw in the illusion was his most trusted underling suddenly turning traitor, holding the Bangboo and pointing a gun at him.
"You fucking dare betray me?!" the scarred man roared.
"Open fire! Kill him!"
Almost simultaneously, every Hollow Raider pulled the trigger.
Ether rifles spat blue flames, net guns fired dense tangles of steel cables, and shotguns blasted buckshot-
All aimed at their own people.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Boom-!!!
Gunfire, explosions, and screams echoed through the workshop.
Bullets pierced flesh, steel cables coiled around necks, and buckshot tore bodies apart.
The smell of blood instantly filled the air.
The illusion lasted only five seconds.
Five seconds later, Lin Shuo released it.
Clarity returned to the scarred man's eyes.
Then he saw hell.
The dozen or so underlings who had been alive and kicking just moments ago now all lay in pools of blood.
Some had holes blown through their chests by Ether rifles, some had their necks snapped by capture nets, and some had half their bodies blasted apart by shotguns.
Blood stained the floor red, and severed limbs lay scattered everywhere.
And he himself-
Was completely unharmed.
Because the traitorous underling he had just "seen" was actually one of his men standing diagonally behind him.
So all the bullets had missed him.
"This... this..."
The scarred man trembled all over, his gun clattering to the floor.
He raised his head and looked at Lin Shuo.
The masked man, with only his eyes showing, was watching him calmly.
The three tomoe in those eyes were still slowly spinning.
Like whirlpools in hell.
"You... what did you do..."
The scarred man's voice trembled.
"Nothing much," Lin Shuo said.
"I just let you see what you wanted to see."
He paused, then added, "Things like... betrayal, greed, and killing each other."
The scarred man slumped to the floor.
He understood.
Everything just now had been an illusion.
And his men had all been tricked by that illusion into killing one another, dying at their own people's hands.
"A devil... you're a devil..."
"Maybe." Lin Shuo walked up to him and crouched down.
"But you wanted to kill us and take Matatabi away just now-right?"
The scarred man couldn't speak.
He could only nod, tears and snot mixing together in a pathetic mess.
"Please... please... spare my life... I-I won't ever do it again..."
Lin Shuo looked at him for a long time.
Then he said softly:
"It's okay."
The scarred man froze.
The next second, Lin Shuo's eyes changed.
The three tomoe spun and reassembled into a pinwheel pattern.
The Mangekyō Sharingan.
"Be more careful in your next life."
Black flames ignited on the scarred man's body.
There was no heat, no sound, only the pure concept of "burning."
Before the scarred man could even scream, his body rapidly carbonized, crumbled, and turned to ash within the black flames.
Three seconds.
From a living person to ashes, it took only three seconds.
Lin Shuo closed his eyes. When he opened them again, his Mangekyō had reverted to three tomoe.
He stood and looked at Yuzuha.
Yuzuha was a little pale, but she was still steady on her feet.
It wasn't as though she had never seen the dead-having grown up in Lumina Square and frequently dealt with Hollows and strange tales, death was no stranger to her.
But this was the first time she had witnessed such swift, decisive slaughter up close.
"Lin Shuo..."
"Mm."
"You..." Yuzuha bit her lip.
"Are you okay?"
"...I'm fine," Lin Shuo said.
"I just used up a little ocular power."
"That's good."
Yuzuha breathed a sigh of relief.
Then she walked up to Lin Shuo, rose onto her tiptoes, and reached out to touch his face-through his mask.
"Next time... don't push yourself so hard."
Her voice was soft but earnest. "I know they deserved to die, but I don't want to see you get hurt-even if it's just using up your ocular power."
Lin Shuo looked at her for a long time, then nodded.
"...All right."
Only then did Yuzuha smile.
She turned to look at the bodies and blood covering the floor and frowned.
"Do we... need to deal with these?"
"No." Lin Shuo shook his head.
"The Hollow will 'digest' them on its own-ether corruption will clean this place up soon."
He paused. "Let's go."
"Okay."
The two left the workshop with the two Bangboo.
Before leaving, Bangboo Matatabi glanced back at the bodies.
The electronic screen beneath her crystal shell displayed a complicated expression-something like pity, but also... relief.
"They... didn't have to die." Matatabi's voice sounded in Yuzuha's mind.
Yuzuha stroked her head. "But they chose the worst path."
"...Yes."
By the time they emerged from the passage and returned to the ruins, the sky had darkened.
People were still gathering at the distant entrance to Havarie Hollow, but there were far fewer of them-some had probably heard the gunfire and explosions inside, decided it was dangerous, and left.
Lin Shuo and Yuzuha skirted the crowd and returned to Lumina Square without a sound.
That night, after the ramen stall closed.
Lin Shuo returned to his room and shut the door.
He sat on the edge of his bed and closed his eyes.
[System notification: Successfully recruited the Two-Tails, Matatabi. Reward: Ōtsutsuki Fragment ×1] [Current holdings: Ōtsutsuki Fragment ×5] [Fragment count has reached the threshold. System shop unlocked]
A pale blue interface unfolded in his field of vision.
It was no longer a simple quest list, but a... beautifully designed shop interface.
On the left was a category bar:
[Kekkei Genkai], [Taijutsu], [Ninjutsu], [Items], [Special abilities], [Other]
On the right was a product list, each item featuring a detailed icon, name, price, and description.
Lin Shuo's gaze first landed on the [Ōtsutsuki abilities] category.
He opened it.
[Yomotsu Hirasaka (Spatial teleportation)]-Price: 5 fragments [Amenosubaruhoshinomikoto (Urashiki's exclusive technique)]-Price: 5 fragments [Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack + Byakugan (Kaguya Ōtsutsuki's Taijutsu)]-Price: 5 fragments [Daikokuten + Sukunahikona + Black Eye (Isshiki's Shinjutsu)]-Price: 5 fragments
Sure enough, the 10 fragments the system had mentioned before were the "original price." Now that the shop was open, he could redeem them for 5 fragments.
But Lin Shuo wasn't in a hurry to redeem anything.
He looked at the other categories.
The [Kekkei Genkai] category contained various advanced Sharingan abilities:
[Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan (Left eye)]-Price: 3 fragments [Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan (Right eye)]-Price: 3 fragments [Rinnegan (One eye)]-Price: 4 fragments [Rinnegan (Both eyes)]-Price: 8 fragments
The [Taijutsu] category:
[Eight Gates Released Formation (First four gates)]-Price: 1 fragment [Eight Gates Released Formation (All eight gates)]-Price: 3 fragments [Lightning Release Chakra Mode]-Price: 2 fragments
The [Ninjutsu] category was even more extensive, ranging from the basic [Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique] to the advanced [Senjutsu: Gate of the Great God], with prices ranging from 0.1 to 5 fragments.
What caught Lin Shuo's attention most was the [Special abilities] category.
[Tailed Beast Resonance (Passive)]-Price: 1 fragment Effect: Increases affinity with Tailed Beasts and slowly restores Tailed Beast Chakra. [Bangboo Commander (Passive)]-Price: 1 fragment Effect: Allows simultaneous command of multiple Bangboo in coordinated combat and raises the upper limit of their abilities.
And... a gray icon at the very bottom:
[System-customized ability (Requirements must be specified)]-Price: ???
Lin Shuo stared at this option for a long time.
Then he asked silently, System, what does this customized ability mean?
[Answer: The host may specify ability requirements. The system will generate a corresponding ability and price based on those requirements. Generating abilities consumes additional energy, so prices vary.]
"What if I wanted an ability that... let me look after two children, run a ramen stall, and still find time to train and go on adventures?"
[Analyzing...] [Suggested ability: 'Shadow Clone Technique: Optimized Version'] [Effect: Maximum clone count increased to 5. Clone duration extended to 12 hours. Clones can share 60% of the original body's chakra and ocular power (previously 10%). Clones will not disappear immediately upon sustaining fatal damage and can persist for 30 seconds.] [Price: 2 fragments]
Lin Shuo's eyes lit up.
This is good.
With this, he could handle everyday life and combat with greater ease.
"Also, I want an ability that... can protect the people important to me and keep them from getting hurt."
[Analyzing...] [Suggested ability: 'Flying Thunder God Technique: Protection Mark'] [Effect: Allows Flying Thunder God Marks to be placed on important people. When a mark's bearer faces a lethal threat, the host will automatically sense it and can teleport directly to their side (regardless of distance). Daily uses: 3.] [Price: 3 fragments]
This is even more useful.
Lin Shuo considered his current needs.
There were still Tailed Beasts to recruit, TOPS remained a threat, and although the Order was behaving itself for now, it certainly wouldn't let things rest.
He needed to grow stronger, and he also needed to better protect Yuzuha, Lin You, Lin Yue, and... their newest addition, Matatabi.
"System," Lin Shuo said.
"Redeem 'Shadow Clone Technique: Optimized Version' and 'Flying Thunder God Technique: Protection Mark.'"
[Confirm redemption?] [Shadow Clone Technique: Optimized Version (2 fragments) + Flying Thunder God Technique: Protection Mark (3 fragments) = Total: 5 fragments] [Current fragments: 5 → 0] [Redemption successful.]
Warmth coursed through his entire body once more.
This time, the sensation was more pronounced-not just knowledge, but a change on the level of some kind of "rules."
Lin Shuo could feel that his understanding of shadow clones had deepened and his chakra control had become more precise.
At the same time, a complex set of spatial coordinate algorithms appeared in his mind-the principles behind the Flying Thunder God Technique.
He opened his eyes and raised his right hand.
A faint black technique formula appeared on his palm-a simplified version of the Flying Thunder God Mark.
As long as he left this mark on Yuzuha and the others, he could reach them immediately whenever they encountered danger, no matter where they were.
"Now... I can feel much more at ease."
Lin Shuo murmured to himself.
He looked out the window.
Night had deepened, and lights dotted Lumina Square.
The light was still on in Yuzuha's room on the second floor of Kaidan House-she was probably helping Matatabi get used to her surroundings.
In the little house behind the ramen stall, Lin You and Lin Yue were probably already asleep.
Everything was fine.
There was no rush to deal with the Three-Tails.
He would let Matatabi adjust to life here first.
First... he would enjoy this rare peace.
Lin Shuo lay down on the bed and closed his eyes.
Tomorrow would be another new day.
And this time, he had more power to protect the people important to him.
[System notification: Shop unlocked. In addition to Ōtsutsuki Fragments, a new currency, 'Ether crystals,' has been added (obtainable by completing quests and killing Ethereals/Ethereals). 100 ether crystals can be exchanged for 0.1 Ōtsutsuki Fragments.] [Current quests: None. The host is advised to rest and recover in preparation for subsequent operations.]
Lin Shuo closed the interface and drifted off to sleep.
In his dreams, he saw Yuzuha's smile, heard Lin You and Lin Yue laughing, and heard Shukaku and Matatabi bickering.
It was noisy.
But very warm.