"Cooperation is out of the question," the Second Elder said in a deep voice.
In Sunagakure, only one faction can survive: the Reform Society or the Council of Elders. It's a fight to the death.
If it weren't for the Council of Elders's superior resources, it might have been wiped out by the Reform Society long ago.
It's incredibly naive that others still believe the two sides can coexist peacefully.
"Alright, I was just saying!" the elder said. "Is there any way to persuade Elder Chiyo or Ebizo to come out of seclusion?"
" Elder Chiyo's chances are slim! However..." The Second Elder pondered for a moment, " Ebizo might be worth trying to persuade."
Even if we can't win over the Council of Elders, at least we can leave them a way out.
After all, if a real fight broke out, the Council of Elders would have a very difficult time defeating the Reform Society.
If a veteran like Ebizo were to intervene, perhaps Hoshino and his group would give Ebizo some face and not wipe them out completely.
Thinking of this, the Second Elder got up and straightened his clothes.
"Meeting adjourned. I need to speak with Ebizo!"
After saying that, he left the meeting room and headed towards the place where Ebizo lived in seclusion.
This place is a secret to the rest of the village, but it's easy for the higher-ups in Sunagakure to find out by asking around.
"Can you really make money from what you're talking about?"
In the northern mining area, Hino heard about a way to make money from the Shayan.
They collect discarded prosthetic body parts from the mining area and then sell them to people on the black market for profit.
Shayan looked around and said in a low voice, "Absolutely reliable, and the price isn't low either."
Hino frowned. "Will this work? We'll be punished if we're found out, and besides, how much are those parts even worth?"
Shayan approached Hino mysteriously, "Don't underestimate these parts. There are people on the black market who specialize in buying them, and after reprocessing them, they're not subject to the Reform Society Network oversight."
"As long as we take a little bit each time and don't get caught, we'll definitely make a lot of money over time."
Hino stirred, thinking of the impoverished life at home.
Although working hours have increased, the distribution of relief food has indeed decreased, and it is said that the Reform Society is temporarily unable to maintain such a large amount of food.
Meanwhile, the Council of Elders ' grain shops kept raising prices endlessly, making it almost impossible for us to afford food.
Hino pursed his lips and said, "If the supervisor finds out, we're in big trouble. We might even lose our jobs."
Shayan patted Hino the shoulder, "Don't worry, I've already checked everything."
"The supervisor only focuses on our workload and doesn't pay attention to these small parts. We just need to be careful at night; many people do it this way."
Hino was still somewhat hesitant. "Are you sure it's alright? I heard that the Reform Society took action against the black market recently. Are there still black market dealers willing to accept these things?"
The news that the Reform Society had attacked Falling Rain Town and burned the entire town to the ground has spread Reform Society Network, and even videos of it have surfaced.
Trying to pull these kinds of dirty tricks now is practically suicide!
Shayan's eyes flickered for a moment, but he quickly regained his composure and patted his chest to assure her.
"Don't worry about it! Those black market dealers are shrewd. After what happened in Falling Rain Town, they've toned it down a bit, but they're still doing business as usual."
"We're dealing with people we know well, so there shouldn't be any problems."
"Besides, we take small amounts each time, so we don't get caught. As long as we're not caught red-handed, we'll be fine."
Upon Hino pondered for a moment, then, remembering the rice waiting to be cooked at home and the children's hunger, he finally nodded.
"Alright, let's give it a try. But if there's even the slightest sign of trouble, we must stop immediately."
"Don't worry, I'm here. I'll take care of anything!" Shayan assured him.
That evening.
The mine lights gradually went out, and the entire mining area fell into silence.
Hino and Shayan quietly slipped out of the shed and cautiously made their way towards the warehouse where the scrapped prosthetic body parts were stored in the darkness.
To avoid being discovered, the two didn't even bring Spirit Puppet.
The surrounding darkness was like a giant curtain, tightly enveloping their figures.
Upon arriving at the warehouse, Shayan skillfully pulled out a homemade lock-picking tool from his pocket and began fiddling with the warehouse door lock.
Hino stood guard nervously to the side, his eyes alertly scanning the surroundings. Every gust of wind or the distant sound of machinery made his heart tighten.
Click--
The door was unlocked, and the two men crouched down as they entered the warehouse.
The warehouse reeked of a pungent metallic rust smell. In the dim light, discarded prosthetic parts were piled up haphazardly, and severed limbs looked particularly sinister in the shadows.
Hino took a deep breath, suppressing his fear, and began selecting parts with Shayan.
They would carefully select the parts that looked relatively intact and without serious damage, and then put them into the tattered cloth bag they carried with them.
Tap tap tap--
Just as Hino reached for a mechanical arm that looked quite nice, footsteps sounded outside.
"Someone's there!" Hino exclaimed in a low voice, his voice filled with obvious fear.
Shayan's expression changed drastically. He quickly blew out the candle he was using for lighting, grabbed Hino, and hid behind a pile of parts.
The two clung tightly to each other, barely daring to breathe, their hearts pounding wildly in their chests.
The footsteps grew closer, and the warehouse door was slowly pushed open, revealing a flashlight beam sweeping across the interior.
Hino bit his lip tightly and clutched the cloth bag with both hands, afraid of making the slightest sound.
"Strange, I think I hear someone talking?" came a foreman's voice.
Another supervisor responded, "You must have misheard. Who would come here so late at night?"
"Maybe it's rats. There seem to be a lot of rats in this warehouse lately," the first foreman said, shining his flashlight around before closing the door and letting his footsteps fade into the distance.
Hino and Shayan waited in the same spot for a while, making sure the foreman was really gone, before slowly emerging from their hiding place.
By this time, their backs were already soaked with sweat, but their heartbeats were still incredibly fast.
"That was too close!" Hino whispered.
"It's alright, let's hurry up and grab what we need before we leave." Shayan's tone remained somewhat calm, but Hino could still detect his nervousness.
The two quickened their pace, collected some more parts, and hurriedly left the warehouse.
Back in the work shed, Hino lay on his bed, staring at the dark ceiling, unable to fall asleep for a long time.
The terrible consequences of being discovered by the supervisor kept flashing through my mind. I was filled with both anticipation that the money would improve my family's life and fear of the unknown.
Black market trading—a term he had only ever heard from others and seen online, he never imagined he would become a firsthand witness to it.
The next day, Hino and Shayan went to work at the mine as usual.
Hino was distracted all day, making mistakes while working and almost getting scolded by the supervisor. On the other hand, Shayan was more composed and even had the mood to joke with others.
They finally made it to night and met up again.
Aside from the parts needed for the transaction, they went into battle unequipped, meaning the prosthetic eye couldn't be removed; otherwise, they wouldn't have wanted to bring it either.
Following the location that Shayan had previously inquired about, the two arrived at a secluded valley outside the mining area.
The valley was overgrown with weeds and surrounded by steep cliffs, with only a narrow path leading out.
" Shayan, why is this place so remote? Is there something wrong with it?"
Hino at this gloomy place, Hino felt a little scared.
This kind of place really doesn't give people a sense of security, and his first impression of the black market was that it was rather cold-blooded, the kind that kills without blinking an eye.
Two miners come to steal things from the mine to sell. Will the other party really pay them?
"Don't worry, black market transactions can't be conducted openly in Sunagakure anyway; the more remote the location, the safer it is," Shayan said.
The two, having disguised themselves, waited quietly in the valley.
It's called disguise, but it's really just about dressing up in rags and covering your head with a mask—very simple.
After an unknown amount of time, a dark figure slowly walked out of the valley.
Hino saw clearly that it was a short, sleazy-looking man wearing a tattered mask.
The short man stopped about fifty meters away from them and watched them silently.
Seeing this, even Shayan's usually strong heart couldn't help but tense up, and he stammered out the pre-arranged code.
"The night was dark and the wind was high; the mine was dark."
The man's gaze swept over the two men, and he replied in a hoarse voice, "Scrapped limbs, Sunagakure."
With the code matching, Hino and Shayan felt a little relieved.
The man nodded slightly, but did not step forward immediately. Instead, he stood still, his gaze shifting back and forth between Hino and Shayan.
After a moment, he slowly spoke, "Did you bring the things?"
Shayan hurriedly took out the collected prosthetic parts from the bag, tossed them to the man, and said with a forced smile, "These are all top-quality items; it took a lot of effort to get them."
The man didn't take it immediately. Instead, he took out a small detector from his pocket and scanned the parts one by one.
Hino and Shayan exchanged a glance, their hearts tightening again.
After inspecting the items, the man frowned slightly and said coldly, "Is this all? The quality is so-so, and the quantity isn't much either. I'd say it's worth at most fifty thousand taels."
Upon Hino panicked and exclaimed, "Fifty thousand taels? Are you kidding me! We took such a huge risk and went through so much trouble to get this much, and you're putting too much pressure on us!"
The man sneered, "Things are tight right now; you're lucky if anyone's even buying your goods."
"You've all heard about what happened in Falling Rain Town, haven't you? The fact that I'm still doing this business at this time is already a huge risk. If you think it's not enough, go find someone else."
After saying that, he made a move to leave.
Shayan quickly grabbed the man, forcing a smile, and said, "No, no, brother, let's talk this over. Could you add a little more? We're almost starving, and we're just living on this little bit of money."
The man stopped, thought for a moment, and said, "I can only offer you another 30,000 taels; that's the highest price I can give."
Hino was still unwilling to give up, "Eighty thousand taels? We..."
Shayan quickly interrupted Hino, saying to the man, "Eighty thousand taels it is! Brother, you're such a generous person."
The man pulled a stack of silver notes from his pocket and handed them to Shayan, saying, "Take a good look, eighty thousand taels, cash on delivery."
Shayan took the banknote, examined it carefully, and thanked him again with a smile after confirming that it was correct.
The man picked up the bag, checked the parts again, and then, satisfied, slung it over his shoulder.
Just as the three were about to leave, a series of noisy footsteps and shouts suddenly came from outside the valley, growing louder as they approached, clearly coming from this direction.
Hino and Shayan's expressions immediately changed drastically, and they looked at each other in horror, not knowing what had happened.
The man tensed up and couldn't help but mutter a curse under his breath.
"Could we be being watched?"
"Are the Inspection Department here?" Hino asked in a trembling voice. "What do we do?"
Shayan looked around frantically, trying to find an escape route, but all around were steep stone walls. The only path he had come by seemed to be blocked off.
The man glared at them fiercely. "It's all your fault, you two idiots! If we get caught, I'll betray you both!"
A wave of despair washed over Hino; he hadn't expected such a turn of events to happen on his first attempt at something like this.
Thinking of his parents, wife, and children, was he really going to go to jail for this risk?
Shayan tried to calm herself down and said to the man in a deep voice, "Now is not the time to blame each other. You've been in this black market for so long, you must have a way to escape, right?"
The man hesitated for a moment, then pulled a smoke bomb from his pocket.
"I'll throw out a smoke grenade in a bit, then you guys follow me and rush out. If anyone gets caught, don't you dare give me away!"
Before Hino and Shayan could respond, the man threw out a smoke bomb.
Bang--
With a muffled thud, thick smoke filled the valley, and the pungent smell made Hino and Rock Ninja.
"Come with me!" the man shouted, and then rushed out of the valley.
Under the cover of smoke, Hino and Shayan frantically ran, keeping up with the man as they raced through the valley.
The acrid smoke choked them, making it hard to breathe, but fear kept them from stopping for even a moment.
The shouts of battle and footsteps echoed intermittently in the smoke, as if countless eyes were watching them from the darkness.
Fortunately, all three had leg prosthetics installed, and the pursuers did not appear to be ninjas, but just ordinary prosthetic users, which prevented them from being caught.
After running for an unknown amount of time, the noise behind him gradually faded away. Hino felt as if his legs were filled with lead, and he could barely take another step.
"I... I can't run anymore."
Although Shayan was also exhausted, he gritted his teeth and said, "Hang in there a little longer, we're almost out!"
The man urged from ahead, "Don't dawdle, or you're dead!"
Around midnight, an unfamiliar path appeared before me.
Hino and Shayan thought they were out of danger, but before they could even catch their breath, they found themselves in a completely unfamiliar place.