I'm doing Jujutsu Kaisen in the ninja world.

If there were truly any alternatives, we should have brought it up earlier instead of almost turning against each other.

"The second method is to treat that [Crystal Heart] as something we can buy at a premium. We can settle the payment with money, or we can barter with other goods, or even make any demands that we can meet."

This method is quite sincere.

Shinji nodded slightly, which was taken as approval.

After all, he didn't necessarily need the [Crystal Heart]. If the other party was willing to offer compensation and could provide a cursed item of equal value in exchange, that would certainly be even better.

Of course, such a good opportunity shouldn't be missed.

You might even make a profit in the end, and quite a lot of it.

At this moment, Shinji was more inclined to the second method, but he was not in a hurry to make a decision. Instead, he wanted to hear all the options before making a decision, so he asked again.

Is there anything else?

"If the first two options don't work, then we'll have to do the last one. Once we get another top-tier cursed spirit's eyes, nose, and ears, we'll hand it over to you. However, choosing this option means we can't be sure when we'll succeed."

It could be fast, or it could be slow.

It might end up being nothing more than an empty promise.

Shinji rejected it without even thinking about it.

"Consider it my bad luck. Consider the Crystal Heart sold to you. I don't want money, just give me a reasonable and reliable exchange, and we'll call it even. Otherwise, I'll smash up this place first, and then drag out all the people behind you one by one!"

"Old Eight, you know I have that ability."

Lao Ba quietly swallowed, knowing that his time to test himself had come.

"How about trading 1 for 3? I'll give you 3 more cursed items."

"It's not very good. You know perfectly well the specific function of that [Crystal Heart]. It's not comparable to the trashy cursed artifacts you can give me."

"Four items! Plus an extra five million taels of silver."

Shinji was too lazy to haggle with the other party one by one, and said bluntly: "One price, give me 6 cursed items, and this matter will be over. Even if they are all useless or garbage, it's fine."

Old Eight still wanted to bargain, shouting out 5...

As a result, when Shinji squinted at him, a chill immediately ran down his spine.

[Chapter 360. If You Keep Acting Coy, I'll Make You Mute (One more chapter after I finish eating)]

"Okay, okay, you win, six pieces it is!"

Lao Ba immediately raised his hands in surrender. Although the bottom line given to him was five cursed items, it was not impossible to negotiate for one or two more. He would even pay for the extra one himself.

After all, he's a veteran with some experience and resources at his disposal; it's just a matter of whether he's willing to share them.

"I said, can this young man put his sword away now? The lightning emanating from it is making my hair stand on end."

Shinji glanced at him before calling out to Sasuke, instructing him to put the Kusanagi sword away.

Only then did the tense atmosphere that had been on the verge of conflict finally dissipate.

“Very good, I’m starting to trust the Gold Exchange more and more. If you can drop my wanted poster, I think we can cooperate even more smoothly. You must know how many ‘hunters’ who came looking for trouble with me and tried to use me to collect bounties have I personally buried along the way, right?”

Shinji patted Lao Ba on the shoulder.

Old Eight forced a smile. "I'm sorry, this isn't something I can decide. Besides, it's against the rules. The Gold Exchange's principle has always been that anyone who can afford the money can be a target for a bounty and appear on that list. If we do as you say, it means we will completely abandon those branches and businesses in the Land of Thunder, which is almost impossible."

Lao Ba's words were already quite tactful.

If it were someone else, their first words would probably be, "You're not good enough!"

Compared to the benefits that the entire Land of Lightning brings in exchange for gold, what is a mere demon god like Akagi?

If someone forced them to choose between the Land of Lightning and the demon god Akagi, what do you think they would choose?

Honeymoons now are just a pipe dream for the future.

It's just that everyone prefers to play within the rules.

The Hidden Cloud Village did not want to completely break ties with the Gold Exchange and the forces behind it because of the demon god Akagi. The Gold Exchange would naturally not offend the Hidden Cloud Village for the sake of the demon god Akagi, but it wanted the demon god Akagi to work for it.

Therefore, these concessions are just an illusion; it's not that they really can't live without you.

Then think about it, how did those bounty hunters find Shinji and the others?

How many copies of information about the demon Akagi have been sold?

Things like this shouldn't be thought about too much, otherwise even the superficial harmony will be lost.

Shinji chuckled, not at all surprised. "Just kidding. So many offerings have come to us willingly. The evil god and I have always been very happy."

Old Eight gave a wry smile. "Actually, ever since the Bedbug Brothers were killed last time, almost no one dares to mess with you anymore. So that wanted poster will soon become just a decoration."

Seeing Shinji's noncommittal expression, Lao Ba seemed to have thought of something and suddenly changed the subject, saying, "By the way, when I updated the task panel a couple of days ago, I found that someone posted a task that you might be interested in."

Shinji was quite surprised after reading the mission details.

This is actually a rare missing person mission, and the person they are looking for is none other than Hotaru Tamamo, whose stage name is Hotaru!

The various details in the description matched perfectly, and he was certain that the other party was looking for Tamamo Hotaru.

He frowned slightly. Only a few people knew the name "Honeycomb," so it was most likely that people from the Kingdom of Docks were looking for her.

So what is the purpose?

Should we hold her accountable for breach of contract and absconding?

Stop kidding me!

Those film and television companies wouldn't go to underground money exchange offices to post tasks for such a trivial matter.

These days, there are plenty of women who want to become famous and stars. If one woman disappears, there will be another Lanlan, Yuanyuan...

We can live just fine without anyone!

Furthermore, if they were from a film company, they wouldn't leave any words like "help" in the mission description.

So who could it be?

Shinji couldn't figure it out either, but he could ask Tamamo Hotaru later.

"I'll take this task, no payment required."

"That's great! This is the location of the person who issued the mission. You can just go here to find them."

Lao Ba wasn't surprised; everything was well prepared.

It was originally intended to distract the other person and ease the atmosphere if they got angry, but it didn't work out.

It just so happens that this opportunity is being used as a favor.

As for how he knew the crickets were related to the other party...

Do you really think the intelligence department of the gold exchange is just sitting around doing nothing?

They caused such a commotion in the Kingdom of Docks, it's hard to pretend we don't know anything about it.

However, knowing something is one thing, but whether or not one takes it seriously is another matter entirely.

Looking at it now, it seems to have worked quite well; the horse's hooves weren't captured in the shot.

Shinji's refusal of payment is also a way of expressing gratitude.

After leaving the underground gold exchange, Shinji tossed the mission scroll to Tamamo Hotaru.

After Tamamo Hotaru finished reading it without understanding why, she was also completely bewildered.

"Looking for me? Why?"

"You're asking me? I'd like to ask you the same thing!"

"Could this be a trap set by the Hidden Cloud Village, waiting for us to walk right into it?"

Tamamo Hoshino suddenly felt a little flustered.

Shinji glanced at the guy and said, "Absolutely not. Do you think your whereabouts haven't been exposed? If the people of Kumogakure wanted to know where you are, they could buy the information from the exchange in no time. They just haven't had time to deal with you lately."

Tamamo Hotaru exclaimed in surprise, "So we've been cooperating with them all this time, and they've already sold us out?"

"What's the big deal about this? Do you think we've been sold out countless times? It's just that we still need to rely on their intelligence system at this stage, so it's not easy for us to turn against them."

That's true. Shinji knew from the beginning that the other party was not a kind person, and he would not think that the other party was a good person just because of a few collaborations.

"So what do we do? Do we really have to go?"

"If you don't find out who's contacting you, it means you'll always be in the open while they're in the shadows, which will only cause more trouble later. It's better to take the initiative and go find them now, so you can take control. Besides, with me here, what are you afraid of?"

"Yes, Mr. Akagi is the most handsome! I'll listen to Mr. Akagi~"

"Speak properly, or I'll poison you until you're mute."

"Yes..."

Tamamo Hotaru pouted somewhat sullenly. Ever since meeting Shinji and the others, she realized that all the knowledge she had learned in the Red Chamber over the years, and all the skills she had learned to deal with men, had become basically useless.

No matter how much charm she exuded or how much she studied tea ceremony, it was like throwing a flirtatious glance at a blind person; she was utterly devastated.

But she simply couldn't leave Shinji's side.

Without Shinji and the others protecting her, she probably would have been captured by the Cloud Village the next day.

On the bright side, though, it wouldn't be so bad to be able to stay by this guy's side forever...

---Aside---

P.S.: I heard some unconfirmed rumors today that the head and deputy head of our district are going to be removed from their positions, and people from elsewhere will be transferred to manage it. The lockdown is going to be extended... this month might be completely ruined. My wife's thank-you banquet has been canceled, and my wedding is also being postponed. We'll see how it goes. What a waste of all the wedding candies I just bought, costing several hundred yuan...

[Chapter 361 The Last Hope]

The Land of Snow is located near the polar regions, and most of the year is filled with ice and snow, with very few warm days.

However, the snow scenery here is also extremely beautiful.

Covered in silver, it was exceptionally enchanting.

Pushing open the door, snowflakes drifted lightly down from the sky, falling like raindrops. A gust of wind blew, scattering the snow like fine salt across the sky.

However, this beautiful scene was so ordinary in the eyes of Feng Hua Xiao Xue.