Shu immediately sat up straight.
“Ahem…
Tsunade-sama, how’s Takagi Miyuki doing?” “Relax.
She won’t die for now.” Tsunade wiped a little water from the corner of her mouth.
“Her body is just too weak, and getting that close to Dragonfly Pond caused an acute curse infection.” “I’ve already used Fūinjutsu to extract most of the curse energy from her body.
But…” Tsunade paused and frowned as though considering something, then eventually shook her head.
“By the way, should we investigate Saito Shuichi and Goshima Kirie?” She immediately dismissed the idea herself.
“Forget it.
We don’t have any proper equipment here, and we don’t have much time either.” “Brat, you’ve already planned out how we’re going to farm rewards, haven’t you?
After all, those eyes of yours can supposedly see the future.” Shu smiled.
“Didn’t expect you to be this impatient, Tsunade-sama.” Tsunade raised an eyebrow.
“Brat, stop calling me Tsunade-sama every other sentence.
It makes my skin crawl.” “You keep saying ‘-sama,’ but there’s not an ounce of respect in your tone.
Drop the fake politeness.
Just call me Tsunade from now on.” “Got it, Tsunade!” Shu accepted instantly.
For some reason, that only irritated her more.
‘Yeah, I told him to call me that, but wasn’t that transition a little too damn smooth?!’ ‘Not even a second of hesitation.
I really want to punch that smug face of his.’ ‘If I didn’t need his information in this cursed place…’ ‘Just like my granduncle always said, Uchihas really are evil bastards!’ Shu completely ignored Tsunade’s murderous stare and smiled.
“Looks like you’re seriously desperate to collect Reward Points.” Tsunade’s gaze suddenly became complicated.
“Yeah…” she murmured softly.
“Because there are people I absolutely have to bring back.” “We still don’t know how many Reward Points resurrection actually costs in the Main God Space.” “But anyone with a brain can figure out that overturning death itself, something that defies the natural order, won’t be possible with the tiny amount we’ve earned today.” Shu nodded in understanding.
‘Resurrection, huh?’ ‘Is it for her precious little brother Nawaki?
Or her old lover Kato Dan?
Maybe she wants to revive both.’ As a sensible intelligence provider, Shu had no intention of poking at that particular wound.
“Looks like you’re carrying some pretty heavy baggage too,” Shu said quietly.
“I understand.
This partnership was always about both of us getting what we need.” “So for your resurrection plan, and for me to survive and grow stronger, we need to make the most of the next few days.” “So what’s the plan?” The moment Tsunade heard they were taking action, her energy returned.
Shu raised a finger and tapped the table.
“First thing tomorrow morning, we’re going to school.” …
The next morning.
Heavy, leaden clouds still covered Kurouzu-cho from end to end.
Not even a sliver of sunlight broke through, leaving the entire town washed in dull gray.
As they walked through the streets, the suffocating pressure in the air was noticeably heavier than when they had first arrived yesterday.
Kurouzu-cho was a remote town with very limited educational resources.
There was only one combined middle and high school serving the entire area.
That meant nearly every teenager of school age in town studied there.
And whenever large numbers of people gathered together, the chances of a curse-related incident naturally skyrocketed.
Shu and Tsunade followed the road and found the school without much trouble.
It was right in the middle of the morning rush.
Students in matching dark blue uniforms entered the gates in groups of two and three.
Tsunade stood beneath the shade of a tree across the road and watched them thoughtfully.
“So even a world without chakra has something similar to our Ninja Academy.” “It’s completely different,” Shu replied calmly.
“They learn things like math and history so they can eventually find stable jobs in society.” “At the Ninja Academy, almost everything we’re taught is meant to help us kill people.” Tsunade paused, her expression turning complicated.
“When you put it that way…
being trained from childhood into a killing machine really is a miserable fate for a shinobi.” “Isn’t that obvious?” Shu said flatly.
“The shinobi world is twisted to begin with, and being a ninja is a shitty profession.” “You little brat…” Tsunade gave him a strange look.
“You say that like you aren’t a ninja yourself.” “I genuinely don’t want to be one.” Shu smiled faintly.
“After all, ninjas have their limits.” “Tch.
I’m not wasting time arguing about that.” Tsunade looked away.
“Get to the point.
Who’s our first target?” “Let’s walk around first.” Shu scanned the area.
“My eyes only show me scattered fragments of the future.
It’s not like I can see the exact time and place of every incident.” “But if we wander around this school long enough, we’re bound to find something.” “After all, schools are always high-frequency incident zones in horror and mystery stories.
That’s practically a law.” “What kind of ridiculous law is that?” Tsunade rolled her eyes.
Shu silently added the most important reason.
‘More importantly, Goshima Kirie and Saito Shuichi both go to school here.’ ‘Disasters naturally gather around protagonists.’ To avoid drawing attention, they didn’t use the front entrance.
With their physical abilities, slipping past the guards and vaulting over the high wall behind the school was effortless.
The search went even more smoothly than expected.
In an environment filled with constant oppression and hostility, the darker side of human nature was easily amplified.
They had barely reached the rear of the school building when they heard dull impacts coming from beside an old equipment shed.
Then came a burst of completely unrestrained laughter.