Chapter:4

Being able to control someone's mind with no way to resist or break free… that was truly terrifying!

Although the Yamanaka Clan's Mind-Body Switch Jutsu also allowed for temporary control over an opponent, it had several weaknesses. If the target's will was strong or someone disrupted the jutsu, it would break immediately.

But the Imperius Curse?

There was no counterplay. No escape.

"However," Haruto said lightly, "as long as you don't use it for the wrong reasons, it can serve as one of your trump cards."

"Yeah, this is my secret weapon now!" Ino grinned, carefully placing the Imperius Curse Experience Card into her small pouch.

She glanced at the treasures she had acquired, nodding in satisfaction.

For just 3,000 Ryo, she had obtained items that drastically boosted her strength!

"Umm…" Ayame finally spoke up, looking at them in confusion. "What exactly are you all talking about? I don't understand any of this!"

"Is that little card really that powerful?" Ayame pointed at Ino's pouch.

"This is all real!" Ino declared proudly. "I got these from smashing the golden eggs!"

"Yeah, it's true," Shikamaru added.

Hearing even Shikamaru vouch for it, Ayame finally began to believe them.

"Are these golden eggs really that magical?" Ayame looked at the rows of golden eggs behind Haruto, her doubt still evident.

If Ino and Shikamaru hadn't confirmed it, she would have thought this was just a scam.

After all, she had seen this store when it first opened in the morning.

She had even visited, but aside from their golden color, the eggs looked normal.

And each one cost 998 Ryo! That was the price of many bowls of ramen—how could she justify spending so much?

Even though Haruto had insisted that they contained powerful treasures, she had resisted the temptation.

But when she was back at Ichiraku Ramen, she suddenly heard Ino's voice inside her mind.

Customers had started talking about hearing Ino's voice too.

Driven by curiosity, she had come to check it out.

And now, she had just witnessed the legendary Imperius Curse firsthand.

"I never imagined… these golden eggs could actually contain such things," Ayame murmured.

"Haha! I told you before, but you didn't believe me!" Haruto laughed.

"Boss, I want two more eggs!" Ino grinned, pulling out 2,000 Ryo in silver notes.

"Ah, Ino, we still need to go to school!" Shikamaru quickly stopped her.

He could already see that Ino was becoming obsessed with smashing eggs. If he didn't intervene, she might just spend everything in her pouch!

Women are terrifying…

"It's fine! Worst case, I'll just use the speaker to ask for leave!" Ino said playfully.

"…"

Shikamaru couldn't even respond.

She had just gotten a powerful speaker and was already exploiting it. That was fast!

However, Haruto didn't accept Ino's money.

"Sorry, customer!" Haruto said with a knowing smile.

"In my store, each person can only smash three golden eggs per day."

"If you've already reached your limit, I won't sell more to you!"

"WHAT?!" Ino pouted in disappointment. "Only three times a day?! That's way too little!"

"But…"

Hearing that word, Ino's eyes lit up.

"But what?! Tell me!"

Normally, when people said "but," it meant there was a loophole!

"However," Haruto said, smiling warmly, "if you spend enough time in my store, you can buy up to five eggs per day!"

"Yo! Five times a day?! I'm so coming back!" Ino pumped her fist.

"Now then…" Haruto turned to Shikamaru.

"What about you? Interested?"

"Ah… I don't need it," Shikamaru waved his hand dismissively.

"Really?" Haruto smiled knowingly.

"Ino got some pretty amazing things… aren't you a little curious?"

"Shikamaru! Just try it! Who knows, you might get something incredible!" Ino chimed in.

Finally, Shikamaru sighed.

"Fine, I'll take three."

He pulled out 3,000 Ryo and placed it on the counter.

"No need for change."

"Thank you for your patronage!" Haruto grinned.

Even though Shikamaru complained about being late, his body was pretty honest!

Haruto placed three golden eggs in front of him.

"As expected of the Nara Clan, one of Konoha's wealthiest families!" Haruto thought as he watched Shikamaru casually hand over the money.

Shikamaru took the hammer and suddenly felt a strange tension building inside him.

He wasn't usually the superstitious type, but…

Would his luck hold out?

Or would he get nothing useful?

Without much hesitation, he raised the hammer and smashed the first golden egg!

Three glowing light spheres appeared.

Since this was Ayame's first time seeing the egg-smashing process, she gasped in amazement.

Haruto quickly identified the three items:

Blue Essence ×100

Black Light Flashlight ×1

Luxury Jade Chess Set ×1

"Oh! Not bad!" Haruto smirked, looking at Shikamaru's haul.

The Blue Essence was standard.

The Luxury Chess Set was an elegant entertainment item.

But the Black Light Flashlight?

That was a game-changer!

This item came from the Doraemon world.

It looked like a normal flashlight, but its functionality was completely different.

When activated, it emitted a special black light, covering an area in complete darkness, making it nearly impossible to see anything inside.

To others, it would seem like the target was shrouded in shadows.

And the best part?

It consumed only 1 Blue Essence per 30 seconds!

"Shikamaru, your family specializes in Shadow Jutsu, right?" Haruto asked, holding up the flashlight.

"Yeah, why?"

"Then you just got insanely lucky!" Haruto grinned.

"This little device will boost your strength by at least 30%!"

"WHAT?!" Ino gasped.

It was just a flashlight, yet it could make such a difference?!

"That's right!" Haruto confirmed.

"This isn't an ordinary flashlight!"

With a smirk, he switched it on.

Instantly—

The entire store was shrouded in pitch-black darkness!

"AHH! It's so dark! What happened?! Boss, did you turn off all the lights?!"

Ino's panicked voice rang out.

To be continued…

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