Chapter 152: Nin-Village’s Offer

"What did you say? You want to... ask the Nin-Village for help?" The moment Zhao Anmen heard who Zhong Yan was targeting for assistance, his eyes widened in disbelief.

There was no love lost between Zhong Yan and the Nin-Village. While they weren't exactly mortal enemies, the grudge between them was not something easily resolved. Getting them on the same side was as close to impossible as it could get.

Zhong Yan was well aware of this. But the members of the Nin-Village were all ninja—elites when it came to investigation and tracking.

If they joined the effort, the pressure of dismantling the three thousand bombs would lessen considerably... at the very least, their involvement was better than having none at all.

"Aren't you the leader of the Nin-Village? I heard the Shadows' status is ranked by number—the lower the number, the higher the position. And you're Aka, the top rank, aren't you? Don't tell me you can't even order them around?" Zhong Yan asked casually, eyeing Zhao Anmen's hesitant expression.

He knew this kind of behavior wasn't exactly likable, but things had come to a point where he no longer cared about right or wrong. All that mattered was getting help.

"Well... to be honest, there's no actual leader in the Nin-Village. I'm just one of the more respected Shadows. Every Shadow has their own ideals. Forcing them to do something against their will? No one's going to agree to that."

In the Nin-Village, everyone had their own beliefs. And no matter the belief, it was never excluded or suppressed. Even if someone disagreed, they would never interfere.

Zhao Anmen's position was higher than most, but in terms of strength, he wasn't the strongest—somewhere around second or third place within the group.

Still, ever since the strongest Shadow lost an arm in a battle with Zhong Yan, Zhao Anmen had begun to show signs of taking his place.

Even so, gaining the others' support wouldn't be easy. If they were going to do a favor, there had to be proper compensation.

Zhong Yan had considered that possibility and asked directly, "I've heard that as long as the money is right, the Nin-Village will take on any job. So, tell me—how much Dennies?"

Zhong Yan's dream was to buy a place in the city center. But dreams could be postponed.

Hearing this, Zhao Anmen understood his intent. After a brief pause, he slowly raised a single finger.

"Ten million?" Zhong Yan guessed without hesitation.

Ten million Dennies wasn't a small sum. Even legendary figures like Phaeton would be envious of that amount.

But Zhao Anmen shook his head.

Zhong Yan realized then that ten million wouldn't cut it. So, he upped his estimate. "One hundred million?"

That amount matched Zhao Anmen's gesture and still fell within a range Zhong Yan could accept.

Yet once again, Zhao Anmen shook his head.

"Let me put it this way—the Nin-Village doesn't serve ordinary people without status or power. So, the price... is ten billion." Zhao Anmen finally said, after a moment of hesitation.

Zhong Yan's expression darkened.

Ten billion Dennies—that was nearly enough to realize his dream. And there was no way he could come up with that much.

But, as Zhao Anmen said, for those with wealth and power, ten billion was just a drop in the bucket.

"Then I can't afford it," Zhong Yan said, shaking his head and rejecting the Nin-Village's offer.

Zhao Anmen wasn't surprised. He knew how outrageous the price was—and he also knew Zhong Yan wasn't the type to swallow such an insult quietly.

"In that case, I could go back and try to talk to them. Maybe there's a chance—" Zhao Anmen started, but was suddenly interrupted as Zhong Yan raised a hand.

After a moment of silence, Zhong Yan spoke as if making a final decision. "No need. I just realized there might be a more direct way."

Zhao Anmen blinked, and then his expression visibly changed. Clearly, he understood what Zhong Yan meant.

"If you go through with this, they won't take it lightly," Zhao Anmen warned. Honestly, he didn't support this course of action.

But at this point, Zhong Yan no longer cared what was right. All that mattered was getting the Nin-Village to act.

Even if it meant owing them a personal favor.

"I need to know where your headquarters is," Zhong Yan said. He planned to go to the Nin-Village himself—to meet the Shadows in person.

Zhao Anmen hesitated. Telling Zhong Yan the location of their headquarters would be tantamount to betraying the organization.

And no one understood better than him just how cruelly the Nin-Village dealt with traitors. He would feel the weight of that guilt forever.

Seeing Zhao Anmen's hesitation, Zhong Yan knew the man didn't want to be a traitor.

So, without another word, he grabbed Zhao Anmen by the shoulder—and before he could react, cast a genjutsu to read his memories.

Because only Zhao Anmen's heart had been successfully modified by the Exaltists, he was still vulnerable to genjutsu.

From his memories, Zhong Yan obtained the location of the Nin-Village headquarters. And since Zhao Anmen had been attacked by Uchiha, it wouldn't exactly count as betrayal.

"For your sake, I'll try not to hurt them. As long as they don't act too arrogant."

With those words, Zhong Yan activated Kamui and vanished, leaving Zhao Anmen behind, his mind reeling.

"This is bad..."

Watching Zhong Yan disappear, Zhao Anmen knew the Nin-Village, which had been peaceful for so long, was about to be swept into a storm of blood and chaos.

He could only hope the others understood what it meant to yield to reality. As long as they didn't provoke Zhong Yan, things might turn out okay. At least they wouldn't face total annihilation.

But if they overestimated themselves, believing they could take on Uchiha head-on—if they recklessly moved against him—then the Nin-Village might be wiped from New Eridu entirely.

Zhong Yan, as a person, could be reasoned with. But once he stopped being reasonable... there wasn't a single soul who could stop him.