Feeling the immense pressure radiating from Asagi, Yukito's originally black pupils instantly turned scarlet. Three black tomoe slowly rotated within his eyes.
The moment Yukito activated his Sharingan, its ocular power merged with his Chakra, causing a powerful aura to erupt from his body. It was in no way inferior to Asagi's own presence. Standing tall, he met her gaze without the slightest hint of retreat.
"Those eyes... are they a type of Demon Eye similar to those of the Fuma Clan? They certainly give off an unusual and somewhat sinister feeling."
Igawa Asagi had originally intended only to test Yukito's strength. After all, Yatsu Murasaki had spoken highly of him after returning from her mission the previous night, which naturally piqued Asagi's curiosity.
As for the ominous aura emanating from Yukito's Sharingan, Asagi wasn't particularly concerned.
Strictly speaking, the origins of the Anti-Demon Ninja themselves were tied to the demon race of the Demon World. As long as it could be confirmed that Yukito had not been corrupted by demons and was not working for monsters or yokai, Asagi didn't care where his power came from.
"I have no objections to your desire to join the Anti-Demon Ninja Organization. However, before that, I want to see your abilities for myself."
"The duties of an Anti-Demon Ninja are not limited to defeating monsters and yokai. Intelligence gathering, infiltration, investigation, and assassination are all tasks we may be required to carry out."
"As it happens, I have a mission that needs to be completed. I intend to assign it to you and Murasaki. This will also allow me to determine whether you have what it takes to become a qualified Anti-Demon Ninja."
"You want Miss Yatsu Murasaki and me to carry out a mission together? When do we leave? Will it be just the two of us?"
Yukito Mizuki had originally assumed that Asagi would make things difficult for him after testing his strength. To his surprise, she agreed to his request so readily.
Not only that, she immediately assigned him a mission, leaving him somewhat bewildered.
"Ding~!"
"Faction mission detected. Upon successful completion, the faction system will be unlocked."
Just as Yukito was wondering what kind of mission required him and Yatsu Murasaki to work together, the system's voice suddenly rang out in his ears.
Ever since successfully activating and binding the system more than a year ago, its presence had been remarkably low. Unless Yukito actively summoned it to check missions or character attributes, it rarely made its existence known.
As a result, hearing the system's voice so suddenly caused a brief look of surprise to appear on his face.
While continuing his conversation with Asagi as though nothing had happened, Yukito silently communicated with the system in his mind. A translucent screen immediately appeared before his eyes.
"Murasaki informed me yesterday that the situation at the abandoned hospital was unusual. The large number of modified monsters that appeared there clearly did not match the intelligence we had received. Furthermore, those demon ninjas were aware of her presence and deliberately targeted her."
"Although we still lack concrete evidence proving that someone tampered with or leaked our intelligence, and we cannot yet confirm whether there is a traitor within the organization, we have made some progress regarding those modified monsters."
Igawa Asagi looked at Yukito with a serious expression. Her gaze briefly shifted toward Shiranui Mizuki before she continued.
"The mission I am assigning to you is to infiltrate the Underground Black Market in Chiba and gather intelligence. Your role is strictly limited to information collection. Do not take any unnecessary actions."
"The entrance to the Chiba Underground Black Market is located at a point where the Human World and the Demon World intersect. It only appears once every half month and remains open for just three days."
"If you fail to leave within those three days, you will be drawn into the Demon World."
Asagi originally intended to warn Yukito that becoming trapped in the Demon World would bring countless complications if his identity as an Anti-Demon Ninja were exposed. However, she suddenly remembered that Yukito was not yet officially an Anti-Demon Ninja, even if he intended to join the organization.
Compared to that concern, the likelihood of him encountering danger within the Underground Black Market was actually lower than it would be for Yatsu Murasaki.
After all, the black market was originally established for human customers. As long as one could afford the price, it was possible to purchase items that were normally forbidden, including slaves and magical artifacts.
"Ding!"
"Congratulations, player! You have successfully triggered the Faction Quest: Investigate the Underground Black Market. (Quest Reward: 200,000 Experience Points, 2 × 2-Hour Double Experience Cards.)"
"Players who successfully complete the Faction Quest can join the Anti-Demon Ninja Faction. Joining the faction grants a 120% training bonus and unlocks the Team-Up Function. (Teaming up with members of the same faction grants bonus experience. Each additional member provides a 5% experience bonus, with a maximum team size of seven.)"
As Igawa Asagi assigned him the mission, a translucent system panel appeared before Yukito's eyes, displaying the quest details and faction features.
Although the experience points awarded for completing this investigation mission were not as high as those he had gained from clearing the monsters in the Abandoned Hospital yesterday, what truly surprised Yukito were the two Double Experience Cards.
Before he was reincarnated into this world, he could purchase such items from the in-game shop by spending money. However, after arriving in this world, the system shop no longer contained Double Experience Cards or Experience Books that could rapidly increase a player's level.
If he could obtain Double Experience Cards and combine them with the experience bonus provided by the Team-Up Function, Yukito could dramatically increase his monster-hunting efficiency, allowing him to reach Jonin-level or even Kage-level strength within a short period of time.
"The Underground Black Market in Chiba will open in about three days. Before then, I'll have Yatsu Murasaki take you to complete a basic identity registration. She will also explain the mission in detail."
Seeing that Yukito Mizuki had readily accepted the assignment, Igawa Asagi turned toward Yatsu Murasaki, who was standing behind her, and spoke.
"Yukito-kun, you can stay here for the next few days. When the Underground Black Market opens in three days, you'll operate together with Yatsu Murasaki. For now, follow her to the living quarters of our base. If you need anything, just let her know."
After saying this, Asagi nodded toward Yatsu Murasaki.
Understanding her instructions, Yatsu Murasaki stepped in front of Yukito and led him out of the office, leaving Aunt Mizuki behind.
Although Yukito was not particularly gifted at reading people's expressions, he was certainly not oblivious.
From the subtle changes in Aunt Mizuki's and Igawa Asagi's expressions and eyes, he could vaguely tell that there was something between them that they did not want him to know.
Though he was curious, Yukito chose not to ask.
After all, his goal of joining the Anti-Demon Ninja Organization had already been achieved, and the rewards were even better than he had expected.
Initially, he had wanted to join the organization only to make use of its intelligence network, hoping it could provide him with more missions and help him locate more demons and monsters to earn experience points.
The activation of the Faction System and Team-Up Function was an unexpected bonus.
If he were not still too weak, Yukito would have wanted to enter the Demon World directly through the Underground Black Market in Chiba once it opened three days later and begin his leveling journey immediately.
After all, monsters and demons were relatively rare in the Human World, but in the Demon World they were everywhere. There would be no shortage of enemies to defeat.
As Yukito and Yatsu Murasaki left Asagi's office one after another, Shiranui Mizuki's expression darkened slightly.
She stared coldly at the shadow beneath Asagi's feet and spoke with a trace of displeasure.
"Yukito-kun has already left. There's no need to keep hiding."
"What exactly are you trying to do by sending Yukito-kun to investigate the Underground Black Market? He hasn't even received any professional Anti-Demon Ninja training."
As Shiranui Mizuki finished speaking, the shadow beneath Igawa Asagi's feet rippled like the surface of water disturbed by a stone.
A moment later, a tall, curvaceous young woman with short hair emerged from the shadow. Dressed in a tight combat suit and bearing a slight resemblance to Asagi, she stepped out and stood beside her.
"I arranged for Yukito-kun and Yatsu Murasaki to investigate the Underground Black Market together. I also intend to have Igawa Sakura hide within Yukito-kun's shadow and accompany them."
"Senior Mizuki, you should understand that Yukito-kun's background is somewhat mysterious. I can't simply trust him and allow him to join the Anti-Demon Ninja Organization."
Igawa Asagi looked calmly at Shiranui Mizuki as she spoke.
With the Anti-Demon Ninja Organization's current capabilities, especially its intelligence network, investigating Yukito was not a difficult task.
After learning about Yukito's existence from Yatsu Murasaki the previous night, Asagi had immediately begun looking into his background.
While she could not claim to know everything about him, she had already discovered that Yukito had been taken in by Shiranui Mizuki when he was around six or seven years old.
At the time, Shiranui Mizuki had even used the resources of the Anti-Demon Ninja Organization to arrange a legal identity for him, something that was easy to uncover through a thorough investigation.
However, anything that happened before Yukito was six or seven years old remained completely untraceable.
It was as though Yukito had appeared out of nowhere.
Naturally, this made it difficult for Asagi to place her full trust in him.
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[image] Igawa Asagi