Chapter 20: Awakening! The Evil Spirit Named "Money for Nothing"
This was an all-in bet with his life on the line.
Win, and you're second only to one; lose, and you're nothing but a pile of rotten meat.
Maeda's fat trembled violently, and sweat clung to his expensive suit like paste. He recalled that although he had been prominent this past year, in the eyes of a true Ninja, he was still just an ant that could be crushed at any moment.
Power without strength was like a castle on the beach; it would crumble as soon as the tide rose.
He didn't want to be a dog anymore.
Or rather, he wanted to be a mad dog that could bite a lion to death!
"Huff... huff..."
Maeda panted heavily as if having an asthma attack; it was the frenzy of a gambler before revealing his hole card.
He suddenly straightened his upper body. At that moment, the fear in his eyes was consumed by an extremely distorted greed.
"Please grant me power, Lord Yahiko!!"
Maeda roared, his voice cracking and piercing, "I want to... clear everything for your great ideal! Even if it means death!!"
Yahiko looked at the fat man before him, who was showing his ugly side but was incredibly genuine, and a satisfied curve appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"Very well, now you have the look of an Underground Emperor."
Yahiko toyed with the Golden Arrow in his hand, his gaze suddenly turning cold.
"Since you've gone all-in, let's show the cards."
Puchi!
No countdown, no warning.
The golden arrowhead turned into a cold flash of light, piercing through Maeda's thick neck without any omen.
Blood erupted like a fountain, splashing across half of Yahiko's hem.
"Ugh—!!"
The intense pain caused Maeda to let out a scream like a slaughtered pig. He clutched his bleeding throat tightly with both hands, his whole body twitching frantically on the ground, eyes rolling back, and mouth foaming.
That pain didn't feel like a physical wound, but more like his Soul being torn apart by a rough, giant hand, which then forcibly stuffed something inside.
In just a few seconds, Maeda stopped moving.
Dead silence.
Konan frowned slightly, looking at the heap of flesh that was no longer rising or falling: "Did it fail? It seems he didn't have the fate for it."
"No."
On the wheelchair, Nagato, who had been silent, suddenly snapped his eyes open.
A hint of surprise flashed through those purple Rinnegan: "His heart has stopped, but something even more violent... is crawling out of his corpse!"
Before his voice could fade.
"Thump!"
A dull heartbeat like a war drum exploded in the silent basement.
Maeda, who was supposed to be "cold," suddenly had a finger twitch strangely. Then, like a drowning person breaking the surface, he suddenly sat up and gasped for air.
"Cough, cough, cough! Cough, cough!"
Along with the violent coughing, the terrifying blood hole in his neck actually sprouted granulation and healed at a speed visible to the naked eye, eventually leaving not even a scar.
"I... I'm not dead?"
Maeda looked blankly at his perfectly intact hands.
Immediately after, a chill crept up his spine. He felt something standing behind him, breathing against the back of his head.
He turned his head stiffly.
"Ah!!" Maeda scrambled away in terror, trying to distance himself from that monster.
It was a humanoid phantom floating in mid-air.
It was brass-colored all over, with a body so slender it was almost eerie. Its face was a cold metal plate without facial features. Most hair-raising of all was its chest—there was a huge dial embedded there, like the dial of a bank vault.
Click.
The pointer ticked, making a crisp sound like money falling into a bag.
It hovered quietly, like a cold liquidation machine.
"Is this... my power?" Maeda reached out with a trembling hand.
"Congratulations, you've hit the jackpot."
Yahiko's cold voice came through.
The next second, the air suddenly froze.
Buzz—!
A ferocious red-and-white evil spirit—King Crimson—suddenly emerged behind Yahiko. Those emerald-green eyes stared intently at the brass phantom.
The pressure from a top-tier Stand crashed down like a tsunami!
That originally cold brass Stand actually shrunk its neck in a human-like way when it saw King Crimson, instinctively taking a posture of submission.
This was the absolute fear of an inferior towards an emperor.
"Only Stand Users can see Stands." Yahiko withdrew the pressure and said indifferently, "Maeda, your instincts should tell you what this thing can do."
Maeda was stunned.
A stream of information was implanted into his mind out of thin air. Just like being born knowing how to eat and drink, he instantly understood all the rules.
At that moment, the terror on Maeda's face vanished.
In its place was a smile of extreme greed belonging to a dishonest merchant, one that even Konan found disgusting.
"This... this is simply a miracle tailor-made for me!"
Maeda knelt on the ground again, and this time, he kissed the blood-stained tips of Yahiko's shoes from the bottom of his heart.
"Speak." Yahiko said succinctly.
Maeda looked up, his face oily, the sharp light in his eyes making people afraid to look directly at him:
"Lord, its name is—Money for Nothing."
He pointed to the vault-like Stand behind him, rubbing his hands in excitement.
"I can lend my own strength, speed, and endurance to others like a 'loan.' Those who receive the 'loan' will have their power skyrocket for a short time."
At this point, Maeda revealed his vicious fangs and made a forceful grasping gesture.
"But! There's no such thing as a free lunch."
"This loan is a usury loan!"
"Once the term is up, I will forcibly take back the principal and charge an additional thirty percent 'interest.' This interest... will directly drain the borrower's life force, Chakra, and even muscle strength, belonging to me permanently!"
Hiss—
Hearing this explanation, even Konan, who was used to life and death, couldn't help but suck in a breath of cold air.
How was this an auxiliary ability?
This was clearly intended to devour his teammates whole!
First give someone a bit of sweetness to risk their lives, and when the battle ends and the person isn't dead, take back the principal with interest to drain them dry, or even to death.
And as the host, Maeda only needed to sit back and collect rent to become infinitely stronger.
"Compound interest, huh..."
Yahiko looked at the Stand with the dial turning on its chest and couldn't help but laugh out loud.
The laughter echoed in the empty basement, carrying a hint of mockery.
"As expected of you, Maeda. There really is nothing left in your Soul except greed."
This was simply an extremely vicious pyramid scheme.
Maeda was at the top of the pyramid, creating batches of disposable "superhuman" Death Soldiers through continuous "lending" and "harvesting."
Although these mortals piled up this way couldn't beat a true Kage-level expert, on a low-to-mid-end battlefield?
That would be a tireless, fearless army of zombies!
"Very well, I am satisfied."
Yahiko waved his hand.
Clang, clang, clang.
The dark cell door on the side slowly rose.
Dozens of vacant-eyed Rogue Ninjass wearing heavy shackles were pushed out. They were desperate criminals caught recently for causing trouble in the Hidden Rain Village, each with blood on their hands.
But in Yahiko's eyes now, they were no longer prisoners.
"These are the'starting funds' for you."
Yahiko pointed at those living people, his tone as cold as if he were talking about a pile of chips.
"Go, Maeda. Drain them with your ability, and then lend it to the Death Soldiers of the Hidden Rain Village."
"In this cruel world, I allow you to get the snowball rolling."
Maeda turned around and looked at those prisoners.
In his eyes, these were no longer people, but a pile of walking high interest.
Click, click.
Behind him, [Money for Nothing] made a pleasant sound of gears turning.
"As you command, great master."
Maeda grinned, revealing a gold-inlaid tooth that glinted with a cold, sinister light in the dim lamp.
"I promise you... as long as someone takes a loan from the Akatsuki, even if the Shinigami comes, he'll have to spit out the interest before he can leave."