"Gulp."
The information broker behind the bar gulped.
He was a seasoned veteran who had spent years navigating both the legal and illegal worlds. Shifting with the wind was an instinct carved into his bones.
With trembling hands, he pushed the bank card containing ten million yen back toward Yamada.
"M-My Lord... The information is on the house, consider it a gesture of friendship." The information broker stammered, wiping cold sweat from his forehead.
"Speak." Yamada said, crushing his cigarette butt in the ashtray on the bar, his gaze indifferent.
"The Star Religious Group's headquarters is in a private manor deep in the mountains of Gunma Prefecture. On the surface, it's a charity called the 'Home of the Children of the Stars,' but it's actually their core sanctuary for worshipping Master Tengen. The thirty million yen bounty on the Star Plasma Vessel was wired directly from their offshore accounts."
The information broker spilled everything he knew.
"As for the Zenin Toji you asked about... no, he's married into another family now, so he should be called Fushiguro Toji. He was kicked out of the Zenin clan a long time ago..."
The broker rambled, fumbling with the names, but quickly cut the chatter when he met Yamada's increasingly impatient gaze.
"He's a gambler. He'll take any job as long as there's money. But if he doesn't have a mission, he's usually hanging around the underground horse racing tracks or Pachinko parlors in Shinjuku or Shibuya."
Yamada nodded noncommittally after hearing this.
"Gunma Prefecture, Star Religious Group."
He murmured to himself, tapping his fingertips twice on the wooden bar counter.
"Go tell the curse users who took the bounty. If they don't want to die, withdraw their claims immediately. If anyone still dares to target the Star Plasma Vessel..."
"That bald guy just now will be their fate."
Leaving behind this warning, Yamada turned around. Under the gaze of dozens of terrified eyes, his entire body distorted and vanished into the air of the black market.
It wasn't until a full five minutes after he left that a collective gasp of relief broke out in the black market.
...
Two hours later.
Deep in the mountains of Gunma Prefecture, the "Home of the Children of the Stars" manor.
This sprawling manor was nestled against mountains and water, with an architectural style that was both classical and luxurious.
Although it claimed to be a charity, the perimeter was filled with infrared surveillance and armed security guards.
This was the headquarters of the Star Religious Group.
Inside the chapel at the heart of the manor, several bishops in ornate robes were kneeling before a portrait of Tengen, praying devoutly.
"The thirty million yen bounty has already been posted."
A cardinal lowered his voice and spoke to the leader sitting at the head, "As long as those curse users can successfully assassinate the Star Plasma Vessel, Master Tengen's physical body will be unable to undergo the assimilation. Their existence will become infinitely close to a 'god' and will no longer be limited by this human shell. This has been the long-cherished wish of our Star Religious Group for centuries."
"Everything for the pure god." The leader said with his eyes closed, his expression fanatical.
Just then—
Boom!
The solid wooden door of the chapel, ten centimeters thick, was kicked into pieces from the outside without warning.
Massive chunks of wood smashed into the chapel like cannonballs, pulverizing several rows of pews.
Several praying bishops jumped up screaming in fright, looking toward the door in terror.
Amidst the dust and smoke, a young man in a black trench coat, holding a pitch-black straight sword in its scabbard, stepped over the mess and walked in as if taking a leisurely stroll.
Behind him, the once heavily guarded manor had now turned into a silent purgatory. All the security guards and mercenaries lay on the ground in strange postures. They had no wounds, yet they had all lost consciousness.
That was the most basic genjutsu suppression of the Sharingan.
"You... who are you! This is the sanctuary of the Home of the Children of the Stars! How dare you trespass!" The leader shouted, his voice loud but lacking confidence.
Without even glancing at the so-called portrait of Tengen, Yamada walked straight to the center of the chapel.
He looked around at these cultists brainwashed by fanatical beliefs, a mocking sneer curling his lips.
"The Star Religious Group. A group of parasites hiding in the mountains, using their followers' money to hire assassins to kill a fourteen-year-old girl."
Yamada casually stabbed the Kusanagi Sword into the stone floor in front of him.
"Your fanaticism for that Master Tengen of yours... it makes me sick."
"Heresy! This is blasphemy!" The cardinal shouted in exasperation. "Guards! Security! Where the hell are the guards!"
"Stop shouting. Everyone outside is fast asleep."
Yamada stood with his hands in his pockets, the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan in his right eye slowly spinning.
"I'm a reasonable person. I'll give you two choices."
"First, immediately withdraw all bounties on the Star Plasma Vessel. Then, donate all the money you've scammed over the years to child welfare organizations. Turn yourselves in to the police and spend the rest of your lives in prison."
Hearing this, several bishops looked at Yamada as if he were a madman.
"What an arrogant lunatic! Our Star Religious Group has powerful backing!" The leader laughed in anger.
"It seems you've chosen the second path."
Yamada wasn't surprised, he didn't even have the interest to draw his sword. The hexagram in his eyes instantly locked into shape.
Invisible Chakra swept through the entire chapel like a psychic storm. This wasn't the low-level hypnosis used on the guards outside, it was a Mangekyo-level genjutsu capable of altering cognition and crushing mental defenses.
The leader and bishops, who were shouting just a moment ago, suddenly fell silent. Their eyes instantly became hollow, their fanaticism replaced by extreme terror and dullness.
In their mental world, the Master Tengen they worshipped had turned into a monster that devoured everything, tearing their souls apart bit by bit.
Thud... Thud...
Several people fell to their knees one after another, clutching their heads tightly, letting out painful whimpers.
"Go withdraw the bounty."
Yamada's voice was like a divine decree, directly imprinted into their shattered minds.
"A... and then what..." The leader repeated dully, drooling.
"Then, set this place on fire and take your sins with you to hell to apologize to that young girl."
Yamada turned around and pulled out the Kusanagi Sword.
The spatial vortex in his right eye swirled, and his figure vanished into thin air within the chapel.
Five minutes later.
The Star Religious Group's luxurious manor, built with hundreds of millions, went up in flames.
After withdrawing the bounty, several high-ranking members walked into the sea of fire like walking corpses and never came out again.
In the distant night sky.
Yamada stood on the edge of a cliff, watching the roaring flames below, his eyes showing no emotion.
"Half of the annoying flies have been dealt with."
He pulled up the system panel and checked the time.
It was 11:00 PM.
"Next, it's time to have a chat with that Sorcerer Killer."
...
Shibuya, Tokyo.
Inside an underground Pachinko parlor.
Smoke filled the air, and the noisy sounds of machines intertwined with the curses of gamblers.
In front of a machine in the corner sat an exceptionally burly man. He wore a tight black short-sleeved shirt and loose training pants.
The scar winding like a centipede at the corner of his mouth gave him a fierce, beast-like aura.
Fushiguro Toji.
He watched the flashing numbers on the Pachinko machine with boredom, his eyes reflecting a hollow lack of interest in anything.
"Lost it all again." Toji sighed and scratched his messy hair.
He had recently returned from Renchoku Girls' Junior High.
He had originally taken the Star Religious Group's contract, planning to find an opportunity to kill the Star Plasma Vessel. But then an interloper appeared out of nowhere—someone who could ignore Satoru's Infinity and even had the audacity to turn around and give him the middle finger.
That extremely bizarre spatial ability made Toji's keen instincts scream in warning. He was an assassin, not a madman who gambled with his life.
Before figuring out the other party's background, he decisively chose to retreat, planning to play a few rounds of Pachinko to change his mood while thinking about how to deal with that black-haired youth who had suddenly appeared.