Zabuza stared at Shen Mo, his newly revealed, sharp teeth grinding in frustration. He was convinced this merchant was deliberately toying with him. The perfect solution—canceling the offensive bracelet contract and gifting the item to Haku—was the precise desire he felt strongest!
He knows what I want most! Zabuza's fear of the mysterious merchant only intensified with every opened jar. The incomprehensible power, the soul-piercing gaze, the magical equipment—it all pointed to an existence that transcended their very reality.
He truly is what he claims.
"The contract must be broken!" Zabuza repeated, a mantra of self-hypnosis, before nervously and anxiously resuming the jar opening.
Shen Mo silently grinned. Very good. While he genuinely intended to give Haku the Kampfer Bracelet, turning Zabuza's anguish into immediate profit was the priority. The merchant planned to hold the job transfer item and the contract cancellation accessory until Zabuza had spent the required amount to fully trigger the next stage of the sales pipeline.
But he wouldn't let the customer quit without a show.
When Zabuza opened the tenth Tier Two jar of the current batch, a massive metallic gleam erupted.
"This... is a—" Zabuza lifted the enormous object. It was undeniably too large to have fit naturally in the jar.
"Scissors?"
The weapon was shaped like an exaggerated, heavy sword with one broad, heavy blade and one long, serrated scissor blade, attached to a massive hilt.
It was the Imperial Weapon: All-Splitting, Ecstasy!
"Oh? This is an unexpected pull," Shen Mo commented, casting a nostalgic glance at the weapon. "Acquiring an item of this magnitude from a Tier Two Jar is exceedingly rare."
"It's... formidable?" Zabuza asked, picking up the heavy scissors. His expression shifted immediately; he felt a tangible, though slow, drain on his physical vitality. The weapon felt unnervingly alive.
"That is a Teigu—a generic term for weapons forged from the organic parts of exceptionally dangerous creatures using forbidden techniques," Shen Mo explained. "By nature, one individual can typically wield only one Teigu. This specific weapon is 'All-Splitting: Soul Division.' It possesses the conceptual ability to sever anything in existence."
Shen Mo knew the claim of "anything" was hyperbolic, but the weapon was conceptually devastating and worth a hefty 24,000 Trade Points within the system.
Zabuza slowly backed away, the massive blades shining with a frightening, conceptual edge.
"A beautiful weapon," Zabuza declared, his ninja's heart immediately recognizing the value. "It shares the same unwieldy size as the Decapitating Carving Knife. Haku, try it out on the blade."
"Understood." Haku gently held the remnant of the broken Kubikiribōchō. Zabuza aimed the massive Teigu's blades at the hilt of the broken sword.
Click.
The legendary blade—one of the Seven Swords of the Mist, known for its ability to repair itself by drinking blood—was severed cleanly, with virtually no resistance.
"It's that sharp!?" Zabuza was visibly shaken. The legendary toughness of the Decapitating Carving Knife was far beyond that of normal metal. The Teigu had cut it as if it were soft cloth.
Zabuza was delighted. Ninja like him possessed a fierce, traditionalist obsession with tools of power.
"Master Zabuza," Haku interjected, his voice quiet as he looked at their remaining fortune. "We only have thirty-five million Ryo left. You now possess a powerful weapon, and I am still missing the final pieces of the Earth and Forest Sets. Should we continue this spending?"
Zabuza's triumphant mood deflated. Only thirty-five million left?
In his spending frenzy, he hadn't noticed that while Haku's Forest Set remained incomplete, two more pieces of his own Earth Set had been uncovered, leaving that only one piece short of completion as well.
"Continue," Zabuza commanded, a self-deprecating bitterness entering his voice. "We have already squandered over two hundred million. What does a mere thirty-five million matter now? We might as well exhaust the rest."
He had fallen entirely into the sunk cost fallacy. The massive initial investment had paved the way for reckless spending.
But the contract cancellation item still hasn't appeared!
Zabuza's eye twitched again. He finally looked at the hard-earned pile of remaining Ryo, a genuine pang of pain hitting him, before he forced himself to look away.
"Sir," he addressed Shen Mo, his voice now desperate. "I will spend every remaining Ryo on the jars!"
"As you wish," Shen Mo accepted, summoning the remaining seventy Tier Two Jars.
Zabuza bought them all.
"You know," Shen Mo remarked casually, observing the frenzy, "you could also sell your memories and Ninjutsu experience. Typically, the final ten Tier Two Jars or the initial ten Tier Three Jars have a high probability of yielding 'Destiny Items.' The greater your desire to change fate, the higher that probability becomes."
"Destiny Items?" Zabuza looked at Shen Mo, who offered no further explanation.
Zabuza hesitated. He now relied on the equipment and the Light Spheres, but selling his core Ninjutsu—the very skills he used to survive—was a step too far. I can always earn more money later, he decided.
Shen Mo noted the resistance but didn't press. This "Destiny Item" was his new hook. It would be an item like a specialized Job Change token or a permanent, unique skill, like the one Tsunade received—something to ensure future purchases.
If Zabuza didn't want the chance now, he'd regret it later.
Zabuza continued, his focus laser-sharp on the seventy jars.
Finally—in the thirtieth jar—the last piece of Haku's Forest Attire appeared.
Completion!
A roar of triumph escaped Zabuza's lips. The immense expenditure, the humiliation—it suddenly felt justified.
"Try it!" Zabuza commanded, his voice filled with frantic excitement.
Haku, despite the revealing short skirt of the female attire, did not look ridiculous. The moment he put on the final bracelet, a brilliant, pale green light encased his body. A tangible whirlwind of chakra swirled around him, producing an ethereal whistling sound. Haku, with his delicate features and fair skin, looked like a stunning, formidable forest sentinel.
The visual effect alone was enough to make Zabuza's heart pound.
Zabuza had accomplished his immediate goal—Haku was now equipped with a powerful, complete set, fulfilling the assassin's deepest protective instincts.
Would you like to continue with Zabuza opening the remaining jars, or move on to the consequences of his new power?