"This is a high-purity chakra crystal that only reacts to specific chakra types. It can suppress the power of Jinchūriki. Its value… around three million," Takuya finally said honestly.
"That's it?" Tsunade pressed.
"That's it," Takuya confirmed.
There was no curse on the necklace.
As for Nawaki and Dan...
In the world of Naruto, who hasn't lost someone? The necklace wasn't the problem—the world was.
Tsunade stared at Takuya, her brows tightly knit.
Here it comes—classic Tsunade irritation face.
Honestly, it was more convincing than any cosplay he'd ever seen. The key was in the aura.
"Tsunade... miss," Takuya addressed her by name for the first time, looking at her seriously. "You should understand, I'm not just an ordinary merchant, and I don't deal in ordinary goods. Something like this necklace isn't enough to fool my judgment."
"...What a mysterious guy."
Tsunade gripped the necklace tightly in her hand, unsure how to feel.
This necklace was her grandfather's heirloom.
She didn't believe it was cursed.
But after hearing it confirmed...
The dark cloud hanging over her heart didn't clear. It just grew heavier.
"Let's open jars! Open jars!" she suddenly shouted, like trying to vent, then downed the last of her sake in one big gulp, her face flushed from the alcohol. She tossed the empty bottle aside. "Shizune, go get more!"
Shizune opened her mouth as if to say something but ended up silent.
She stood, bowed lightly to Takuya, and stepped out, returning not long after.
Takuya looked at Tsunade and knew exactly what was happening.
Tonight, he was going to make a fortune.
Some people, when in a bad mood, like to open loot boxes—thinking good luck might turn things around. Of course, if RNGesus isn't on your side, it just gets worse.
So, in that case...
Time to prep some premium bait.
Takuya pulled out another scroll and packed up the earlier items.
"Don't just sit there looking stupid. Come drink with me." Tsunade smashed another jar with a smack and gave Takuya a drunken glance. "A businessman's gotta drink with his customers."
Takuya looked helpless.
He had way too many secrets.
He couldn't afford to get drunk.
Still, he didn't refuse.
"Then I'll gladly accept."
He downed the small cup of sake Shizune handed over.
Before that, he'd popped a detox pill he bought with Trade Points—no matter how much he drank, he wouldn't get drunk.
"Good stuff!"
Tsunade shattered another jar, cheering over the treasure inside.
Takuya looked at her.
This woman…
Why was she so popular among Naruto fans?
She's over fifty, moody, impulsive, addicted to gambling, burns money like crazy, and solves problems with her fists...
But that contrast between her soft and tough sides, her gentleness and her violence—yeah, it was kinda cute.
Wait a sec—
Takuya's gaze drifted somewhere.
Oh, now it made sense. The real charm was obviously her massive—ahem—assets.
"Kid, what's this?" Tsunade suddenly grabbed Takuya by the shoulder, shaking a bottle in his face, reeking of booze.
"Uh." Takuya's face twitched a bit, but he quickly recovered. "Body-Strengthening Liquid. Use it during baths—stick with it long-term, and even a normal person can build ninja-level physical strength. It's a treasure for taijutsu types."
This old lady's body was way too soft.
This wasn't some thousand-year-old cultivator fantasy world—kinda cheating, really.
"Whoa! That's good stuff! Shizune, I'm giving this to you!" Tsunade gleefully tossed the bottle to her.
All the jars Takuya prepped were filled with things useful for shinobi.
Most were cheap items, around 600 Trade Points each.
But they came from magic worlds, cultivation worlds—one even from the Overlord universe: red potion, high-efficiency healing. Only cost 688.
After she ran out of loot to trade, he squeezed another eight million ryo worth of knowledge out of her—about 300,000 Trade Points.
Finally, night fell.
The ground was covered in shattered jar fragments, potions, herbs.
Tsunade looked very satisfied. She still had her last 500,000 ryo in hand.
"One more batch!"
"Miss Tsunade," Takuya blinked. "Congratulations. You've officially purchased over twenty sets of tier-one jars. You're now eligible to buy tier-two jars."
"Tier two?" Tsunade froze.
"Yep." Takuya pulled out another scroll. "Each one costs 500,000. The ones before—while rare—were just small stuff. Real treasures? You'll only find those in the higher-tier jars."
"Small stuff?"
Tsunade's eyes narrowed. Her booze-fogged brain suddenly cleared a bit.
These potions, herbs—
Even she couldn't make them.
If word got out, other ninja villages might go to war just to figure out how to make this stuff.
And this was called small stuff?
"Then I'll take one."
Tsunade had taken the bait.
Takuya unrolled the scroll. A jar more than twice the size of the others appeared.
Smash!
Tsunade slapped it open like always.
Inside was a cross-shaped necklace.
Value: 6,000 Trade Points.
"Congrats!" Takuya raised his voice with a bright smile. "Didn't expect it—the very first tier-two jar, and you pulled a special item: the Cross of Courage!"
"Cross of Courage?" Tsunade picked it up, examined it for a while, then gave up. "Just tell me what it does."
"As the name implies—it boosts the wearer's courage," Takuya explained. "When worn, it helps reduce fear and lets you face adversity with more bravery. These kinds of mental-boost items are rare. It's worth around 700,000."
It came from a gamified world.
Had a special effect: +2 Courage.
That's right.
This one was especially valuable for Tsunade.
Hemophobia.
After losing her brother and her lover, Tsunade developed a fear of blood. The sight of it triggered involuntary panic—an ironic twist for a legendary battlefield medic.
After hearing the explanation, Tsunade stared at the necklace in silence, her eyes conflicted.
Courage, huh?
Slowly, she put the necklace around her neck.
It lightly touched the cursed one she always wore.