Tsunade's gaze, fixed on the half-empty vial of Water of Life, was profoundly intense. Her sharp medical mind immediately began spinning calculations, mentally mapping the unimaginable possibilities this substance presented. Could a concentrated form grant quick, near-instantaneous wound closure? Could constant use promote a form of cellular immortality? The implications were staggering.
Her entire perception of Shen Mo shifted. He wasn't just a merchant; he was an agent, a purveyor of miracles.
"You're quite the operator, little brother," Tsunade said, her tone now laced with respect and a hungry curiosity. She waved the bottle as if it were a talisman. "Tell me, where do these jars actually come from? Who is behind your operation?"
Shen Mo noted the subtle, but significant, change in address—from the dismissive "boy" to the almost intimate "little brother." The shock of the Fountain of Youth was clearly more potent than even he had estimated.
A well-rehearsed, impenetrable smile remained fixed on his face. "My sincere apologies, Madam. That is a strict trade secret. I'm bound by a non-disclosure contract that, quite frankly, I'm terrified to break."
"Us?" Tsunade's eyes narrowed slightly, zeroing in on the plural pronoun. The existence of a network, of an entire system producing items of this caliber, suggested a hidden, powerful force operating in the world. Her innate shinobi paranoia kicked in, though her current apathy toward world affairs quickly subdued it.
"Never mind. Just asking, just asking," she repeated, almost defensively, waving a hand to dismiss the thought. She had purposefully abandoned Konoha and the duties of a Shinobi. The secrets of the world were no longer her concern.
Shen Mo watched her carefully. Tsunade was still reeling from the devastating losses of her brother, Nawaki, and her fiancé, Dan. She was emotionally vulnerable, lost in the depths of her slump, and desperate for anything that could undo the past.
"Well then, I should be going," Shen Mo announced, taking the bait-and-switch to the next level. He made a show of unspooling a thick coil of rope and slowly, meticulously, began tying up the remaining eight jars, preparing them for transport.
"Wait just a minute."
The voice was exactly as Shen Mo had anticipated. His heart surged with quiet triumph. She had taken the bait, just as countless gamblers had before her.
Shen Mo paused, looking up with feigned innocence. "Is there something else, Madam?"
"It looks like quite a struggle for you to carry all those jars," Tsunade said, her eyes fixed on the array, her voice betraying a hint of eagerness. "Why don't you sell them all to me right here, right now, for a bulk discount?"
Shizune, beside her, looked utterly horrified. But Tsunade's eyes were locked on the jars. The mystery, the promise of the unknown, was magnetic. If one jar held the Water of Life, what incredible secret did the others contain?
"I sincerely wish I could offer you a deal, Madam," Shen Mo replied, his refusal firm but apologetic. "But my pricing is absolutely rigid. It's another rule of the system. In fact, for the two jars I just used to cover my medical debt, I will have to repay my supplier the full cost. I simply cannot offer discounts."
He had to be unflinching on this point. Any exception would shatter the system's integrity. He was merely an employee, a distributor with perks, but without authority over the fundamental rules of the loot box economy.
"Tsk," Tsunade grumbled, clearly annoyed but not surprised. She accepted the rule. With a heroic flourish, she threw her head back and yelled, "Shizune! Get me the money!"
Shizune, close to tears, pleaded quietly, "But Lady Tsunade, you barely have any spending money left! Your debts..."
Tsunade cut her off with a decisive wave, clutching the vial tightly. "It's fine! These jars are worth the risk!"
She had found a new, legitimate reason to gamble: It wasn't a loss; it was an investment. She never considered that the contents, while valuable, might be useless to her. Shen Mo knew he had her now. Princess Tsunade, the Legendary Sucker, had fallen into the collection trap.
Shen Mo cheerfully accepted the large sum of Ryo from Shizune's trembling hand. As the mental confirmation from the system signaled the completed transaction, he pushed the eight remaining jars forward. "Thank you for your patronage, Madam. If you find a rare item, I'd be honored if you'd let me explain its function."
Tsunade merely nodded, already pressing a palm down onto the nearest jar.
Pop.
Another ten thousand Ryo. A loss. She immediately reached for the next one.
This time, the jar revealed a small, tightly sealed cloth satchel filled with fine, dark powder.
"This," Shen Mo quickly interjected before she could ask, "is Special Narcissus Root Powder, valued at roughly thirty thousand Ryo. If combined with a specific Wormwood Root Liquid, it forms the legendary Water of Life and Death—a colorless, odorless, and incredibly potent sleeping draught."
He continued to explain the contents of the next few jars with rapid precision. Out of the eight, five were various exotic potions or rare herbs. He identified them as Medical Elixirs, a Petrifying Agent, and—the most expensive, which he priced at eighty thousand Ryo—a tiny bottle of pure Truth Serum. All of them were, in reality, alchemical components from the Harry Potter system layer, with actual values hovering around the 10,000 Ryo (600 Transaction Point) mark.
Tsunade's face was flushed with exhilaration. "An incredible magical elixir! These are all enormous profit!"
She, the perennial loser at cards and dice, was winning big. Shen Mo offered a genuine, timely look of admiration. "Your luck is truly extraordinary, Madam. To pull so many precious potions, even from the 'Medical Series' jars, is unheard of."
"Hahahaha!" Tsunade laughed loudly, an undignified, triumphant sound that shook the small room. She grabbed the final remaining jar and smashed it with a single, practiced blow.
A thin, worn book lay among the shards.
Shen Mo's eyes narrowed slightly. This was the moment. This was the gift.
"What is this?" Tsunade picked up the book, flipping it open. The title was a dry, technical heading: "Advanced Chakra Application in Cellular Regeneration."
Shen Mo put on the performance of a lifetime. "No way! This is it! This is a true treasure of the Medical Ninja Series! The lore says that whoever collects the entire series of these scrolls will become the greatest medical ninja who ever lived!"
"The greatest medical ninja?" Tsunade scoffed, already feeling dismissive. She was the greatest medical ninja. This was likely the one useless junk item. She skimmed a few lines.
Then, her face went utterly pale.
"Lady Tsunade?" Shizune whispered, alarmed by her master's sudden pallor. Tsunade instinctively raised a hand to silence her.
The room fell into a terrifying silence, broken only by the frantic shush-shush of pages being turned.
The contents of the scroll were identical to her own confidential, self-researched notes. But mixed in were concepts, hypotheses, and further interpretations that she had yet to fully conceive or prove—a shocking leap forward in her own research.
Shen Mo watched with a calm, internal smile. The author of the scroll was indeed Tsunade, but the content he had acquired was a small, targeted portion of her medical research from fifteen years in the future. The System had done the meticulous work of stripping out all dates, names, and identifiers, leaving only pure, terrifyingly relevant data.
"What else is there?" Tsunade demanded, her eyes wide with desperation, flipping the book over and tearing at the final pages, only to find blank parchment.
The entire article was only ten pages long. For a genius like her, the feeling was agonizing, like having the final, life-saving puzzle piece snatched away.
"I'm sorry, Madam," Shen Mo said, shaking his head with an expression of deep sympathy. "This is a series. I only sell the Medical Series jars, but collecting the complete set is notoriously difficult."
This was the third, and final, irresistible trap: The Hook of the Collection. It works just like a game, delivering a few worthless items, then a couple of valuable-but-dispensable items, and finally, a glimpse of the forbidden, priceless treasure—the one thing the collector must have, driving them into a state of compulsive obsession.
Tsunade now knows the jars contain fragments of her future knowledge. How will Shen Mo escalate the temptation to make her a permanent, addicted customer?