Late at night, Sukama and Lilinet stepped into the royal capital's prison—now fully controlled by the combat shinobi.
"A suitable teammate is being held here."
Nara Shikaming's earlier words echoed in their minds as they exchanged a glance and followed the long corridor lit by permanent light magic.
The prisoners—all subdued by shinobi methods—watched silently as the two women descended deeper underground.
The troublemakers and useless members of the Eight Fingers had already been eliminated.
"Eight Fingers was taken down completely, but many talented individuals were kept alive."
"Like that undead warrior from the Six Arms division. Anyone with a unique specialty was temporarily imprisoned until a more… interesting arrangement is made."
"Among them is someone the shinobi discovered through interrogation—someone said to be a once-in-a-million miracle among the kingdom's nine million citizens. She possesses two innate abilities."
Nara's explanation had stunned them.
Sometimes the difference between people could feel wider than the gap between humans and animals.
Innate abilities—special powers granted at birth—occurred only once in every two hundred people.
Most abilities were simple conveniences. Rarely, some could break limitations.
But no matter how rare, humans were believed to have only one innate ability.
Except for this woman—
Blood-Dance Scimitar, member of the Six Arms.
"Her mutated brain produced two extraordinary talents. The first is Spatial Perception, sharp enough to detect fluctuations from teleportation circles."
That alone gave her the potential to learn spatial magic—though the abnormal nature of her ability made her too precious to dissect or risk losing. Nara felt only Uchiha Soren should decide her fate.
"Her second talent is split-focus cognition—she can process two different domains of thought simultaneously, like having two brains."
With these abilities, she had even managed to injure a two-tomoe Uchiha jōnin.
Her combat power was by no means trivial.
The intel ended at that point, and by then Sukama and Lilinet had reached the lowest floor of the prison.
"This is Guildmaster Nara's letter, and the Flying Thunder God kunai."
The Uchiha guard examined the documents and the kunai with careful scrutiny.
"Very well. Please proceed."
He glanced at the two women—clearly weaker than the shinobi—but added reassuringly:
"The prisoners have been completely subdued. You won't encounter danger."
"Thank you."
With the guard waiting at the entrance, the two entered the cell block.
Row after row of broken, spiritless former members of the Eight Fingers lay slumped, all thoroughly interrogated.
They finally arrived before their target—
Edith Trian, known as Blood-Dance Scimitar.
She wore a sheer shawl and a dancer's outfit, her tall, graceful figure reminiscent of a palm tree along the Nile. Golden anklets and bracelets chimed softly as she moved—an exotic, dark-skinned beauty with the elegance of a "Persian cat."
Once fierce and untamable, she now curled submissively in her cell like a trained house cat, dark eyes filled with fear and confusion as she studied them.
Even fully armed, Sukama and Lilinet were clearly not threats compared to the shinobi who had captured her.
Ordinary bronze-ranked adventurers would not impress her under normal circumstances.
So why were these two here?
"Edith, we are the bronze-ranked adventurer team Four Weapons. We want to invite you to join us."
For a heartbeat, Edith was frozen—
Then she rushed to the bars, gripping them tightly. Her mature, striking face pressed near the iron, her entire body trembling with urgency. The rings on her wrists clinked with a sharp, rapid rhythm.
"Really? Truly—really?"
Her repeated plea made Sukama relax. She clapped lightly and smiled.
"If we're standing here, then yes—it's real."
Tears welled instantly.
The dark-skinned dancer broke into soft sobs.
"Thank goodness… I'm saved…"
The shinobi's interrogation techniques had never touched her physically—
but the memory-searching jutsu had filled her with a terror beyond comprehension.
Even when she tried offering her body in exchange for mercy, the shinobi had only responded with cold disdain.
Lilinet narrowed her eyes slightly as she studied the dancer's elegant form.
Edith was older, but her beauty and exotic allure were undeniable—
the kind of presence that would immediately catch the attention of someone like Soren.
Lilinet wanted to strengthen their team's influence…
But adding a member who might become direct competition was not without risk.
She spoke with deliberate firmness.
"Four Weapons isn't offering charity. If you join, your position begins as a subordinate."
Edith showed no resentment.
She wiped her tears and nodded calmly.
"Of course. As long as Four Weapons does not deliberately harm me, I am willing to obey."
She let out a bitter laugh.
"I once worked for the slave division of the Eight Fingers. Now I've become a prisoner myself. Perhaps this is fitting."
Seeing doubt flicker in Sukama and Lilinet's eyes, Edith hugged herself instinctively.
"You wonder why I agreed so easily?"
She shivered as memories resurfaced.
"Those shinobi… the way they look at the Eight Fingers… it's like livestock awaiting slaughter. The longer a prisoner is kept, the worse their fate becomes."
She forced a pale smile.
"And with shinobi watching, you don't need to fear that I could ever harm you."
Sukama unlocked the cell.
Lilinet cast Third-Tier Magic: Moderate Healing, bathing Edith in warm light.
The sensation—comfort she had long forgotten—brought tears streaming down her cheeks once more.
Her new life had begun.
Read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon -> patreon.com/lucarioTL