A deep, dark-purple hue—paired with a violet border.
Among the five cards, the first one Shiraishi finished unlocking was a purple-grade card.
Aside from his golden Round Pupil card, this was the highest-quality card he had ever obtained. Just reading this card alone had taken him an entire day.
Compared to the first time he unlocked a gold card, the reading time for this purple card was significantly shorter. That clearly correlated with the increase in Shiraishi's overall chakra capacity.
In other words, the next time he unlocked a gold-grade card, it would no longer take an absurdly long time like before.
The attribute listed on the card belonged to a completely unfamiliar category:
Ghost-type.
Ghost-type… did that mean the system inside the glasses even included soul-related techniques?
On second thought, since there was already a Psychic-type that enhanced mental power, the existence of a Ghost-type tied to souls was not that strange.
As a brand-new attribute classification, Ghost-type was similar to Psychic-type. Both were categorized under the broader framework of Yin Release, and many of their techniques required Yin Release to be unlocked.
However, compared to Psychic-type—where roughly half the skills overlapped with standard genjutsu while the other half demanded Yin Release—Ghost-type was far more restrictive.
With very few exceptions, most Ghost-type techniques required prior mastery of Yin Release.
Fortunately, Shiraishi had been lucky.
This purple-grade card belonged to one of the rare exceptions—a Ghost-type technique that did not require Yin Release to use. Its value was also astonishingly high, fully worthy of its purple rank.
Unlike the Round Pupil card, this technique had no branches or evolutions. Like Sand Gather, it existed as a standalone skill.
Its name was simple.
Curse.
This technique had two distinct states.
The first state required Yin Release. By partially transforming the user into a Ghost-type existence, it consumed half of the user's life force and placed a powerful curse on the target, causing them to be tormented by vengeful spirits.
The second state could be used without becoming Ghost-type. After activation, the user's attack and defense were enhanced, but their speed was significantly reduced.
A very strange technique.
Sacrificing speed to gain raw durability and power…
At the same time, the hand seals and chakra circulation required for Curse were incredibly complex—more so than any other skill Shiraishi had obtained so far. Among all his cards, this was the most troublesome one to convert into a practical ninjutsu.
As for Flying Water Shuriken, Shiraishi had already grasped the basics. He could now reliably form shuriken-shaped projectiles out of flowing water.
But Curse was different.
It had just been unlocked, and mastering it would clearly take a great deal of time.
While reviewing the skill simulations inside his glasses, Shiraishi arrived at Maki's camp.
There were many wounded shinobi here. After performing emergency treatment and bandaging alongside Shikasa, Maki was now resting with her eyes closed.
Sensing a familiar presence, she suddenly opened her eyes.
"Shiraishi…"
Ever since Shikasa had started calling him "Stone", Maki had picked up the nickname as well. Ironically, Shikasa himself had switched back to using Shiraishi's real name—leaving that soft nickname exclusively to Maki.
Maki didn't look energetic, but she had no serious injuries. Shiraishi stepped closer and carefully checked her condition, which immediately made her cheeks flush red.
"Sorry… I made you worry."
"I was just… just checking whether you'd be able to make lunch tomorrow."
Hearing that, Jogaki Shikasa almost rolled his eyes.
Does this guy even know how to flirt? Who talks like that?
Maki froze for a second—then smiled, a gentle, happy expression spreading across her face.
"Don't worry. I'll make it tomorrow."
"That's not what I meant. Tomorrow, I'll make it for you—"
Before he could finish, Shiraishi turned and fled in embarrassment.
He genuinely didn't know how to talk to girls, and every conversation with Maki left him feeling awkward and defeated.
"Maki," Shikasa said softly, "you understand how he feels now, right?"
"…Yeah."
Some things didn't need to be said out loud. Being able to feel them was enough.
Still, Maki was worried about one thing.
"When he lived alone before, he always ate out. He's never cooked before… not even once."
Cooking had never been Shiraishi's strong suit.
However, after a quick search through the glasses' database—combined with memories left behind by previous users—he found plenty of information about local Wind Country cuisine and ingredient selection.
Considering Maki needed light food while recovering, he chose simple fruits and vegetables available on site and began cooking.
"I'd like to borrow the kitchen for a bit…"
Sunagakure's kitchens were mostly open-air. Despite the intense heat—and despite the injuries still covering his body—Shiraishi started preparing food.
Among the memory fragments stored in the glasses, one former user had been a pastry chef. Their specialty was spicy desserts.
Drawing from that memory, Shiraishi crushed certain red and green fruits into a bright fruit sauce and set it aside.
Then he shaped small balls of rice flour, carefully molding each one.
As he worked, his pale hands became dusted white with flour, creating an oddly dreamlike scene.
At first, nearby Sunagakure shinobi paid him no attention.
However, as his movements became more elaborate, people gradually began to gather.
After the battle of Kikyo Pass, many had already heard of this rising star of Sunagakure. Naturally, whatever he did attracted curiosity.
"Is he making a new kind of medicine? …No, that doesn't look right."
"The ingredients are just fruits and vegetables."
"…He's cooking?"
When Shiraishi finished preparing a batch of glossy, translucent red jelly and poured it over the soft, pastel-colored dumplings, several female shinobi's hearts nearly melted on the spot.
A man who could make desserts this adorable instantly ignited their inner Hearts
After sprinkling a layer of fragrant herbal powder, the dessert was complete—cute, elegant, and surprisingly refined.
Shiraishi placed the first batch into Sunagakure's cold storage, then moved on to the next dish.
Even the lunch boxes were handmade—simple wooden boxes he carved himself. The design wasn't fancy, but the sight of Shiraishi carving with his silver blade, focused and serious, earned him a great deal of goodwill.
From this day onward, he officially gained fans in Sunagakure.
After three full hours of intense cooking, everything was finally done.
When Shiraishi took the first dessert out of cold storage, the chilled delicacy radiated a faint icy mist and rich aroma that made passersby swallow unconsciously.
It looked… incredibly high-class.
Ignoring all the stares around him, Shiraishi picked up the wooden box and walked straight toward Maki's camp.
"…What?"
Maki and Shikasa were completely stunned.
The food inside the box shattered every image they had ever had of Shiraishi.
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