Five Hours Later -
The back alley was narrow and dim, tucked between two aging buildings that blocked most of the sunlight.
A huge man stood near the wall.
He was over two meters tall, broad-shouldered, and thick with muscle.
His arms were crossed loosely as he smoked a cigar,
He looked relaxed, but his eyes were sharp.
He wasn't guarding the alley.
He was guarding something behind it.
Footsteps approached.
A young figure stepped into view, wearing dark clothes and a black mask that covered the face completely except for the eyes.
The figure stopped a few steps away,
The big man glanced at him up and down.
"Do you know the password?" he asked.
The masked figure answered without hesitation.
"Blue is the best color."
For a second, the big man stared.
Then he laughed,
"Yeah," he said, taking the cigar from his mouth.
"I know it's not the best password. It sounds too funny..."
He stepped aside and gestured toward a plain gray metal door set into the wall.
"You can enter."
The masked figure nodded once and moved forward.
He placed a hand against the door, pressed in a specific spot, and it opened silently inward.
He stepped inside.
The door closed behind him.
The young man none other than Conrad himself.
It had taken him five hours to find this place.
He hadn't rushed it.
He walked the city, listened carefully, and asked the right questions in the wrong places.
At first, the answers were vague.
"Try the lower blocks."
"Somewhere near the old warehouses."
"You'll know when you're close."
Eventually, a name surfaced again and again.
Not a person. A role.
Black Merchant Of The Blueberry.
Someone who bought things others couldn't sell.
Someone who didn't ask where items came from, only how rare they were and how fast they could be moved.
Blueberry City wasn't large, but it sat on several trade routes.
Goods passed through quietly.
That made it useful.
Inside, the corridor was narrow and clean.
Conrad walked forward, his footsteps silent.
He kept Zetsu active.
After a short walk, the corridor opened into a wide underground room.
Several people were inside.
None looked at Conrad directly.
A woman stood behind a reinforced counter at the far end.
She was tall, dressed neatly, her hair pulled back.
"Yeah, Blueberry Insignia on her waist..."
"She should the Merchant."
Conrad approached.
The woman spoke first.
"You're new."
"Yes," Conrad said.
"First rule," she continued.
"No names. No stories. No explanations."
"Also, no use of supernatural powers..."
"If you know what I mean..."
Conrad took a deep breath for a moment and then added. He knew what she meant by "supernatural powers."
If she can put such a rule, this means that they had dealings with nen users and if said nen users create problems, they have means to end source of the problem.
"That works for me."
She nodded slightly.
"What are you selling?"
Conrad reached inside his coat slowly and placed a small wrapped container on the counter.
He didn't open it yet.
"I want to know if you can buy it first,"
The woman gestured.
"Open it."
Conrad unwrapped the container just enough to reveal the contents.
The Red Diamond caught the light immediately.
Even without fully exposing it, its color was unmistakable.
The woman's eyes narrowed not in shock, but in focus.
She closed the container gently.
"You are a brave man, I can tell you..." she said.
"That is not something I hear everyday, thank you."
Conrad replied.
She studied him for a moment.
"You want speed or profit?"
"Speed."
Another nod.
"Good answer."
She turned and tapped on a device behind the counter.
Numbers appeared briefly, then disappeared.
"I won't ask where you got it," she said.
"And I won't move it through this city. That would be stupid."
"Agreed."
"I can transfer it out quietly. But not for full value."
Conrad already expected that.
"How much?" he asked.
"One hundred and fifty million Jenny," she said. "Clean transfer. No delay."
Conrad considered it for less than a second.
"That's fine."
The woman raised an eyebrow slightly.
"You didn't negotiate."
"I don't need to," Conrad said. "I need to leave."
That seemed to satisfy her.
She slid a device across the counter.
"Account."
Conrad placed his card against it.
The device beeped softly.
A moment later, his phone vibrated.
Balance updated.
150,100,000 Jenny.
The woman sealed the container fully and took it away, already treating it as no longer Conrad's problem.
"From this point," she said, "you were never here."
Conrad nodded.
"Understood."
He turned and walked back the way he came.
The gray door opened. The alley greeted him again. The big man was still there, finishing his cigar.
Conrad walked past without stopping.
No one followed him.