Still, there was no notification sound from the system.
Shinji narrowed his eyes as he looked at the octopus tentacle on the ground.
Although he had witnessed this trick of hers during their last encounter, there had been no way to guard against it in advance.
He didn't even know exactly when she had used it to escape — whether it was before she fell victim to Cursed Words, or while he was using Red Blood Manipulation: Cross Annihilation Spear, or perhaps even earlier… like right before she was about to be hit by her own Nine‑Tailed Jade Curse!
Surely she hadn't prepared an escape route the very moment she first laid eyes on him?
After a moment of thought, he brought out [The Greed Eye] again.
Even though this was the second time the Eye had been deceived, he had no better means of detection available.
He searched the entire crater step by step, yet he could find no trace of her anywhere.
"Did she already get away?"
If that was true, then today's efforts had been a total waste.
Soon he had scanned the entire area. The result was disappointing — absolutely nothing was found.
Shinji sighed. Seeing Tamamo Hotaru still standing there blankly, he walked over and said:
"It seems she was fully prepared long before coming here. We've been played. Let's go."
At this point, Shinji assumed Moxi had discovered his true intentions beforehand, so he felt somewhat regretful about the outcome.
Tamamo Hotaru followed him back in a daze, confused and hesitant. She dared not speak up or ask questions.
By now, she had vaguely realized that she had likely misunderstood everything from the start.
---
Shortly after they left, Kazahana Yukihime also emerged from nearby, looking absolutely terrified.
She had "accidentally" overheard the conversation between Tamamo Hotaru and Moxi before.
At first, she hadn't intended to follow them, but curiosity had gotten the better of her and she had secretly trailed them here.
She had even lied to herself, saying she just happened to want to take a walk in this direction.
But that "walk" had turned into a disaster — she had nearly been caught and killed by the shockwave of the massive explosion!
She had barely managed to save herself, only to witness things she definitely shouldn't have seen.
Terrified of being silenced, she had quickly hidden herself, covering her mouth, and had waited a long time before daring to come out again.
Her rational mind told her she should hurry home. But driven by overwhelming curiosity, she went into the crater anyway, looking around aimlessly. She didn't even know why she was doing it.
When she finally snapped out of it, she was already digging furiously into the dirt.
She had unearthed a pitch‑black egg covered in strange Cursed Scripts.
Fear struck her instantly, and she turned to run away.
The whole scene felt incredibly eerie — almost as if something had been influencing her thoughts and actions.
But after only a few steps, she slowly came to a halt.
Maybe… I should take it with me.
As soon as this thought arose, it grew wildly in her mind like weeds. Her expression twisted with inner struggle.
Her intuition told her that returning to the Land of Snow was her destiny… and perhaps this thing could help her face her past and everything waiting for her there.
After much hesitation, she took off her coat, wrapped the strange egg inside it, and carried it away.
---
When she got back, her agent, Asama Sanzaemon, was standing anxiously at the entrance waiting for her.
"Thank goodness! Thank heavens! I was worried to death! Where did you run off to in secret?"
Asama Sanzaemon was an old man with round glasses. He had once been a brave warrior of the Land of Snow, but now he was nothing more than Kazahana Yukihime's manager.
Seeing how genuinely worried he was, Yukihime quickly made up an excuse, saying she had been bored and just went out for a walk.
This kind of thing had happened often in the past, so Asama didn't suspect anything.
He would never have been this anxious if the massive explosion earlier hadn't terrified him and made him fear she had been caught in it.
Thank goodness… the hope of the Land of Snow was still safe.
Back in her room, Yukihime immediately hid the egg under her quilt.
Only then did she finally relax enough to take a bath and change her clothes, applying medicine to the minor cuts and bruises all over her body.
If Asama had found out about this, he would have lectured her endlessly.
Not long after Yukihime left the room, the egg hidden under the quilt began to make a faint click‑click sound.
Cracks appeared all over its shell… and suddenly, a hand smashed right through the shell and reached out!
...
The unexplained massive explosion caused enormous damage throughout the Land of Wu.
Numerous film productions were forced to shut down, and panic spread everywhere.
In such a chaotic situation, the sudden disappearance of Tamamo Hotaru — the lead actress who had been parachuted into the project — attracted very little attention.
In truth, Shinji had decided her mission was complete. Since she clearly hated acting, there was no need for her to continue filming.
Naturally, he also stopped investing any further funds into the production.
Now he only needed to wait for Hidan and Tobi to return, and then they would leave this place for good.
But right at this moment, someone Tamamo Hotaru never expected came looking for her.
"Miss Fuji? Why are you here?"
The visitor was none other than Kazahana Yukihime, who used the stage name Fujiyuki Yukie.
"I told you before, didn't you? Just call me Yukihime."
Kazahana Yukihime smiled warmly, intentionally trying to appear closer and friendlier.
Tamamo Hotaru thought to herself: Were we ever that close? When did you say that before?
But she didn't expose the insincere act and played along politely.
"Alright then, Yukihime. Is there something you need from me?"
"Nothing special really. It's just that you weren't at the production meeting today, so I got a little worried. I asked the director for your address and decided to come see how you were doing."
"I see… I'm sorry for making everyone worry."
Tamamo Hotaru put on a guilty expression.
"After something so terrifying happened, I was absolutely terrified. So after thinking carefully all night, I've decided to resign from my role as lead actress and quit the production. Filming really doesn't seem to suit me."
"What?! That… that's so sudden!"
Kazahana Yukihime cried out in perfect shock and surprise.
Even though she already knew exactly why Tamamo was quitting, she acted her part flawlessly.
"I'm sorry. I know it's sudden. But please help me pass the message to the director. As for the contract details, I'll have someone handle them later."
"Of course, I'll definitely tell him. But honestly… I really think you have talent. It's such a shame to quit like this."
Kazahana Yukihime said this with a deliberately regretful tone.
But Tamamo Hotaru could clearly sense the fake, manipulative kindness radiating from her.
After all, if she quit, the person who would benefit the most was obviously Yukihime herself — the original lead actress.
But that was only true if this cursed production could actually find new investors.
Thinking about it, Tamamo Hotaru really did feel a bit sorry for the rest of the crew.
But there was nothing she could do about it now — she could only apologize.
____________________
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