Haruto Saito pondered for a moment before grinning and saying, "Grilled meat! I want wild boar hind leg!"
"Lord Kishin, I'm counting on you!" Haruto then turned toward the back and added, "Please bring my dinner as well as Lord Jiridou's grilled wild boar hind leg as soon as possible!"
"Hmph!" Kishin let out a soft snort, clearly displeased with Haruto's attitude. However, he didn't say anything else. Instead, he turned around and knocked on the door.
The ninja outside the prison cell heard the sound and immediately formed hand seals. Soon, the sealing marks on the prison door faded, and the door opened. Kishin stepped outside and quickly instructed, "One of you, go inside and keep watch."
As Kishin left, one of the two Anbu guards at the door stepped into the cell, his gaze fixed on Haruto and Jiridou. Haruto turned to glance at him. His Anbu codename was "Xili," and he had a reputation exceeding five thousand. Among the Jonin, he was a formidable presence.
Haruto then shifted his focus back to Jiridou and picked up a deck of playing cards, shuffling them skillfully.
Earlier, he had mentioned that he was going to perform magic tricks for Jiridou.
With a flourish, the cards rustled as he shuffled them repeatedly. Then, he extended the deck toward Jiridou and said, "Lord Jiridou, please pick a card!"
Jiridou reached out immediately, showing no hesitation. He had already agreed to cooperate with Haruto, treating this as part of the "game."
"Don't let me see it. Look at it yourself and memorize it," Haruto instructed as Jiridou drew a card.
Jiridou held the card close, lifting a corner to peek at it. The Queen of Hearts.
"Got it memorized?" Haruto asked.
Jiridou nodded.
"Now shuffle! Put your card back in and mix it up however you like!" Haruto handed the entire deck to Jiridou.
Jiridou remained silent, taking the deck and slipping his card in randomly before shuffling at high speed. Even though he was under a sealing restriction and only had the strength of a regular person, his control over his body was still extremely precise.
The cards stacked and intertwined in his hands, the movement so fast that only afterimages could be seen.
After shuffling a dozen times, Jiridou finally stopped and asked, "And now?"
"I can find the card you picked. Do you believe me?" Haruto asked with a grin.
Jiridou raised an eyebrow and then shook his head. Impossible! If someone else had shuffled, he might have considered the possibility, but he had shuffled the cards himself. He had complete confidence in his skills. Even if Haruto had marked the card beforehand, he would have erased any such markings during the shuffle.
"I don't need to touch the deck," Haruto said, spreading his hands slightly and flashing a mysterious smile. "Count from the top. The seventeenth card will be yours."
Jiridou frowned, ran his fingers over the deck, and counted to the seventeenth card. He drew it out and flipped it over—
The Queen of Hearts!
…"You win," Jiridou said instinctively, narrowing his eyes at Haruto.
Although his emotions were well-contained, Haruto could sense his subtle surprise.
With Jiridou's heightened mental perception, he was certain that Haruto had not used any ninja techniques or chakra. That made it even harder to explain. Haruto hadn't touched the deck at all since Jiridou took it. The cards had been in Jiridou's hands the entire time. He had ensured that Haruto had no chance to tamper with them. So, how was this possible?
"Impressive, right?" Haruto chuckled.
"Incredible… It really is incredible," Jiridou admitted, his voice slowing. "But what's the point?"
"No point. Just passing the time," Haruto shrugged.
Jiridou wasn't convinced. He didn't think Haruto was the type to waste time on meaningless tricks. Something felt off, but he couldn't figure out what. That sense of unease lingered.
"Here, let me show you another trick!" Haruto reached for the deck again.
Half an hour later.
An Anbu ninja entered the prison cell, carrying a meal tray. It wasn't Kishin. Haruto had already guessed that Kishin must have gone to report to the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi. As for dinner, Kishin could easily delegate the task to others.
Haruto and Jiridou began their meal together.
They ate and talked, not quite like enemies.
This was intentional on Haruto's part. He was deliberately blurring the lines of hostility between himself and Jiridou. By doing so, Jiridou would subconsciously lower his guard. Trying to hypnotize Jiridou again was going to be a challenge, but Haruto had plenty of patience. He was going to chip away at Jiridou's defenses—bit by bit, in every possible way.
Halfway through their meal, Kishin returned but said nothing.
Haruto ignored him.
After dinner…
Haruto continued performing magic tricks for Jiridou.
Until deep into the night!
The meeting between Haruto and Jiridou lasted five to six hours. Aside from their initial conversation and dinner, Haruto spent the entire time performing magic tricks! Though he only used a deck of cards, he never repeated a single trick.
He performed twenty-four different tricks in total!
Jiridou lost every single time. Not once did he see through Haruto's methods.
Of course, the fact that Jiridou was under a seal played a big role. Right now, he was just a regular person with immense mental energy. Meanwhile, Haruto was a world-class magician and a skilled ninja.
So it wasn't surprising that Jiridou couldn't figure out Haruto's magic.
Before leaving, Haruto left the deck with Jiridou and, with a teasing tone, told him to study it carefully. He promised to visit him again.
He was confident—Jiridou would become obsessed with magic.
Because Jiridou was someone who fixated on things!