"Ah!" A scream echoed as the bounty exchange manager was impaled by Hiruko's tail.
"Brother Sasori, what are you doing?"
"Waiting is too boring. I just saw on the bounty list that this guy is worth five million, right?"
"Hey! Is there anyone else? Hurry up and come out to cash this in!"
Another trembling employee cautiously stepped out. This reaction was understandable—after all, the people working in bounty exchanges were not exactly upstanding citizens. Most of them had bounties on their own heads, not for fame but for crimes they had committed.
"H-here's your five million!" The second manager handed a suitcase to Sasori, terrified that he might also end up skewered.
"K-Kakuzu, sir! Please don't look at me like that!"
"I don't have a bounty on my head! Really!"
Sasori's actions seemed to open a door to a new world for Kakuzu. Killing the bounty exchange staff directly to claim their bounties—how convenient!
Although each individual's bounty wasn't particularly high, there was no need to hunt them down; they were all gathered in one place. It was like picking gold nuggets off the ground!
Kakuzu patiently flipped through the bounty handbook. After confirming that the trembling man before him indeed had no bounty, he regretfully closed the suitcase and left the exchange with Deidara and Sasori.
"Deidara, Sasori, what do you need?" Kakuzu finally took a moment to address them.
"Orochimaru wants to assassinate the Third Hokage. I'd like you to help," Deidara said succinctly.
Assassinate the Hokage!
Kakuzu's body stiffened involuntarily as unpleasant memories surfaced.
No, wait!
The current Hokage wasn't the man who nearly scared him to death by throwing kunai from 800 meters away. The current Hokage was just an old man on the verge of death! What was there to fear?
Of course, while he wasn't afraid, Kakuzu wasn't particularly interested either. Such tasks interfered with his money-making.
However, since this request came from fellow Akatsuki members and the leader had previously instructed them to cooperate, Kakuzu couldn't outright refuse.
"How many days will this take?" he asked.
"About five days," Deidara estimated after some thought.
"Five days, fifty million! For every additional day, it'll cost an extra ten million!" Kakuzu named his price.
"Hey! Ten million per day? Kakuzu, you're really pushing it!" Hidan complained from the side. Despite the large sums they often dealt with—tens of millions or even hundreds of millions—the targets were usually hard to find, and the hunts took over a month.
"Isn't this fair? It's not just me; this price includes your fee as well. Considering the danger of infiltrating Konoha, it's reasonable," Kakuzu replied, his bargaining skills honed to perfection, quickly swaying Hidan.
"That's true," Hidan muttered, stroking his chin thoughtfully.
"But I don't need money."
"Then I'll hold onto your share for safekeeping. Consider it a donation to your loyal follower who often watches you pray," Kakuzu said.
"Wait, are you saying you're ready to believe in Jashin?" Hidan asked, a hint of excitement in his voice.
"If Jashin can give me money, I wouldn't mind believing in it," Kakuzu replied. Being a man who worshipped money above all else, he would even dance in a dress if it paid well.
If Deidara had a smartphone, he would've recorded this scene to show Pain and Konan. Let them see how this loyal old man, despite his advanced age, tirelessly worked to generate income for the organization!
Konan, you even tricked this octogenarian's savings to buy explosive tags—does your conscience not ache?!
"So, what's the plan, Deidara?" Kakuzu asked.
"No problem," Deidara nodded. "But first, I need to clarify something." He gave a friendly smile.
"What is it?"
"If I pay you, then for the next five days, you'll essentially be my employee, right? And any value you create during these five days should belong to me as your employer. Isn't that fair?"
Kakuzu thought about it seriously and found no issue. "That's reasonable. You're paying me, so I'm essentially your employee. Any value I generate during this time should belong to you."
"Heh heh!"
"Then, during the attack on Konoha, there will be many ninjas with bounties, right? You'd better hand over all the rewards you claim to me, your employer!"
What?!
Kakuzu's green bean-shaped eyes widened in shock. He had calculated everything but had overlooked this detail!
If things went this way, Deidara wouldn't lose money—in fact, he'd make a massive profit!
As expected, in this world, the ones who make the most money are always the capitalists, while diligent workers like him are destined to be exploited!
Realizing he'd been outmaneuvered, Kakuzu slumped in defeat. Although only his eyes were visible, anyone could see the aura of a beaten dog radiating from him.
"Alright, let's head to the Hidden Sound Village to find Orochimaru," Deidara said.
The four of them set off, moving swiftly through the forest.
Noticing that Deidara seemed to be using his ring to contact Pain, Hidan, bored from the journey, asked curiously, "Deidara, why are you contacting the leader? Is there more to discuss?"
Deidara scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Well, attacking Konoha is technically an organizational mission, so I shouldn't have to pay for it myself."
"I just requested reimbursement from the leader. He said he'd give me the full hundred million when we return."
"Huh? Wasn't it fifty million? Why is it a hundred million now?"
"Because I told the leader that Kakuzu's fee was a hundred million. Since it's organizational funds, I figured I might as well ask for more while I had the chance!"
"Blegh!" A mouthful of blood sprayed out as Kakuzu fell straight from the tree he was leaping on.
"Hey! Kakuzu, are you okay?"
"Don't tell me he actually got so angry he died?"
"Isn't this proof that even with Earth Grudge Fear, old people's blood vessels are still too fragile?"
Lying on a thick bed of fallen leaves, Kakuzu felt dead inside. This wicked world, ruled by capitalists, truly deserved to be destroyed!
When they finally arrived at the Hidden Sound Village, even Orochimaru was startled by the murderous look in Kakuzu's eyes.
"Don't be so nervous, Orochimaru," Deidara quickly explained. "Kakuzu just got a little worked up. You know how it is with old people—they can't handle too much emotional turbulence. It's quite troublesome."
"Is that so?" Orochimaru relaxed slightly, seeing that no one seemed inclined to attack him.
"In that case, let's set off. The daimyo's envoy team is almost at our designated ambush point."
~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~
Explore More Amazing Fanfiction on My Patreon!
Unlock 30+ Advance Chapters and Enjoy Exclusive Stories Early!
��� patreon.com/GoldenLong