Normally, if Kakuzu had made such a jest, Hibari would have retorted immediately. But this time, after a long period of silent contemplation and a dissection of his innermost thoughts, Hibari had finally understood what he was thinking.
So, after a moment of silence, he simply smiled and said, "What's wrong? Does this thought of mine violate any laws or morals?"
Kakuzu was stunned to hear Hibari say something like that. He then laughed and said, "No, it doesn't."
"Then that's all there is to it, isn't it? I'm not breaking any laws or moral codes, so why are you so concerned?" Hibari said, rolling his eyes.
Kakuzu looked at Hibari and said, "It's just pure curiosity."
"You're a real curious cat, which doesn't fit your character. Aren't you supposed to be the kind of guy who doesn't care about anything other than money?" Hibari said with a chuckle.
Kakuzu was silent for a moment, then said softly, "I'm still that way, but people always change a little with experience, don't they?"
"Fair enough," Hibari said, not refuting him.
Kakuzu looked at Hibari and couldn't help but think to himself, 'With Hibari's personality, let alone not violating laws or morals, he'd probably go to any lengths and use any means to get what he wants. He would probably even break a few rules if he had to.'
This was one of Kakuzu's views of Hibari. In his opinion, the current Hibari might be considered a 'rule-abiding' person, but that was only because he benefited from those rules. Once those rules no longer satisfied him, he would start to change them. If that didn't work, he would even smash and break the rules. So even though he seemed easy to talk to, he was very stubborn at his core.
Just as Kakuzu was thinking about these things, Hibari, after some hesitation and internal conflict, suddenly said, "Thank you..."
Kakuzu was a little confused when he heard this thanks, but he had a rough guess. So he calmly said, "To hear 'thank you' from your mouth truly makes me feel honored."
However, Kakuzu was a person who knew his limits, so he didn't say anything more on the matter.
Hibari himself didn't want to continue discussing this awkward topic, so he changed the subject and started talking to Kakuzu about business.
"By the way, I haven't properly explained the reason I called you here..." Hibari said softly.
When this was mentioned, Kakuzu was a little annoyed and said, "You better give me a good reason. My newspaper company had just finished laying the groundwork and was about to get on track to start making a profit, but you called me to this backwater. What's the big deal?"
For the past month, Kakuzu hadn't been idle. He had not only learned a lot in the Mitsumine Group but also used the power of the group to start a proper newspaper company.
But before the newspaper company could start making a profit, Hibari sent a flurry of urgent letters, rushing him to the Land of Hot Water. It would be strange if he wasn't angry.
Hibari, seeing Kakuzu's annoyance, chuckled and quickly said, "It's a serious matter. You probably already know a little about why I came to the Land of Hot Water. I've already started working on it. The Jashin cult has basically been wiped out by me, but I've inherited a lot of their assets. This church is one of them. Secondly, I plan to 'annex' the Jashin cult and restructure it into a brand-new sect called the Necro Cult. It has a bit of a foundation now, but we're still short on manpower. So I plan to get you involved and help me get this thing done. When I become the Pontiff or Pope or whatever, I'll make you an Archbishop. Hahaha, that's not bad, is it?"
Hibari was speaking excitedly, but Kakuzu couldn't even be bothered to respond. He just turned around and started walking towards the door, saying, "I thought you had something important you needed my help with. It turns out you're just doing this unorthodox stuff. I have no interest in your 'Archbishop' or whatever. If you're so interested in this, why don't you just quit the Mitsumine Group and give all your shares to me? Just stay here and focus on developing your evil cult... If there's nothing else, I'll be heading back. This trip will just be a free service for you, for escorting the Senju clan's little princess here."
Kakuzu's front foot had just stepped out the door, and before his back foot could follow, he heard Hibari's voice.
"What a foolish thought! I thought you were a smart person, Kakuzu, but I never thought you'd be so stupid. I've made it so obvious, and yet you still haven't realized what a massive business this is and how much profit is involved? Ugh, go on, go on. It's hard to find a kindred spirit. I'll just find another smart person to partner with me." Hibari said in a feigned voice. His tone was full of a 'hate to see you fail' feeling, as if he had put all his hopes on Kakuzu only to have them shattered.
Hearing Hibari's words, Kakuzu was annoyed and wanted to just walk out and be done with it, but the words 'profit' and 'business' made his heart 'itch.'
This guy was a person who put money above everything else. Talking to him about life and ideals was useless, let alone things like cults. The title of Archbishop, which sounded impressive, was in his eyes not as valuable as a single gold brick. That's why he wasn't interested in what Hibari was saying.
But once something involved a massive amount of 'profit,' he became very interested.
Thinking of this, Kakuzu was a person who was willing to do anything for money. He retracted his foot, turned around, closed the door, and looked at Hibari, saying, "It has nothing to do with money; I'm just genuinely interested in what you said. Tell me more."
When Hibari heard this, he almost burst out laughing. 'It has nothing to do with money?' He would sooner believe that Madara had a change of heart and became a monk, never to be heard from again, than believe anything Kakuzu said about 'not being about money.'
But this was the effect he was looking for. Hibari smiled and beckoned, saying, "Come, come, my devout follower. Come sit down and talk. I knew you weren't some kind of vulgar person whose eyes were blinded by money. Let your Pontiff give you a detailed explanation of our Necro Cult's grand plan!"
Hibari then pulled Kakuzu to a seat and carefully explained his 'Necro Cult' plan. After a long-winded explanation, Kakuzu finally understood the general idea of what Hibari was saying.
The look on his face was one of shock. He had always known that Hibari was a schemer, but he never thought he was this much of one. He had always known that Hibari's mind was full of weird and unheard-of ideas and ways to make money, but he never expected that a cult could be run this way.
"Based on what you're saying, if we manage to develop this so-called 'Necro Cult,' the 'donations' we receive from the followers every year would be astronomical?" Kakuzu said in shock.
Hibari grinned, revealing a wicked smile, and said, "Of course! So the more successful the cult becomes, the more followers it will have, and the more 'donations' we will get. Once we can take over the Land of Hot Water and work with the Mitsumine Group, we'll have both religious and business power. In this way, won't everything in the entire Land of Hot Water be ours? Then, using this as a foundation, we can leave the Land of Hot Water and slowly invade smaller countries like the Land of Grass, the Land of Rain, or the Land of the Moon. Just think about how much profit is involved! What if we could even spread this cult to the Five Great Nations? Just imagine what that would look like!"
Kakuzu, listening to Hibari, was completely swayed. Or rather, Hibari's eloquence was so powerful, and the 'pie' he drew was so plausible, that Kakuzu couldn't help but take the bait.
Kakuzu slapped the table and said in a deep voice, "Okay, I'll do it. The newspaper company can get on track anyway. I can just supervise it from a distance. And compared to this cult, the newspaper company is nothing..."
When Hibari saw that he had successfully swayed Kakuzu, he didn't hesitate. He immediately said, "Okay, then don't rush back. You'll stay here in the Land of Hot Water with me for now. To be honest, I've made some mistakes over the years. I've been too focused on my personal strength and haven't built my own team. Even the people I can use are all from Konoha, but I'm doing private work now. It's fine to ask Kagami, Hitenn, and Sakumo for help once in a while, but I can't always rely on them..."
As the saying goes, no one is perfect. In the past, no matter what Hibari did, it was at least within the scope of the village's and the clan's interests. So he never lacked people and never lacked like-minded individuals. Therefore, he had never encountered a situation where he was short on manpower.
Because of this, he had overlooked one thing, which was that he had no power that belonged solely to him, Senju Hibari. The forces he could command were all dependent on Konoha and the Senju clan.
This was fine on a normal day, but here in the Land of Hot Water, Hibari felt his weakness. He didn't have many people who could help him with practical matters. Kakuzu was the only personal asset he had, which was why he had no choice but to call Kakuzu from thousands of miles away to help.
"Therefore, having recognized this mistake, I am now preparing to start building my own team to make up for these shortcomings. You, Kakuzu, are the first one. I'll find more suitable candidates later. At the same time, as a founding member, you can't just do nothing. You've been in the black market for so long and have been able to conduct those 'businesses' smoothly. I don't believe you don't have a few trusted people under you. Don't hide them. I'm treating you as my own person now, so you should contribute as well..." Hibari said straightforwardly.
Kakuzu looked at Hibari for a couple of seconds, then shook his head helplessly and said, "Okay, but the pay..."
"Money, money, money. Can't you have a grander ambition?" Hibari first grumbled at Kakuzu helplessly.
Then Hibari nodded and said, "As long as they are people you trust, I won't make you work for free."
"Then leave it to me. I do have a few people in mind..." Kakuzu whispered softly.
For him, as long as the money was right, anything was negotiable...
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