Hearing the exorbitant figure of ten million, Kakuzu suppressed his urge to lash out and turned to leave.
But when he stepped outside, he soon returned, his expression dark. Even though most of his face was hidden beneath his mask, his eyes revealed his growing displeasure.
"Damn it… Don't let me find out who's behind this!"
Kakuzu hadn't wanted to part with such an outrageous sum. But the number of rogue shinobi was dwindling rapidly, and this kind of intelligence was essential if he wanted to keep earning bounties in the future.
Someone was stealing his business—and when he found them, he would claim not just vengeance, but their wealth as well. In Kakuzu's mind, their money was already his. He wondered what Shisui would think if he knew.
With a cold snort, Kakuzu hurled a scroll onto the counter. "Here. Ten million. Give me the information."
The man behind the counter smiled politely, taking the scroll. "Please wait a moment while we verify it."
Before long, someone came from the back to collect the scroll.
Kakuzu's patience snapped. "Hurry it up!"
"Now, now, Lord Kakuzu," the counterman said smoothly. "This is money we're dealing with. Surely it deserves proper respect, doesn't it?"
Kakuzu paused. Hmph. He had a point. Money should always be respected. He decided to wait.
Not long after, the back-room attendant returned, smiling broadly. "The amount is correct, Lord Kakuzu. Here is the intelligence you requested."
He handed over a scroll. Kakuzu accepted it without another word and strode out.
He wasn't worried about false information—the Black Market Exchange had a reputation to uphold. Their credibility was tied directly to the price they charged. Ten million for a single report meant the contents had to be valuable.
And Kakuzu, having lived for centuries, wasn't about to dismiss that fact.
Still, before reading, he followed his usual ritual. At a secluded spot, he pulled out his recently collected bounty. After every mission, Kakuzu personally counted the money, never tiring of it.
In this world, what was more satisfying than counting money? Only counting so much that your hands cramped from it.
Once satisfied, Kakuzu sealed the money away and finally unrolled the scroll.
At first, his expression remained neutral. But as his eyes scanned deeper, his brow furrowed, and his face grew steadily more serious.
By the time he finished, Kakuzu sat in stunned silence before finally regaining his composure.
The scroll explained the sudden drop in rogue shinobi numbers. They weren't disappearing—they were being recruited into an organization known as the Umbrella Ideology.
According to the report, Umbrella had surfaced about a year ago. No one knew its exact founding date, nor who its core members were.
They had quietly gathered vast numbers of followers, even among commoners, and their influence was spreading across the entire shinobi world.
Their hierarchy was divided into seven colors—red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and purple. Most ordinary people were classified at the indigo or purple levels. The purple rank was negligible, but indigo members usually possessed some skill or talent.
Their reach was wide, and their ranks mostly filled with civilians.
Kakuzu snorted with disdain. "Just a mob of ordinary folk."
Still, he kept reading.
The Seven Colors Trading Company, publicly known as a business in the Land of Water, was in fact suspected to be an Umbrella front.
Their core members and strongest fighters remained unknown.
Their primary base was said to be in the Land of Waves—though the possibility of others wasn't ruled out.
The Exchange's intelligence was impressively detailed, though even they admitted infiltration was difficult. Still, Kakuzu respected their reach. The report even listed Umbrella's former headquarters.
Unlike the great nations, the Exchange operated independently across the world, profiting from bounties and intelligence fees. Their survival depended on being more perceptive than the hidden villages.
Where the great shinobi nations had failed to notice Umbrella, the Exchange already had them in its sights.
They had traced operations to the Land of Waves—a discovery that had also forced Shisui and Naruto to relocate.
After all, the Land of Waves was nothing more than a glorified island. The prosperity brought by Umbrella had drawn attention, making it only a matter of time before someone followed the trail.
Kakuzu closed the scroll slowly, his expression grim.
"When did such an organization emerge in the shinobi world?"
The intelligence painted a picture of a group spanning nations, its power and true leaders still concealed.
An organization of this scale was no trivial matter. Their motives were unknown—but Kakuzu couldn't shake the suspicion they might be after the Tailed Beasts.
If that were the case, they would clash with Akatsuki's goals.
He would have to report to the leader. But first, he intended to investigate personally. This organization had already cost him ten million.
That was three and a half Asumas' worth of money!
With his strength, Kakuzu was confident. Even if he couldn't win, he could always escape.
At least, that's what he believed.
...
"What?!"
"The Land of Waves base is under attack!"
The report reached Shisui and Zabuza almost at the same time.
Shisui's brow furrowed. Have we been exposed already? If so, then there was no avoiding it. The Snow Country was too far away to offer immediate help.
"Call Hane and Izumi. Tell them to move out and support the defense!"
The news was grim—only two elite jōnin and a handful of regular jōnin were left to guard the base, protected for now by a barrier.
Fortunately, Naruto had developed reliable communication methods early on. Without them, this message might have come far too late.
On his end, Naruto also received the report. "Oh? The Land of Waves is under attack? Izumi and the others might not make it in time. I'll go too!"
With a grin, he slipped into his mindscape. "Kurama, lend me some chakra! Hehe!"
A surge of power erupted around him.
"Tch. Scram, brat. Don't disturb my sleep."
"Hahaha! Thanks, Kurama!"
Though Kurama's words were sharp, his chakra flowed without hesitation.
It was inconvenient for Naruto to leave Konoha personally, so he chose another method. He infused a shadow clone with Kurama's chakra, ensuring it had more than enough strength to handle the situation.
The clone carefully slipped out of Konoha, then soared into the sky. Fueled by the Nine-Tails' power, its speed pushed to the limit as it streaked toward the Land of Waves.
Meanwhile, Kakuzu was hammering the barrier in a rage.
"Give me back my ten million!"
"Fire Release: Searing Migraine!"
Waves of scorching flame battered the barrier, forcing the defenders inside to pour chakra into maintaining it.
He had tracked the Umbrella's stronghold here, but it didn't seem to be their main headquarters. The shinobi inside were too weak.
Still, there was something unusual—many of them specialized in taijutsu. But after seeing his strength, they retreated immediately behind the safety of the barrier.
"Hold on! Our lord has already sent reinforcements!"
Inside, Haruchika Taro gritted his teeth, shouting to keep morale up.
Since Shisui and the others had relocated, the responsibility of guarding the Land of Waves fell on him. He had never expected an attack like this today.
And from the intelligence they had gathered, the enemy outside was none other than the notorious bounty hunter—Kakuzu.
...
TN:
⚒️ Pa-treon-com/LordMerlin