In this world full of hypocrisy, the only thing one can trust is money.
This was the life creed of a man who had been a bounty hunter for decades.
In his hand, he carried a corpse, but Kakuzu didn't see it as just a corpse; it was heavy, tangible money.
If this corpse were handed over to an underground exchange, it could fetch a high price of twenty million ryo.
Since he started his work as a bounty hunter, this was considered a high-paying job.
With this, another big deal was completed.
Indeed, in this cold and hypocritical world, only money could bring a glimmer of warmth.
Walking alone on a country road in the Land of Tea, he was the only one on this path.
Kakuzu looked up at the sun; it was around noon, and the sunlight was a bit dazzling.
Just as he turned his gaze back and continued walking forward, five people suddenly appeared in front of him, blocking his path.
The leader was Bug Man, and just as the underground exchange staff member had said, he always stayed in a country for a period whenever he visited one. Now was his active time in the Land of Tea.
It took a whole day to finally find this bounty hunter, 'The Immortal,' who was extremely famous in the underground exchange.
"Are you Mr. Kakuzu? We are—"
"Wait."
Kakuzu interrupted Bug Man, gently placed the corpse he was carrying on the ground, and, under the strange gazes of Bug Man and his four companions, casually pulled out a small booklet from his chest pocket.
Each page of the booklet recorded a person's portrait, name, and bounty amount.
At the beginning were naturally the current Five Kage, followed by famous ninjas from various countries. In the earlier pages, the name 'Sakumo Hatake' was also recorded, with a bounty of one hundred and ten million ryo.
He was one of the highest-bountied targets, apart from the current Five Kage.
However, this page had been crossed out by Kakuzu.
Because the White Fang of Konoha was dead, this bounty mission was concluded.
He kept flipping through the pages, while Bug Man and his four companions exchanged glances, wondering what this guy was looking for.
Kakuzu looked up at Bug Man while holding the booklet and searching, his green glowing eyes filled with an obsession for something.
But even after flipping to the last page, he couldn't find Bug Man's information.
Kakuzu frowned, then pulled out another small booklet from his chest pocket.
The bounty missions in the previous booklet were all high-value targets with bounties of ten million ryo or more.
The booklet he now held recorded medium to low-value targets with bounties under ten million ryo.
He finally found his target on the last page of the booklet.
"Finally found it. So it was here? Name: Bug Man, bounty: five hundred thousand ryo... What a cheap head."
No wonder he felt familiar but hadn't seen him on the high-bounty list.
"..."
Bug Man didn't know what to say.
It was not uncommon for bounty hunters from the underground exchange to have bounties placed on them by the underground exchange itself.
Therefore, many times, they also had to guard against sneak attacks from fellow hunters.
He had only joined the underground exchange in the last two years, and his reputation wasn't very great, so five hundred thousand ryo was already a generous amount for him.
"Judging by your strength, you seem promising and likely to increase in value significantly in the future. I'll leave your head on your neck for now, and I'll come back for it when its value appreciates."
Kakuzu said with an objective assessment.
A reward of five hundred thousand ryo, to be honest, didn't quite match the strength of the man in front of him.
From his flawless stance, his current standard value should be at least six million ryo, and it might even go higher.
Killing him now would be too much of a waste.
Bug Man: "..."
Kakuzu ignored Bug Man's reaction, tucked both booklets back into his pocket, picked up the corpse from the ground, and prepared to leave.
"Please wait, Mr. Kakuzu. We're here to hire you."
A somewhat helpless Bug Man had no choice but to say this to Kakuzu.
"Hire?"
Seeming to find the idea interesting, Kakuzu stopped his departure and turned to scan Bug Man again.
"We plan to establish a company, and we currently need a capable financial manager. The compensation is very negotiable. You only need to regularly sort out our company's financial matters each month."
"How much money?"
Kakuzu directly asked about the compensation.
Whether it was a bounty mission or a hiring mission, to him, as long as it made money, it was fine.
Moreover, the other party wasn't asking him to join some messy organization, but merely to help their company identify financial problems and loopholes.
He would be an external financial expert, holding a position but not subject to any directives.
If he could undertake bounty missions while earning a substantial extra income, there was no reason to refuse such an offer.
"The settlement is once a month, with compensation ranging from five hundred thousand ryo to one million ryo."
As for whether he would receive five hundred thousand or one million ryo each month, that depended on his own ability. This was what Bug Man was implying.
"I'll take the twelve million ryo in extra income per year."
Kakuzu's tone was calm, but he was very confident in his financial abilities.
"That's impressive confidence. I hope we can cooperate happily. Afterwards, we will send someone to draft a formal contract. Is that alright, Mr. Kakuzu?"
Bug Man smiled slightly.
"Whatever you want."
Kakuzu left with the corpse, without the slightest hesitation.
Bug Man watched Kakuzu leave, an interesting fellow.
He then took out some information about Kakuzu.
His credibility and ability were among the best in the underground exchange, a defense and bottom line as solid as an iron wall.
In terms of money, no one was more trustworthy than him.
This was the unanimous assessment of everyone who knew him in the underground exchange.
A man who would not betray money, and a man who would not be betrayed by money.
◎
Two days later, Kakuzu received a document.
It was sent by someone dispatched by the man named 'Bug Man.'
It clearly stated the type of work he would be doing, the working hours, the salary amount, and when it would be paid.
After a few glances, Kakuzu generally understood what he needed to do and how much work was involved.
It didn't take too much time, but it required highly professional personnel to handle, without the slightest error.
Because the amount of money involved was enormous.
Even a slight oversight could create financial loopholes and cause problems for the company's operations.
Afterward, Kakuzu also learned some information about this newly established company and its industry type.
Shion Pharmaceuticals and Technology Company.
That was the name of the company.
A pharmaceutical company that integrates research and development, production, and sales.
It was clear that this was a company primarily focused on pharmaceutical sales to make money.
Currently, it had already developed over a dozen new drugs that could be marketed, and they were undergoing mass production and processing, soon to be available for external sale.
The company's primary market was various countries in the ninja world.
The company's headquarters were located in the Land of Ogres.
And Shion is the national flower of the Land of Ogres, so naming the company after Shion suggests a close connection between the company and the official government of the Land of Ogres.
Perhaps they had already established contact with the Land of Ogres' government, providing convenience as a neutral country.
The ninja world was led by the Five Great Nations, followed by special neutral countries like the Land of Ogres and the Land of Iron.
Next were the smaller nations.
Among the smaller nations, there were also strong and weak ones, with severe stratification.
The gap in national strength between small nations with hidden villages and those without was also very large.
Among these, neutral countries were somewhat special.
Unlike the smaller nations oppressed by the Five Great Nations, they possessed independent cultures, independent national sovereignty, and armed organizations to protect their countries.
They neither participated in wars between great nations nor were affected by them.
After reading all this, Kakuzu nodded slightly.
In these chaotic times, with frequent battles, establishing a company in the Land of Ogres was indeed a wise move.
Since the company had not yet officially gone public, Kakuzu was not in a hurry to go there to do their accounting.
Instead, he took out his bounty list and searched for targets on it.
High-value bounty targets had always been his hunting targets.
As for medium to low-value bounty targets, being on the list meant they had potential.
Potential meant they would appreciate in value.
Therefore, he wouldn't actively hunt bounty targets below ten million ryo; he would wait until they could no longer appreciate in value to hunt them, maximizing his earnings.
Getting rid of these potential stocks too early would only reduce his income.
To be a bounty hunter, one needed long-term patience to wait for prey to appreciate in value.
Take that Bug Man, for example. Although he was only worth five hundred thousand ryo now, Kakuzu believed he could appreciate dozens of times in value in a few years.
He would then take his head when the time was right.
As for Bug Man being his employer... him doing Bug Man's accounting and him exchanging Bug Man's corpse for money, these two things had no direct conflict.
He would complete the financial management task meticulously, based on his principles and bottom line.
But he also couldn't let go of bounty targets that could appreciate significantly.
Therefore, these two were not considered to be in conflict.
Kakuzu tucked the list into his pocket, and in his hand, he carried not a corpse, but a black leather briefcase already filled with money.
He carried the black leather briefcase filled with money and once again set out alone on the path of hunting bounty targets.
But he didn't feel lonely, because money accompanied him along the way.
Money was his belief.
It brought him the last bit of human warmth.
Who he killed today, or how many people he killed, didn't matter.
When he would be killed tomorrow, or by whom, also didn't matter.
Living wasn't happiness, and death wasn't worth mourning.
What mattered was that he was now on an incredibly bright path to making money.
Deeply entrenched in a world full of distortion and war.
Because... in this world where only money could bring brilliance, everyone was already beyond salvation.
This was the realization of a scarred old man who had lived for decades, experienced betrayal and evasion, and then embarked on a path of continuous killing for money.
He carried the briefcase full of money, leaving the crowd, out of place with everyone, going against the flow.
Then he walked out of the town, onto a country road bathed in the setting sun, his silhouette stretching longer and longer, gradually fading into the distance.
Today, Mr. Kakuzu was also on his way alone.
(PS: Kakuzu's financial management, worth having!)