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*****
After emerging from the exchange office, Menma and Kakuzu arrived at a wide, open clearing.
"Kid, if there's no bounty on your head, drop the money and leave. I might let you live," Kakuzu warned, his raspy voice muffled by his mask as he sealed his own money case into a storage scroll.
Kakuzu was an incredibly arrogant man. After all, he was a powerhouse from the same era as the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, and had even "assassinated" the man once.
Though he had been severely injured by Hashirama's Wood Style, he often boasted: "I am a man who has fought the God of Shinobi."
Since defecting from the Hidden Waterfall Village, Kakuzu had spent decades surviving as a bounty hunter in the shinobi world. His greatest passion was counting money.
Having suffered the mistrust of his village and the betrayal of his partners in the first half of his life, Kakuzu believed that only money would never betray him.
"You think a person capable of killing a Cloud Envoy wouldn't be worth a fortune?" Menma stood a few meters away from Kakuzu. He set his large suitcase full of money aside, a light chuckle escaping from behind his mask.
"True. Even without a bounty, taking your corpse to the Cloud Village should fetch a decent price. Hmph." Kakuzu snorted coldly, his hands blurring as he formed seals.
"Earth Style: Earth Spear!" Several sharp, spear-like rocks erupted from around Menma, lunging toward him with violent force.
Menma leaped into the air, his robes snapping in the wind.
*Yoshi, now's the time!* A calculated glint flashed in Kakuzu's eyes. His right arm suddenly detached and flew forward—Earth Grudge Fear activated!
Black threads burst from the joint like venomous snakes, driving the detached forearm to impale the airborne enemy.
This was his standard tactic. Once an enemy was forced into the air, unable to change direction or move, Kakuzu would launch his Earth Grudge Fear threads to strike directly at the heart!
Kakuzu had used this "first-strike kill" to eliminate countless ninja.
However, Kakuzu's pupils suddenly contracted.
He saw that the opponent didn't fall after jumping; instead, he hovered in mid-air, looking down at him from a height.
"This is troublesome..." Kakuzu muttered raspy, low words beneath his mask.
A foe capable of flight—Kakuzu had rarely encountered such a person in all his years roaming the shinobi world.
The black threads of Kakuzu's right arm danced, the tentacles of the Earth Grudge Fear weaving a dense net in the air, attempting to seal the opponent's movement.
Menma casually threw several kunai. They pierced through the gaps in the thread net, heading for Kakuzu on the ground.
"Hmph!" Kakuzu shifted slightly, easily dodging the kunai.
"Is that all, brat?" Kakuzu had just begun to mock him when he heard a roar of thunder behind him.
He whipped his head around, but a sharp sting had already pierced his back.
An arm cloaked in dark-purple lightning drove through Kakuzu's body in a single strike. To the shock of Kakuzu's green pupils, it shattered one of his hearts instantly.
"When?!" Kakuzu was stunned as he felt the mask of the Earth Grudge Fear collapse along with the loss of a heart.
He swung his thread-linked arm to grab the sneak attacker behind him, only to find the opponent was merely a Shadow Clone, which dissipated into smoke the moment he grabbed it.
"AAAAAGH!" With a howl, Kakuzu collapsed to the ground.
The scene fell into a temporary silence.
"This trick really is quite useful." Menma toyed with a kunai in his hand.
Using a Shadow Clone—or transforming oneself into a kunai—to be thrown behind an enemy and then launching a sneak attack with lightning speed was one of Naruto Uzumaki's favorite moves.
Simple as it seemed, it embodied a tactical philosophy of truth mixed with falsehood.
The vast majority of ninja in this world could not guard against it. In such a high-tension combat state, it was impossible for a ninja to keep track of every single dodged kunai.
On the ground, Kakuzu remained motionless.
Anyone else might have thought they had won after piercing Kakuzu's heart and walked over to collect the corpse.
However, Menma knew perfectly well that Kakuzu possessed five hearts. Playing dead was simply one of his common tactics.
Kakuzu had once caught Kakashi off guard with this; after Kakashi pierced a heart with Lightning Blade, the "dead" Kakuzu had kicked him, causing significant injury.
Menma floated in mid-air, looking down with a grim tone: "If you keep playing dead, I won't mind crushing the remaining four hearts."
!!!
Kakuzu, sprawled on the ground, snapped his eyes open, his green pupils trembling.
He pushed himself up, his body hunched, a large mass bulging on his back.
*Psh—*
Suddenly, a black masked monster tore through the back of his robe. As the mask shattered, the monster dissipated into the air.
Kakuzu panted, his eyes no longer holding any contempt, but rather a deep wariness as he looked at the floating Menma Uzumaki. His voice was raspy: "How do you know..."
"The secret of the Waterfall Village?" Menma stood in the sky like a deity. "In the shinobi world, there are no secrets from me."
"Now, I give you two choices. Work for me, or let me crush your other four hearts." Menma stood proudly in the void, his eyes cold with killing intent.
"Do I even have a choice?" Kakuzu gave a raspy, bitter laugh before kneeling on one knee.
Kakuzu was a man who knew how to adapt to circumstances. The opponent not only knew his secrets but could destroy his hearts in a single move. If he didn't submit today, he likely wouldn't leave alive.
---
**A port in a certain city in the Land of Lightning.**
Several merchant ships belonging to the Gato Company were moored at the dock. Workers in short-sleeved shirts were speeding up the loading of various goods under the supervisor's shouts.
Gato stood on the deck at the bow, staring at his men's work, letting out occasional roars of rage.
Suddenly, Gato's small eyes spotted two figures walking in the distance.
The person in the lead made his entire body shudder. He scrambled down the gangplank as fast as his legs could carry him.
On the dock, the newly recruited Kakuzu followed silently behind the boy, his green pupils filled with the words: "I don't get it."
"Lord! Lord!" Gato's short body ran fast, reaching Menma. He bowed respectfully. "You've returned, my Lord!"
"And this is?" Gato saw the tall Kakuzu behind Menma, who radiated an aura that warned people to keep their distance.
"Kakuzu. This is Gato, the member responsible for earning money in the organization. Your temporary mission is to stay by his side and protect his company's trade across the nations," Menma said, turning his head slightly toward Kakuzu.
"I will pay you a fixed salary, and you have the right to inspect the Gato Company's accounts. Of course, you can still work as a bounty hunter on the side, as long as you don't leak the organization's intelligence."
"Hmph, not a bad deal." Kakuzu gave a light snort, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly beneath his mask.
A fixed salary, a side hustle as a bounty hunter, and even being a CFO for a major company—this made Kakuzu's mood regarding his defeat much more pleasant.
After arranging for Gato and Kakuzu to leave the Land of Lightning first, Menma continued his journey toward the Cloud Village.
He was ready to give the Cloud Village some "local specialties" from back home.
(End of Chapter)