Chapter 18: Work For Me, Kakuzu
Menma and Kakuzu came out of the Bounty Exchange and arrived at an open field.
“Kid, if you don’t have a bounty on your head, put down the money and leave, and I can spare your life.” Kakuzu put the money box into the Storage Scroll, and a hoarse warning came from under his mask.
Kakuzu was a very arrogant person, after all, he was a strong practitioner from the same era as the First Hokage Hashirama Senju, and he had even ‘assassinated’ the First Hokage.
Although he was severely injured by Hashirama’s Wood Release, Kakuzu often boasted, ‘I’m a man who has fought the Ninja God.’
After defecting from Hidden Waterfall Village, for the past few decades, Kakuzu had been making a living in the Ninja World by earning bounties, and his greatest hobby was counting money.
Because in the first half of his life, he had experienced the village’s distrust and his partner’s betrayal, so in Kakuzu’s eyes, only money wouldn’t betray him.
“Do you think killing the Cloud Village Special Envoy wouldn’t be worth any money?” Menma stood a few meters away from Kakuzu, placed the briefcase full of money aside, and a light laugh came from under his mask.
“That’s true, even without a bounty, taking your corpse to Cloud Village could still exchange for some money, heh heh.” Kakuzu snorted coldly, and his hands quickly formed hand seals.
“Earth Style: Earth Trend Spear!” Several sharp rock spears protruded from around Menma, thrusting fiercely toward him.
Menma leaped into the air, his robe flapping loudly in the wind.
‘Yo, now’s the moment!’ A glint of scheming flashed in Kakuzu’s eyes, and his right arm suddenly shot out as Earth Grudge Fear activated!
Black threads from his joints slithered out like venomous snakes, carrying his right arm to try to pierce the enemy opposite.
This was his usual tactic: once the enemy was forced into the air with no way to turn or move, Kakuzu’s Earth Grudge Fear would suddenly activate, going straight for the opponent’s heart!
Kakuzu had used this initial strike to kill many ninjas.
However, Kakuzu’s pupils suddenly contracted.
Because he saw that the opponent hadn’t fallen after jumping up, but was hovering in mid-air, looking down at him from above.
“Trouble…” A hoarse murmur came from under Kakuzu’s mask.
An enemy who could stay airborne was something Kakuzu, who had been around the Ninja World for so many years, truly hadn’t encountered much.
Kakuzu’s right arm’s black threads danced, and Earth Grudge Fear’s tendrils wove into a dense net in the air, trying to block the opponent’s movements.
Menma casually threw out a few kunai, passing through the large net woven by Earth Grudge Fear, shooting toward Kakuzu on the ground.
“Hmph!” Kakuzu shifted his body slightly, easily dodging these kunai.
“Is that all you’ve got, kid!” Kakuzu had just mocked when he heard a burst of thunder from behind.
He turned sharply, but a stinging pain had already come from his back.
An arm carrying dark purple lightning struck through Kakuzu’s body, and amid the shock in Kakuzu’s green pupils, it directly shattered one of Kakuzu’s hearts.
“When!” Feeling the collapse of the Earth Grudge Fear mask after losing a heart, Kakuzu was stunned.
He swung the arms linked by Earth Grudge Fear and grabbed the sneak attacker behind him, only to find it was just a shadow clone that turned into smoke and dispersed the moment his arm grabbed it.
“Aaah!” With a howl, Kakuzu fell down.
The scene fell silent for a moment.
“This move is really useful.” Menma toyed with a kunai in his hand.
Using a shadow clone or transforming the main body into a kunai, shooting it behind the enemy, then launching a swift sneak attack—this was a signature move of Naruto Uzumaki.
Though it seemed simple, it contained tactics of true and false, real and feigned.
Most ninjas in the Ninja World couldn’t defend against this move.
After all, in that highly tense combat state, a ninja couldn’t possibly pay attention to every dodged kunai.
On the ground, Kakuzu still didn’t move.
If it were anyone else, after piercing Kakuzu’s heart, they might think they had won and go over to deal with Kakuzu’s corpse.
But Menma knew full well that Kakuzu had five hearts, and fake death was just one of his usual tactics.
Kakashi had once pierced Kakuzu’s heart with Lightning Cutter, but got careless and was kicked by the playing-dead Kakuzu, suffering non-trivial injuries.
Menma hovered in mid-air, looking down, his tone icy: “If you keep playing dead, I don’t mind crushing the remaining four hearts.”
!!!
Kakuzu, who was lying on the ground pretending to be dead, suddenly opened his eyes, his green pupils trembling.
He crawled up from the ground, hunching his body, with a large bulge protruding from his back.
Pffft—
Suddenly, a black Masked Monster tore through the black robe from Kakuzu’s back, and as the mask collapsed, this Masked Monster also dissipated in the air.
Ha~
Kakuzu gasped for breath, his eyes no longer holding contempt but deep dread as he looked at Uzumaki Menma hovering in the air, his voice hoarse: “How do you know…”
“Hidden Waterfall Village’s secret?” Menma stood in the air, like a deity: “In the Ninja World, there are no secrets from me.”
“Now, I give you two choices: work for me, or get your other four hearts crushed by me.” Menma stood proudly in the void, killing intent blazing in his eyes.
“Do I have a choice?” Kakuzu let out a bitter laugh in his hoarse voice, then knelt on one knee on the ground.
Kakuzu was a very pragmatic person; the opponent not only knew his secret but could destroy one of his hearts in a single move.
If he didn’t submit to the opponent, he probably wouldn’t leave alive today.
——————
A certain city port in the Land of Lightning.
Several merchant ships of Kado Company were docked at the pier, and workers in short outfits were accelerating the transport of various goods under the foreman’s scolding.
Kado stood on the deck at the bow, staring at his subordinates’ work, occasionally letting out furious roars.
Suddenly, Kado’s small eyes spotted two figures approaching from afar.
The one walking in front made him tremble all over, and he hurriedly ran down quickly.
On the pier, the subdued Kakuzu silently followed behind the boy in front, his green pupils full of ‘uncomprehending.’
“Lord! Lord!” Kado’s short body ran fast, arriving in front of Menma, respectfully saying: “Lord, you’re back!”
“And this is?” Kado also noticed the tall figure behind Menma, Kakuzu, who exuded an aura that kept strangers away.
“Kakuzu, this is Kado, the organization member in charge of making money. Your temporary task is to stay by his side and protect his company while doing business across the Various Ninja Countries.” Menma turned his head and said to Kakuzu behind him.
“I’ll give you a fixed salary, and you have the right to check Kado Company’s accounts. Of course, you can still moonlight as a bounty hunter, as long as you don’t leak the organization’s intelligence.”
“Hmph, the terms aren’t bad.” Kakuzu snorted lightly, the corners of his mouth twitching upward under his mask.
With a fixed salary, continuing as a bounty hunter, and even handling finances for a big company—this greatly eased Kakuzu’s mood after losing to Menma.
After arranging for Kado and Kakuzu to leave the Land of Lightning first, Menma continued toward Cloud Village.
Preparing to send some local specialty products from his hometown to Cloud Village.
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