"What an arrogant and shameless guy. You have no sense of honor at all—you should commit seppuku."
The two employers never expected such an answer from Tōshirō. Their high-pitched voices were laced with anger.
In their minds, a ninja was merely a tool—one who should dedicate their entire life to their master and shed their last drop of blood in service. How could he say something so rebellious?
Tōshirō found their nagging annoying and dug his pinky into his ear. "Are you two idiots? Have you forgotten the situation you're in right now?"
His words reminded them of reality. Their faces turned ashen, their expressions like that of mourning parents who had lost their children.
Tōshirō waved his hand dismissively. "Big bro, these two are yours to kill, torture, or cook—do whatever you want."
Kakuzu gave Tōshirō a curious look. This boy completely defied his expectations of an Uchiha. He turned his gaze to the two trembling employers and said in a low voice, "You kill them."
The moment he finished speaking, two kunai sliced through the air and pierced the men squarely in the forehead. Blood splattered as their eyes bulged out like those of a goldfish—lifeless.
Kakuzu withdrew his gaze and examined Tōshirō from head to toe.
"What?" Tōshirō asked.
"You're a strange one," Kakuzu muttered.
He had lived for decades, but this was the first time he had ever met an Uchiha like Tōshirō. With a teasing smirk, he asked, "All your comrades died by my hands, yet you don't feel any urge for revenge?"
"Why would I?" Tōshirō countered with a question of his own.
He had figured it out—Kakuzu seemed quite interested in him and, for now, had no intention of killing him.
This was an opportunity. If he played his cards right, he might be able to create an emotional connection and convince Kakuzu to let him go.
Kakuzu recalled his mask creatures, reintegrating them into his body. His bounty hunt was over, and now he had plenty of time for idle conversation.
Tōshirō spread his hands and grinned. "I'm a money-minded person. Money comes first. To make money, I have to stay alive. Avenging my comrades? What's the point? Revenge doesn't pay. Besides, I wasn't even close to them. You think I'd risk my life for them? That's ridiculous."
A money-minded person?
Kakuzu narrowed his green eyes.
Well, isn't that a coincidence?
He, too, was a man who lived by the principle of money above all. He never expected to meet a kindred spirit here.
Still, he found it odd. How could a kid, especially a Konoha ninja, talk like this? At his age, shouldn't he be dreaming big, like most kids his age?
Curious, Kakuzu asked, "You're an interesting brat. Why do you want money? What do you plan to do with it?"
Tōshirō explained casually, "Simple. Because this world operates on money. Why do you think the daimyō rule the land? Bloodline? Wrong—it's money. Without money, how would they feed and clothe their subordinates? If they had no wealth, how could they command loyalty?"
"People say money isn't everything, but without it, you're nothing."
Kakuzu nodded, clearly agreeing with Tōshirō's final statement.
"In the end, what is a ninja? What is their true purpose?" Tōshirō continued. "Some say a ninja is someone who endures all hardships. What a joke. It's not that complicated. In my eyes, a ninja is just someone who takes on jobs for money."
Tōshirō smirked, his tone dripping with mockery. "Some idiots preach about 'the village,' 'unity,' 'friendship,' and 'bonds'… But deep down, all they care about is business. Heh, some fools don't even realize they've been sold out while they're busy counting money for their betrayers."
Hearing this, Kakuzu fell silent.
Everything Tōshirō said struck a nerve.
Because that was exactly what had happened to him.
He had once been that kind of fool—devoted to his village, sacrificing everything. And in return?
Betrayal. Cold, ruthless betrayal.
Back when he was still an elite jōnin of Takigakure, he was secretly assigned a mission—one that was nothing short of suicide.
The target? The so-called God of Shinobi, Senju Hashirama.
To be honest, when Kakuzu first received the order, he outright rejected it in his heart.
What a joke. Hashirama was the strongest ninja who had ended the Warring States Period. If Kakuzu were strong enough to assassinate him, then Hashirama wouldn't have been the one to bring peace to the world.
But orders were orders. As a shinobi of Takigakure, obedience was his duty.
He accepted his fate and prepared to die for the mission.
And just as expected, he failed—miserably.
The "Hashirama" he fought with everything he had? Just a Wood Clone.
And when the real Hashirama arrived, Kakuzu finally realized how vast the power gap between them truly was.
Even so, he tried to negotiate with Hashirama, discussing how smaller villages like Takigakure could survive under the rule of the Great Nations.
But before they could finish their conversation, Hashirama's younger brother, Tobirama, arrived—and beat him to a bloody pulp.
Kakuzu barely escaped with his life, but Tobirama spread word of his assassination attempt across the world, using it as leverage to demand that Takigakure hand over their most prized forbidden techniques.
Takigakure, desperate to shift the blame and clear their name, immediately turned on Kakuzu.
Despite his loyalty, despite his sacrifice, they locked him up and branded him a criminal.
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Moreover, the slander against him grew more and more exaggerated, even giving birth to a joke about the "Eight-Hundred-Mile Shuriken." The village children who once idolized him also began to have doubts.
In the prison known as Longchang, after a long period of self-doubt, Kakuzu finally had an epiphany.
What was the true nature of a ninja? Things like "village," "unity," "friendship," and "bonds"—all were just pretty lies used by those in power to manipulate their pawns. When they needed you, they smiled at you. But the moment things went south, they couldn't wait to see you dead.
Feeling utterly betrayed, Kakuzu decided to go all the way. He broke out of prison, slaughtered all the village's high-ranking officials, stole the village's most prized forbidden technique, Earth Grudge Fear, and began his life as a bounty hunter.
In truth, if the village had simply talked to him, he might not have killed those leaders. He might have even taken the blame willingly. But their biggest mistake was disregarding his feelings entirely—so he raged.
It's said that after this incident, as an apology, Hashirama Senju gifted the village the Seven-Tails, which was originally meant for Sunagakure.
Ironically, the very reason the village had sent him on an assassination mission in the first place was because they were unhappy with how Hashirama distributed the Tailed Beasts. In the end, they still got one—but in such an unexpected way.
Not that it mattered. Kakuzu was now someone who placed money above all else. In this world, everyone could betray you—only money would never deceive you.
So when he heard Tōshirō, so young yet already understanding these truths, Kakuzu couldn't help but be impressed. He hadn't expected to find someone so like-minded in this world.
It made him wonder—just how miserable must Tōshirō's childhood have been for him to develop such an outlook?
But understanding was one thing. That didn't mean he would let Tōshirō live.
After all, if he returned safely to the village, who knew if he would report everything that happened here? That would make things very inconvenient for Kakuzu.
With that in mind, Kakuzu chuckled. "Kid, I have to say, I'm impressed that you can see things so clearly at your age."
"So…"
But Kakuzu immediately poured cold water on him. "Unfortunately, I have no intention of letting you go."
Tōshirō: "…"
Looks like trying to connect emotionally with this guy didn't work. In that case, let's try another approach.
"Wait a second…"
"Hmm? Got something else to say?" Kakuzu smirked. "Since I admire you, I'll give you one chance—convince me not to kill you."
"I don't get it. Why do you have to kill me? There's no conflict of interest between us, and my head isn't worth much."
"Good question," Kakuzu replied. "If I let you go and you tell the village everything, that would be a huge problem for me. And I'm not in the business of creating unnecessary problems for myself. You, of all people, should understand—there is no such thing as trust between people."
Tōshirō nodded. Instead of wasting his breath saying something useless like "I promise I won't," he took a different approach.
"From the way you talk, it sounds like you and I are the same kind of person."
"To be precise, you are the same kind of person as me," Kakuzu corrected.
"What's the difference?"
"The difference is who's in charge," Kakuzu said flatly.
Tōshirō: "…"
"Alright then, let's talk about interests instead."
"Oh?" Kakuzu raised an eyebrow. "Go on."
"There are two downsides to killing me, and two benefits to letting me live."
"Two downsides, two benefits?" Kakuzu chuckled. "Interesting. Let's hear them."
"First, if you kill me, the Uchiha clan won't let it slide. I may not be much, but I am considered somewhat important in my clan."
Kakuzu nodded indifferently. "And the second?"
Tōshirō raised a second finger. "The second downside—you might not be able to kill me."
With that, he created a small chunk of ice and tossed it to Kakuzu.
Kakuzu caught it, hesitated, and then frowned. Ice?
A ninja who could create ice… That was a rare ability. Ice Release was a Kekkei Genkai.
His eyes narrowed as he looked at Tōshirō in surprise. This brat has two bloodline limits?
Tōshirō continued, "If you try to kill me but I escape, then our grudge will be set in stone. Trust me, I can't defeat you now—but that doesn't mean I won't be able to in the future. And when that time comes, I'll make sure to hunt you down."
Kakuzu wasn't the type to be easily intimidated. He snorted. "Are you threatening me, kid?"
Tōshirō remained calm. "I'm simply laying out the pros and cons."
Kakuzu's lips curled into a smirk. "Interesting. Alright, what are the benefits?"
Tōshirō held up one finger. "First, if you let me go, I'll cover up everything that happened here. You'll gain a trustworthy ally."
Kakuzu narrowed his eyes. "An ally?"
Tōshirō continued, "The second benefit is that we can work together to make a lot of money."
"More money?"
Kakuzu could ignore everything else, but when money was mentioned, he had to listen.
Tōshirō grinned. "I've always had a dream—to start a company. If we join forces, with your strength and my clan's intelligence network, we could make a fortune. I'll handle the planning, and you manage the finances. What do you think?"
(End of Chapter)
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