"Ha, ha, ha, ha."
Fujiwara Kirito sneezed several times for no reason, and his tears were about to fall out.
"Lord Kirito, what's wrong with you?" Pakura asked with concern.
"Nothing, I guess someone is thinking about me again." Kirito rubbed his slightly sore nose and turned his eyes to Kakuzu and Sasori opposite him. At this time, Kakuzu had put on his mask again and changed into a black robe like Sasori.
And Sasori had remodeled his body.
According to the spark concept of Transformers, the regeneration core is hidden in the body. At the same time, the main body also has the ability to transform. In this era where combat power hasn't completely collapsed, it was enough to deal with most battles.
"Then Kakuzu, for the next period of time, you'll stay with Sasori and assist him in completing the research on the dragon veins. Don't show up again in the short term."
"It doesn't matter to me, as long as this guy doesn't bother me." Kakuzu folded his arms, turned his back to Sasori with a proud face, and returned to his previous unfathomable demeanor.
"That's unfortunate. I don't know how to please people, and I don't have any fondness for you, an old relic who doesn't know how to keep up with the times." Sasori didn't even bother looking at Kakuzu.
Old relic?
These three words were said by Kakashi not long ago. Kakuzu felt irritated the moment he heard them and glared at Sasori. "You brat… let me teach you a lesson."
The two immediately began arguing again.
"Lord Kirito, is this alright?" Watching the bickering, Pakura rubbed her forehead in frustration.
"It's fine, just let them spar it out." Kirito smiled and pulled a scroll from the system warehouse.
Before he could speak, Kakuzu's dark green eyes lit up with a sparkle of money, "This is..."
He recognized at a glance that it was the scroll Kirito had taken from the Sarutobi clan, and it contained at least a dozen Asuma.
"Kakuzu, didn't you say you wanted to be the financial director? There's about 500 million ryō in here." Kirito handed over the scroll. Kakuzu was about to grab it, but Kirito pulled it back. "Don't rush. There's a condition."
"Say it, say it, as long as there's money, anything is negotiable." Kakuzu turned into a complete money-hound.
Hearing that, Kirito tossed him the scroll. Kakuzu caught it like treasure. "From today on, cooperate with Sasori properly. Don't act like a senior anymore. Same goes for Sasori. Since you've gained a new life, stop being so stubborn."
At this point, Kirito's smile turned sly. "Kakuzu, do you know how much money I have?"
"One billion?" Kakuzu, about to open the scroll, paused and guessed.
"You really think I only robbed the Sarutobi clan these past few years?" Kirito shook his head and held up one finger. "Ten billion."
Kirito had robbed many corrupt tycoons like Gato.
He wasn't a good person—but who cared about that when money was involved?
"Ten billion..." Kakuzu swallowed hard and looked at Kirito with new admiration. Even as Akatsuki's finance minister, he had never seen that much money. Just counting it would take months.
"As long as you help Sasori complete control over the dragon vein, I'll give all the money to you." Kirito then looked at Sasori. "And Sasori, I bet you still miss your parents."
Sasori made a "tsk" sound, turned his head proudly, and didn't deny it. Then he heard Kirito say, "Help me complete this dragon vein task, and afterward I'll give you a senzu bean. That way, your grandmother can inject life into puppets again and revive your parents—just like when she saved Gaara."
"So, the next step depends on your performance. If you're short on funds, go to Kakuzu, the Finance Minister."
"No problem," Kakuzu replied.
Ten billion. Kakuzu was already daydreaming about rolling in cash.
"I understand." Sasori nodded slowly, lost in memories of his childhood.
Then Kirito gave them a few instructions.
When Sasori casually asked about Hidan, he caught a flash of loneliness on Kakuzu's face. Realizing they had a bond, Kirito suddenly had a twisted idea.
Hidan's body had been blown to pieces. So why not… replace it?
Maybe with a pig?
After all, that guy didn't seem too bright.
Meanwhile, in Orochimaru's base, the room was a complete mess.
There were traces of battle and strange markings everywhere.
"Haha, as expected of Sasuke-kun. Youth is a wonderful thing."
Orochimaru laughed, tied his purple rope belt, looked back at Sasuke, licked his lips, and still wasn't satisfied.
He found himself enjoying the sensation.
At that moment, Sasuke's pupils dilated, forming the kanji "太." He lay on the ground lifelessly. The effects of the white phosphorus snake's anesthetic combined with Kirito's special drug hadn't worn off yet.
Thinking of what Orochimaru had just done to him, an overwhelming fury burst in Sasuke's heart.
Under that intense emotion, a special chakra surged to his optic nerve, triggering a transformation in his eyes.
First, they turned into the standard three-tomoe Sharingan. Then, the tomoe began spinning rapidly until they morphed into a six-pointed star.
Yes—driven by humiliation and rage, Sasuke awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan.
But unlike the original timeline, his hatred wasn't toward Konoha over Itachi—it was aimed at Orochimaru.
And Fujiwara Kirito. If it weren't for Kirito's drug, Orochimaru wouldn't have succeeded.
At that moment, Sasuke added two names to his kill list.
However, awakening the Mangekyō drained a lot of chakra. Just like when Kakashi passed out using his Mangekyō alongside Obito, Sasuke's limited reserves from two consecutive battles were instantly depleted.
He fainted on the spot.
Orochimaru didn't realize Sasuke had awakened the Mangekyō. Seeing him unconscious, a wicked grin appeared on his face.
"Haha, Sasuke, proud as ever, fainted from the blow."
Sinister laughter echoed throughout the vast underground base.
(End of this chapter)