Although the organization's finances were managed very well, money wasn't the top priority! Finding talent was the number one priority!
Torifū rushed home without stopping, not even noticing if Aokumo and Ryūfū were in the courtyard, and went straight to his room to lie on the bed. He poured all his thoughts into his puppet.
In an unknown cave in the Land of Fire, Kakuzu and a small boy huddled around a campfire. Kakuzu intently watched the grilled fish on the fire, afraid of burning it by accident. The small boy, meanwhile, fiddled with some small wooden trinkets. Kakuzu occasionally glanced over, but couldn't make out what they were.
Seeing that the grilled fish was ready, Kakuzu picked one up and handed it to the boy. "Here, stop playing with your things for now, and eat."
The boy, hearing this, put down his unknown wooden creations: "Thank you, Uncle." He then took the grilled fish Kakuzu offered and took a bite. "Uncle, are we not there yet? I'm so tired from walking."
Kakuzu looked outside: "Not yet, but we're almost there. Just two more days." The boy stopped asking and began to eat heartily.
Kakuzu's current appearance no longer looked quite human, but his entire body was covered by a black cloak, so outsiders couldn't tell much. However, this attire alone made him seem very suspicious, and with a small boy, around six years old, it was hard not to assume he was kidnapping children.
Just then, the silver mark on Kakuzu's body suddenly grew warm, and then the Sharingan puppet emerged from it. The small boy was startled by the sudden appearance but didn't cry. After a brief fright, he curiously looked at the white-haired, gold-eyed person, wondering where he had come from, with no warning whatsoever.
"Kakuzu, it's been a while. How have things been recently?"
Kakuzu tilted his head towards the boy: "This child is the one you were looking for, a child who can make small trinkets. I don't know if he has that 'sci'... that 'talent' you mentioned. I thought he seemed quite clever, so I brought him here for you to see."
Kumotsuru Torifū walked up to the boy, and he immediately spotted the wooden box on the ground. He asked, "Little friend, can you tell me what this thing is?"
The boy wasn't afraid and happily began to introduce it to Kumotsuru Torifū. "This is a small box I made for storing things. It might not look like much, but you'll understand when I open it."
With that, the boy demonstrated. He opened the individual buckles on the wooden box one by one in a specific sequence, about ten of them. When he opened the last buckle, the lid of the wooden box popped open. The space inside the box wasn't very large; it could only hold a kunai.
"How about that! Isn't it amazing?" The boy smiled boastfully at Torifū.
Torifū, however, nonchalantly said, "It's just so-so. Nothing special."
To his surprise, the boy wasn't pleased. "You don't understand! This box can only be opened by following the correct sequence. If you get even one step wrong, you won't be able to open it." He then demonstrated again, this time haphazardly opening the buckles of the box, completely different from the first sequence. Sure enough, when he opened the last buckle, the lid didn't pop open.
"See!"
Torifū looked at the box and then at the boy, and couldn't help but think: 'Holy cow, a combination lock!' On the surface, he remained impassive, but internally, he was already cheering.
"Impressive. Did you really make this yourself?"
Seeing that Torifū didn't believe him, the boy said with a serious expression, "Of course I made it! If you don't believe me, ask Uncle!"
Torifū immediately turned to Kakuzu, who nodded, confirming the boy's words.
"Hehe, see! I told you so!" he said smugly, hands on his hips.
Torifū thought to himself, 'This child's talent is truly remarkable! To be able to make a combination lock at such a young age, even if it's small, that's not a minor feat at all! If he studies properly for a few years, then mobile phones and such are definitely within reach! I've got to give Kakuzu some extra motivation!'
"Child, what's your name?"
The boy didn't hesitate and immediately said, "My name is Amado, Sanzu Amado."
Whoa! Good heavens! Although Torifū hadn't watched all of Boruto before he transmigrated, he knew that Amado was an incredibly powerful figure! Jigen's capable subordinate! Artificial humans, clones, and the like were no problem for him! He was truly the number one scientist in the ninja world!
'And I've just captured a wild, young version of him?' He found it hard to believe! 'Is Kakuzu's luck really this good? No! Is my luck this good?!'
A puppet couldn't express emotions, but Torifū had been holding one posture for a while, not speaking, clearly stunned. Kakuzu didn't know what was happening, so he stood up, ready to check if the puppet was broken so he could dismantle it and sell it in the black market.
After a full five minutes of being dumbfounded, Kumotsuru Torifū finally snapped out of it, but looking at the bright, inquisitive eyes of the little boy in front of him, he still couldn't connect him with the Amado he knew. But there couldn't possibly be a second Amado in this ninja world, and the ability to create such contraptions at such a young age wasn't a talent everyone possessed.
"Where are your family members?"
When his family was mentioned, Amado immediately became sad: "They died last month, from illness. If Uncle hadn't saved me, I would have starved to death."
Torifū stroked Amado's head: "Then, would you like to come with me? To start a new life?"
Amado hesitated for a moment: "What about Uncle? Is he coming too?"
Torifū smiled: "He can't live with us for now, but you can see him anytime you want."
Amado looked at Kakuzu, his gaze seemingly asking a question.
Kakuzu then said, "Go with him. If it weren't for the mission he gave me, I wouldn't have saved you. I'm not that kind-hearted."
Amado looked a bit disappointed after hearing that, then nodded to Torifū. But the truth was exactly as Kakuzu said: he had seen some small trinkets Amado had made in his house, which was why he saved Amado's life. Otherwise, would someone who had slaughtered an elder's entire clan in a village just randomly save a child? He truly wasn't that kind-hearted.
"Where are you two?"
"In a cave in the Land of Fire. We should reach Konoha in two days. I was wondering how to contact you; it's good you came to find me first. Let's agree on a meeting point."
"Once you're near Konoha Village, just contact me through the mark, but don't get discovered."
Kakuzu grinned: "Don't worry, no one even noticed me when I tried to assassinate the Hokage."