"Lord Kawaki still hasn't returned. I hope nothing's happened to him."
In front of the Hokage Building, a few Konoha ninjas looked slightly uneasy, instinctively glancing toward the distance.
"You're such a jinx! How could anything happen to Lord Kawaki?"
This was one of Kawaki's devoted fans; he didn't believe there was anyone in the entire Ninja World capable of escaping Kawaki's grasp.
Even Kawaki himself might not have been so confident.
"I was just saying..."
The ninja scratched his head awkwardly—it had been a poorly chosen remark.
"Lord Kawaki is back."
Just as the fan was about to say more, someone called out from afar.
A distant figure raced toward them, holding something unidentifiable.
"It's all yours."
With a single-handed toss, Kawaki hurled Kakuzu—who was still trapped inside the wooden prison—onto the ground before the Konoha ninjas.
With a loud crash, Kawaki also landed in front of them.
"So this is the guy huh?"
The captain stepped forward and gave the wooden prison a gentle kick.
They had expected someone far more formidable, but looking at Kakuzu now, he seemed pretty pitiful.
"Tch..."
Kakuzu snorted coldly—it really was a case of a tiger stripped of its former glory, now bullied by dogs.
He wanted to face them in a fair fight!!
"You're still not giving up even in this state?"
The captain grew angry under Kakuzu's glare. He had nearly lost his life earlier in a blazing inferno.
Say a few words and you're unhappy?
He raised his foot, ready to give Kakuzu a taste of justice.
What was proper conduct anyway? And hadn't he learned by now—when you're under someone else's roof, you lower your head?
"Alright, don't kill him with a beating."
"Just lock him away."
Lord Kawaki stopped the captain. At this point, Kakuzu barely had half a life left.
If he actually died from a beating, money wouldn't be the issue—the problem would be explaining it to Tsunade.
"Yes, Lord Kawaki."
Grudgingly, the captain withdrew his raised foot midair.
"I'll head back first. We'll deal with other matters tomorrow."
Kawaki tightened his pajamas around himself; Konoha nights were quite chilly.
"Understood. We'll take him straight to Anbu custody."
There was no way someone like Kakuzu would be held in the Police Force's prison.
Only within Anbu custody would everyone feel safe.
The captain nodded, then gave a signal.
Two subordinates came forward and lifted the wooden prison.
"Right, don't forget to charge him for the damages to the Hokage Building."
Before leaving, Kawaki gave one last reminder.
"Yes."
That a bounty ninja might have some assets was understandable to the captain.
What he didn't know was that Kakuzu's wealth wasn't just "some"—it was an extremely substantial fortune.
But Kawaki hadn't pointed that out specifically; after all, gold and silver can stir men's hearts.
There could be trouble if things went wrong.
"Back to sleep. Let's go."
Kawaki snapped his fingers and disappeared.
He hadn't canceled the Wood Release technique either—if there was even an inside accomplice, Kakuzu wouldn't escape anytime soon.
So Kawaki left without a worry.
"What are you being arrogant about? You still got caught anyway."
The moment Kawaki vanished, the captain angrily kicked the base of the wooden prison twice.
Still, he held back—he didn't want to cause a problem if Kakuzu died by his hand.
"As if you deserved any credit for this capture?"
Kakuzu didn't flinch and fired back with sarcasm.
"You've gotta be kidding me…"
Those words shattered the captain's composure, bringing back memories of standing helpless before that blazing inferno.
"Captain, Captain."
"Forget it, he's just a prisoner anyway."
Two subordinates rushed to calm him down—this guy truly didn't know how to bow his head in submission.
"This seriously ticks me off!"
After taking several deep breaths, he finally regained his composure.
He didn't exchange another word with Kakuzu for the rest of the journey.
Once they handed Kakuzu over to Anbu custody, the three men quickly walked away.
No need for them to worry about what came next—the Anbu would handle it naturally.
Hirai Kawaki had just returned to his room when he noticed Tsunade was still awake.
"How come you're not asleep yet?"
His previous clothes had gotten somewhat dirty during the earlier fight, so Kawaki changed into a fresh set of pajamas.
"I couldn't fall asleep without you here."
Tsunade didn't ask about the criminal's whereabouts; she already understood what Kawaki's return meant.
"Now that I'm back, you can go to sleep."
After changing, Kawaki slipped under the covers.
His hand instinctively drifted toward Tsunade's belly—it felt round and warm, strangely comforting.
"Wanna guess who I caught?"
Since Tsunade didn't ask, Kawaki decided to tell her himself.
"Who? Could it possibly be someone from the village?"
Tsunade became interested. Could there be a rogue ninja among the villagers?
Kawaki gave her a look saying "You'll never figure it out," which only heightened her curiosity.
"Nope, guess again?"
He shook his head, clearly savoring the suspense a bit longer.
"Hmm~"
Tsunade made a drawn-out sound.
"Fine, just tell me—I give up."
Tsunade playfully nudged Kawaki—truthfully, she couldn't think of any likely candidates.
"Well then, I'll have mercy on you and tell you."
"Do you remember that Taki ninja who tried to assassinate Grandpa?"
A faint smirk tugged at Kawaki's lips—this was tied to his bond with Hashirama as well.
"Wait—is it that Taki ninja again?"
"His name is Kakuzu, right?"
Tsunade's eyes widened in shock—could the same man have tried to assassinate two Gods of the Ninja World?
"Exactly. I'm surprised you remembered his name."
Chuan Feng guessed that it was probably mentioned by Hashirama and Tsunade.
"It was Ikeda Nidaime who conducted a full investigation and wanted to execute Kakuzu as an example to others."
Tsunade's answer surprised Kawaki a little, though it made sense.
"Oh…"
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Kakuzu owed his survival entirely to Hashirama—if he hadn't stepped in, Tobirama would have killed him without much trouble.
"I see."
"There's something else—I found out this old man has accumulated assets exceeding nine hundred million."
Kawaki boasted proudly, as if Kakuzu's fortune was already his.
"At this, Tsunade's eyes practically sparkled."
"Is killing really this profitable?"
"He'd throw his life away for money."
"With his strength, accumulating so much wealth makes sense."
Kawaki actually made a fair point—Kakuzu indeed endured many hardships chasing all that cash.
He'd been miserly with food and clothes, and now, all of it might end up helping someone else instead.
Kawaki couldn't help but think Kakuzu was wasting his time.
What's the point of all this trouble?
"Did you get it?"
Tsunade got straight to the point.
"Uh…"
"You still haven't told me."
Kawaki felt awkward and took his hand off his face to scratch his cheek.
"Then what's the point of even talking about it?"
Tsunade rolled her eyes. There was no point getting worked up over money you hadn't even gotten yet.
"I'm just waiting for your orders," Kawaki said with a grin, attempting to smooth things over.
"Do I really look presentable chasing down debts with this big belly?"
Tsunade acted like she cared about her image, but really she was just being lazy.
"Absolutely not, not at all."
Kawaki nodded earnestly—so sincere he could win an award.
"Then I'll leave this matter to you."
Tsunade spoke as if it were obvious. She wanted the money, but had no intention of lifting a finger herself.
"Fine, leave it to me."
"I'll squeeze him until he's left with nothing but his underwear."
Kawaki was full of confidence. Kakuzu's mental defenses had already collapsed once—there would definitely be a second or even third time.
He had no doubt he'd get the money.
"Who even wants his underwear? Keep it yourself."
Tsunade poked Kawaki on the forehead with her finger—such crude language.
It made sense to pay with money instead of your life—it just cost a bit more.
...
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