"Hey, hey! Kakuzu! You still alive?!"
Hidan was still shouting, while Kaito narrowed his eyes. After a strange ripple swept through the air, Hidan's body suddenly split apart into four pieces. His dismembered body floated eerily in midair, looking grotesque and horrifying.
This time, Hidan was genuinely stunned. It wasn't as if he had never been dismembered before, but this was different—he didn't feel even the slightest bit of pain!
"What the hell did you do to me?!"
Kaito ignored him. With a snap of his fingers, several spheres of darkness manifested out of nowhere, wrapping around Hidan's floating body parts. Then, he sealed Hidan away into the Gate-Gate Space.
Once that was done, Kaito turned his head toward Kakuzu's "corpse" and said flatly:
"How long are you planning to keep pretending? That last attack only cost you one heart at most, didn't it?"
Kakuzu remained sprawled on the ground, motionless, looking very much like a dead man.
Kaito raised a finger at him, dazzling violet lightning gathering at the tip.
"Seems like you don't want to keep your remaining hearts either."
The crackling grew shrill, and Kakuzu could no longer play dead. His body convulsed, and from his back burst a masked, black creature. The moment it emerged, its mask shattered, and its whole form dissolved into a puddle of black liquid.
Kakuzu then rose to his feet, wariness written all over his face as he stared at Kaito.
"You… you know the Earth Grudge Fear technique?"
"Of course."
As he spoke, Kaito redirected his finger. A thick bolt of violet lightning roared forth, blasting a massive tree into pieces along a straight line.
The sheer destructive force and speed of the blast left Kakuzu clicking his tongue in awe. If he were struck by that, losing a single heart would be the least of his worries—his whole body would likely collapse.
Any thought of fighting Kaito was now completely gone. From the very beginning up until now, Kaito hadn't even activated his Mangekyō Sharingan.
Hidan had been effortlessly sealed away into some mysterious dimension. The overwhelming difference in power left Kakuzu with a deep sense of despair.
A bitter sadness welled up in him—today might really be the day he died. But to die like this, without a chance to resist, was a hard pill to swallow.
Kaito saw Kakuzu frozen in place and began walking toward him.
Standing face to face, Kaito spoke casually:
"Your leader is bold, I'll give him that. Sending one pair after another—is he trying to thin out his own forces?"
Kakuzu blinked. From the sound of it, Kaito was implying that before he and Hidan came, another Akatsuki duo had already been here in Konoha. Who could it have been?
Kaito smiled faintly and glanced skyward. A flock of crows was flying toward them.
Kakuzu followed his gaze, and when he saw the gathering crows, shock flickered across his face.
"That's…!"
The crows landed behind Kaito, merging into the form of Uchiha Itachi. The moment Itachi saw Kaito, he dropped to one knee and spoke with utmost respect:
"Lord Hokage!"
The words almost made Kakuzu's jaw hit the ground.
The Akatsuki's "Scarlet," Uchiha Itachi—kneeling to Konoha's Hokage and addressing him as "Lord Hokage"?
Wasn't he supposed to be a Leaf traitor?!
Kaito turned and smiled warmly at Itachi.
"Itachi, huh? What brings you here?"
"Lord Hokage, I heard disturbances from this direction while working in ANBU. When I went to look for you, Uzuki Yugao told me you had already left, so I came to investigate."
"Good. You're doing well in your role as ANBU Captain."
"ANBU… Captain?!"
Kakuzu could hardly believe his ears. It was bad enough that Itachi had defected from Akatsuki, but now he was ANBU Captain of Konoha? They'd even entrusted such a high position to someone once branded a rogue ninja?!
Itachi lifted his eyes toward Kakuzu and said in a cold tone:
"Kakuzu… I didn't expect it to be you here in Konoha. Did your leader send you?"
Kakuzu stiffly nodded. Then, unable to hold back, he asked:
"And Kisame? Is he still alive?"
"Of course. He's alive—and now he's my subordinate."
"...!"
Kaito waved a hand dismissively.
"Alright, let's wrap this up and head back."
"Yes, Lord Hokage. What should we do with Kakuzu?"
"Hmm… how about we execute him here on the spot?"
Kakuzu's nerves instantly went taut. But then Kaito continued:
"Though, come to think of it, the village does seem to be lacking someone to manage its finances. Who would be suitable for that, I wonder?"
Itachi immediately grasped Kaito's intention. He wanted to recruit Kakuzu.
Kakuzu was infamous in Akatsuki as a miser and money-grubber. To him, money was more precious than life itself.
Yet he rarely spent any of it. He seemed to derive joy simply from amassing wealth. Putting someone like that in charge of finances… actually made a strange sort of sense.
Kakuzu wasn't stupid. He hurriedly said:
"Lord Hokage… actually, I happen to be quite skilled in money matters. Perhaps you could give me a chance—to prove myself?"
Kaito gave him a sidelong glance, pretending to be skeptical.
"You? You're Akatsuki. Are you saying you want to defect?"
"Yes! I don't want to stay there any longer. Please—let me join Konoha!"
Kakuzu's answer was straightforward. He had only joined Akatsuki in the first place because he'd been overawed by Nagato's power—and because the group let him pursue money without restriction.
But now, faced with a monster like Kaito, there was no way he'd fight to the bitter end. That would be not only suicidal—it would also be bad for business.
And besides, Kaito had just mentioned the village lacked a treasurer. For Kakuzu, this was a dream opportunity. After all, Konoha was the strongest Hidden Village in the shinobi world. The sheer wealth required to keep it running… just imagining it made Kakuzu's mouth water.
Not because he wanted to steal it—no, he simply wanted to live surrounded by money.
His green eyes glowed with avarice as he gazed at Kaito with hopeful anticipation.
Kaito couldn't help but laugh at his expression. Shaking his head, he asked:
"So, what's your specialty?"
"Making money! My specialty is making money!"
Itachi struggled to suppress a laugh. Watching Kakuzu almost groveling, he finally spoke up to help him:
"Lord Hokage, Kakuzu truly is an expert when it comes to finances. Assigning him to manage the treasury should be no problem."
Kakuzu instantly shot Itachi a grateful look. Ah, a comrade in arms—true colors shown in times of crisis!
Kaito decided the time was right. Since Kakuzu was this eager, why not give him a chance?
He nodded.
"Alright. Gather your things. Report to the Financial Department tomorrow."
"Yes, sir!"