"That guy's gone?"
Takeshi poked his little head out from behind the broken doorframe, scanning the surroundings but finding no trace of the enforcer.
"Yeah, he's gone."
Ignoring Takeshi's curious gaze, Kakuzu briskly walked past him, picked up the ledger, and started admiring it.
He brought his nose close to the book, savoring the scent of ink—it was almost heavenly for Kakuzu.
His boss really had given him a fantastic job. Years of hard work hunting down bounty targets didn't earn him as much as a noble's annual tax revenue.
If only he had made his move earlier.
His green-glowing eyes stared fixedly at the numbers in the ledger. Though Kakuzu was thinking all this, if it really came down to going after nobles, he didn't have the guts.
Even though he had once fought the legendary Ninja God Senju Hashirama for three hundred rounds and single-handedly avenged himself on the Takigakure higher-ups who sentenced him to death, when it came to opposing nobles… Kakuzu still hesitated.
Hunting ninja, especially missing-nin, usually didn't provoke too severe a backlash.
But hunting a noble...
That wouldn't just attract a few ninja—it'd bring an entire carriage full of them!
A carriage with ninja hanging off the top, bottom, and sides!
Well, now things were different. If this operation was exposed, he could just push all the blame onto Danzō. After all, that was the method Danzō's own son personally explained.
On the path of screwing over his dad, Takeshi was going further and further.
"Slurp slurp slurp..."
Seeing Kakuzu completely lost in his own world, the bored Takeshi decided to tease the child inside.
"Come here, let me hold you. And by the way, just so you know, that girl and that tall guy over there are the ones who killed your father. If you ever want revenge when you grow up, go find those two."
Takeshi crouched not far from the baby crawling on all fours, pointing at Pakura and Kakuzu.
"You bastard!"
Pakura was so angry at Takeshi's words.
"Don't worry, to me and this child, you're like a savior."
A weary-looking woman slowly stepped out and scooped up the clueless child.
This was the child's biological mother.
But according to the Land of Fire's registry, she was officially dead.
At just seventeen, she had been forcibly married to the over-sixty Fujiwara Kōya through some underhanded means. With both her parents murdered by him, she was genuinely glad when Takeshi and his group arrived.
"Savior or not, whatever. This is just mutual exploitation." Takeshi shrugged, unwilling to accept her gratitude. "If you really want to thank someone, go thank Konoha's Danzō-sama. This was all his idea."
"Danzō-sama..." The woman repeated the name, a look of gratitude spreading across her face. She nodded to Takeshi, then carried the baby back inside.
Her current identity was that of a nanny hired by the Fujiwara family's head steward. This way, she could openly stay with the child.
Takeshi only wanted a young, easy-to-control puppet—not a Fujiwara matriarch getting in his way. But given her tragic background, he could only sever her chances of reclaiming the Fujiwara clan by this method.
Old man Danzō once said: all threats must be eliminated in the bud!
"She's a pitiful woman too." Pakura, relating her experience to the woman's, spoke in an unusually soft tone.
"That's the shinobi world for you. Nothing to be done." Having seen worse in the Land of Water and the Land of Rain, Takeshi wasn't too emotionally moved. What he cared about more right now was when Kakuzu would start making moves to squeeze money out of the Fujiwara family's assets.
Some rejoiced, some lamented.
While Takeshi's plans proceeded without a hitch, Jiraiya and his students in Amegakure were caught in a bitter struggle.
Hanzō had gone completely mad. Ignoring the other fragmented forces in the Land of Rain, he had deployed all his remaining power, determined to annihilate the Akatsuki.
Jiraiya hadn't wanted Obito involved, but once Hanzō sealed off all the borders of the Land of Rain, Obito inevitably had to join the battle.
"Hanzō, you're no longer human!"
Panting heavily and looking at the half-arm he had just shattered, Jiraiya's face showed grim realization.
He had sensed something was wrong with Hanzō from their very first exchange.
His movements were far too stiff, and his wounds were disturbingly pale.
Still silent, Hanzō raised his weapon with his only remaining arm.
Not far away, his greatest trump card—the salamander—was pinned motionless by Gamaken's fork. His two top aides, Hattori and Kamita, were entangled with Nagato and Konan respectively.
Obito stood close to the gravely wounded Yahiko, guarding him against any surprise attacks.
In terms of top-tier combat power, Jiraiya's side had the upper hand.
But Hanzō's forces were just too numerous, and at this point, they had begun resorting to poison attacks, ignoring whether their allies were still engaged in close combat.
"Everyone, gather around me!"
Seeing the poison mist creeping in, Jiraiya urgently called all the Akatsuki members to cluster around him.
"Toad Mouth Bind!"
Once everyone was within range, Jiraiya swiftly activated the jutsu.
The surroundings began to change. Several Rain ninja, including Hanzō, were pulled into the esophagus of the Mount Myōboku Toad.
"Fire Style: Great Flame Bomb!"
With Hanzō's legs bound by mucous membrane, Jiraiya unhesitatingly hurled a Great Flame Bomb straight into his face.
The attack struck true. Amid an ominous crackling sound, Hanzō's body completely collapsed, splitting in two—his upper and lower halves flying off in separate directions.
His sharp chain-scythe spun through the air before falling, embedding itself into the esophageal wall.
"Damn it."
Because Jiraiya and the others had suddenly vanished from the battlefield, Setsuna—who was tracking them—abruptly halted.
The brand on Hanzō had vanished. He had lost control over the puppet.
"What's wrong?"
Noticing Setsuna's odd reaction, Black Zetsu turned curiously and asked.
"Shut up, you bastard!" Losing such a powerful puppet put Setsuna in a foul mood, and he snapped at Black Zetsu.
Black Zetsu: Dammit... I'm used to this.
"I still underestimated that guy Jiraiya. Damn it... why, why hasn't Nagato fallen into darkness yet?"
Watching his plans fall apart, Setsuna was extremely frustrated.
Why is everything in Amegakure always such a mess?!
Without the Rinnegan, how could he control the Gedo Statue or collect Tailed Beasts?
Without the Rinnegan, how was Lord Madara supposed to be resurrected?!