"It's gotta be that little punk Kazama who stole all this gold and treasure!"
"But didn't you say there was so much gold and treasure here that he couldn't possibly take it all?"
"I—I don't know what happened!"
Fuming and helpless, Kurozetsu and Pain had no choice but to return to the Akatsuki's base. But what they didn't expect was that the moment they got back, they found Kazama there too.
After Kazama had taken all the gold and treasure from the bandits' cave, he decided to go for the Akatsuki base's stash as well. Using the mark on Kurozetsu, he teleported to their hideout with Hiraishin no Jutsu.
"You've got some guts, kid, showing up on Akatsuki turf. Today, you're not leaving alive!"
Kurozetsu sneered coldly at the sight of Kazama.
"That's the guy, Kazama—kill him now!"
As Kurozetsu and Pain charged at him, Kazama gave a cool smirk and bolted. Naturally, Kurozetsu and Pain weren't about to let him slip away, so they chased after him.
But the moment they left, Kazama's figure reappeared at the base. The one who'd fled was just a Mokuton Bunshin—a wood clone meant to lure Kurozetsu and Pain away so Kazama could steal the Akatsuki's gold and treasure undisturbed.
"Damn it! It was just a Mokuton Bunshin!"
By the time Pain and Kurozetsu realized they'd been tricked, Kazama's clone had led them far from the base. They hurriedly turned back.
"That punk Kazama lured us out on purpose. I bet he's after the gold in our base!"
"Don't worry—he can't possibly steal it!" Kurozetsu said with confidence. "Our base's gold weighs hundreds of tons. No way one guy can carry that much!"
But even as Kurozetsu made his bold claim, Kazama was already using Hiraishin no Jutsu to whisk away the hundreds of tons of gold from the Akatsuki's base.
"What the—?! That bastard Kazama!"
When Kurozetsu returned and saw the once-gold-filled storage now completely empty, he roared to the heavens in fury, powerless to do anything about it.
Meanwhile, back in Oto no Kuni, Orochimaru and the others were stressing over the village's lack of funds.
"Per Kazama-sama's orders, we've taken some gold and treasure from the nearby bandits, but it's nowhere near enough to cover the village's expenses!"
"Didn't Kazama-sama say he'd figure something out?"
"He's not a god—how's one person supposed to come up with that much money?"
Just as everyone was sighing in frustration, a flash of golden light appeared. Kazama materialized before them, along with a massive pile of gold and treasure.
Staring at the mountain of riches, Orochimaru and the others exchanged stunned looks.
"What's wrong, everyone? Never seen this much gold and treasure before?"
At Kazama's words, Orochimaru and the others broke into delighted laughter.
"Kazama-sama, how in the world did you pull this off? Bringing in this much gold and treasure all at once?"
"Yeah! This stuff's piled up like two small mountains! Where'd you get it from?"
"It's a long story," Kazama said. "But from now on, Oto no Kuni won't have to worry about money ever again."
Hearing this, everyone nodded enthusiastically, their spirits lifted.