After Kakuzu fell unconscious, he was immediately strung up on a large tree by Nagato and Uchiha Kaito. To better force him to submit to their authority, Kaito took out two bundles of cash, handed one to Nagato, and then woke Kakuzu up.
"You brat!!!"
"Do you even know what kind of existence you've provoked!?"
The moment Kakuzu woke up, he roared at Kaito, but the moment his gaze landed on the two bundles of cash, his voice instantly cut off. His eyes locked onto the fluttering bills, greed gleaming in his emerald pupils.
"You think I'll forgive you just because you flash some money in front of me, kid?"
"Ridiculous!"
Kakuzu angrily declared that he wasn't the kind of person who would be swayed by money. A mere two bundles of cash could never make him change his disdain for this brat.
However, Kakuzu, who had spent his life entangled in wealth, had misunderstood something. The bills in Kaito's hand suddenly smacked him across the face with a crisp smack, delivering a sharp slap.
"You bastard!!!"
Kakuzu was thoroughly enraged, thrashing wildly as he prepared to fight this reckless fool to the death.
But in the next second, after Kaito finished using his bundle of cash, he casually tossed it aside and pulled out a fresh stack, saying nonchalantly,
"Reward for you."
Kakuzu: ?
What did that mean…?
Getting hit meant getting paid…?
The three seconds of mental turmoil Kakuzu went through after hearing those words felt longer than his entire life. After those three seconds, his gaze locked onto the bundle of cash beneath him, and he forcibly extinguished the flames of anger that had just ignited in his heart. When he looked up at Uchiha Kaito, he forced out a smile uglier than crying.
"Boss, it's true that I love money."
"But… this is a little humiliating."
Nagato: "…"
As the leader, Nagato was stunned for a moment upon hearing this. He then stared at the cash in his hand for a long while before an inexplicable fury suddenly rose in his heart.
Oh, wonderful.
This greedy bastard really did change his tune the moment money was involved, huh? A single bundle of cash and he's already calling him "Boss"?
Furious, Nagato let out a cold snort and mimicked Kaito's earlier action, grabbing his own stack of bills and slapping Kakuzu across the face with it.
"You—!"
Kakuzu instinctively wanted to curse, but then he heard the man who seemed to have some connection to the leader say the same thing.
"Yours now."
Having his outburst interrupted twice left Kakuzu deeply frustrated, but he still clung to his principles, declaring righteously,
"I told you! There's a limit to your games!"
"I can overlook this today out of respect for our shared membership in the Akatsuki Organization, but if you—"
Smack— Smack—
For the next half hour, Kaito and Nagato took turns beating Kakuzu with stacks of cash, tossing the money to him after each hit and declaring it his.
By the time Kakuzu saw the small mountain of cash piled beside him, his attitude had shifted from righteous indignation to…
"Hit harder, Bosses!" "I can take a few more!" "The Bosses' wealth is truly impressive!" and other shameless remarks of the sort.
Not that the two particularly enjoyed playing the role of money-throwing benefactors.
The main reason was that these funds had been prepared for Kakuzu in the first place. The two had previously discussed appointing Kakuzu as the Sect's Outer Elder, entrusting him with the responsibility of managing the Sect's finances from then on.Poor Kakuzu had no idea that this money was originally meant for him to manage the future business of the Sect...
Two hours later.
Kakuzu lay sprawled in a pile of cash, his eyes brimming with reverence as he looked at his two bosses.
Hugging the "fragrant" banknotes tightly, he took a deep, intoxicated sniff before solemnly declaring to them.
"Bosses!"
"Just give me your orders, whatever they may be!"
At this moment, Kakuzu was feeling quite uneasy. Based on his extensive professional experience, the money here amounted to no less than 98,563,200 ryo.
If all he had to do was take a beating without any other work...
This money wouldn't sit right with him at all.
Nagato's face remained dark throughout. Even though Kakuzu had shown submission, this kind of money-grubbing scoundrel...
It was hard to imagine that, given the right price, he wouldn't sell out both Nagato and the entire Akatsuki Organization.
At this moment, Nagato finally understood the gravity of Kaito's earlier remark: "When hearts are divided, the team is hard to lead."
"Isn't the leader of the Akatsuki Organization your boss?"
Nagato spoke these words through gritted teeth.
It was clear he was truly furious with this guy.
"Ah! Boss, that's not quite right..." Kakuzu replied casually, licking his fingers and expertly counting the money.
"The leader is the leader, and the boss is the boss."
"The two shouldn't be confused."
At these words, Nagato's arm shot up, ready to unleash a devastating jutsu. Fortunately, Kaito reacted swiftly, grabbing his arm and calming him with a few meaningful glances before turning back to Kakuzu.
"We do have other tasks for you..."
Kakuzu nodded, his face showing an "I knew it" expression, urging this Uchiha big spender to continue.
"This is a very big business..."
Kaito then began explaining to Kakuzu their plan to establish a Cultivation Academy in Amegakure, one unlike anything else in the Shinobi World, and entrusted him with selling special items like talismans and elixirs in the future.
Kakuzu listened for over an hour, encountering countless bizarre terms throughout the discussion, but none of that dampened his burning desire to make money.
Filtering out the strange jargon, Kakuzu distilled a few key points:
As long as he sold goods, he would profit.
As for the Sect and the Cultivation Academy, Kakuzu didn't fully understand, but he grasped that this was a completely new type of ninja school—one ripe with opportunities for profit...
He believed...
He could even sell the academy's enrollment slots at exorbitant prices to other villages.
As everyone knew, ever since the battle years ago, other villages had been sending spies to Amegakure to gather intelligence...
Konan, the village's acting leader, had been deeply troubled by this.
He could request permission from Konan to sell "spy slots" under the guise of surveillance, then afterward sell school enrollment slots to nobles for even more money.
Killing two birds with one stone...
Brilliant!
At this thought, Kakuzu's grin stretched from ear to ear.
"Rest assured, bosses!"
"I will make the Sect's Cultivation Academy the strongest school in the Shinobi World!"
"Revitalizing the Sect... Kakuzu will not shirk this duty!"Squatting nearby, Uchiha Hikari covered her face and let out a heavy sigh upon seeing the gleaming eyes of Kakuzu.
It's over...
Just let the Akatsuki Organization collapse already.