"Of course." Anya directly took out the preprepared five hundred million ryo and handed it over. "This is the promised five hundred million. The remaining one billion, I'll accompany you to the Kinto Exchange to settle the payment."
Kakuzu nodded in agreement. "Fine."
After saying that, Kakuzu performed a Shunshin and left ahead to the Kinto Exchange.
Anya turned to Genzo and said, "Now that Takigakure is safe, you can bring over the remaining people from the Village Hidden in the Hot Spring Mist. As for the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki, I've already negotiated with him. He'll cooperate with us to help run the village."
"You're going alone with him? That's too dangerous," Genzo expressed his concerns.
"Don't worry, the money we got is enough for me to hire him for a while."
Anya was brimming with confidence. Originally, she had planned to bring Genzo along to gather intelligence. But now, he needed to take care of the elderly, the weak, the sick, and the children from the Village Hidden in the Hot Spring Mist, so he couldn't leave. Still, traveling with Kakuzu would definitely be more convenient. Of course there were risks — but wasn't the rule that the greater the risk, the greater the reward?
Anya followed Kakuzu to the Kinto Exchange, where the two quickly completed their transaction.
Kakuzu carefully counted the money to confirm the amount before turning to leave.
"Wait a second," Anya suddenly called out to stop him.
Surprisingly, this time Kakuzu did stop. "What is it, brat? Do you have something to say?"
Anya nodded. "I'd like to hire you for a while. How about we talk about the price?"
"Hire me?" Kakuzu shook his head. "No interest."
Seeing him preparing to leave, Anya flashed forward, blocking Kakuzu's path.
Kakuzu's eyes darkened, releasing a killing aura as he glared at her. "Kid, you've got guts getting in my way — you want to die?"
Anya smiled slightly, unflinching. "Mr. Kakuzu seems eager to leave. I'm guessing it's because you're looking for a new heart to keep your mask powered."
At these words, Kakuzu withdrew his killing intent, though his gaze remained icy cold — as if staring at a corpse. If earlier was just intimidation, this time Kakuzu truly harbored murderous intent.
Perfectly aware of Kakuzu's thoughts, Anya continued calmly, "There's no need for Mr. Kakuzu to be so hostile toward me. Your ability is information provided by the Seven-Tails himself. I think we could travel together; perhaps I might even be able to help you."
"Help me? With what?" Having always worked alone, Kakuzu trusted no one — not even this seemingly harmless young man standing before him.
Confidently, Anya replied, "Of course I can help. My appearance makes most ninja let their guard down, giving me access to information you wouldn't be able to get. We are in wartime now, and no country sends lone ninja on missions anymore. Those weak hearts — you probably don't even consider them worth taking either."
Hearing this, Kakuzu actually felt a flicker of interest, but he said nothing more and simply turned and walked away.
Watching Kakuzu slowly walk off into the distance, Anya lightly smiled and directly followed after him.
Just like that — one walking ahead, one following behind. One middle-aged, one a youth. A strange pair was born.
After a day of nonstop travel, the two arrived near Kumogakure. The village stood high on mountain peaks, always wrapped in thick mist. Thunder rumbled from time to time, adding grandeur to the towering landscape surrounded by smaller hills.
Although they hadn't spoken much along the way, Anya had begun to understand Kakuzu a little. Kakuzu was a man of few words, never one to waste speech, and he valued money greatly. Years of bitter experience had made him deeply suspicious, trusting no one easily. Allowing her to tag along must have been a rare act of cooperation for him.
"Kakuzu-sama, now that you've come to Kumogakure, I suppose the mask fragment you lost was lightning-based," Anya asked, stepping closer.
Kakuzu admitted it without hesitation: "Correct."
"If I'm not mistaken, this might be the strongest Raikage yet. Coming here to hunt for hearts carries great risk."
"Hmph. Just some punk kid," Kakuzu scoffed before turning to ask, "You're planning to come in with me?"
Anya smiled lightly. "Of course, Uncle Kakuzu."
"Uncle?" Kakuzu looked surprised.
"I can't very well call you Father, now can I? We don't even look alike," Anya replied with a slight frown.
Understanding dawned on Kakuzu: "So you want me to pretend to escort you directly into Kumogakure?"
Anya shook her head slightly: "No, it's me accompanying you. After all, this is wartime. It's perfectly reasonable for me, as a citizen of the Land of Lightning, to come here to learn ninjutsu. And having an elder accompany me would seem normal enough."
Hearing her reasoning, Kakuzu's expression twitched slightly. He clearly wasn't used to being called "uncle," but didn't object—silently accepting the term.
"Oh right," Anya suddenly recalled something and continued, "Dear Uncle, once we enter the village, please don't speak. Your tone tends to cause misunderstandings easily. I'll tell them you're mute. You don't mind, do you?"
Kakuzu, visibly exasperated, simply walked ahead without a word.
So… that was a yes?
Anya quickly caught up. Soon, they reached the main entrance of Kumogakure.
Several ninja from Kumogakure swiftly emerged from the shadows, throwing kunai that stuck into the ground. With wary eyes, they blocked the pair's path and warned, "Halt!"
Anya pretended to startle, stepping back before quickly switching to a bright expression. "Ah! So you're the ninja from Kumogakure? I'm a citizen of the Land of Lightning. This is my uncle—he brought me here so I could learn ninjutsu."
"Oh? Want to become a ninja, huh?" The guards eased their stance slightly. "Show us your documents then."
Anya, well-prepared, pulled out a crumpled scroll from within her robe. The writing had nearly faded completely, leaving only a name barely legible.
"This?" The cloud ninja frowned, unsure how to verify its authenticity.
Anya let out a dramatic sigh and cried out, "It's all because of those damn Iwa ninja! They burned my village to the ground. My uncle and I barely made it out alive. This tattered scroll is my last hope! That's why I've held onto it tightly all the way here, dreaming to become a true ninja and one day take revenge on those who destroyed my people!"
"Those damn Iwagakure jerks again!" several ninja from the Hidden Cloud Village exploded in anger upon hearing the news. "Daring to attack innocent civilians? I'm reporting this to the Raikage right away. They're gonna pay for this!"
After the group left, one remaining ninja from the Hidden Cloud Village sighed and stepped forward, patting Anya's shoulder. "Don't worry kid, we'll help you get revenge. Come on, follow me. After some training at the Ninja Academy, I'm sure you'll become a top-notch ninja."
Kakuzu silently watched Anya's act unfold from beginning to end, secretly giving the kid a big thumbs-up in his heart.
As they took just a few steps forward, the ninja suddenly turned back to glance at Kakuzu, sensing something was off about this person.
Anya caught on right away and blurted, "My uncle was hurt in the attack — his throat's messed up and his face got burned bad, that's why he has to stay covered."
"Oh I see, how terrible! That bunch from Iwagakure are absolutely despicable!"
The ninja gave Kakuzu a sympathetic look, then without doubt, led both of them into Kumogakure village with a swagger.
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