"Ninja?"
Kakuzu's green eyes swept over Uchiha Jinzō.
The kid looked twelve, maybe thirteen, dressed head-to-toe in black. No forehead protector, no Uchiha fan crest. If it weren't for the long black blade strapped to his hip and the unnaturally light footsteps, Kakuzu would've dismissed him as just some brat wandering by.
"I do have a shinobi registration number," Jinzō said with a grin. "Well… for now."
Kakuzu's brow twitched. For now? No missing-nin, no mercenary, no professional killer ever described themselves like that. This boy wasn't a ninja in the usual sense.
Not that Kakuzu cared. He pulled out a thick bundle of papers and flipped through it. Wanted posters. Dozens of them.
Nothing matched the kid in front of him.
"Alright, brat," Kakuzu finally said, folding the papers away. "Then tell me—why the hell are you following me?"
If this kid's answer didn't satisfy him, he'd bury him here and be done with it.
Jinzō tapped his chin thoughtfully. "How do I put this… I plan to hire you. In the future."
"…What?" Kakuzu actually chuckled. "Stop messing with me, kid. Ninja don't have futures. You pay now, you live—or you don't pay, and you die. That's how this works."
"I'm serious," Jinzō insisted, shrugging. "I just need your contact info. Would make things way easier down the line."
That was Jinzō's real plan. Trying to hunt down a missing-nin later would be a nightmare. Guys like Kakuzu had their own ways of staying off the radar; most villages would rather slaughter an innocent than risk letting one slip by. Even a weak place like Takigakure would send every assassin they had if they knew he was alive. And if Jinzō waited too long—if Kakuzu joined Akatsuki—recruiting him would be impossible.
At least Jinzō was self-aware enough to admit he wasn't strong enough yet to force someone like Kakuzu into line.
"Do you even know who I am, brat?" Kakuzu growled.
"Of course I do!" Jinzō's eyes lit up, and he clapped his hands together in mock admiration. "Kakuzu! The guy who tried to assassinate Hashirama Senju himself—the First Hokage! The legendary Hokage's number one hitman!"
Kakuzu ignored the flattery. Black threads snaked out from his arms, twitching like the legs of a spider.
"So… my information's leaked."
Impossible. Kakuzu lived in the shadows, only visiting underground money exchanges when necessary. His identity wasn't supposed to be anywhere. So how the hell did this kid know?
"Do we really have to fight?" Jinzō tilted his head. He wasn't delusional—at his current strength, he couldn't outright beat Kakuzu. But "couldn't beat" didn't mean "couldn't survive." And he had the Sharingan. To him, Kakuzu wasn't some untouchable monster—just a puzzle with five spare lives. An elite jōnin level puzzle, sure, but still.
But Kakuzu wasn't going to let him walk away. Information leaks were dangerous. Too dangerous.
The black threads lashed out—two fists whipping forward faster than a kunai throw.
Jinzō blurred, stepping into Kakuzu's blind spot. His heel whipped around, slamming toward Kakuzu's ribs.
Threads erupted from Kakuzu's body, coiling around Jinzō's leg, binding him instantly.
"Looks like it's over," Kakuzu said flatly.
Jinzō's body puffed into smoke. Boom! Paper tags exploded outward, engulfing Kakuzu in fire.
Earth Clone.
Both reappeared at a distance, facing each other.
"Not a simple brat after all," Kakuzu muttered, black threads writhing across his skin.
Jinzō drew the Kusanagi from his waist with a smooth hiss. "Look, why don't we just… talk instead?" He really didn't want a fight to the death he couldn't win.
But Kakuzu wasn't listening. His hands flew through seals.
"Earth Style—Earth Spear!"
His arms turned black as iron. They shot forward again, slamming against Jinzō's blade hard enough to throw sparks.
"…Guess we're doing this."
Jinzō sighed, closed his eyes—then opened them again, scarlet spinning.
Three tomoe whirled.
"The Sharingan." Kakuzu's eyes narrowed. "So… you're from Konoha."
Threads whipped out, binding Jinzō's body. A masked creature tore free from Kakuzu's back, jaws gaping wide, lightning crackling in its mouth.
At that exact moment, Kakuzu saw it—the faint, cocky smirk tugging at Jinzō's lips.
"Not good," Kakuzu thought.
"You're looking at me," Jinzō said, voice low and mocking.
The scene around Kakuzu twisted. His own fists wrapped his body tight, and the masked creature's lightning cannon was aimed straight at him.
"Sharingan Genjutsu!"
Kakuzu cursed, dispersing the lightning and yanking back his threads. He wasn't careless—but he hadn't expected the brat to throw his illusions around this effectively.
Jinzō's voice was calm, almost conversational. "Maybe I can't kill you… but I can make sure you pay dearly. Still want to keep going, Mr. Kakuzu?"
The masked beast retreated back into Kakuzu's body.
"…I'll come find you when you have a bounty worth my time," Kakuzu said. A fight without profit wasn't worth the risk.
"All the money I plan to make in the future," Jinzō called after him, "I'll put under your management."
That made Kakuzu stop. He turned, eyes narrowing again as he studied the boy. Strong for his age—jōnin-level at twelve, with a Sharingan. Ambitious, too. Different from ordinary shinobi.
The kind of kid who could actually rise. The kind of investment that paid off.
"…Tell me more," Kakuzu said, walking back toward him.