With that, Feng Xu vanished in a single step, appearing in front of Kakuzu.
"Such speed!" Seeing Feng Xu suddenly appear, Kakuzu was startled.
A tremendous sense of crisis made his hands move at lightning speed, blurring into illusions in front of his chest.
"Wind Release: Pressure Damage!"
"Lightning Release: False Darkness!"
"Fire Release: Searing Migraine!"
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"
Click, click, click!!!
As he performed these hand seals, the mouths on the masks of the four tall, short, fat, and thin Jiongu behind Kakuzu all snapped open.
Wind, Lightning, Fire, and Water Release jutsu appeared in their mouths.
But before they could even unleash these jutsu, several golden-red tails emerged from behind Feng Xu.
Then, like lightning, they flashed past, striking the four Jiongu.
The next second, the four Jiongu collapsed as if boneless, turning into a pile of mud on the ground.
The masks on their faces shattered one after another, forming large holes.
Kakuzu, realizing what had happened belatedly, stared in disbelief at Feng Xu's fox tails.
"Those are... my hearts?!"
"Just in an instant!!!"
"This is impossible!!!"
Chapter 186: Kakuzu, Who Can't Escape the "True Scent" Theorem
"Nothing is impossible."
"There is only an insurmountable gap between you and me."
Standing in front of Kakuzu, Feng Xu had eight enormous fox tails, obscuring the sky, raised behind him at some point.
And at the tips of these massive fox tails, four oval-shaped objects, tightly wrapped in dense black threads, were throbbing 'thump, thump, thump'.
"An insurmountable gap, you say?"
"Now I'm starting to believe that you defeated the resurrected Senju Hashirama."
Gazing at the hearts still throbbing on the fox tails, Kakuzu tried to calm his emotions and asked,
"You didn't directly destroy my hearts, so it seems you're not here to avenge that bandaged idiot."
"Tell me, what is your objective, and why have you come for me?"
"Excellent, I like talking to smart people." Feng Xu's fox tails swayed slightly.
The four clusters of black-threaded hearts flew directly towards Kakuzu.
Kakuzu, in turn, had fine black threads crawl out from his body, catching the hearts and absorbing them.
Seeing that Kakuzu did not choose to attack again after retrieving his hearts, Feng Xu finally spoke.
"It's simple, I want you to join my Four Stars Village and work for me from now on."
"Recruiting for your organization again?"
Kakuzu shook his head, refusing directly without any hesitation.
"Sorry, I can't afford to offend you, and I also can't afford to offend Pain."
"He pays me, provides me with a platform and a place to belong, so I don't plan to join other organizations and be hunted by him."
"Of course, if you're willing to let me go, I can charge only half the commission for any missions you assign in the future."
As an old man nearing a hundred years old who had lived enough, Kakuzu wasn't afraid of death.
He was afraid of not being able to earn money!
For an organization like Feng Xu's that threatened him with force to join, offered no benefits or salary, and expected him to do missions for free...
Kakuzu would rather die here, jump off from outside, than join!
"Don't be so quick to refuse, why don't you take a look at this first."
Feng Xu waved his hand, and Zabuza, who was watching from behind, immediately understood.
Carrying the briefcase that Feng Xu had placed on the ground when he appeared, he walked over, opened it, and set it down.
"This is!!!"
Looking at the two cases of money on the ground, a gleam appeared in Kakuzu's green pupils.
"Units, tens, hundreds, thousands... these are the largest denomination, one thousand ryo!"
"So, these two cases on the ground are... one hundred and twenty million ryo!"
Mom, I'm in love!
Kakuzu couldn't tear his eyes away, completely mesmerized by the money.
One hundred and twenty million ryo, in the black market, that's equivalent to the bounty missions for four or five Elite Jonin!
It's also equivalent to the bounty he could earn in several months, or even half a year!
And most of these bounties would be collected into the Akatsuki Organization's treasury.
Only a small portion would go into his pocket as his salary and bonus!
Seeing Kakuzu so captivated by the money that he couldn't look away, Zabuza scoffed in disdain.
"Tsk, a bumpkin who can't move at the sight of a little money, truly a disgrace to us Ninja."
"A little money?!" Zabuza's words made Kakuzu clench his fists instantly.
Reluctantly tearing his gaze away, he glared fiercely at Zabuza, black thread tentacles swirling out from his body.
Kakuzu's expression of furious embarrassment made Zabuza chuckle again.
"Hehehe, truly a bumpkin from the countryside. Do you know about Four-Star Seeds, Four-Star Shipping, and Four-Star Media?"
"This amount of money is merely the annual salary of a senior executive at one of our Four-Star Conglomerate's subsidiary companies."
Zabuza wasn't lying; the Four-Star Conglomerate, now on track, was raking in vast sums daily.
As a veteran member, the benefits and treatment he received were something he couldn't even have dreamed of before!
Now, even if Feng Xu told him to leave, he would stubbornly refuse to go!
"An annual salary!"
Kakuzu's eyes were red with envy and jealousy.
He worked hard for half a year, only to end up with the same as an ordinary company executive?
Seeing Kakuzu's face twisted with envy and jealousy, Feng Xu gave Zabuza an approving look.
Finally, he spoke leisurely, "Nothing is trustworthy, only money is the most reliable."
"Join my Four Stars Village, and I'll give you the benefits and treatment of an executive. Furthermore, I won't question the bounty you hunt and earn; it's all yours."
"Finally, I will also bestow upon you the same controllable Tailed Beast Chakra as Zabuza."
"If you still don't want to join, then I can only..."
Before Feng Xu could finish his 'only', Kakuzu, who was already exclaiming 'true scent', had given his answer.
"I'll join."
"In this cold world, only money is the most trustworthy and never betrays."
"Akatsuki doesn't give as much as you, nor are they as generous. Your magnanimity is worthy of me working for you."
"A very wise choice." Feng Xu nodded with satisfaction, pointing to the two briefcases.
"These two cases of money are your prepaid salary for one year. Keep them well."
Feng Xu was currently least lacking in money.
Not to mention the seed company that was making a fortune, just the newly established media company...
Feng Xu had merely taken some popular songs and movies from his previous life.
And already, the produced records and discs were bought out.
"Thank you, new boss."
Kakuzu's mask couldn't hide his upturned lips.
He didn't even bother to put on his clothes first, stepping over to the boxes.
As if handling a rare treasure, he carefully closed them and held them in his hands.
Then, as if remembering something, he turned and asked,
"Boss, if I'm not mistaken, Sasori and Deidara should have also joined the Four Stars Village, right?"
Feng Xu didn't hide it: "That's right, they joined us for the Tailed Beast Chakra, which can enhance their art."
"Of course, you also get a share; this is a necessary procedure for joining my Four Stars Village."
Zabuza, standing nearby, also seized the opportunity to mock again.
"This kind of powerful strength, it's really a bargain for you, old geezer."
"Bargain?" Kakuzu looked at Zabuza as if he were an idiot.
"Don't use your inferior intelligence to measure me. This kind of free benefit is the most expensive."
"But it doesn't matter, as long as there's money to be made, nothing else matters."
Kakuzu could guess that this Tailed Beast Chakra wasn't a good thing.
But there was no choice; circumstances were stronger than him, leaving him no room to refuse.
"Don't worry, it's just a small precaution against your betrayal. It will be removed once everything is over."
As he spoke, Feng Xu clapped a hand on Kakuzu's shoulder.
The next second, golden-red Chakra, like flames, covered Kakuzu's entire body, and a massive fox tail unfurled.
"Powerful strength, and it controls all my hearts."
"My life and death are at your whim."
Kakuzu immediately perceived the changes in his body clearly.
Shaking his head with a light sigh, he looked back at Feng Xu.
"What do you need me to do next? Go to your Four Stars Village?"
"No need, for now, continue to work for Akatsuki and capture Tailed Beasts. I will notify you of any missions."
After leaving a single sentence, Feng Xu vanished from the spot.
Chapter 187: The Underestimated Obito
Hidden Rain Village.
On the tongue-shaped platform of the Akatsuki Organization's base building.
Pain sat at the tip of this tongue platform, gazing at the Village shrouded in continuous rain.
Suddenly, Konan emerged from the building behind him, calling out softly to Pain.
"Pain, he has returned from the Hidden Mist Village."
Hearing Konan's words, Pain stood up and turned to walk inside the building.
And in the shadows of the building stood Obito, wearing an orange Uzumaki mask.
"You truly enjoy these shadows that shun the light."
Seeing Obito in the shadows, Pain's calm tone was laced with disdain.