Chapter 78: Daring to Touch Master Kakuzu's Money, How Bold
As Tsunade pinned the man to the ground and proceeded to beat him into a pulp, Orochimaru simply held a hand to his forehead, a long-suffering sigh escaping his lips. "Just... beat him, Tsunade. It's fine. Just beat him to death and find a nice spot to bury him."
He then turned, his entire demeanor executing a flawless one-hundred-and-eighty-degree pivot. The weary exasperation vanished, replaced by a gentle, almost predatory smile. "Kou," he began, his voice smooth as silk, "please, tell me everything you know about this… scientific research. I'm counting on you."
"Of course, Lord Orochimaru."
How could she possibly refuse a personal request from the future head of Konoha's Research and Development Department? It was the perfect opportunity. Stelle, in her guise as Uchiha Kou, immediately launched into her grand art of deception.
In the Naruto world of the future, Team 7's generation would have access to walkie-talkies, televisions, and even refrigerators. But here, in this era, there was no sign of such conveniences, and heaven only knew which forgotten genius was originally responsible for their invention.
Since those original researchers had yet to make their mark on history, she certainly wasn't going to be polite about it. She would hand the entire technological revolution to Orochimaru on a silver platter. Let him lead the effort, recruiting a host of suitable scientific minds to focus entirely on research and development under his brilliant leadership.
She would trigger a scientific explosion, fast-tracking the invention of all these modern marvels to improve their quality of life.
And so, she began to explain. She spoke of high-end electronics, of circuits and currents, of cathode rays and refrigeration cycles. Anything and everything related to electrical appliances, she held nothing back, weaving a tale of a future built on principles he was only just beginning to grasp.
Orochimaru managed to maintain his composure at first, his expression one of keen, scholarly interest. But as Kou continued, his calm facade crumbled, replaced by an all-consuming fascination. His golden, serpentine eyes were wide with wonder, and his pen flew across the pages of his notebook with such speed that it seemed to leave sparks in its wake.
All the while, the background was filled with the miserable, muffled wails of Jiraiya, who was still receiving a thorough and painful education from Tsunade's fists.
Perched high on the branch of a large tree, Hiruzen Sarutobi watched this bizarrely harmonious scene unfold, a pleased smile gracing his features. "It seems everyone is getting along quite well."
Beside him, Uchiha Kagami, ever concerned for the well-being of his clansman, nodded in agreement. "Stelle truly has a gift. By telling those three the truth so directly, Kou will soon be able to live in the village like a normal person. The Anbu assigned to monitor her can finally be withdrawn."
Hiruzen's smile faltered. "Is that not to my credit?" he protested, a hint of indignation in his voice. "She has been in my disciples' squad this whole time. It is I who has been looking after her day after day, worrying endlessly and enduring all manner of hardships."
Kagami considered this with mock seriousness for a few seconds. "But the idea was Stelle's. Besides," he added with a knowing look, "you've been trying to shirk responsibility, haven't you? If you don't believe me, we can go ask her."
Ask her what? The outcome was obvious. If they asked, the answer would undoubtedly be that the Hokage is always right.
Hiruzen let out a dry, humorless laugh. I know you two grew up together—one the student of the Second Hokage, the other the student of his brother—and that your bond is special, but you don't have to praise her quite so excessively.
Rendered speechless, Hiruzen simply leaped down from the tree and departed. In that moment, he found himself missing Danzo. If Danzo were here, he would surely have spoken up for him. This damnable sense of isolation…
---
Meanwhile, far away within the borders of the Land of Wind, another of Stelle's aliases stood inside a dusty Exchange Center. Beside her was the infamous bounty hunter, Kakuzu, who was in the process of submitting his latest mission.
After handing over the target's corpse and receiving a thick stack of cash, Kakuzu carefully used a Sealing Technique, storing his precious darlings into a scroll. He ensured not a single bill was left behind before finally turning to the woman at his side.
"Kazushi," he rasped, his voice like grinding stones. "Which mission should we take next?"
That's right. Kazushi was the name of her current alias, a persona born from the full name Yankawa Feng Xu.
This particular identity had inherited the "overachiever" aspect of Stelle's core personality. The moment she had arrived in the Land of Wind, her first instinct was to start planting trees to combat the desertification. However, upon arrival, Kazushi discovered a rather significant problem.
Namely, as an undocumented nobody with no authority, who could she possibly command to plant trees for her? She couldn't very well go to the border between the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire and plant them one by one herself; that would take an eternity. Worse, that border was a politically sensitive area. If she started making major changes to the landscape, she would likely find herself hunted by both nations.
Thus, for the sake of her main body's grand sand-manipulation ambitions, Kazushi decided she first needed to seize power in the Hidden Sand Village.
She had investigated the Land of Wind for some time but couldn't find a suitable identity to infiltrate the village. Then, in a stroke of luck, she encountered the dying daughter of the previous Wind Daimyo in a civilian district. The current Daimyo had usurped the throne from his own cousin, and the former ruler's entire family had been slaughtered. Only this one daughter had been sent away, her story echoing that of the princess from the Land of Snow.
This girl, however, was even younger, sent away at only three years old and raised with great difficulty by a loyal servant. Having finally reached adulthood, she was tracked down by the new Daimyo's assassins and killed.
With such a perfect, tragic backstory laid out before her, Kazushi naturally had to put on the mask.
At this moment, she was simply biding her time, waiting for the Sand Village elder, Shamon, to pick up on the clues she had laid and come find her.
But Shamon was proving to be disappointingly slow. As a king of overachievers, Kazushi couldn't bear to remain idle. It was during this waiting period that she happened to run into Kakuzu, and a new plan began to form.
Kazushi's gaze swept over the mission list provided by the Exchange Center, and she pointed out two bounties. "These two. Rogue ninja from the Land of Water."
Kakuzu peered at the details, a flicker of dissatisfaction in his mismatched eyes. "Why are these two only worth a few hundred thousand Ryo?"
"The targets are close," Kazushi explained calmly. "It's practically a home delivery service. Are you sure you don't want the easy money?"
A greedy light glinted in Kakuzu's eyes, and he was satisfied once more. "Fine. We'll take these. You lead the way."
As for why the notoriously difficult Kakuzu would listen so readily to a relative stranger, the reason was simple: Kazushi led him straight to profit.
When they had first met at this very Exchange Center, she had approached him with a proposition. She had intelligence on the locations of numerous high-value rogue ninja but lacked the strength to claim the bounties herself. She would lead him to the money, and they would split the earnings eighty-twenty.
Master Kakuzu was not a man easily fooled. He had been on the verge of using a ninjutsu to send this audacious woman to the Pure Land when she reeled off the precise locations of three wanted men in a single breath.
Half-doubting, half-intrigued, Kakuzu had followed her directions. To his surprise, he found every single target exactly where she said they would be.
With missions where he didn't have to waste time on reconnaissance and all the targets were conveniently located within the Land of Wind, his wallet had bulged considerably after just a few days. Naturally, Kakuzu agreed to cooperate with Kazushi.
Of course, up until now, he hadn't given her a single cent.
He had no intention of sharing the profits. His plan was simple: squeeze every last drop of intelligence from her, and then kill her.
Daring to touch Master Kakuzu's money? How bold.
Kazushi, for her part, acted as if she were completely oblivious to his murderous intent. She ate, drank, and provided intelligence without a care in the world, playing the part of a naive partner perfectly.
Speaking of which, she mused silently, a faint, unreadable smile on her lips, after doing missions for so many years, Kakuzu must have saved up quite a lot of money, right?
That would make for some excellent startup capital.
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