Encounter with Kakuzu at the Bounty Station

A coastal port city in the Land of Lightning.

Beneath the overcast sky, Kakuzu, clad in a black robe, slowly made his way through the bustling streets, radiating an aura that warned strangers to keep their distance.

His turquoise eyes swept coldly over the pedestrians around him, as though assessing their worth.

His chilling presence made passersby move aside, none daring to meet his gaze.

After arriving at a restroom on the outskirts of the city, Kakuzu looked around for a while before entering.

After knocking on the restroom door in the proper sequence, a door appeared in the corner, revealing a dim passage leading who knew where.

However, this was not Kakuzu's first visit. He made his way down the stairs with practiced ease.

The space below suddenly opened up. When the two young women at the reception desk saw a customer arrive, they immediately put on professional smiles. "Welcome."

"I'm here to collect a bounty." Kakuzu's voice was hoarse and gloomy.

"Certainly, please wait a moment." After one of the young women bowed, she hurried off to fetch the person in charge of the Bounty Station.

Before long, a bald man with a knife scar across his forehead came out, his face wreathed in smiles. "So it's Lord Kakuzu. I've heard of your great reputation for quite some time."

"Hmph." Kakuzu snorted coldly, neither accepting nor rejecting the flattery.

"Cut the nonsense. I'm here to claim this man's bounty." Kakuzu took a Storage Scroll from his pocket.

He then unfurled it.

The corpse of a ninja wearing a Konoha forehead protector appeared on the floor.

"Let me see." The bald man skillfully opened the bounty ledger and nodded after comparing the information.

After searching through the data on Konoha ninja for a while, the bald man found the ninja.

"A Special Jonin of the Sarutobi Clan... bounty amount: eight million." The bald man recited the man's information, then crouched down to inspect the corpse.

This was to prevent people from using the Transformation Technique or genjutsu to cheat them out of money.

Though bounty hunters like Kakuzu would disdain such tactics, rules were rules.

"Everything checks out, Lord Kakuzu." The bald man stood up and clapped his hands. Two receptionists approached carrying a case.

Kakuzu took the case, set it on the counter, and opened it. He picked up the banknotes, his fingers flicking through them rapidly as the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.

Kakuzu seemed to be in quite a good mood. As he counted his money, he occasionally let out a soft hum.

Meanwhile, the bald man had someone open a storage cabinet built into the nearby wall and place the corpse inside.

He then quietly waited for Kakuzu to finish counting.

Having worked at the Bounty Station for many years, he had heard of a powerful "bounty hunter" who liked to count his money on the spot, but this was his first time doing business with Kakuzu.

Tap, tap, tap—

As he waited for Kakuzu to count his money, footsteps sounded from the staircase.

"Looks like we've got more business today." The bald man looked up.

Kakuzu, who had been counting money, also stopped what he was doing and turned his turquoise eyes toward the sound.

A mysterious figure wearing a White Three-Eyed Fox Mask descended the stairs, his long robe swaying lightly, his bearing eerie and inscrutable.

"Tch, putting on an act." Kakuzu sneered under his breath, though the mysterious figure had already piqued his interest.

Many wanted ninja also wore masks or face coverings to hide their true appearances, so Kakuzu tended to pay close attention to such people.

"Hello, customer. This is the Land of Lightning Third Bounty Station. Would you like to post a bounty, or...?" The bald man stepped forward to greet him.

Uzumaki Menma's gaze briefly lingered on Kakuzu.

Although Kakuzu wore a loose robe and covered his face, his turquoise eyes and his habit of counting money were quite distinctive in the Shinobi World.

"How much is this man worth?" Menma took out a Storage Scroll and formed hand seals with both hands.

Poof!

When the smoke cleared, the corpse of a Kumogakure envoy appeared on the ground.

"Twelve million." Even Kakuzu could not help looking over. He recognized the man's value at a glance.

"Oh, Lord Kakuzu certainly has a sharp eye." The bald man took out Kumogakure's bounty ledger and searched at the twelve-million mark, finding him just as expected.

"This is... the Kumogakure envoy, Kainu!" The bald man's eyes suddenly widened.

Not long ago, Konoha had claimed that Kainu, leader of Kumogakure's envoy delegation, had been killed in Konoha by a mysterious ninja and thrown into the Hyuga Compound in an attempt to intensify the war between the two nations.

That had been followed by a war of words. Kumogakure refused to believe Konoha's explanation and insisted that Konoha hand over the murderer.

After all, they knew best what they themselves had done.

But Konoha remained adamant, insisting that a mysterious ninja had killed the Kumogakure envoy.

The bald man looked up at the masked stranger before him, feeling his heart tremble.

How powerful would a ninja have to be to kill someone in the Hidden Leaf Village, the foremost of the Five Great Nations, and still escape unscathed after being discovered?

As Kakuzu counted his money, he also studied the masked stranger, estimating how much he might be worth if he had a bounty on his head.

"May I ask how to address you, sir?" After inspecting the corpse and confirming everything was in order, the bald man sent someone to fetch the money and quietly asked.

The question made Menma ponder for a moment.

Since he would most likely use this mask and attire when operating in the Shinobi World from now on, a codename was indispensable.

"You may call me Asura." Menma casually chose a codename.

"Very well, Lord Asura. This is our Bounty Station's bounty ledger for this quarter. If anything interests you, please feel free to visit anytime." The bald man respectfully presented a bounty ledger with both hands.

Menma accepted the ledger, thinking that since he was going to Kumogakure to deliver some local specialties anyway, he might as well kill a few Kumogakure ninja and make some money along the way.

"My lord, here is your bounty." The two young women set a heavy case on the floor and bowed deeply.

"Mm." Menma picked up the large case from the floor without counting the money and turned to leave.

The Bounty Station's history in the Shinobi World stretched back an unknown length of time. Menma believed they would not dare cheat him out of his money.

"Hey, hey, aren't you going to count it?" Seeing the other man carry off the case without even looking at the money, Kakuzu could not help speaking up.

As an ace wage worker, his obsessive tendencies had flared up.

It was one thing not to count the money after receiving it, but he was not even going to open the case and take a look?

Menma slightly turned his head. The White Three-Eyed Fox Mask reflected a faint glimmer beneath the dim light.

"You seem quite interested in my money. Want to step outside and give it a try? If you win, you can take all of it." Menma raised his chin toward the exit.

By the rules of the Shinobi World, the Bounty Station was a "safe zone." Killing someone inside one would earn the Bounty Station's wanted notice.

"Gladly." Kakuzu grinned, setting down the money he had not yet finished counting and closing his own case.

He then carried the briefcase full of banknotes and followed the mysterious figure out of the Bounty Station.

The two left the Bounty Station one after the other, and the air was thick with tension.