Strongest Worker, Kakuzu!

Given Hyuga Shin's speed, it would take less than half a day to reach the Earth Hidden Battlefield.

However, someone suddenly entered his sensory range midway, causing him to change his plans on the spot.

It was none other than Kakuzu, one of the seed candidates he had previously selected.

Hyuga Shin thought, A chance encounter is better than a planned meeting. Since our paths have crossed, I might as well give him a preventive shot in advance and lay the groundwork for what comes next.

He immediately drifted down from the sky and landed about a kilometer directly ahead along Kakuzu's route.

Then he slowly made his way toward Kakuzu.

Kakuzu had practically been born at the end of the Warring States Period, so he should have been more than ten years younger than both Hyuga Shin and Hashirama.

He had once fought Hashirama as well. Though he had been instantly defeated in just a few moves, he had always regarded it as a point of pride.

After all, fighting the God of Shinobi and surviving was indeed something to be proud of!

Of course, the main reason was that Hashirama had not intended to kill him. He had spared the young man who had dared challenge him.

Much like how Hanzo had admired the Sannin.

It was a peculiar habit unique to the powerhouses of the Shinobi World!

As a Bounty Hunter and a slave to money, Kakuzu actually welcomed war.

After all, having been modified by Earth Grudge Fear, he needed fresh hearts, and war money was easier to make!

Once war broke out, the Underground Black Market would have plenty more high-commission missions!

Every village had certain things they wanted done but could not easily do themselves, so they needed Bounty Hunters to handle them.

This time, he had accepted a mission issued by Rock Hidden in the black market.

That was also why he was heading for the Rock Front.

Kakuzu had always been alone, without friends. It had much to do with his past; those who had suffered betrayal found it even harder to trust others!

Even when taking on dangerous missions, he had never formed a team with anyone. In truth, he had once possessed the heart of a strong man.

Even during the Warring States Period, there had been few who dared attack Hashirama Senju for the sake of their village.

Much less in this era of one village, one country.

As for why he had become a slave to money, perhaps it was because he could no longer see any hope of growing stronger.

Like a Caged Bird, Earth Grudge Fear had made Kakuzu, yet it had also limited him!

Earth Grudge Fear gave Kakuzu the possibility of an extraordinarily long lifespan, but it also smothered his chances of becoming stronger!

Having lost his goals and motivation, Kakuzu found something to do so that he would not go mad in the long loneliness ahead of him: becoming a Bounty Hunter!

In his eyes, money would not deceive him. It was far more reliable than so-called friendship and bonds.

It let him eat what he wanted, buy what he wanted, and spending it pleased him, ensuring that the rest of his life would not be boring!

For someone like him, as long as there was a lofty ideal that could move him and give him a goal to strive toward, he could still become a very dependable companion.

After joining Akatsuki, was Kakuzu not one of its most dedicated members? He was practically the Strongest Worker!

He could make money, fight, and never argued with the leader! More importantly, he was healthy, lived a long time, and feared neither 996 nor 007! In his previous life, an employee like that was the kind every boss dreamed of having.

Hyuga Shin wanted an employee like that too!

But the prerequisite was that he had to beat him into submission!

Otherwise, he would not even have the right to speak to him about ideals!

After all, in the Shinobi World, strength was what did the talking.

Especially when dealing with an old monster like Kakuzu, who killed without blinking.

Fortunately, Hyuga Shin had both of those things!

So Kakuzu would definitely be put in his place and become the Strongest Worker under Hyuga Shin's command!

He would surely devote his life to peace and struggle for all living beings in the Shinobi World!

In just a few minutes, the two men walking toward each other drew closer and closer.

Kakuzu had noticed Hyuga Shin approaching from afar, but he had assumed he was merely an ordinary old man. Only when they got closer did he realize that he was a lone member of the Hyuga Main Family!

And he was incredibly aged, on the verge of death!

There was not the slightest trace of Chakra about him. He seemed like an ordinary person.

It was as though money had fallen from the heavens straight onto his face!

After all, the Byakugan was highly valuable, especially after Hashirama Senju and Uchiha Madara had forcibly reclaimed the Byakugan that had leaked out during the Village Founding Era.

Combined with the Caged Bird, there had basically been no more reports of Byakugan existing outside the Hyuga clan!

If he could obtain one and sell it to the major shinobi villages, he would definitely earn a sum far exceeding the reward from countless S-rank missions!

As Hyuga Shin drew nearer, Kakuzu could not help but grow suspicious. How could a member of the Hyuga Main Family possibly be without protection? Could this be a trap?

Yet as the two were about to pass each other, Kakuzu's senses still detected no ambush anywhere nearby.

In the end, his greed for the Byakugan made Kakuzu decide to take the risk. He had confidence in his sensory abilities, and even greater confidence in his own strength!

If there really was an ambush, it wasn't like he had no legs. If he couldn't win, couldn't he just run?

Turning down money delivered right to his doorstep would keep him up at night.

The instant the two brushed past each other, Kakuzu made his move!

Well versed in Taijutsu, Kakuzu threw a punch at the back of Hyuga Shin's head!

He intended to knock Hyuga Shin unconscious in an instant and seize his Byakugan.

What he failed to realize was that the finest hunters often appeared in the form of prey.

The outcome Kakuzu had imagined never came. His fist was stopped by an aged hand.

"Young man! Aren't you ashamed of sneak-attacking a frail old man?"

"I was wondering why someone from the Hyuga Main Family had no guards. So you were confident in your own skills!" Although Hyuga Shin's reaction had exceeded Kakuzu's expectations, it also answered the question in his heart.

"To mistake this old man for those rotten vermin of the Main Family, Kakuzu, your eye for people needs work."

"You know me? I'm curious about your identity, but I'll be taking your Byakugan." As soon as Kakuzu finished speaking, he attacked again.

Yet after a brief exchange, things developed in a direction Kakuzu could never have imagined.

This old man of the Hyuga Clan was absurdly strong!

He did not resemble an old man in the slightest. His movements were swift, his strength immense, his reactions quick, and his combat instincts even sharper than Kakuzu's!

Kakuzu possessed the Skin Hardening technique, and as a Taijutsu expert, he believed that even among the Hyuga Clan, few could contend with him in Taijutsu.

Yet this unbelievably aged man before him was actually crushing him in Taijutsu!

It was utterly ridiculous!

Several times, Kakuzu tried to open up some distance and release his masked clones to use ninjutsu, but every attempt failed.

Before the storm-like barrage of attacks, Kakuzu had no ability to fight back!

He was being thoroughly pummeled!

Kakuzu knew he had kicked an iron plate, but there was nothing he could do. Since he had started this, he had to finish it, tears or not.

"Who exactly are you?! Why are you causing trouble for me?!" Kakuzu finally found an opening to break free from Hyuga Shin's grasp. After catching his breath, he voiced the doubt in his heart.

He had also realized that he had been lured in. After all, he had not lived all these years for nothing.

A frail old man with a Byakugan free of the Caged Bird seal had happened to appear right before him.

And this person even knew him. How could there be so many coincidences?

"Weren't you the one causing trouble for me?" Hyuga Shin asked in return.

"Hmph! Do you take me for an idiot? How could there be so many coincidences? Tell me your purpose!" Kakuzu had actually wanted to run immediately, but Hyuga Shin's aura had locked onto him.

Besides, he had not sensed any killing intent from Hyuga Shin.

"I came to test your mettle, and to offer you a new beginning!" Hyuga Shin spoke frankly.

"Test my mettle? Offer me a new beginning? Who do you think you are, Hashirama Senju?" Although Kakuzu was wary of the old man, his experience meant he would not be fooled by a few words.

"This old man is Hyuga Shin!" Hyuga Shin immediately revealed his identity.

"Hyuga Shin? So it's you! You're actually still alive!" Kakuzu found it hard to believe.

After all, he too was from the Warring States Period, so he naturally knew of Hyuga Shin.

Hyuga Shin was one of the few who had been capable of fighting Hashirama Senju and Madara.

Back in that era, Hyuga Shin had been quite famous.

But according to the information Kakuzu knew, if Hyuga Shin were still alive, he had to be at least over eighty!

Because of the Shinobi World's cultivation system, those who could live past eighty were exceedingly rare!

What was even harder to imagine was that Hyuga Shin remained this powerful at such an age!

Even Kakuzu could maintain his peak strength only because of Earth Grudge Fear. Otherwise, his strength would have declined long ago.

"What do you mean?" After learning Hyuga Shin's identity, Kakuzu's attitude became much calmer.

Hyuga Shin's identity and strength were enough to make Kakuzu willing to sit down and hear him out.

"You haven't made any progress in strength for a long time now, have you?"

"Earth Grudge Fear made you, but it also bound you." Hyuga Shin opened with a bombshell!

"How do you know that?!" Kakuzu's face was filled with shock. This was his secret, and nearly everyone who knew it was already dead!

"My understanding of you far exceeds your imagination. You need a new beginning!"

"You have lost your drive and your purpose in life. Being able to keep company only with money is truly a waste."

"In that case, why not set a new goal for your life and embark on a journey worth striving for?"

"What I want is to lead you in creating a Perfect World! To walk a path with true ideals!"

"Though this road may be covered in thorns, at least you will have strived for it! It is far more meaningful than living like a walking corpse as you do now."

"Just as Hashirama Senju and Madara ended the chaos of the Warring States Period, you too can strive to change this ugly, twisted, conflict-ridden Shinobi World."

"It desperately needed someone with ideals to spread great love throughout this world! Why couldn't that person be you?"

"Only a Shinobi World united as one would be free of conflict. Hashirama and Madara failed to achieve that, but that didn't mean the path itself was wrong!"

"Kakuzu, what choice would you make? Let me see the breadth of your spirit!" Hyuga Shin continued to tempt Kakuzu with his words.

Listening to Hyuga Shin's analysis of him and the grand promises he painted, Kakuzu fell silent!

Just as Hyuga Shin had said, he had indeed lost his goals, his drive, and his ideals. All he could do was keep company with money.

But was this really what he wanted?

Hyuga Shin truly understood him too well!

At this stage, Kakuzu was like someone trapped in a swamp. If no one pulled him out, he would probably never escape.

This was originally something Nagato was meant to do, but Hyuga Shin had beaten him to it.

"Think it over carefully. I believe you'll make the right decision!" Hyuga Shin sincerely encouraged Kakuzu.

Looks like I can't get him to sign. What a disappointment.