Robbing the Robbers

Since the actions of Kumogakure did not cause any substantial damage to Konoha, Sakumo only demanded compensation in the treaty, aside from the necessary apology, to cover the costs of the troops' deployment and to meet the needs of various departments within the village.

The Kumogakure also did not want the Konoha Ninja to linger on their territory, so the two sides quickly reached an agreement on the various details of the treaty, and then watched as Hiruzen Sarutobi led his large force away from the Land of Lightning.

Kazashiro did not return to Konoha with the main force, but instead came to North Central Town alone.

"It's been a long time, Pakura."

At the Fujiwara Clan mansion, Kazashiro encountered Pakura he hadn't seen in a long time.

"Oh, isn't this our hands-off manager? He's finally deigned to show up in person."

Pakura, who was practicing Ninjutsu in the backyard, stopped throwing a punch and looked Kazashiro up and down with great interest.

Yeah, the height is still the same.

"Where's Kakuzu? I need to speak with him."

After a brief reminiscing, they began to inquire about Kakuzu's whereabouts.

"Hmph, that Mr. Kaku is sleeping in his house with his money in his arms."

A hint of helplessness flashed across Pakura's face when Kakuzu was mentioned.

That money-grubbing guy, aside from necessary outings, spent most of his time hiding in his house with his money, as if afraid the banknotes would grow legs and run away.

Kazashiro's purpose in seeking out Kakuzu was simple: to have Kakuzu accompany him to Kirigakure.

He believed that this ancient monster, who had lived for countless years, must have his own channels to ensure their safe arrival in the Land of Water.

"So, you want me to accompany you to Kirigakure to find those two brats?"

While counting his money, Kakuzu, upon hearing Kazashiro's purpose, still kept his attention focused on the money.

"That's right."

"I'm sorry, the Fujiwara Clan Corporation is currently in a phase of rapid growth, with a steady stream of money flowing into its accounts. This is a small matter; you can just take that woman, Pakura, with you."

Kakuzu decisively rejected Kazashiro and recommended Pakura instead.

"That woman..."

Kazashiro shook his neck. Ever since Raikage hit him like that, he had subconsciously felt that something was slightly wrong with his injury.

Pakura is indeed capable in terms of strength, but her deep hatred for Kirigakure that once she sets foot on the land of the Land of Water, who knows how much trouble she will bring upon herself.

What if she suddenly decides to assassinate the Mizukage? Should I help her or not?

"She's not suitable."

Kazashiro directly rejected Kakuzu's proposal.

"Then go by yourself. With your strength, Kirigakure probably won't be able to keep you here."

Kakuzu still refused.

"This is such a hassle."

Seeing that Kakuzu still refused to look him in the eye, Kazashiro's expression turned cold, and he reached into his pocket and pulled out a wad of banknotes.

"Hmph, you, as the boss, should know exactly how much money I handle every day. Do you think I'd succumb to such a small amount of money?"

Kakuzu closed his eyes, refusing to look at the banknotes in Kazashiro's hand.

Yes, I will.

As Kazashiro spoke, he flung the banknotes in his hand out.

Countless black tentacles emerged from the ground, precisely wrapping around each banknote.

"That's right."

Kakuzu stood up, quickly counted the money, carefully stuffed it into his inner pocket, then turned to Kazashiro: "When are we leaving?"

"This is the secret channel you were talking about?"

In a port somewhere in the Land of Water, Kazashiro kicked a corpse with its neck snapped to the side, breathing in the air from the Land of Water with a touch of nostalgia.

Hmm, there's a faint smell of blood.

"That's right. These guys use the guise of smuggling to lure illegal immigrants onto their ships at extremely low prices, and then forcibly take them off when they arrive in the Land of Water, selling them as slaves to various places."

Kakuzu casually crushed the throats of the two ronin in his hands, Kakuzu bent down to search their bodies for money.

"So you chose them as your route to the Land of Water, and then staged a double-cross?"

With a casual Senbon, Kazashiro killed the last ronin. He glanced back at the dumbfounded stowaways and pondered how to deal with them.

Kill them all?

That's too cruel, considering there are quite a few children involved.

"Hey, hurry up and go, or are you waiting for me to take you?"

After thinking it over, I realized they couldn't reveal anything about me, so I decided to let them all go; we were all just unfortunate souls anyway.

The stowaways who witnessed the crime scene finally realized what had happened and scattered in screams.

Kakuzu ignored these minor details; his attention was entirely focused on the money.

By forcibly breaking down a door, Kakuzu found a large sum of money inside, just as he had hoped.

How did you know there was money hidden in this house?

Kazashiro curiously peeked out from the door frame, looking around the room.

"My nose won't let any banknote slip by."

Kakuzu slowly and methodically counted the money in the house, Kakuzu oblivious to the fact that he was in a foreign country.

After placing the last banknote into the storage box, Kakuzu, urged by Kazashiro, headed towards their intended destination with the box.

At this time, Kirigakure had entered the era of the Fourth Generation.

The Fourth Mizukage was none other than Karatachi Yagura.

Upon assuming office, the young Mizukage abolished many of Kirigakure's ancient and bloody policies while striving to downplay the influence of the village's reputation as the Bloody Mist Village.

However, connections with the mainland were not easily established.

Firstly, Kirigakure had a mess to clean up after the Third Shinobi World War; secondly, Yagura himself didn't want outsiders to know that his Tailed Beast were missing.

For the Hidden Mist Village, the loss of the Tailed Beast represents a disruption of the strategic balance, which will arouse the covetousness of surrounding countries and plunge the Kirigakure back into war.

"Do the residents still hate ninjas with Kekkei Genkai?"

Upon seeing the report that yet another ninja descendant who had just awakened his Kekkei Genkai had been driven away by the local residents, Yagura frowned.

"It's much better than before."

The elder Genji comforted the other person, saying, "Prejudice in people's hearts is like a mountain that won't disappear quickly. The hatred towards Kekkei Genkai will probably take a long time to dissipate."

"This is the only way."

Yagura understood the reasons perfectly well, but he was simply unwilling to accept it.

"The Yukigakure Clan, Ice Release... I wonder how that White Death God even appeared in Konoha."

Recalling the report he had read before, Yagura was very puzzled as to why Kekkei Genkai unique to Kirigakure would be openly recognized as Konoha Ninja.

"In this weather, having some tofu soup is indeed a very pleasant thing."

Staring intently at the tofu bubbling in the pot, Kazashiro tried hard not to drool.

It wasn't that he was naive or unsophisticated, but rather that the smuggling process was incredibly arduous; being able to eat dry rations was already a blessing.

The two had arrived in an unnamed town in the Land of Water and randomly chose a small shop to have lunch there.

This is a city where snow falls year-round, and if nothing unexpected happens, Bai should be lingering nearby.