"Mm. I won't show you the way unless—" Kakuzu hadn't finished speaking, but Qingyun instantly understood what he meant.
"This is ten thousand ryō in cash!" Qingyun then took ten thousand ryō from his system inventory and handed it to Kakuzu.
Qingyun knew Kakuzu preferred paper money.
Kakuzu's look toward Qingyun changed in an instant.
Qingyun felt a chill run down his spine, thinking Kakuzu might kill him and take his money.
"All right! I'll show you the way." Kakuzu had yielded to money, which was as good as yielding to Qingyun.
As everyone knew, Kakuzu had joined the Akatsuki in the original story because he'd heard he could make money there. That showed just how obsessed he was with money.
Qingyun had money to spare. Almost every ten-pull gave him an endless supply of cash. He'd thought it was completely useless, but now he understood what it meant to have money make the devil turn millstones.
Kakuzu was at least Kage Level. If money could solve a problem, then it wasn't really a problem.
On the way, Kakuzu's attitude toward Qingyun gradually changed.
"Can I really get that much money by working for you?" Kakuzu asked.
"I'll pay you a salary every month. When there's no work, you can take it easy. When there is, you do the job. You'll also get commissions and a year-end bonus."
Qingyun went on and on. Kakuzu didn't understand everything he said, but he could tell that the benefits Qingyun described were unheard of in the Shinobi World.
"Still, I'm a rogue ninja. My identity is sensitive. Working for you might not only get me into trouble, but you as well." Kakuzu was clever, and he knew Qingyun was clever too, but he still couldn't quite understand.
"It's simple. Once I become Hokage, none of that will be a problem." Qingyun spoke his mind directly.
His ambition to become Hokage was no secret, and there was no point in hiding it.
"Become Hokage? Is becoming Hokage really that easy?"
"Kid, isn't your goal a little too ambitious?"
"Still, are you really that confident?" Kakuzu asked.
Qingyun then listed his accomplishments for Kakuzu.
"I entered the Ninja Academy at three, became the Third Hokage's disciple at three and a half, and graduated from the Ninja Academy early after just six months. I've completed over a hundred D-rank and C-rank missions."
"I'm only four, and I beat you. Do you think I'm qualified to become Hokage?" Qingyun asked.
Kakuzu didn't know what to say. Qingyun was beyond the bounds of genius. No one else could be as powerful as him!
"If you become Hokage, I'll come find you myself. I hope you won't turn me away then," Kakuzu said.
"That's the Underground Bounty Station. I've got things to do. Thanks." After who knew how long, Kakuzu raised the case in his hand, glanced at Qingyun, and disappeared.
Qingyun had achieved his goal. He looked up and saw two burly men standing at the entrance to the Bounty Exchange. They seemed to be on guard, and no one dared go inside.
"So this is the Underground Bounty Station? Good! I want to see who put a bounty on me!" Qingyun sneered and walked straight inside.
"Who are you, kid? This isn't a place you can just walk into!" one of the burly men said.
Thud! Qingyun punched one of them in the stomach, knocking him out.
"I'm here to place a bounty!" Qingyun casually handed a few hundred ryō to the burly man, who was already stunned with fear.
"All right, got it." The burly man knocked on the door, and someone inside opened it.
"Release!" The person inside didn't even look at Qingyun. He simply released the barrier; they didn't want to provoke someone like Qingyun.
Though he looked young, he was ferocious. Who knew what kind of backing he had?
Once they released the barrier, Qingyun entered without difficulty.
To Qingyun's surprise, though the place was very dim, it was packed with people, and most of them seemed quite strong.
After all, they all lived by the sword. If they were weak, they'd have been killed long ago.
"How did a kid end up here?"
"Whose kid is this? This isn't a place for you!"
"Hey, you at the door! Why didn't you keep an eye on him?!"
Qingyun drew attention too easily. He'd barely entered the Underground Bounty Station before some ninjas stopped him. The others watched as if it were a show.
"I have business here. Don't get in my way," Qingyun said.
"A kid? What business could you have? Are you hiring someone to kill, or have you already killed someone and come here to collect a bounty?" The man in front of him laughed, showing his contempt for Qingyun.
Qingyun said nothing. He simply released his chakra.
Though Qingyun was only four, the chakra he let loose still sent a powerful shock through everyone around him.
"So strong! This kid is definitely no ordinary person!" The ninjas around him stared wide-eyed, no longer daring to underestimate Qingyun.
"Are you still going to block my way?"
Qingyun frowned. Seeing that the man showed no sign of backing down, he threatened, "In that case, I'll just kill you."
Qingyun looked at the man blocking his path and held nothing back as he charged forward at top speed.
At the same time, the Kunai in his hand pressed against the man's chest, poised to pierce his heart at any moment.
Qingyun was only four and too short, so reaching the man's heart was a bit of a stretch.
Still, Qingyun's speed and skill quickly cowed the ninja in front of him.
"Hey, buddy, you're fast! I think this was all a misunderstanding. Whatever you came here to do, I won't get in your way." The ninja wasn't looking to get himself killed. He could tell Qingyun was at least an elite jonin, so he naturally didn't dare say anything more.
"Someone tried to kill me. I want to find out who it was. Do you know how I can do that?" Qingyun asked.
"That... the identities of the clients are strictly confidential."
"There must be some way, right?" Qingyun then gave the man a few thousand ryō.
Qingyun was powerful and rich, so the man in front of him didn't insist on keeping his lips sealed.
"Well... you can go to Mr. Yamamoto. He handles the Bounty Exchange's commissions. In other words, he's the only one who might have contact with the people who place them." The ninja had accepted the money, so he answered honestly.
"How do I find Yamamoto?" Qingyun asked.
But as soon as he'd asked, Qingyun sensed that something was wrong. Nearly every ninja around him was glaring at him.
"You want to find Mr. Yamamoto?"
"Then you'll die here! Without Mr. Yamamoto, we wouldn't have survived this long."
Qingyun's desire to find Yamamoto seemed to have crossed everyone's bottom line.
Everyone's attitude toward him changed completely.
Before you continue