Money Makes the World Go Round

"Hmm, I won't help you lead the way, unless..." Kakuzu didn't finish his sentence, but Qingyun instantly understood what he meant.

"This is ten thousand ryo in cash!" Qingyun then took ten thousand ryo from his system inventory and handed it to Kakuzu.

Qingyun knew that Kakuzu preferred paper money.

The way Kakuzu looked at Qingyun changed in an instant.

Qingyun felt a chill down his spine, fearing that Kakuzu might want to kill him to seize his wealth.

"Fine! I'll lead the way." Kakuzu yielded; yielding to money was equivalent to yielding to Qingyun.

One must know that in the original story, the reason Kakuzu joined the Akatsuki was because he heard there was money to be made; one can see just how obsessed this guy was with wealth.

Qingyun had money to burn; almost every ten-pull in the system yielded countless riches. He had previously thought this stuff was useless, but now Qingyun finally understood the saying: "Money can make the devil turn the millstone."

Kakuzu's strength was at least at the Kage level; anything that could be solved with money was, naturally, not a problem.

On the road, Kakuzu's attitude toward Qingyun gradually shifted.

"Can I really get that much money? By working for you?" Kakuzu asked.

"I will pay you a monthly salary. When there's nothing to do, you can slack off. When there is work, you do it, and there will be additional commissions and year-end bonuses."

Qingyun rattled off a long list. Although Kakuzu didn't fully understand, he grasped that the employment benefits Qingyun described were absolutely unheard of in the ninja world.

"But I am a missing-nin with a very sensitive status. Working for you might not only harm me but also harm you." Kakuzu was very clever, and he knew Qingyun was a smart person, yet he still couldn't quite wrap his head around it.

"It's simple. Once I become the Hokage, these things won't be problems anymore." Qingyun stated his true intentions directly.

That he wanted to become the Hokage was no longer a secret, and there was nothing to hide.

"Become the Hokage? Is becoming the Hokage really that easy?"

"Kid, isn't your goal a bit too grand?"

"However, are you really that confident?" Kakuzu asked.

Qingyun then recited his resume to Kakuzu.

"I entered the Ninja Academy at three, was taken as a disciple by the Third Hokage at three and a half, graduated from the Ninja Academy early in half a year, and have completed over a hundred D-rank and C-rank missions."

"I am only four years old now, and I have defeated you. Do you think I am qualified to become the Hokage?" Qingyun asked.

Kakuzu didn't know what to say. The Qingyun before him had already transcended the category of a genius; no one else could be as powerful as Qingyun!

"If you become the Hokage, I will naturally come to find you. I hope you won't turn me away then," Kakuzu said.

"That is the Underground Bounty Station. I have business to attend to, thank you." Not knowing how long they had been chatting, Kakuzu suddenly raised the box in his hand, glanced at Qingyun, and then vanished.

Qingyun's goal had been achieved. He looked up and found two burly men standing at the entrance of the Underground Bounty Station. These men seemed very vigilant, and no one dared to enter.

"Is this the Underground Bounty Station? Good! I want to see who put a bounty on me!" Qingyun sneered and walked straight toward the entrance.

"Who are you?! Brat! This isn't a place you can just walk into!" one of the burly men said.

"Bang!" Qingyun landed a simple punch to the man's abdomen, knocking him unconscious.

"I'm here to place a bounty!" Qingyun casually took out a few hundred ryo and gave it to the other burly man, who was already terrified.

"Alright, I understand." The man knocked on the door, and the people inside finally opened it.

"Release!" The people inside didn't even look at Qingyun, directly deactivating the barrier; they didn't want to provoke someone like Qingyun.

Although he looked young, he was incredibly fierce, and who knew what kind of background he had.

After these people deactivated the barrier, Qingyun entered with ease.

However, to Qingyun's surprise, although the place was very dim, there were quite a few people, and their strength was generally not weak.

After all, they were people who lived by the blade; if they were too weak, they would have been killed long ago.

"A child actually came here?"

"Whose kid is this? This isn't a place for you!"

"You guys at the door, why didn't you watch this brat properly!?"

Qingyun was still too easy to notice. Not long after entering the Underground Bounty Station, he was blocked by several ninjas, while the others watched like they were at a show.

"I have business, don't block my way," Qingyun said.

"A kid? What business could you have? Are you here to commission a hit, or have you already killed someone and come here to cash in the reward?" The man in front of him laughed, looking down on Qingyun.

Qingyun didn't say more and directly released his chakra.

Although Qingyun was only four years old, the sheer amount of chakra he released caused a powerful shock to everyone around him.

"So strong! This brat is definitely not simple!" The surrounding ninjas widened their eyes, no longer daring to underestimate Qingyun.

"Are you still going to block me?"

Qingyun frowned. Seeing that the other party had no intention of backing down, he threatened, "If that's the case, I'll just finish you off."

Qingyun looked at the person blocking him and, without holding back, rushed forward at top speed.

At the same time, the kunai in his hand was already pressed against the man's chest, ready to pierce his heart at any moment.

Because Qingyun was only four years old, he wasn't tall enough, so pressing against the opponent's heart still looked a bit strained.

However, Qingyun's skills quickly subdued the ninja before him.

"Hey, buddy, your speed is incredible. I think this is all just a misunderstanding. Whatever you want to do, I won't get in your way." The ninja before him wasn't looking to die; realizing Qingyun's strength was at least that of a Jonin, he naturally didn't dare say anything more.

Qingyun said, "Someone is trying to kill me, and I want to drag that person out. Do you know of any good methods?"

"This... the identities of clients are top secret."

"I'm sure there must be some way, right?" Qingyun then handed the man a few thousand ryo.

With Qingyun being both powerful and wealthy, the man no longer insisted on his stance.

"Well... you could go find Mr. Yamamoto. All bounties posted at the Bounty Exchange are handled by him. In other words, he is the only one who might have contact with the person who issued the mission." Having received the money, the ninja spoke truthfully.

"How do I find Yamamoto?" Qingyun asked.

Yet, the moment he finished asking this, Qingyun noticed something was wrong; almost every ninja in the vicinity was glaring at him.

"You want to find Mr. Yamamoto?"

"Then you must die here! You should know that without Mr. Yamamoto, we wouldn't have been able to survive this long."

Qingyun's desire to find Yamamoto seemed to have touched upon everyone's bottom line.

The attitude of everyone present took a one-hundred-and-eighty-degree turn.