Windfall Profits

"Then dispel the ninjutsu first. We're not in the mood to write under these circumstances." Kakuzu decided to follow his instincts and compromise for the moment.

Uchiha Gen nodded and thoughtfully asked, "Need a pen?" Without waiting to see whether they did, he tossed them one.

Kakuzu looked at the pen that had landed before him and suddenly said, "Hidan, go pick it up."

"..."

Hidan looked utterly dead inside as he walked over. Fine, every dangerous job got dumped on him. It wasn't like he could die anyway. If he got dismembered, Kakuzu could just stitch him back together.

Uchiha Gen honored the agreement and slowly withdrew the chains. He did not retract them completely, only canceling the Sharingan's enhancement.

The main purpose was to prevent them from escaping. Seeing this, Kakuzu temporarily abandoned some of his schemes.

"Do we have to write on all the money?" Hidan asked as he picked up the pen.

"One bill each is enough." Uchiha Gen seemed remarkably agreeable at the moment. Having obtained two signatures at once put him in a good mood, so his tone was especially gentle.

After finishing, Hidan spread the two bills out to show Uchiha Gen that they had been signed, then placed them in the box and set it between the two sides. He silently raised his hands and backed away.

Uchiha Gen walked over and dispelled the Adamantine Sealing Chains as well. Kakuzu and Hidan immediately withdrew.

Uchiha Gen picked up the box and intended to look at the two signatures. He could have submitted them directly, but he was simply curious about what their handwriting looked like.

However, Kakuzu, who had supposedly already left, suddenly appeared behind Uchiha Gen. His arm instantly turned black. "Earth Release: Earth Spear!" With tremendous hardness, he tried to pierce Uchiha Gen's heart.

The moment he touched Uchiha Gen, Uchiha Gen abruptly vanished before his eyes. In the next instant, he appeared behind Kakuzu as if he had teleported, pressing a kunai against his heart. The situation had reversed.

Just as Kakuzu was about to move, Uchiha Gen seemed to know what he was thinking. "Although I know this won't kill you, I don't think you want to lose a heart for nothing either, right?"

Hearing this, Kakuzu's mood sank, and his expression immediately darkened. His information had actually been leaked. Where had this guy gotten that intelligence? Other than the leader, everyone who had seen his abilities should have been dead.

This guy had to die!

With that thought, Kakuzu suddenly used the Body Flicker Technique to open up a great distance. He removed his Akatsuki cloak, and two masks leaped out, immediately unleashing their ultimate technique: Combination Ninjutsu: Searing Migratory Fire!

"..." Uchiha Gen narrowed his eyes at the towering sea of flames before him. It was just a bounty on Asuma's head. Was this really necessary? Taking off your clothes meant certain death, brother. Wasn't it a little early to raise a death flag?

At the same time, using the flames to obscure his vision, Hidan suddenly appeared from somewhere behind the inferno. He swung his scythe hard at Uchiha Gen. His goal was modest; he did not need to inflict much damage. So long as he got even a little blood, that would be enough.

However, Uchiha Gen had no intention of playing with them any longer. He had already taken all the advantages, so he might as well show them some consideration. Sensing the location he had marked earlier, he directly used Instantaneous Shift to leave.

As Uchiha Gen returned to the marked location, the hair that had been curled by the flames also returned to normal. "..."

That was why he had not cut short his somewhat inconveniently long hair. There was simply no need.

Hidan's strike hit nothing but air. Kakuzu frowned and carefully sensed the surroundings, but he could no longer detect any trace of Uchiha Gen. He could tell that Uchiha Gen had not hidden somewhere; he had simply vanished into thin air.

A relatively reasonable explanation suddenly occurred to him: it seemed that Uchiha Gen's earlier use of the Adamantine Sealing Chains had not been without a cost. At the very least, he had not used them again in their subsequent exchanges.

Yet after his anger faded, Kakuzu could not help feeling lingering fear when he recalled Uchiha Gen's earlier ability and the Adamantine Sealing Chains he had used at the start. If that man had not inexplicably refrained from killing them, Kakuzu might have already been finished.

And that mask just now... This matter seemed connected to the organization's newcomer.

As he came back to his senses and looked at his empty hands, Kakuzu began questioning his life. He had not even been left the corpse from before. The more he thought about it, the worse his mood became. He never wanted to come to this damned place again.

He would also have to be more careful in future operations. Who knew whether that man was the only one who knew his information? The organization's ultimate goal was to collect the Tailed Beasts, and the Adamantine Sealing Chains were extremely effective at restraining them. He would report this to the leader later and see how he handled it.

In his heart, Kakuzu had already sentenced Uchiha Gen to death. After all, in his eyes, the leader's power was comparable to that of a God. He was absolutely not someone Uchiha Gen could oppose.

On the way to the Bounty Office, Uchiha Gen carefully studied Hidan's signature and began wondering how those symbols were formed. "These symbols were actually words?" And that scribble had even been recognized by the system.

Having obtained two more experience cards, Uchiha Gen was in a good mood. He could not help wondering whether he should embark on a life of robbery. This was simply absurdly profitable!

The bounty on the rogue ninja named Hengye was a full ten million ryo. Adding what he had extorted from Kakuzu and what he had won at the gambling house, Uchiha Gen had more than eight million ryo left to use.

He created two Shadow Clones and sent them back. Because of the time wasted earlier, there was now less than half a day left for traveling.

If they wanted to reach Konoha within the time Tsunade had set, they would need to use Instantaneous Shift, which consumed a large amount of chakra. Having one clone carry the other would reduce the expenditure and allow Uzumaki Reikawa's clone chakra to last longer.

Back in Konoha, Tsunade finished reviewing the documents and asked Shizune, who was helping organize them beside her, "What date is it now?"

"Lady Tsunade, it's already the ninth. Is there a problem?"

"Nothing." Tsunade rubbed her eyes. Uzumaki Reikawa, don't disappoint me...

Just as Shizune was carrying the documents out, the door suddenly flew open with a bang! Shizune jumped in fright, and the documents in her arms scattered across the floor.

"Sorry, sorry!" Uzumaki Reikawa hurriedly helped Shizune pick up the documents.

Tsunade smiled at the sight, though her tone sounded almost accusatory. "You came back right on time?"

"No, no, I wouldn't dare," Uzumaki Reikawa said with a frightened look. After Shizune left, he suddenly became serious. "Lord Hokage, I unexpectedly obtained some information during this trip. Iwagakure's Five-Tails Jinchuriki may have been captured, though I don't know by whom."

Hearing this, Tsunade's expression turned grave as she sorted through the intelligence she had gathered over recent days. "I understand. I'll make arrangements for this matter. There is something else—could I ask you for a favor?"