Kakuzu

The man standing before Hyuuga Nen wore the crossed-out forehead protector of Takigakure. He had on a black vest, and his exposed forearms and upper arms were marked with what looked like black stitches.

He wore a black mask. His eyes were an unusual blood-red, while his pupils were green. Between his appearance and his clothes, he gave off an air of bloodlust.

"Is this man Kakuzu?"

Hyuuga Nen was surprised to see the man walking toward him, but his face showed no hint of it.

The man seemed to notice Hyuuga Nen watching him and turned his gaze toward him.

They passed each other, and Hyuuga Nen continued toward the Bounty Exchange exit. The man stopped and turned to look at him, watching until Hyuuga Nen had left the Bounty Exchange.

With a thud, the body was thrown onto the table. The moment the Bounty Exchange manager saw it, he hurried over to the man. "Mr. Kakuzu, it's been a long time." His tone was cordial.

"Cut the chatter. Inspect it quickly, then give me my bounty." Kakuzu sounded impatient.

The manager nodded nervously and immediately began examining the body.

As he inspected it, the manager thought he heard Kakuzu murmur, "What a fine heart."

"Mr. Kakuzu, what did you say?" The manager looked up at him, puzzled.

"It's none of your business. Are you done yet? If you are, hand over my bounty!" Kakuzu snapped.

"Just about, just about," the manager said nervously.

After taking the bounty from the manager, Kakuzu licked his finger and carefully checked the money, bill by bill.

Once he'd confirmed the amount was correct, Kakuzu put it away and asked the manager, "Who was that person dressed like a samurai?"

"Ah, that was Mr. Shinji. He hasn't been here very long, but he has a pretty good track record."

The manager was a little puzzled, but he answered Kakuzu's question.

"Give me a copy of his file," Kakuzu said, his tone leaving no room for refusal.

"Mr. Kakuzu, I-I'm afraid that's against the rules of the Bounty Exchange. You know that," the manager stammered.

Kakuzu said nothing. He only fixed the manager with a bloodthirsty stare.

Unable to withstand the pressure Kakuzu exuded, the manager began to sweat. In the end, he handed Kakuzu the file.

After passing it to him, the manager rubbed his hands together uneasily and looked at Kakuzu. "Mr. Kakuzu, please don't spread that file around. I'll be punished if you do."

As he spoke, the manager seemed to overlook the wandering samurai and bounty-hunting ninja watching from inside the Bounty Exchange, making one last futile attempt to protect himself.

Kakuzu snorted without replying, took the file, and headed for the exit.

"Shinji, a wandering samurai who's been in the Land of Sea for less than a year." Kakuzu read the file as he walked after leaving the Bounty Exchange.

"Looks like I've got another candidate for a spare heart."

Kakuzu spoke with satisfaction, then pulled a thick booklet from somewhere.

He opened it and carefully turned through the pages. The first part listed the ninja wanted by the underground Bounty Exchange and the amounts offered for them. Some of the bounty notices bore large X marks, seemingly indicating what had become of those people.

The last few pages didn't seem to contain bounty notices. The portraits there all appeared to have a heart drawn over them.

Kakuzu tucked the file into the back of the booklet and examined it closely. Then he put the booklet away, a strange smile on his face.

By then, Hyuuga Nen had returned to the place where he was staying temporarily. He hadn't noticed anyone following him. Back in his room, he sat down with a frown.

That man just now must have been Kakuzu. He looked incredibly strong, and his presence was oppressive.

He seemed to watch me the whole time, right up until I left the Bounty Exchange. Why? Did he see through my disguise?

But aside from someone with the Byakugan, no one should be able to see through my disguise. That probably wasn't it.

After thinking it over for a while, Hyuuga Nen still couldn't come up with an answer.

Then he remembered that Kakuzu hadn't been wearing the Akatsuki's black cloak with red clouds. Has Kakuzu not joined the Akatsuki yet? Or did he take it off to keep a low profile?

There's no doubt Kakuzu is powerful. If I fought him now, I wouldn't stand a chance.

After thinking it over, Hyuuga Nen decided he should leave the Land of Sea before anything unexpected happened.

With that, Hyuuga Nen took out his map and studied it.

Looking at the island nations marked on it, Hyuuga Nen considered his options. "The Land of Artisans lies west of the Land of Sea. It's controlled by Takumi Village, which is fairly strong among the smaller nations."

But the country was too small. If anything went wrong, Hyuuga Nen wouldn't have anywhere to hide, so he ruled out going to the Land of Artisans.

There was nothing in the Land of Waves that appealed to him.

At last, Hyuuga Nen turned his attention to the Land of Tea, across the sea from the Land of Sea.

"Does that leave me with no choice but the Land of Tea? The country doesn't have a hidden village, but it borders the Land of Fire, so going there is somewhat dangerous for me right now."

Hyuuga Nen sighed inwardly. I have no choice. I can only go to the Land of Tea.

Once he'd made up his mind, Hyuuga Nen immediately got moving. He packed his things, checked out of his room, and headed straight for the Land of Sea's harbor.

Several days later, at the underground Bounty Exchange in the Land of Sea,

Kakuzu approached the manager again to ask about Shinji.

"I'm very sorry, Mr. Kakuzu. The person you're looking for seems to have left the Land of Sea," the manager said with difficulty.

"He's left the Land of Sea? Where did he go?" Kakuzu asked, taken aback.

"I don't know. Maybe he took a mission in another country. You know how bounty-hunting ninja like you sometimes travel elsewhere to complete a job."

Hearing that, Kakuzu nodded. Does he wander from place to place for bounties, like I do?

Kakuzu took out his booklet again, flipped to the last few pages, and silently studied the handful of targets listed there.

Forget it. I'm not short on hearts right now, so I'll put this aside for the time being. With that thought, Kakuzu turned and left the Bounty Exchange.