People Can't Just Go Against Money for Their Reputation, Can They?

Empty District.

In a patch of woods not far from Cat Granny's Weapon Shop, Xuan Yu was training with fiery intensity.

Anyone in the know would recognize the commotion as the sound of a ninja in training.

Those who didn't know better would probably think a Tailed Beast was out there plowing the forest floor!

After a brief test, Xuan Yu discovered that the Leaf Whirlwind taijutsu he had "forged" at the cost of 100 million ryo was shockingly powerful!

Of course, the ferocity of his Leaf Whirlwind was closely tied to his staggering 3,000-point Strength stat and 4,000-point Speed stat.

With these factors combined, any casual Leaf Whirlwind he unleashed now resulted in a formidable Whirlwind Fierce Kick.

The howling gale was enough to send a boulder the size of a man flying, moving with the speed of a cannonball.

Armed with this terrifying taijutsu and his physical stats, which far exceeded those of an ordinary person, Xuan Yu felt he could calmly handle many combat situations.

However, Xuan Yu knew clearly that he still had to work hard to earn commissions and keep collecting various ninjutsu.

Otherwise, if he encountered ninjas with special abilities, he feared he would still be at a loss.

For example, when facing a ninja who could use the "Flying Raijin Jutsu," his movement speed could never outpace space-time ninjutsu in the short term.

If he ran into an opponent who had mastered the Flying Raijin right now, he would be completely helpless against them.

Xuan Yu pondered these things while he continued his training.

Just then, an orange Ninja Cat suddenly appeared on a nearby tree branch and spoke lazily, "Hey, kid! That guy you had us watching has popped up again. When are you going to treat us to some Silvervine Drink?"

Hearing this news, Xuan Yu couldn't help but beam with joy.

The "guy" the Ninja Cat referred to was, naturally, his personal cash cow—Kakuzu.

The Ninja Cat clan in the Empty District were masters of intelligence.

It was precisely thanks to their help that he could keep such a close eye on Kakuzu's whereabouts, finding him with precision every time to snatch the spoils right from under his nose.

As for the Silvervine Drink the cat mentioned, it was a special beverage that the Ninja Cat clan absolutely loved.

Whenever the clan provided him with intelligence, he would generously treat them to a hearty round of it.

After all, every time he made a move, he earned anywhere from several million to over ten million ryo; spending a little pocket change to reward these little informants was well worth it.

Upon learning that Kakuzu had appeared again, Xuan Yu said readily, "After this mission is over, I'll treat you all to your heart's content! Now, take me to him."

Satisfied with the promise, the orange Ninja Cat shouted, "Follow me!" and darted away with a swoosh, leading Xuan Yu as he sprinted toward Kakuzu's location.

In Xuan Yu's view, Kakuzu was likely out executing another bounty mission.

Since that was the case, he naturally had to get ahead and stake out the area, waiting for the moment Kakuzu succeeded so he could be the first to intercept the fruits of his labor.

This wasn't to say he only targeted Kakuzu; it was just that because Kakuzu was strong and highly efficient at making money, he had been having the Ninja Cats focus their efforts on tracking him lately.

In fact, Xuan Yu treated all ninjas capable of earning high bounties with equal "consideration."

If any other "high-yield" ninja were spotted by the cats, he would just as readily waylay them and pocket their hard-won rewards.

At the end of the day, executing bounty missions in the ninja world wasn't about fighting alone; it was about the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.

A nobody like him couldn't land any decent big-ticket jobs on the black market.

So, rather than grinding away himself, it was better to wait for others to risk their lives completing missions before swooping in to reap the rewards.

Although his lack of professional ethics had spread through certain black markets, giving him a poor reputation, he didn't care. One shouldn't let a reputation get in the way of making money, right?

Besides, he possessed a system where "hard work makes you stronger," which made it even more impossible to turn his back on the cash!

Guided by the Ninja Cat, Xuan Yu soon arrived in the vicinity of Kakuzu.

Taking a closer look, he saw that Kakuzu had returned to the same mountain path from his last mission.

Noticing that Kakuzu was out alone this time, Xuan Yu clicked his tongue and chuckled to himself, "Tsk tsk, did Konan and Pain catch on so quickly? They must know Kakuzu is too much of a burden on his teammates, so they're letting him work solo."

But then he wondered, "Logically, shouldn't Akatsuki members work in pairs to keep an eye on each other? Why would they let Kakuzu out by himself?"

While Xuan Yu muttered to himself, he suppressed his presence and followed from a distance to observe.

Just as Xuan Yu was deep in thought, Kakuzu on the path ahead seemed to sense something.

"Swish!"

Kakuzu suddenly whipped around and hurled a kunai, which tore through the air toward the woods nearby!

As it turned out, his target was a Ninja Cat that had been trailing him from afar.

Kakuzu's strike was fast and ruthless, but the cat's reflexes were incredibly agile.

In a flash, the Ninja Cat leaped, nimbly dodging the sudden projectile.

In terms of speed, Kakuzu might not be able to catch Xuan Yu, but he was more than capable of catching a mere cat.

In the past, Kakuzu had paid no mind to the Ninja Cats that occasionally appeared in the area.

They couldn't hurt him, and there were no bounties on their heads in the black market, so he couldn't be bothered to waste energy on a few cats.

However, this time was different; he had realized that the strange appearance of these cats was likely related to that detestable Xuan Yu.

Since Xuan Yu himself could not be found, catching a Ninja Cat to interrogate seemed like a decent idea.

Seeing Kakuzu flicker as he moved to seize the unlucky orange cat, a fist-sized stone suddenly whistled through the air like a rocket, hurtling viciously toward him.

At the sight of this, Kakuzu let out a cold snort. "Shameless brat, you've finally decided to show your face?"

With that huff, he instantly activated the Earth Style: Earth Spear technique, his skin turning as hard as stone and capable of crushing boulders with ease.

"Bang!"

The flying stone thrown by Xuan Yu was smashed to pieces by Kakuzu's fist, sending debris flying in every direction.

The Ninja Cat seized the opportunity to escape, leaping a few times before landing on Xuan Yu's shoulder.

After saving the Ninja Cat, Xuan Yu greeted Kakuzu with a laugh. "Oh, Kakuzu, don't get so fired up! Instead of wasting your energy on a cat, you should spend more time thinking about how to make money. Alright, alright, I won't disturb your mission or your fortune-making. I'm off!"

Having said that, Xuan Yu made a move to slip away with the Ninja Cat on his shoulder.

With his current strength, he was not actually afraid of Kakuzu.

However, there was no need to fight to the death with him at this moment—after all, he still planned to reap the rewards once Kakuzu finished his mission.

If he started a fight now and ruined Kakuzu's mission, wouldn't that just be sabotaging his own path to wealth?

As the saying goes, one shouldn't hold a grudge against money, right?

"You aren't going anywhere!"

Seeing Xuan Yu about to bolt, Kakuzu let out a sudden, thunderous roar.

"Oh?"

Xuan Yu stopped in his tracks, looking at Kakuzu with interest to see what he was up to.

In the past, he had always avoided direct confrontation with Kakuzu whenever possible.

After all, with his previous level 9 Leaf Whirlwind and his stats at the time, he might not have been able to defeat him.

But things were different now; his stats and skills had all been fully upgraded.

If Kakuzu insisted on fighting, he wouldn't mind taking this opportunity to test the power of his level 10 Leaf Whirlwind in actual combat.

Kakuzu said in a deep voice, "I have something to discuss with you!"

Despite his words, his aggressive, encroaching posture looked nothing like someone wanting to have a calm "discussion"; it was clearly the look of someone intending to take Xuan Yu's life.

Before his voice had even faded, Kakuzu pushed his body flicker speed to the limit, lunging toward Xuan Yu like a phantom.

The five Earth Grudge Fear masks attached to his body also opened their giant mouths in unison, ready to strike at any moment!