"Time is money."
At the beginning of July, Kakuzu arrived.
Unlike the classic ninja attire Bred had imagined, Kakuzu's outfit was a mixed style that blended the elements of a successful businessman with hip-hop fashion.
Shiny leather shoes, a pure black suit, and a spotless white shirt—yet his head was covered by a baseball cap printed with golden lettering, his mouth hidden behind a mask, and a thumb-thick gold chain hung around his neck. How could that combination not look strange? Especially with Kakuzu's dark complexion and those eerie eyes, with red sclera and green pupils. On top of being strange, he looked thirty percent terrifying, thirty percent sinister, thirty percent cold, and ten percent perverted.
But Bred soon realized that Kakuzu's attire was a mark of professionalism. After all, he had come to the West Blue to serve members of the underworld and was prepared to accept commissions from the Underworld Conference. He had to dress respectably.
It also meant that if Bred and Kakuzu failed to reach an agreement, Kakuzu would immediately accept commissions from the Underworld Conference and begin working.
Without even sitting down, Kakuzu stood in the doorway and opened in his calm, indifferent voice. Then he continued, "So you'd better not toy with me or waste my time. State the business you want to discuss."
"Okay," Bred said bluntly. "I'll pay you a large sum, and in exchange, you won't accept commissions from the Underworld Conference. The exact amount for this part will depend on how many such commissions you're willing to turn down."
"This part?" Kakuzu sharply noticed that Bred had not finished.
Bred smiled brightly. "I also want to hire you to teach me the chakra power system."
Kakuzu did not greedily name an outrageous price at once. That was not his style.