The Immortal Kakuzu

Inside a public restroom in Bird Country.

This public restroom had more to it than met the eye. Its secret chamber was actually an underground exchange house. Murder, robbery, kidnapping, smuggling, money laundering, even plotting national uprisings—any shady business imaginable could be found here. As long as you could afford the price, anything could be done.

At that moment, Kakuzu was carefully counting money. A corpse lay conspicuously at his feet, evidently the prey he had already captured.

After counting the last bundle of bills, Kakuzu nodded in satisfaction and placed the money into a suitcase. He was exceptionally obsessed with money. Every time he completed a mission and collected his payment, he would count every bill himself. It was not that he distrusted the exchange house; he simply enjoyed the feeling of counting money and loved the scent of ink. Throughout those long years, only money had made him feel secure and content.

"That's right, exactly three million ryo. He's yours now. Sigh, business is getting harder and harder. The leader of the largest underground syndicate in the Land of Fire, and he's only worth this much." Kakuzu unhappily kicked the corpse by his feet. Two exchange house workers immediately came over and carried the body away.

"Mr. Kakuzu, please wait."

Kakuzu halted and turned back to look at the exchange house employee.

"It's like this. One of our clients has specifically requested that you carry out a custom private assignment. The price is quite generous. May I ask whether you would be interested in taking it?"

"A custom private assignment? What's the price?"

"Ten million ryo!"

"What's the job?" Kakuzu was visibly tempted. In times of war, human lives were cheaper than grass. Though business volume had increased, most jobs did not pay well. Kakuzu had originally refused jobs worth less than five million, but now, just to make a living, he had no choice but to take small jobs worth three million. Now, a ten-million-ryo job had come knocking, specifically requesting him to handle it. How could he not be tempted?

"Assassination."

"How many?"

"One."

"Who?"

"Him."

The employee handed over a photograph.

"Hanzo of the Salamander?" Kakuzu was somewhat surprised.

"That's right, him!" The employee pushed up the dark glasses that had slipped slightly down his nose.

"This man is known as the demigod of the Shinobi World. His ninjutsu is formidable, his sickle techniques are exquisite, and his summon Ibuse is domineering and fierce. He's quite troublesome..."

"Are you saying you wish to decline this job?"

"I'm saying you need to pay more."

"My client said that, considering the assignment is indeed somewhat difficult, the reward can be appropriately increased. He gave me authority over a certain amount. Please name your price." The employee spread one hand.

"Seventeen million ryo!" Kakuzu tested the waters with a steep price.

"Deal!" The employee smiled faintly.

Damn it, I asked for too little. Kakuzu silently cursed himself. But the deal was already done, so he could only let it go.

"Fine, I'll take it. Body or item?"

This was underworld jargon. "Body" meant bringing the target's corpse to the exchange house for payment. "Item" meant bringing a specified item belonging to the target for payment—usually an organ, such as the head.

"That won't be necessary. From the moment you accept the job, as long as news of the target's death reaches the market within three months, you may come to the exchange house to collect your payment. The client has their own channels to verify the result."

Kakuzu nodded, checked his watch, and said, "Then let's start counting from this moment!"

"Come, come, eat up. This is hot spring fish that was shipped in from the Land of Rivers this very morning. The flesh is tender, the flavor exquisite. It's a rare delicacy in this world. Senior Hanzo, you must try it." Rasa wore a standard fake smile as he politely urged him to eat.

Hanzo of the Salamander sat at the head of the table, not touching the wine or food. He merely turned the wine cup silently in his hands, his eyes half-open and half-closed as he watched the geishas dance gracefully before them. He said nothing, and no expression could be read from his face. The atmosphere immediately turned cold.

"Manager Rasa." After a long while, Hanzo of the Salamander finally spoke.

"Please, go ahead." Rasa immediately sat upright, looking as though he were ready to receive instruction.

"We feast on fish and meat here, while my people can no longer afford to eat."

"Is that so? Is it really that serious? That simply won't do. Everyone knows Lord Hanzo loves his people as his own children. The people below are truly incompetent and must be properly disciplined. They must not tarnish your reputation, my lord." Rasa laughed it off, completely ignoring the faint green tinge spreading across Hanzo's face.

"Manager Rasa, do you not know? Yesterday, twenty thousand refugees surrounded my Rain Shadow Building. It nearly turned into a bloody incident." Hanzo's patience had finally run out, and his tone gradually grew heavier.

"Is that so? What a shame. Why are the refugees of the Land of Rain like this?" Rasa continued to laugh it off without taking the bait. He deliberately emphasized "refugees of the Land of Rain." The meaning was obvious: they were not refugees from the Land of Wind, so what did it have to do with him?

"I have an agreement with Lord Keiko. Sunagakure is establishing factories in Amegakure, and it is also responsible for resettling Amegakure's refugees!" Hanzo of the Salamander finally could not hold back and laid his cards on the table.

Damn it, he was already a beggar, yet he still had the nerve to complain that the food was stale. Rasa cursed inwardly.

"There's nothing we can do. Business is difficult these days. The factories' labor force is already saturated; we simply can't use that many people anymore. Besides, taxes in Amegakure are too high and keep rising. These two factories of ours have basically stopped making any profit. I've already submitted a report to Lord Kazekage and am preparing to relocate the factories. I hear conditions in the Land of Rivers are quite good. Lord Wen Shui of the Hidden Hot Spring Village has a good relationship with Lord Kazekage. There shouldn't be any problem moving there." Rasa no longer humored Hanzo. Since Hanzo had laid his cards on the table, Rasa would do the same.

"You!" Hanzo of the Salamander was left speechless by the retort. All he wanted now was to pull out his sickle and chain blade and cut down that arrogant bitter-faced bastard.

"However, this matter is not entirely without room for negotiation." Rasa put on a show of taking a sip of sake.

"Before Lord Kazekage left, he specifically instructed us to cherish our friendship with Lord Hanzo. After all, we are neighbors. Friendship comes first!"

"Oh?" Seeing that there seemed to be a turn for the better, Hanzo calmed himself.

"It's like this. I've given it some thought and have a suggestion. I'll state it, and ask Lord Hanzo to consider it."

"Please, speak."

"Recently, we received an order from Kumogakure, and the quantity is considerable. Sada Iron Mine's production capacity is proving somewhat insufficient. If Lord Hanzo is willing to part with the mining rights to Sumu Iron Mine, then I believe Amegakure's refugee problem will no longer be a problem. After all, mining iron requires miners, does it not?"

"Oh, you want to buy the mining rights to Sumu Iron Mine. For how many years?"

"The usual terms. Fifty years!"

"What price?"

"Twenty-eight million ryo."

Hanzo of the Salamander fell into deep thought. Sumu Iron Mine was slightly smaller than Sada Iron Mine, but its iron ore was of very high quality. Twenty-eight million was neither too high nor too low, leaving Hanzo somewhat hesitant.

Seeing Hanzo of the Salamander remain silent, Rasa immediately tossed out another bomb.

"If this goes through, these two million will count as a personal tea allowance for you." Rasa snapped his fingers. Karura, standing nearby, immediately carried a suitcase over to Hanzo of the Salamander and respectfully opened it. Inside were neatly arranged stacks of brand-new bills.

"Actually, if Lord Hanzo is short of spending money, you can just tell me directly. There's no need to collect sanitation fees and garbage fees, making it so troublesome and having it go through the public accounts. Why bother? We're all friends here!" Rasa said with a cheerful smile.

Hanzo of the Salamander stared fixedly at the suitcase of money, his eyes filled with greed. After a long while, he picked up his chopsticks, took a piece of fish, removed his breathing tube, and ate it. Surprise appeared in his eyes.

"This hot spring fish truly is exceptional. It's wonderfully delicious." Hanzo put his mask back on.

Done. Got him. Rasa clapped again. Two alluring geishas swayed gracefully to Hanzo's sides.

"You two listen carefully. Lord Hanzo is the famed demigod of the Shinobi World! A great hero! You must make sure the old gentleman enjoys himself to the fullest!"

"Yes." The two geishas bowed softly, revealing such extraordinary cleavage that even Hanzo, seated to the side, felt his heart tremble.

"Then, my lord, take your time eating and enjoying yourself. I still have some mundane affairs to handle, so I won't disturb you."

"Good! Good! Good! Go handle your business." Hanzo was clearly unable to restrain himself any longer. His hands had already begun roaming over the geishas.

"Heh, I've never seen such a bastard so happy to sell off his ancestral property. It almost makes me not want to kill him." As soon as Rasa left the hall, he turned and said to Karura.

"It's too late. Lord Kazekage has already given the order." Karura handed Rasa a small slip of paper.

"Oh, really?!" Rasa's eyes lit up as he took the note. The more he read, the happier he became.

Listening to the bursts of laughter coming from the hall, Rasa could not help but sneer.

"Eat and play, old man. You only have a few happy days left."