The moment Kakuzu returned to his quarters and stepped inside, he spotted Sakamoto hunched over the table, his fingers working the abacus nonstop.
After several years of experience, the once-naive boy had finally grown considerably more mature and composed.
Hearing the door open, Sakamoto looked up. When he saw that it was his company president, he immediately rose, his expression respectful. "President, you're back."
"Did everything go smoothly this time? Did you find the child that lord asked us to look for?"
Kakuzu gave a slight nod and replied calmly, "I finally found him. I've already brought him back."
"That's good... Oh, President, there's something we need you to decide." Sakamoto nodded, then his expression turned grave.
"Hmm?" Kakuzu raised an eyebrow, looking puzzled.
Sakamoto's face was solemn, his voice heavy. "We're running out of funds. What we have left will only last until the end of the month!"
Kakuzu nodded slightly and answered calmly, "You don't need to worry about that. That lord will send us some money before the end of the month. It'll be enough to cover the villagers' living expenses."
"If it still isn't enough, I can always go back to my old trade and become a bounty hunter again."
"With the war going on, business is booming. If that lord's orders didn't come first, I'd have gone out and collected a few bounties already!"
With that, Kakuzu smacked his lips in frustration.
Hearing this, Sakamoto hurried to dissuade him. "You can't do that, President! You're the pillar holding us all together. If anything happened to you, everything we have now would vanish, and the people here would go back to their old lives of wandering without a home..."
"Besides, you're the children's chief instructor. You teach most of their Ninjutsu lessons yourself. Their training has