Inside the room.
After listening to Naruto's money-making plans, Kakuzu fell silent for a long time.
He was considering not only whether Naruto's proposal was feasible, but also... how a failure would affect him!
Feasibility aside, he was already tempted!
If it failed... he would most likely become a public enemy of the four great nations.
If he became their public enemy, who could protect him?
At that thought, Kakuzu stole a glance at Naruto, who was picking his nose in front of him.
Heh... relying on this brat doesn't seem very dependable.
He had to admit that the brat had a good head on his shoulders.
Even if all his later plans failed, simply selling Virtual Headsets would keep him from losing money.
After turning it over in his mind, Kakuzu felt that only Pain, the leader of the Akatsuki, could keep him safe...
Once he had thought everything through, Kakuzu looked at Naruto seriously and said, "Naruto, I have to admit, your plans really appeal to me!"
"So I've decided to work with you!"
Hearing that, Naruto grinned, flicked away the booger in his hand, and reached out to shake Kakuzu's hand.
"Wait! I haven't finished stating my conditions!"
Kakuzu spoke up immediately when Naruto extended his hand.
"Huh? What conditions?"
Naruto asked curiously.
"I... won't leave the Akatsuki! You should know that if your plan fails midway, I'll very likely end up provoking the four great nations... I'll need someone to keep me alive then!"
"And the backing I've chosen is the Akatsuki!"
Naruto: ...
Naruto really wanted to say, You'd be better off going to my dad than that delusional edgelord Nagato! My dad is definitely at least as strong as Nagato now.
*Sure, my dad's name has "water" in it, and Nagato's has "long,"