"Of course." Anyo took out the five hundred million he had prepared and handed it over. "Here's the five hundred million we agreed on. For the remaining billion, I'll go with you to the Bounty Station to settle up."
Kakuzu nodded in agreement. "Fine."
With that, Kakuzu used the Body Flicker Technique and headed to the Bounty Station ahead of him.
Anyo said to Genno, "Takigakure is safe now. You can bring everyone left from Kagerō Village here. As for the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki, I've already reached an agreement with him. He'll cooperate with us in taking control of the village."
"You're going with him alone? That's too dangerous." Genno was somewhat uneasy.
"Don't worry. The money we stole is enough to hire him for a while."
Anyo was quite confident. After leaving a Shadow Clone here, he chased after Kakuzu in the direction he had gone. He had originally planned to take Genno along to gather information, but Genno now needed to look after Kagerō Village's old, weak, sick, and disabled, so naturally he could not leave. With Kakuzu, however, things would be even easier. Of course, there were risks too, but the greater the risk, the greater the reward, wasn't that so?
Anyo followed Kakuzu to the Bounty Station, where the two quickly completed the transaction.
Kakuzu counted the money carefully. Once he confirmed the amount was correct, he turned to leave.
"Wait." Anyo suddenly stopped him.
This time, Kakuzu did stop. "What is it, brat? Need something?"
Anyo nodded. "I'd like to hire you for a while. How about we discuss a price?"
"Hire me?" Kakuzu shook his head. "Not interested."
Seeing him about to leave, Anyo darted in front of Kakuzu, blocking his way.
Kakuzu's eyes turned cold, and murderous intent surged from his entire body. "You little brat. You dare block my way? Do you want to die?"
Anyo smiled faintly, entirely unafraid. "You're in such a hurry to leave, Mr. Kakuzu. I imagine you're looking for a suitable heart to fill that missing mask's place."
At those words, Kakuzu reined in his murderous intent, but his eyes were as cold as iron. He looked at Anyo as though looking at a dead man. If he had only meant to frighten him earlier, at this moment, Kakuzu truly intended to kill him.
Knowing exactly what was happening, Anyo continued, "There's no need to be so hostile toward me, Mr. Kakuzu. The Seven-Tails Jinchuriki told me about your abilities. I think we could travel together. I might even be able to help you."
"Help me? You?" Accustomed to working alone, Kakuzu trusted no one, even the harmless-looking youth before him.
Anyo replied confidently, "Of course. My appearance can make plenty of ninja lower their guard, letting me obtain information you'd have trouble getting. These are wartime conditions. No nation's ninja will be operating alone. And I imagine you wouldn't want the hearts of weaklings, would you?"
Those words actually tempted Kakuzu a little, but he said nothing more and turned to leave.
Watching Kakuzu's slowly retreating figure, Anyo gave a faint smile and followed him.
And so, one ahead and one behind, a middle-aged man and a youth formed an odd pair.
After a day of racing along, the two arrived near Kumogakure. The village had been built atop peaks that towered into the clouds. It was shrouded in mist year-round, and deafening thunder echoed from time to time. Smaller mountains surrounded it, making it look magnificent and imposing.
Although they had exchanged few words throughout the day, Anyo had gained some understanding of Kakuzu. Kakuzu spoke little, almost never wasted words, and valued money. His experiences in his youth had made him deeply suspicious, trusting no one. His willingness to let Anyo tag along this time was probably a rare instance of cooperation.
"Lord Kakuzu, since you've come to Kumogakure, I take it the mask you lost was Lightning Release?" Anyo stepped forward and asked.
Kakuzu acknowledged it. "That's right."
"As far as I know, the current Raikage might be the strongest of them all. Coming here to find a heart is very risky."
"Hmph. Just a junior." Kakuzu snorted, then looked at Anyo and asked, "You intend to go in with me?"
Anyo smiled faintly. "Of course, Uncle Kakuzu."
"Uncle?" Kakuzu looked stunned.
"I can hardly call you Father. We don't look alike." Anyo spoke with a somewhat troubled expression.
Kakuzu understood then. "You want me to cooperate with you so we can enter Kumogakure directly?"
Anyo shook his head and corrected him. "I'm cooperating with you to get inside. It's wartime, and as a resident of the Land of Lightning, it's perfectly reasonable for me to come to Kumogakure to learn ninjutsu. It's normal to have an elder escort me, too, isn't it?"
After hearing Anyo out, Kakuzu's face twitched. He seemed unaccustomed to how Anyo addressed him, but he offered no objection, giving his tacit agreement.
"Oh, right." Anyo suddenly thought of something and continued, "Uncle, once we enter the village, don't speak. Your tone could easily cause misunderstandings, after all. I'll tell them you're mute. You don't mind, do you?"
Kakuzu's expression darkened, and he walked forward without a word.
Was that a yes?
Anyo followed him, and before long, the two reached Kumogakure's main gate.
Several Cloud ninja swiftly sprang out from hiding. A few kunai flew out and stabbed into the ground, and the ninja blocked their way with guarded expressions. "Halt!"
Anyo pretended to be startled and backed away a few steps, then swiftly switched to a delighted expression. "You must be the esteemed ninja of Kumogakure! I'm a resident of the Land of Lightning. I had my uncle bring me here to learn ninjutsu."
"Oh, you want to be a ninja." The Cloud ninja lowered their guard and asked, "Show us your papers."
Anyo had come prepared. He took a crumpled document from inside his clothes. The writing on it was so blurred that only a name was faintly visible.
"This..." The Cloud ninja frowned, unsure how to verify its authenticity.
"Ah." Anyo spoke loudly, sounding aggrieved. "It's all those Iwagakure ninja's fault! They attacked my hometown. My uncle and I risked our lives escaping. This document was my only hope, so I kept clutching it tightly in my hand. All I could think about was coming here to become a real ninja, then finding them and avenging the people of my village."
Hearing this, the Cloud ninja immediately said in anger, "Those dirt hicks again! They even dare attack innocent civilians. I'm going to report this to the Raikage right away. We have to teach them a lesson."
After the other Cloud ninja left, the one who remained stepped forward with a sigh and patted Anyo's shoulder. "Good boy. Don't worry. We'll help you get revenge. Come, follow me. I'm sure that after studying at the Ninja Academy for a while, you'll become an outstanding ninja."
Behind them, Kakuzu had watched Anyo's performance from beginning to end and could not help giving the brat a mental thumbs-up.
After only a few steps, the Cloud ninja suddenly glanced back at Kakuzu, feeling that there was something odd about him.
Anyo noticed and quickly said, "My uncle's throat was injured when the village was attacked, and his face was burned in an explosion, so he has to keep it covered."
"I see. How pitiful. Those dirt hicks from Iwagakure are despicable."
The Cloud ninja gave Kakuzu a sympathetic look and led the two openly into Kumogakure without the slightest suspicion.
Before you continue