Today, in the vast countryside of Land of Rain, villagers don't know who "Demigod" Hanzō is, but they definitely know "Xiao", a people-friendly organization.
Those simple villagers are the strongest backing of "Xiao". When the army comes, they are the eyes and ears of "Xiao"; when the people of "Xiao" are hungry, they will take out the last grain from the cellar.
Under the circumstances of the ebb and flow, the "Akatsuki" organization is like a tenacious weed rooted in the barren soil. Not only has it not been destroyed by the war, it has become more leafy and full of vitality.
"But... we are really poor even if we are poor." Kakuzu finished settling the accounts and couldn't help but start his daily repertoire - complaining.
"Is there no money to fight the war? Is there no money to develop the base area? Tenten is such a waste of money to engage in these unprofitable people's livelihood projects! If it weren't for the boss's "funding" every month, this lousy organization would have gone bankrupt 800 times!"
He cursed and raised his head, looking at his partner who sat opposite him and remained silent the entire time.
Hatake Sakumo, is using a soft deerskin cloth to meticulously wipe his short knife named "White Fang".
Under the dim oil lamp, the blade shone with a cold glow, just like himself.
In the past few years, Kakuzu has long been used to it. This man is like a stone that cannot speak, or in other words, a killing weapon that can only execute orders. Calm, precise, and deadly.
No matter how brutal the battlefield is, no matter how many heads are chopped off, his heartbeat will not change even a little.
Kakuzu even once wondered whether this guy, like himself, had already replaced his heart with some other part.
Just then.
A flying bird quietly passed through the rain curtain, its wings not stained by any water droplets, flew lightly into the house, and finally landed accurately on Hatake Sakumo's shoulder.
Hatake Sakumo The action of wiping the short knife finally stopped.
He stretched out his fingers and let the bird take off a small piece of paper from its heel.
Sakumo unfolded the note and looked at it.
Then, Kakuzu saw a scene that he would never forget in his life.
"Crack."
A very slight crisp sound.
I saw Hatake Sakumo's hand holding the soft deerskin cloth. Due to the excessive force in the moment, the knuckles turned white, and it actually squeezed a piece of dry charcoal to create a crack.
His whole body froze there, like a statue that was instantly petrified.
Those eyes that had remained unchanged for thousands of years, like a frozen lake, were trembling violently at this moment, filled with shock, ecstasy, disbelief, and a kind of... nervousness and anxiety.
Kakuzu's abacus beads have stopped.
His green eyes were wide open, looking up and down at his "petrified" partner.
Holy shit? This iceberg that has never melted for thousands of years has a bug?
What kind of information is so exciting that this Bingshan can't control his emotions???
It couldn't be that kid Senju Chen who died suddenly!!!
Kakuzu has known Hatake Sakumo for so many years, and this is the first time that he has seen such rich and human expressions on his face.
Even when the two of them joined forces to kill Shimura Danzō in the rainy night and killed the mastermind behind his ruin, this guy only said lightly "It's over" at the end to Danzo's body.
That tone was as calm as saying "The weather is nice."
But now, just such a small note has caused him to lose his temper to this extent?
"What news?" Kakuzu asked tentatively, with a hint of gossip in his voice.
Hatake Sakumo ignored him.
He just stared at the note, as if he wanted to carve every word on it into his soul. His breathing became heavy and rapid, and his chest heaved violently.
After a long time, he slowly and extremely carefully folded the note and carefully placed it in his arms closest to his heart.
Then, he stood up.
"Kakuzu." He spoke, his voice slightly hoarse and trembling due to excitement, "I need to leave for a while."
"Huh?" Kakuzu was confused, "Where are you going? What are you doing? Yahiko What kind of thankless task has that guy received again? Let's make a deal, if the commission this time is less than six figures, I won't do it!"
Hatake Sakumo shook his head.
He turned around and looked at Kakuzu. In those cold eyes, at this moment, there was a rare hint of... softness.
"The boss asked me to go to Land of Waterfalls and meet someone by the way." Hatake Sakumo has been hanging out with Kakuzu a lot over the years, and he also started to call Senju Chen the boss.
This makes it easy to remember and won't let others notice.
"Going to Land of Waterfalls? Who are you meeting?" Kakuzu looked curious.
When Kakuzu was transformed, the experimental base was still in Land of Fire, so he didn't know that Senju Chen's experimental base had been moved to Land of Waterfalls.
Hatake Sakumo was silent for a moment, seeming to be organizing his words and calming down.
Finally, he squeezed out a few words from his throat.
"I'm going... to see my son."
"..."
The room fell into a deathly silence.
The expression on Kakuzu's face froze.
The abacus in his hand fell to the ground with a clatter.
He looked at Hatake Sakumo, as if he was looking at an alien.
After half a minute, he was like a duck being strangled by the neck and let out a strange cry, "You, you, you... you have a son?!"
This was even more fucking shocking to him than hearing that "Food Is Heaven" was going to go bankrupt!
This man who only exudes the smell of "single dog" and "murderous spirit" actually has a son?!
What kind of international joke are you kidding! How can he possibly find a wife with his virtuous attitude of staying away from strangers?
Kaku-Accountant's mind was running rapidly, switching from emotional issues to economic issues in an instant.
"Wait a minute! You have a son? Then all the money you have earned over the years... will be spent on him? Damn it! Raising a child is the most losing business! Food and clothing, schooling and tutoring, and building a house for a wife in the future... This is simply a bottomless pit! All the bounty you worked hard to earn was used as a wedding dress for others! What a loss!"
Kakuzu had a heartbroken look on his face, as if he was the one who lost his family fortune.
Hatake Sakumo's mouth twitched slightly. He was used to his partner's weird brain circuit.
And Kakuzu looked at Hatake Sakumo's excited and apprehensive look, and suddenly felt a little funny.
This man, who could fight one against a hundred on the battlefield without blinking an eye, was as nervous as a recruit on the battlefield for the first time when faced with the matter of "seeing his son."
He even saw that Sakumo's hand, which had always held the knife and was as steady as Boulder, was trembling slightly when adjusting his collar.
"Tsk."
Kakuzu curled his lips, picked up his abacus from the ground, and sat back in front of the map.
"If you want to go, go quickly, don't be embarrassed here." He said without raising his head, "But I can remind you that Land of Waterfalls seems to be not peaceful recently. There is a "Twins" organization, and it seems that there have been frequent activities there recently. If you go alone, if you are recognized by someone, and your head is sold on the black market, your head will be worth a sky-high price."
As he said this, he took out a crumpled reward notice from his arms. On it was the message of "Tooth", and the reward was as high as 90 million taels.
"Don't die on the road. If you die, who should I share the rent with?"
Hatake Sakumo looked at him deeply.
He knew that this was the duplicitous old money fanatic expressing his concern in his own way.
"I won't die."
He walked to the door, put on his raincoat and bamboo hat, and his figure was about to merge into the endless rain curtain.
"Kakuzu." He suddenly stopped and turned around and said.
"What are you doing? Do you want to borrow money?" Kakuzu reflexively covered his wallet.
"... thank you."
After saying that, Hatake Sakumo's figure disappeared into the rain.
Only Kakuzu was left standing there, stunned for a long time, before he said "cut" disdainfully.