Naruto: Starting with Tsunade

Chapter 159 Is Kakuzu here to work?

"What an arrogant and rude fellow! He has no shame whatsoever. He should commit seppuku instead."

The two employers were surprised by Aokiji's response; his loud voice was filled with anger.

In their minds, ninjas are merely tools, meant to dedicate their lives to their lord, even shedding their last drop of blood. How could they utter such blasphemous words?

Listening to the noise, Aokiji picked at his ear with his little finger: "Are you two idiots? Have you forgotten your current situation?"

These words reminded the two of something, and they turned ashen-faced, as if they had lost their parents.

"Brother, these two guys, you can kill them, skin them, or boil them, it's up to you."

Aokiji waved his hand dismissively, as if it were none of his business.

Kakuzu looked at Aokiji strangely. This boy had overturned his impression of the Uchiha clan. He looked at the two trembling figures and said in a deep voice, "You are the one to kill these two."

As soon as he finished speaking, two kunai slashed through the air, hitting the two men squarely on the forehead, spurting blood. Their eyes bulged out like goldfish eyes, and they looked like they were about to die.

Kakuzu withdrew his gaze and looked Aokiji up and down.

"What's wrong?"

"What a strange guy..."

Having lived most of his life, Kakuzu had never seen an Uchiha like Aokiji before, and he said mockingly, "Your comrades all died by my hand, don't you have even the slightest desire for revenge?"

Why do you think I would have such thoughts?

Aokiji countered with a question.

He realized that Kakuzu seemed quite interested in him now and had no intention of killing him for the time being.

This undoubtedly gives Aokiji a chance to see if he can evoke an emotional connection and persuade the other party to let him go.

Kakuzu retrieved the masked monster he had created from the Earth Grudge and returned it to his body. With the bounty mission over, he now had plenty of time to chat.

Aokiji spread his hands and chuckled, "I'm a money man, money is everything. I have to live for that, and that's the only way I can make money. As for avenging my comrades, there's no money in revenge, so why would I take revenge? Besides, they're not even close to me. Revenge? I'd be wasting my time."

A money-lover?

Kakuzu narrowed his green eyes.

What a coincidence! He's also a money-worshipper. I never expected to meet a kindred spirit here.

However, he found it hard to understand how such words could come out of the mouth of a ghost, especially a Konoha ninja. Logically speaking, shouldn't someone his age be talking about ridiculous dreams like most kids his age?

With this question in mind, Kakuzu spoke with great interest: "This is the first time I've met such an interesting kid like you. Why do you want money, and what do you want to do with it?"

Aokiji explained, "It's very simple. This world is governed by an order made of money. Why can a daimyo rule this world? Bloodline? Wrong. It's money. Without the power of money, what would his people eat or wear? Without money, how could a daimyo command them to fight for him?"

"While money isn't everything, you can't do without it."

Kakuzu nodded, quite agreeing with the final sentence.

"Ultimately, what is a ninja, and what is the purpose of their existence? Some people define a ninja as someone who endures everything. That's ridiculous. It's not that complicated. In my opinion, being a ninja is just a way to make money."

At this point, Aokiji's lips curled into a blatant sneer and mockery: "Some people talk about the village, unity, friendship, and bonds... but all they have in their hearts is business. Hmph, some naive guys are being sold out and counting their money without even realizing it."

Upon hearing Aokiji's words, Kakuzu fell silent.

He spoke from the bottom of his heart about all of this. He had been just like that in the past, working tirelessly for the village, only to end up with nothing.

Betrayal, blatant betrayal.

Back when he was an elite Jonin of Takigakure, he was secretly given an assassination order, the target of which was the then God of Shinobi.

To be honest, he was reluctant when he first received this task.

What a joke! Hashirama Senju was the strongest ninja who pacified the chaotic world. If he had the ability to assassinate the other party, it wouldn't have been Hashirama Senju's turn to pacify the chaotic world.

But there was nothing they could do; it was an order from above. As ninjas of Takigakure, obeying superiors was a ninja's duty.

He was prepared to die when he carried out this mission, and as expected, he failed, and failed miserably.

The Senju Hashirama he fought so hard to defeat was just a Wood Release shadow clone. When the real Hashirama arrived, he realized just how vast the difference in their strength really was.

He braced himself and began discussing with Hashirama Senju how small ninja villages could survive under the influence of powerful nations after the distribution of the tailed beasts.

Midway through the conversation, Hashirama Senju's younger brother arrived and severely injured him. After he escaped, Tobirama Senju made the incident known to the whole world and used it to blackmail Takigakure into handing over the forbidden technique that the village considered its most precious treasure.

In an attempt to shirk responsibility, the village did not hesitate to imprison him, who had returned severely injured, and even subjected him to personal slander.

Moreover, the slander became more and more exaggerated, and even gave rise to a meme called "Eight Hundred Miles of Shuriken". The children in the village who originally regarded him as an idol began to question him.

In a prison called Ryūjō, after a long period of self-doubt, Kakuzu attained enlightenment in Ryūjō.

What is the essence of a ninja? Villages, unity, friendship, bonds... these are all just sweet words used by those in power to control the pieces with ice. When things are good, they'll smile at you, but when things are bad, they'll wish you dead.

Feeling betrayed, Kakuzu decided to go all out and escape from prison, killing all the village's high-ranking officials, taking the village's prized treasure, the Earth Grudge Feast, and living the life of a bounty hunter.

Actually, if the village had discussed things with him, he wouldn't have gone so far as to kill these high-ranking officials. He might have even taken the initiative to shoulder everything. But the mistake was that these people completely disregarded his feelings, which is why he got angry.

It is said that after this incident, Hashirama Senju, to express his apology, gave the Seven-Tails, which he had originally intended to give to Sunagakure, to the village...

Ironically, the village originally sent him on an assassination mission because the First Hokage hadn't distributed the Tailed Beasts fairly, but he ended up getting the Tailed Beasts in this way.

But none of that matters. He's now someone who values ​​money above all else. In this world, everyone can deceive, but money is the only thing that won't.

Therefore, upon hearing that Aokiji was so enlightened at such a young age, Kakuzu couldn't help but sigh, never expecting that there was someone in this world as insightful as himself.

It's likely that Aokiji had a rather tragic childhood at such a young age, which explains his profound understanding.

However, while he understands, he won't let Aokiji off the hook because of this.

After all, if he returns to the village unharmed, who knows if he will tell the village everything that happened here, and then his life will be in trouble.

Thinking of this, Kakuzu laughed and said, "Kid, it's really impressive that you can express such a profound truth. To be honest, I admire you quite a bit."

"That……"

Kakuzu immediately poured cold water on the idea: "But unfortunately, I don't intend to let you go."

Aokiji: ...

It seems that trying to find emotional resonance with this guy has failed. In that case, let's try another approach.

"etc……"

"Anything else to say?" Kakuzu laughed. "Since I admire you, I'll give you a chance to convince me why I won't kill you."

"I don't understand why you insist on killing me. We shouldn't have any conflict of interest. Besides, my head isn't worth much."

"Good question. If I let you go, you might tell the village everything, and that would be trouble for me. I don't want to cause trouble for myself. If it were you, you would understand; there's no such thing as trust between people."

Aokiji nodded. Instead of saying something like "No way," he chose to persuade him in a different way: "Judging from your tone just now, it seems like you're the same kind of person as me."

To be precise, you and I are the same kind of people.

"What's the difference?"

"This is a distinction between primary and secondary matters."

Aokiji: ...

"Since that's the case, then I'll talk to you about the benefits."

"Huh? Tell me about it..."

"Killing me would have at least two downsides, while not killing me would have two advantages."

"Two disadvantages and two advantages?" Kakuzu smiled. "Interesting. Tell me about it."

"First, if you kill me, the Uchiha clan behind me will not let it go. I am not very capable, but I am one of the more valued members of the clan."

He nodded, unconcerned: "And the second one?"

Aokiji raised his second finger: "As for the second one, you might not be able to kill me."

After saying that, he made a small piece of ice and threw it over.

Kakuzu took it and was stunned to see it was ice?

It seems that the only escape technique capable of creating ice is Ice Release.

At this moment, Kakuzu looked at Aokiji with a look of surprise in his eyes. This kid has two bloodline limits?

Aokiji continued, "If you choose to kill me, but I escape, then our feud will be over. Believe me, I can't beat you now, but that doesn't mean I can't beat you in the future. And when that happens, I will do everything I can to kill you."

Kakuzu wasn't easily intimidated; he scoffed, "You brat, are you threatening me?"

Aokiji remained composed and dignified: "I was merely explaining the pros and cons."

Kakuzu smirked, "Interesting. So tell me, what are the benefits?"

Aokiji held up one finger: "First, I'll help you conceal everything here, and you'll gain a staunch ally."

Kakuzu narrowed his eyes: "An ally?"

Aokiji continued, "As for the second benefit, it's that by cooperating, we can acquire even more money."

More money?

He can ignore other things, but when it comes to money, Kakuzu has to listen carefully.

Aokiji laughed and said, "I've always had a dream: to start a company. If we join forces, with your abilities and my family's intelligence, we're sure to make a fortune. I'll provide the strategy, and you can manage the finances. What do you think?"

(End of this chapter)