Naruto: Starting with Tsunade

Chapter 160: Continuing the Deception

Kakuzu scoffed, "You little brat?"

"That's right. As for me, although I'm still a kid now, who knows what will happen in a few years? Maybe you won't be a match for me."

"Speaking wildly."

Kakuzu snorted coldly; there was no doubt that the other party's arrogant tone indicated the presence of the Uchiha clan bloodline.

Of course, having two bloodline limits, he certainly has that arrogance.

Aokiji continued, "What do you think of my strength?"

"From the perspective of your peers, very few people can achieve what you have achieved."

Kakuzu has lived to be so old and has seen all sorts of geniuses, so his words are quite fair.

"As long as I follow the established procedures, the position of Uchiha clan leader will undoubtedly be mine in the future," Aokiji declared, clenching his fist.

Kakuzu calmly asked, "Given your background, why would you do something like this?"

"I love the village, just as I hope the village loves me as much as I love it, but sometimes things don't go as planned. I don't want that to happen, but it's never a bad thing to be prepared, is it?"

I love the village, just as I hope the village loves me as I love it... Kakuzu pondered this sentence carefully, feeling quite moved.

"You just said you want to start a company, what kind of business do you want to do specifically?"

Upon hearing this, Aokiji realized that Kakuzu was already somewhat taken in, and continued to deceive him: "You can work in any industry, as long as it's not a high-ranking industry like being a ninja, where you're fighting and killing and risking your life."

Kakuzu, who is quite old, has a somewhat rigid mindset. When he heard that he was not going to work in this industry, he didn't quite understand what he wanted to do.

"By the way, what's your name, sir?" Aokiji asked.

He didn't respond at all; people in his line of work are very private.

Intelligence is always of paramount importance.

Seeing that he was unwilling to tell, Aokiji understood. Knowing the answer already, he pretended to guess: "I guess this guy must be a bounty hunter."

Kakuzu paused, his deep voice carrying a hint of threat: "It's very dangerous to inquire about my background."

Aokiji acted as if he hadn't heard him and continued, "Your line of work must be quite lucrative."

Kakuzu, who was already known for his bad temper, was further angered by this blatant pushing of his luck, and said in an annoyed tone, "Do you want to die?"

"I'm saying, suppose I had a business that was even more profitable than this, would you want to do it?"

Upon hearing about making money, Kakuzu, who had been so aggressive just moments before, immediately calmed down: "What method?" Money was his Achilles' heel.

Aokiji uttered a startling statement: "It's simple, robbery."

Are you kidding me?

"I'm not kidding, don't you think it's a quick and easy way to make money by directly robbing the rich?"

Kakuzu: ...

Aokiji laughed and said, "Let me analyze it for you. It involves issues such as risk factor and capital turnover rate."

Kakuzu didn't say anything and just kept listening.

"Hunting those powerful bounty targets is not only time-consuming and laborious, but also carries the risk of being killed in return. However, there is no such concern when hunting wealthy but powerless businessmen."

"As long as the preparations are done properly, as long as we kill these wealthy businessmen, all the money they have accumulated will be ours. We can easily seize hundreds of millions of dollars at once."

Kakuzu's breathing became rapid. That wasn't just tens of millions; it was easily measured in hundreds of millions.

The highest one-time reward for a bounty target is only tens of millions of taels of silver. You'd be lucky to even run into one. But if you set your sights on wealthy merchants and gentry, you can have as much as you want, and the amount of money is much greater.

If he were to raid a house even once, the amount of money he would gain would be enormous, requiring him to work tirelessly to capture countless bounty targets.

Because of his past experience as a ninja, he never thought about these things. But now that Aokiji has explained the benefits so clearly, it would be a lie to say he wasn't tempted.

As Aokiji spoke, he observed the other person's eyes and saw that the person's eyes were green with envy, clearly very tempted. So he continued to persuade him, looking at the problem from the other person's perspective: "The highest bounty target is only a few tens of millions of taels at most. It's another matter if you encounter him or not. Even if you do encounter him, there is no guarantee that you can kill him alone. You might even get yourself killed. But wealthy and powerful people don't have these concerns."

Upon hearing this, Kakuzu nodded in approval, for these words undoubtedly expressed his true feelings.

Aokiji continued his deception: "Besides, robbing these wealthy merchants like Jia Kun is just my first step."

"This is just the first step?" Kakuzu listened with even greater interest.

Aokiji continued, "That's right, I told you, my idea is to start a company. Once we eliminate these people, their market share will be freed up, and our company can take their place. Then, we can establish a monopoly. At that point, we'll be rolling in money without lifting a finger. Wouldn't that be much more profitable than being a ninja, risking your life?"

Kakuzu stared blankly, feeling lightheaded at the thought of everything going according to what he had just said.

Aokiji had been watching the other party's interest closely. Even now, he wasn't finished. He still needed to dispel Kakuzu's concerns: "Where in the world can you find such a good deal? As for the fear of exposing your identity, you don't need to worry about that at all. You can use the Transformation Technique, right?"

Without revealing a word, Kaku took a deep breath: "You little brat, you're really full of mischief."

Aokiji took a step forward, clenching his fist with one hand; "To become a world-class figure, one must be creative."

"Don't you know you're committing a crime? Seriously, I'm really curious what you've been through to develop this kind of thinking." Kakuzu had to admit he was now very interested in Aokiji.

Aokiji walked a few steps with his back to Kakuzu, then turned around: "Legend has it that the Sage of Six Paths taught people to refine chakra from the seven meridians within their bodies. He brought countless disasters to humanity, but you still can't deny that the Sage of Six Paths is still praised and lauded."

He stood on tiptoe, his neck long, and pointed one finger to the sky, his loud and clear voice full of momentum.

"Hmph, I see. No wonder people always say that genius and madness are always just a step apart."

Kakuzu is becoming increasingly interested in Aokiji.

Aokiji said dismissively, "In the stage of primitive accumulation of capital, it is always inevitable to use some low-level methods."

"Well, if it's someone like you, maybe things will get interesting in the future."

Kakudo was persuaded by Aokiji.

He planned to play along with Aokiji; after all, he wouldn't lose anything.

Furthermore, he was also very interested in what kind of changes a guy like Aokiji would bring to the ninja world.

Of course, the most important thing is that he can make a lot of money. That's the main reason he's willing to associate with Aokiji.

Aokiji breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, he knew Kakuzu quite well, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to successfully deceive him.

As he was thinking this, he was surprised to find that Kakuzu had used the Earth Grudge to pile all the corpses together.

"What are you doing?" Aokiji asked.

"To destroy the evidence."

Kakuzu skillfully formed hand seals and unleashed a Fire Release technique. The powerful sea of ​​fire instantly engulfed the corpse, leaving only bones in no time. In this way, there was no need to worry about anyone obtaining their memories through the dead.

"You're really cautious." From what he had just said, Aokiji guessed what Kakuzu was thinking and thought to himself that as expected of someone who had been lying low for so long, he was really cautious in his actions.

Kakuzu glanced at Aokiji almost imperceptibly, wanting to see how he would react by destroying the evidence.

Aokiji remained calm about the matter; these people were strangers to him, so he wasn't emotionally affected.

Besides, even if there are fluctuations, so what? If you can't beat them, you can't beat them.

He's too weak right now, so he might as well stick close to Kakuzu, make a fortune, and earn 50 billion as soon as possible to pay for the second stage of his immortal arts and improve his strength.

Kakuzu turned his back: "Come with me."

Aokiji: ...

"You don't really think I'd believe you so easily, do you? Since you're planning to make money with me, shouldn't you show me how it goes first?" With that, Kakuzu, who had his back to him, started walking.

Aokiji stepped forward: "Excuse me, sir, what's your name?"

As Kakuzu walked, he said, "Once you've cast your first vote with me, I'll naturally tell you your name."

Aokiji shook his head and sighed. He had intended to fool the other party, but it seemed that he had really gotten himself on a sinking ship. It looked like he wouldn't be able to return to Konoha anytime soon.

When he returns to Konoha, he'll need to come up with a good excuse for his disappearance.

Aokiji followed beside him, bored out of his mind: "Speak, what kind of guy did you hire this time?"

"Don't ask about unnecessary things." The employer's information corner was unwilling to say more; he was still very professional.

Moreover, he didn't know anything about his employer.

Aokiji, though embarrassed, wasn't discouraged: "Speaking of which, have you ever heard the saying..."

"You're much more talkative than I thought," Kakuzu said in a deep voice. "I don't have a good temper, so you'd better make sure what you're about to say interests me."

"In this world, only the dead can keep secrets forever."

Kakuzu stopped in his tracks, his eyes narrowing slightly: "What are you trying to say?"

"You said you killed such an important person, what if your employer turns against you later?"

This statement was quite clear, but Kakuzu merely snorted lightly, unconcerned, demonstrating his absolute confidence in his own strength.

If the other party refuses to give it to him, he will forcibly take it.

Aokiji shrugged: "Let's make a bet."

"What are we betting on?"

"Let's bet on whether your employer will turn against you this time. If you win, you'll have to listen to my advice more often in the future. If you lose, I'll give you five million taels, how about that?"

Instead of immediately agreeing, he asked, "Five million taels, do you have that kind of money?"

"I am, after all, a member of the Uchiha clan. I can easily come up with a mere five million ryo. So, do you dare?"

"Interesting, I accept your bet."

(End of this chapter)