Naruto: I'm really not an evil scientist!

Kakuzu is an old man with plenty of life left and can afford to go on long battles, but I can't maintain such a high intensity of combat indefinitely.

After shattering Kakuzu's mask, Hiruko suddenly sent him flying, then surprisingly stopped her attack.

His Sage Chakra surged up like a raging tide, and Hiruko let out a long howl before stopping the Sage Chakra Mode.

However, to be precise, it did not completely stop, but rather switched to a slow-moving state, still continuously nourishing his body.

As the Sage Chakra slowly merged into his body, Hiruko's fighting power became increasingly ferocious, like a beast about to awaken.

Kakuzu saw all of this.

He scrambled to his feet, looking disheveled.

Hiruko grinned at Kakuzu: "Don't be too nervous. I'd like to invite you to join my organization."

"I wouldn't want to be enemies with a ninja as strong as you."

That was just a small misunderstanding, a way to give Kakuzu a warning.

Hiruko understood that Kakuzu was extremely pragmatic and only valued strength, which was why he had just displayed his strength to intimidate him.

Hiruko valued Kakuzu, this "financial expert," quite a bit. After all, Kakuzu possessed Kage-level strength, and if he could recruit him, it would undoubtedly be a great help to him.

"It was all a misunderstanding before. You want to recruit me? But you'll have to pay a price, won't you? My worth isn't low." Kakuzu's deep, hoarse voice rang out.

It has to be said that Kakuzu is Kakuzu. He didn't care at all that Hiruko had killed him. All he could think about was his so-called appearance fee.

He didn't even ask about Hiruko's identity, nor did he care about the specifics of joining the organization; he truly was a pure bounty hunter.

However, Hiruko didn't care. He smiled slightly and said, "I have also heard some rumors about you."

I want to establish a longer-term and more equal partnership with Mr. Kakuzu.

Once you've been with us for a while, I'll show you a way to make big money. How about it?

Kakuzu's eyes lit up instantly; this was exactly what he wanted.

He has never been afraid of danger, but he is afraid of not having enough money.

As time went by, his only obsession became making money.

"Oh? A business that makes a lot of money? Then tell me about it, it's really not a problem for me."

For example, they might offer interest rates as high as 50% or even 30% directly, lending small amounts of money to housewives.

However, it cannot be lent to housewives who don't even clean the kitchen and toilet; it must be lent to housewives who are dressed in clean clothes and have good family upbringing.

At this rate, within a year, the amount of my savings will be so large that I could add a zero to the end.

Kakuzu crossed his arms and said with a disdainful look, "In the end, it's just loan sharking. Do you think I'm some naive kid who's never seen the world?"

Hiruko did not argue, but simply said, "The end of all things is usury."

This is the story of how the former richest man in Japan made his fortune.

The richest man in Dongying was a well-known figure in the last century.

If it weren't for the fear that the Sage of Six Paths might crawl out of his grave, Hiruko would have genuinely wanted to lend money.

If they knew he had actually done something like that, the Sage of Six Paths would probably jump out of the ground to hunt him down, and countless people throughout the ninja world would likely come out to settle scores with him.

"Alright, Mr. Kakuzu, we're all adults here. Even if we don't solve the problem in the way I approve of."

Now we live in a new era, and we will prove our strength and sincerity in our own way.

Now it's your turn to give me a test.

If I cannot do that, then I will pretend this never happened, and I will also offer ten million taels as the price for the offense.

If I can do it, I believe that you, a wise person, will make the appropriate choice.

Since Hiruko had not yet demonstrated his strength, Kakuzu did not immediately agree. After pondering for a moment, he decided that he would not suffer any loss anyway, and said, "You said it yourself."

Alright, here's ten thousand taels of silver. I'll give you three days to turn it into ten million taels, and then I'll believe you.

Let me make this clear beforehand: no gambling, no robbing. You need to understand what I mean; you have to rely on business.

"This is quite a problem," Hiruko chuckled, taking the 10,000 taels of silver notes handed to him by Kakuzu.

"Then, please come with me," Kakuzu said calmly.

Afterwards, Hiruko and Kakuzu spent half a day arriving at a small town by the sea.

This place is now beyond the land of fields.

They had anticipated that it would take some time along the way, and although Kakuzu was a little impatient, he could only continue walking until they arrived at the small town in front of them.

Although it's called a small town, it's more like a slightly larger dock.

Clearly, this was a place Kakuzu chose on the spur of the moment, and there might be some ulterior motive involved.

Moreover, this half-day period is obviously within the three-day time limit.

Don't be fooled by Kakuzu's seemingly indifferent attitude towards money; in reality, no ninja who has lived this long is simple.

However, Hiruko didn't care about this, thinking that the seaside was the seaside and it wouldn't affect his plans.

Hiruko and Kakuzu put on simple makeup and, dressed as ninjas, entered this bustling dock town.

The townspeople were clearly unaware that two powerful figures at the Shadow level were passing by them.

When they saw the ninja walking towards them, the street vendors who were originally shouting and hawking their wares on the street subconsciously lowered their voices.

Pedestrians who were originally walking side by side on the same road also subconsciously distanced themselves from the two ninjas, as if deliberately trying to create a safe passage between them.

Such special situations arising from the appearance of ninjas are not uncommon, after all, most people still have misunderstandings about ninjas.

For Beiliuhu to resolve this misunderstanding is still a long and arduous task.

Konoha Village had made a good start in improving the public's perception of ninjas, but unfortunately, it was ruined by Hiruko.

Hiruko appears nonchalant on the surface, but in reality, she is constantly sensing everything around her, not letting any information slip by.

This is a small dock town, and the majority of people here are fishermen and sailors.

When it comes to sailors, as manual laborers, they spend most of their time at sea, leading extremely monotonous and boring lives, not to mention those who have experienced shipwrecks and other disasters.

These strong and burly men will definitely have a good time once they get off the ship.

So, although this town is not large, there are quite a few taverns.

Moreover, you can see several brothels, and they are doing quite well.

Beiliuhu and Jiaodu walked from one end of this small dock town to the other, gaining a basic understanding of the town.

Then Kakuzu urged, "Alright, when do you plan to start making money? So many people are watching us, it makes us feel uncomfortable."

As a seasoned ninja, Kakuzu instinctively disliked crowded places, because the more people there were, the easier it was for his information to be leaked.

But now, he can only obediently follow Birukhu.

It seems he really did suffer a lot at the hands of Birukho before, and now he doesn't even want to miss this opportunity to make money.

After all, Hiruko had previously dominated the stock market, reaping huge profits from many people, and Kakuzu was clearly one of them.

This man, already outdated by the times, subconsciously sought to find a more profitable way to make money from Hiruko.

He knew perfectly well that since Beiliuhu had accepted the bet, he would not engage in illegal activities such as robbery.

Faced with Kakuzu's urging, Hiruko asked unhurriedly, "Kakuzu-san, what's your opinion on the stock market?"

Upon hearing this, Kakuzu immediately exclaimed with disgust and indignation, "That place is the most rubbish, the most evil, and the most stupid place!"

Although this is the world of Naruto, it has the most basic prototype of the stock market. Hiruko just integrated the resources of the stock market.

It's clear that the stock market has severely damaged the reputation of the region.

Kakuzu is the most traditional kind of ninja. He has the ability to kill and is only interested in making money, but he can never keep up with the times and can only do jobs like being a thug.

The two continued walking forward.

Just then, they passed by a small restaurant. Hiruko patted his stomach and turned to Kakuzu, saying, "It's already this late, let's go eat first, but the cost of the meal should be included in that ten thousand taels."

Kakuzu readily replied, "Okay, no problem."

So the two of them went into the restaurant.

The restaurant was nothing special; it was a typical family-run business. Although small, it was clean and tidy, and had quite a few customers.

Hiruko glanced at the price and thought it was quite reasonable, so he said, "Two bowls of noodles with soybean paste, plus two eggs, and no other random stuff."

"All I need are soldier pills and cold water." It has to be said that as expected of someone who has lived forever, Kakuzu's body is practically made of iron; he can eat soldier pills and cold water as if they were food.

Kakuzu is extremely greedy, and over the years he must have amassed a huge fortune through his own abilities.

It's not that he's unwilling to spend money; he simply enjoys the feeling of making and saving money, like a hamster hoarding food, because he knows very well that only money will never betray him.

Hiruko couldn't help but chuckle to himself. If this guy went to work at the Fire Country's tax bureau, they would definitely love him. After all, it's rare to find someone who loves to save money without spending a penny.

Just as Birukhu was lost in thought, the noodles with soybean paste and eggs were served quickly.

The noodles tasted unexpectedly good, and Hiruko realized that they must have been made with spices that he had developed in Konoha.

It seems the sailors here earn quite a bit, otherwise the shop wouldn't be doing so well.

While eating noodles and chewing garlic, Hiruko chatted with Kakuzu: "This shop is pretty good. If we could get more funds to expand the shop, we should be able to make a lot of money."

"Don't mention food to me." Kakuzu kept his face covered with a mask, but Hiruko could sense the anger in his tone.

It turns out that Kakuzu had a similar experience before. He seemed like an honest person, but he was ripped off badly when the chef ran away with the money and the receptionist.

Hiruko thought to himself, no wonder Kakuzu is so frustrated, it seems this guy has really fallen into quite a few traps.

He wanted to inquire about Kakuzu's rise to power, but considering Kakuzu's personality, he refrained from doing so, not wanting to cause any unnecessary trouble.

Hiruko ate his noodles incredibly fast. He had barely finished when Kakuzu's patience reached its limit, and he demanded, "You bastard, are you just making fun of me?"

"When are we finally going to start making money? I can't wait any longer!" Hiruko finally took action after Kakuzu's patience finally ran out.

This little shop charges fairly: 100 taels for a bowl of noodles, plus 150 taels for two eggs.

Hiruko's ramen is a bit more expensive, but considering that this is a port city and they use their own carefully crafted spices, the price is reasonable.

Hiruko left the small restaurant and took Kakuzu to a stationery store, where they bought a large pile of paper and some pens.

The paper and pen cost Beiliuhu a total of 500 taels, which, together with the previous 150 taels, brought the total cost to 650 taels.

But Hiruko hasn't done anything yet.