Konoha: Offer your heart to the Hokage!

He defected from Takigakure and wandered the world, struggling alone in the ninja world, his future uncertain.

At that time, the two had nothing, so they didn't have to worry about betrayal or dividing the spoils. Inviting Kakuzu to Konoha with them, with one person handling the brains and the other acting as the henchman, was a perfectly normal idea.

Essentially, they were all country folk who came to Konoha to beg for food. They had the tacit understanding of being the "strongest duo," and with that, they made a name for themselves and were quite successful in Konoha at that time.

What now?

He is already the Third Hokage.

Before becoming Hokage, he needed Kakuzu as a friend; now that he's Hokage, he still needs this friend—wouldn't that make his Hokage career pointless? He no longer needs the help of Kakuzu, his friend from the countryside; on the contrary, Kakuzu's appearance is a significant threat to him now.

Even when facing one's closest bedmate, one cannot be completely honest with everything, let alone a former friend.

Friendship ties don't work on him.

The unexpected joy of meeting an old friend in a foreign land lasted only a moment, and he even began to consider whether to eliminate Kakuzu here.

Before making a decision, the more important question to consider is: what use is Kakuzu to him now?

Only those who are useful deserve to live.

Kakuzu is a master at making money; he's not only good at earning it, but also at managing it. He's indispensable to ensuring the continued operation of the Akatsuki organization, which is so large.

Both Konoha and Akatsuki are short of money; more accurately, Kakuzu's research is desperately short of funds, and Kakuzu can raise money. In the future, supporting Tsunade to become a female daimyo and appointing Kakuzu as the Finance Minister of the Land of Fire could also be very effective.

Kakuzu's strength is formidable; even without Earth Grudge Fear, he's essentially an elite Jonin, and his exceptionally high-quality heart allows him to approach Kage level.

When necessary, the horn can act as the black glove.

Finally, the whereabouts of Black Zetsu, this hidden danger, might require the formation of an "Akatsuki" organization with all members acting to lure him out, with Kakuzu also serving as an actor.

From this perspective, Kakuzu being alive is more useful than being dead.

For those who are useless, Shen'er usually chooses to eliminate them directly to ensure his own safety. But once his value is confirmed, Shen'er has to put more thought into the means of control.

Kakuzu is greedy, and money can be used as a shackle to restrain him. During their time as partners, Kakuzu was relatively tight-lipped about his friends, which was something that Shinji gradually discovered through testing.

In theory, as long as one chooses to be honest, one can gain Kakuzu's trust and loyalty.

But Shen'er has the least faith in human nature. So Shen'er decides to first subdue Kakuzu, and then plant the Earthly Grudge Parasite and Earthly Grudge Curse Seal on him to eliminate the risk of leaks and betrayal at the root.

He walked towards Kakuzu.

...

Let's rewind a few minutes.

Shimura followed Kakuzu, weaving through the tree branches. Looking at the dense stitches on Kakuzu's body and feeling his monstrous aura, he forced himself to urge, "Lord Kakuzu, please speed up. The target might escape..."

Because of blood ties and temperament, Shimura was Danzo's most trusted confidant. He took over part of the intelligence network that Danzo had built several years ago when he kidnapped human subjects, and possessed a large amount of information about the underground ninja world.

He was aware of the inside story of this operation and had previously been responsible for passing messages to Danzo and making contact with the underground ninja world.

The mission to assassinate the Third Hokage came suddenly. He was assigned by Danzo to specially recruit Kakuzu, a renowned bounty hunter in the underground ninja world, to serve as the scavenger for this operation.

Shimura gazed at Kakuzu's retreating figure with a wary expression.

Speaking of Kakuzu, he is a rogue ninja from Takigakure, a legend of the old era, and still carries a bounty of 70 million ryo, ranking among the top in the underground ninja world. He is an absolute and extremely dangerous rogue ninja criminal.

Bounty does not necessarily represent strength, but it can be a great measure of a ninja's strength.

This shows just how strong Kakuzu is...

The plan is simple:

If Zenji were to die from an assassination, Kakuzu would only need to help clean up the scene and dispose of the bodies of the Zangbu ninja.

If Zenji is fortunate enough to survive, Kakuzu will kill him.

The remuneration for the two is different.

The former received a reward of 30 million taels of silver, while the latter received a reward of 350 million taels of silver.

In this way, Danzo was able to take the life of the Third Hokage from thousands of miles away without having any contact with him at all.

Kakuzu gave Shimura Masayuki a cold look: "After the mission is over, you'd better come up with a sufficient reward."

"Of course, you have no idea what kind of big shot is standing behind me." Shimura Masayuki was very confident. As long as Uncle Danzo could become Hokage or assist the Hokage, he could come up with any amount of money he wanted.

He completely failed to grasp how utterly despicable it was to use Konoha's money to hire outside assassins to kill their own Hokage.

Kakuzu withdrew his gaze...

His reasons for accepting the commission were simple: firstly, the client offered a high price; secondly, the target of the mission was the Third Hokage.

Kakuzu harbored a complex obsession with the successive Hokage of Konoha. He could never truly let go of the unattainable white moonlight he longed for.

Years ago, he and Jin received a mission to assassinate the First Hokage. Fearing the consequences, he ultimately chose to rebel, turning his kunai around and slaughtering all the elders of Takigakure. This event became Kakuzu's greatest regret for many years.

It wasn't that he regretted killing the elders, but rather that he regretted not testing the strength of the First Hokage.

To be cowardly before even engaging in battle is shameful!

Even now, he must admit that back then, just hearing the name of the First Hokage filled him with extreme fear. He would have had to throw a shuriken from at least 800 miles away to prove himself.

Later, the first generation died.

Kakuzu had no interest in the Second Hokage, so he traveled the ninja world and collected the hearts of five powerful ninjas, making him much stronger than before.

During this time, he had heard bits and pieces of information about a high-ranking elder in Konoha named Zenin Jinji, but he didn't pay it any mind. The appearance in the portrait didn't match, and in Kakuzu's mind, a rogue ninja from Takigakure could never be among Konoha's high-ranking officials; he simply considered him an outsider with a different surname but the same name.

Until recently, Kakuzu heard that Zenji had ascended to the position of Third Hokage. Not only was he the youngest Hokage in Konoha's history, but he also held the title of God of Medical Ninja and was widely regarded as the most perfect successor to the First Hokage.

Related to the original?

Kakuzu immediately became interested. If he couldn't defeat the First Hokage, he could at least kill the First Hokage's successor, the Third Hokage.

The mission to assassinate the Hokage might get him into a storm, but Kakuzu still came without hesitation.

call out

Kakuzu led the two of them out of the forest.

The first thing you see is the Fire Temple, which has been reduced to a deep pit.

With his second glance, he saw a familiar figure slowly walking towards him from the other side of the ruins.

That is……

Kakuzu's pupils suddenly contracted.

Appearances may change, but chakra remains constant—a universally acknowledged anti-counterfeiting mark in the ninja world. The former strongest duo of Takigakure knew each other's chakra intimately.

Even after twenty years, it remains the same.

The person standing opposite the ruins is, without a doubt, Shen Er!

The two looked at each other across the distance, their eyes meeting.

The air became scorching.

Kakuzu sensed the familiar chakra, saw the unfamiliar face, and noticed the Konoha vest the other person was wearing. He suddenly realized who it was, and grinned, revealing a chilling smile:

"I'm stupid, really."

"Perhaps I should call you Zen-in-Shinji now!"

"Hahahaha!"

Kakuzu stood on the open field and burst into laughter without warning.

Decades later, they look at each other and laugh in the wilderness—a romance unique to the immortal ninjas!

Chapter 183 Golden Rooster! Kakuz! The War of the Immortals!

Shimura was startled by Kakuzu's sudden change in behavior.

What's going on...?

Is this guy out of his mind? He can even laugh when he sees the Third Hokage.

Kakuzu's words stirred a strange feeling in Kakuzu's heart, but compared to this strangeness, the fear of seeing Zenji still alive overwhelmed all other emotions.

Shimura Masayuki will never forget the humiliation he suffered at the Ninja Academy. With just a casual remark from Zenin Shinji, he lost his eligibility to graduate and has never been able to become a formal ninja.

That man both filled him with hatred and deep-seated fear.

Fear compelled Shimura to unconsciously take a half-step back, and he barked a fierce but weak order: "Kakuzu, kill him! After it's done, you'll receive the full 350 million ryo!"

"Heh." Kakuzu stood there with his arms crossed, not making a move immediately. "He's my brother, my dearest friend..."

Shimura frowned and his expression changed.

Brothers? Beloved family and friends?

He increasingly felt that this top bounty hunter in the underground ninja world was a bit mentally unstable.

"What do you mean by this? Are you trying to breach the contract?"

"What I mean is... we need to pay more!"

"Four hundred million taels."

"Damn it, do you know what kind of money that is?" Shimura laughed in exasperation. These bounty hunters in the underground ninja world were indeed a bunch of bastards without any ninja spirit. But now he could only bite the bullet and agree: "Okay, go kill him!"

Upon receiving an affirmative answer, Kakuzu moved.

Grotesque and terrifying black lines emerged from the sutures all over his body, wriggling like the tentacles of an indescribable black goat, sending chills down one's spine.

Shimura was stunned as he stared at the wriggling black line.

This is ridiculous...

Why does it look like the Heavenly Compassion Line from Zen Temple? Although upon closer inspection, obvious differences can be found, such as the Heavenly Compassion Line being more delicate and beautiful, but the feeling is not deceiving.

Before Shimura could figure out what was going on, he was met with shocked stares.

"Earthly Vengeance Tentacle Fist!"

The dense black tentacles immediately changed direction and shot towards another Tibetan ninja, impaling him like a hedgehog before effortlessly removing his heart.

Kakuzu said to himself, "This is a warning to you. I don't like the way you talk to me."

The words fell.

The tentacles retracted, then turned and pierced through Shimura Masayuki's limbs, pinning him to the tree trunk: "The reward has increased. Your deposit was too small. To prevent you from defaulting on the payment later, I will take you under my wing and personally go to your client to settle the balance."