Chapter 18: Work for Me, Kakuzu

After Menma and Kakuzu emerged from the money exchange, they arrived at an open clearing.

"Kid, if you aren't a wanted man, drop the money and leave, and I might spare your life." Kakuzu placed the money box into a storage scroll, a raspy warning emanating from beneath his mask.

Kakuzu was an extremely conceited man; after all, he was a powerhouse from the same era as the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, and had even once attempted to "assassinate" the First Hokage.

Though he had been severely wounded by Hashirama's Wood Style, he frequently boasted, "I am the man who fought the God of Shinobi."

Since defecting from Takigakure, Kakuzu had spent the last several decades roaming the ninja world to earn bounties, and his greatest hobby was counting money.

Because he had experienced the distrust of his village and the betrayal of his partner in the first half of his life, in Kakuzu's eyes, only money would never betray him.

"Do you really think I'd be worthless if I could kill a Cloud Village envoy?" Menma stood several meters away from Kakuzu, setting the large suitcase filled with money aside, a light chuckle escaping from beneath his mask.

"True. Even without a bounty, I could probably get some money for your corpse in the Cloud Village, hmph." Kakuzu snorted coldly, his hands rapidly forming hand signs.

"Earth Style: Earth Flow Spear!" Several rocks, sharp as spears, erupted from the ground around Menma, lunging toward him violently.

Menma leaped into the air, his robes fluttering loudly in the wind.

*Yosh, now's the time!* A calculating glint flashed in Kakuzu's eyes as his right arm suddenly flew out—Earth Grudge Fear activated!

Black threads at the joints shot out like venomous snakes, carrying his right arm in an attempt to impale the enemy.

This was his common tactic: once he forced an enemy into the air where they couldn't maneuver or change direction, he would trigger Earth Grudge Fear to strike directly at their heart!

Kakuzu had used this "first-encounter kill" to take down many shinobi.

However, Kakuzu's pupils suddenly contracted.

He saw that the opponent, after jumping, did not fall back down, but instead hovered in mid-air, looking down at him from above.

"This is troublesome..." Kakuzu murmured in a raspy low voice beneath his mask.

An enemy capable of mid-air suspension—having survived in the ninja world for so many years, Kakuzu had rarely encountered such a thing.

The black threads of Kakuzu's right arm danced, the tentacles of Earth Grudge Fear weaving into a dense net in the air, attempting to lock down his opponent's movements.

Menma casually threw several kunai, which pierced through the net woven by Earth Grudge Fear and shot toward Kakuzu on the ground.

"Hmph!" Kakuzu's body shifted slightly, easily dodging the kunai.

"Is that all, brat?!" Just as Kakuzu began to mock him, a sound like thunder erupted from behind him.

He whipped his head around, only to feel a sharp pain piercing his back.

An arm, wreathed in dark purple lightning, had punched straight through Kakuzu's body. Amidst the trembling of Kakuzu's teal pupils, the strike directly shattered one of his hearts.

"When?!" Feeling the collapse of his Earth Grudge Fear mask after losing a heart, Kakuzu was utterly shocked.

He swung the arm connected to Earth Grudge Fear to grab the attacker, only to find it was merely a Shadow Clone, which dissipated into smoke the moment his arm gripped it.

"Aaaaagh!" With a howl of agony, Kakuzu collapsed.

The scene fell into a momentary silence.

"This move is quite useful indeed." Menma toyed with a kunai in his hand.

Using a Shadow Clone or the user's body to transform into a kunai, shooting it behind the enemy, and then launching a lightning-fast ambush—this was a move frequently used by Uzumaki Naruto.

Though it looked simple, it contained a tactical depth of truth and falsehood, reality and illusion.

The vast majority of shinobi in the ninja world could not defend against this.

After all, in such a high-tension combat state, it was impossible for a ninja to track every single kunai being dodged.

On the ground, Kakuzu remained motionless.

If it were anyone else, they might have thought they had won after piercing Kakuzu's heart and walked over to collect the corpse.

However, Menma knew well that Kakuzu possessed five hearts; playing dead was merely one of his common tactics.

When Kakuzki had once been pierced by Kakashi's Chidori, Kakashi had grown careless and was kicked by the "dead" Kakuzu, sustaining significant injuries.

Menma floated in mid-air, looking down with a grim tone: "If you continue to play dead, I won't mind crushing your remaining four hearts."

!!!

Lying on the ground playing dead, Kakuzu's eyes snapped open, his teal pupils trembling.

He scrambled up from the ground, his body hunched, with a large protrusion bulging from his back.

*Puchi—*

Suddenly, a black mask-monster tore through the black robe from Kakuzu's back. As the mask collapsed, the monster also dissipated into the air.

*Ha...*

Kakuzu panted, the contempt in his eyes replaced by deep apprehension as he looked up at the floating Uzumaki Menma. His voice was raspy: "How did you know..."

"The secret of Takigakure?" Menma stood in the air like a god. "To me, there are no secrets in the ninja world."

"Now, I give you two choices: work for me, or have your other four hearts crushed." Menma stood proudly in the void, his eyes filled with killing intent.

"Do I even have a choice?" Kakuzu let out a raspy, bitter laugh, then knelt on one knee.

Kakuzu was a very pragmatic man. The opponent not only knew his secret but could also destroy his hearts with a single move.

If he did not submit, he doubted he would leave here alive today.

——————

A port in a certain city within the Land of Lightning.

Several merchant ships belonging to the Gato Company were docked at the pier, where workers in short attire were accelerating their cargo handling under the foreman's shouts.

Gato stood on the deck at the bow, watching his subordinates work, occasionally letting out furious roars.

Suddenly, Gato's small eyes spotted two figures approaching from the distance.

The person walking in front caused his entire body to tremble, and he hurriedly scurried down.

At the pier, the subjugated Kakuzu followed silently behind the youth, his teal eyes filled with "unfathomable confusion."

"Lord! My Lord!" Gato's short body ran swiftly. Reaching Menma, he said respectfully, "My Lord, you have returned!"

"And this is?" Gato also noticed the tall, imposing Kakuzu behind Menma, who radiated an aura that warned others to stay away.

"Kakuzu, this is Gato, a member of the organization responsible for making money. Your temporary mission is to stay by his side and protect his company as they conduct trade across the various nations of the ninja world," Menma said, turning his head toward Kakuzu.

"I will pay you a fixed salary, and you will have the right to audit the accounts of the Gato Company. Of course, you can still work part-time as a bounty hunter, as long as you don't leak the organization's intelligence."

"Hmph, the benefits aren't bad." Kakuzu snorted softly, the corners of his mouth curling up beneath his mask.

Having a fixed salary, being able to continue as a bounty hunter, and even acting as a financier for a large company—this made the feeling of losing to Menma much more bearable.

After arranging for Gato and Kakuzu to depart the Land of Lightning first, Menma continued toward the Hidden Cloud Village.

He intended to deliver some local specialties from his hometown to the Cloud Village.