As for loyalty, Kakuzu didn't have much. He was loyal only to money.
And what did he do with all the money he earned? He didn't actually spend much of it. He just loved money, especially the feeling of counting it and collecting it.
Konan had used this very weakness to successfully recruit him. He managed the Akatsuki's finances, occasionally venturing out as a bounty hunter. However, it was absurd to think that he handed over all his earnings to the organization.
Because Konan herself was incredibly wealthy.
Her unique Paper Style allowed her to create explosive tags effortlessly. As long as she had enough materials, she could produce as many tags as her daily chakra reserves would allow.
For others, the success rate of creating an explosive tag ranged from thirty to eighty percent. For Konan, it was one hundred percent. This was how she was able to amass six hundred billion explosive tags.
At a price of three hundred ryo per tag, even if Kakuzu worked for a thousand years, he could never afford that many.
So, the most likely scenario was that Konan used her Paper Style to purchase raw materials and create the tags herself. The price difference between raw materials and a finished explosive tag was, of course, enormous. The Akatsuki likely sold some for profit while stockpiling the rest as future war assets.
Unfortunately, in the end, all six hundred billion explosive tags were squandered by the wealthy Konan in a single, explosive display.
"Are you interested in joining our Akatsuki?"
Kakuzu's voice pulled Uchiha Nagi back from his thoughts. He smiled. "I don't have the time right now. I have a lot of my own business to attend to. Besides, you should know that I have a grudge against Itachi Uchiha, right? What is your leader, Pain, thinking, letting two people who hate each other join the same organization?"
Kakuzu looked surprised. "You know our leader is Pain? Where did you get this information?"
Uchiha Nagi's mind raced, and he decided to pin it on Orochimaru. "I've had dealings with Orochimaru."
So that's how it is. Orochimaru had joined the Akatsuki for a time before trying to ambush his assigned partner, Itachi Uchiha. He was soundly defeated. Whether out of shame or some other reason, he defected. Pain had even sent Deidara and Sasori to hunt him down afterward.
It wasn't strange, then, that Orochimaru would share intel with Uchiha Nagi, since they both had a common enemy in Itachi.
Kakuzu, however, looked completely unconcerned, as if it were a trivial matter. "If you have a grudge, then just kill Itachi. Besides, you can trade his body for a bit of money at the black market."
Uchiha Nagi: "..."
He had almost forgotten. Kakuzu's favorite thing was to have a partner with a high bounty. He could just kill them on a mission and cash them in. And within the Akatsuki, Pain never did more than offer a few words of reprimand, because the organization itself was a place where the strong preyed on the weak.
"I will settle my score with Itachi sooner or later. But I have some other things to do first. Once I'm done, I'll consider your organization."
Kakuzu nodded. "As you wish. But remember, when I come to collect my money, don't even think about defaulting. Our leader, Pain, is not someone to be trifled with. Orochimaru couldn't even withstand a single one of his techniques."
Uchiha Nagi waved a hand. "Don't worry, I won't be a deadbeat. In fact, if I need more, I'll come to you for another loan."
Hmph!
Kakuzu thought of the three hearts Nagi had destroyed and felt a wave of frustration. If you wanted to borrow money, you should have just said so from the start. Now he had to go out and collect more hearts. Speaking of which, the corpse Nagi had left on the ground earlier seemed to be a jonin.
He glanced at Uchiha Nagi, who didn't seem to be paying much attention. Acting on the principle that even a mosquito was meat, Kakuzu cleared his throat. "Ahem, well, I'll be on my way. If you need another loan, come find me in the Land of Rain. The moment you step foot in the country, I'll know you've arrived."
Uchiha Nagi rolled his dead-fish eyes. Pain's Rain Tiger at Will Technique. I already knew about that. "Alright. Let's part ways here. When the time comes to repay you, I'll find you in the Land of Rain."
Kakuzu nodded and quickly ran toward the black market outpost. There was a fresh corpse there. He could see if its heart matched his elemental affinities.
Uchiha Nagi shook his head. Kakuzu's Earth Grudge Fear probably required fresh hearts. Otherwise, with his decades of bounty hunting, he could have easily stockpiled dozens of them. During his fight with Kakashi and Naruto, he could have just swapped out a broken heart for a new one, over and over, and worn Kakashi down to exhaustion.
In the Village Hidden in the Sound...
Orochimaru had been holed up in his newly established village for many days. Since returning from the Village Hidden in the Mist, he had done only two things.
First, he took the children he had abducted—the future Suigetsu Hozuki, two members of the Kaguya clan, and another with a different kekkei genkai—and threw them to Kabuto for training. Then, he locked himself away in his laboratory, conducting experiment after experiment.
Every day, apart from the materials and test subjects—captured bandits and robbers—that Kabuto sent in, he never emerged.
Yet, painful screams could always be heard from outside the laboratory door, sending shivers down the spines of everyone nearby. They were terrified that if they got too close, they would become the next test subject.
Finally, the door to Orochimaru's laboratory opened.
"Congratulations, Lord Orochimaru. It seems your experiment was a success," Kabuto said respectfully, adjusting his glasses.
Orochimaru smiled. "I wouldn't call it a complete success. At best, like the Edo Tensei, it is only half-successful. Come, Kabuto. Let me show you the results of my work these past few days."
Orochimaru's voice was still husky and mysterious, addictively so.
The two walked out of the basement. When the surrounding children saw Orochimaru, some looked at him with fanatical adoration, while others cowered in fear. Among them all, only Kabuto remained perfectly composed. It was no wonder he would eventually become Orochimaru's successor.
After opening the cave door, the long-absent sunlight fell upon Orochimaru's deathly pale skin. He narrowed his eyes; his modified pupils saved him from being blinded by the bright light.
He led Kabuto out of the base's cave and into a forest. They came to a shady, lightless area, where Orochimaru brought his index and middle fingers together to form a seal.
Hiss—
A giant snake appeared, nodding at Orochimaru. It then spat out a fully bound person—or rather, a test subject—from its mouth. Orochimaru looked at his creation with satisfaction.
Kabuto was puzzled, but Orochimaru simply offered a slow, mysterious smile. "Kabuto, try to kill him using any means necessary."
"Yes, Lord Orochimaru."
Kabuto didn't ask why. He knew that if Orochimaru had said so, there was a reason. Orochimaru would explain after he had killed the man.
Taking out a kunai, Kabuto plunged it into the man's heart without hesitation.
"Aaaahhhh!"
The test subject on the ground sprayed Kabuto with blood but remained as lively as ever.
Kabuto frowned, looking at Orochimaru in confusion.
A hint of excitement finally appeared on Orochimaru's face. "Don't stop, Kabuto. I said, use any means."
Kabuto nodded. He took the kunai and stabbed the subject in the neck. Still alive.
Frowning, Kabuto pulled the kunai out and saw that the wound on the man's neck was healing at a rapid pace.
Pfft!
Kabuto decisively stabbed the kunai through the man's eye and into his brain. That should do it, he thought.
But to Kabuto's utter shock, the test subject was still wailing and struggling.
Kabuto paused, then pulled the kunai out of the man's brain. He saw that this wound, like the one on his neck, was regenerating at an incredible speed.
After a moment's thought, Kabuto took out a vial of poison and injected it into the test subject's body. The man's skin turned a dark purple, but then, as time passed, he slowly returned to normal.
Kabuto considered his options again. He used the Mystical Palm Technique, adjusted his glasses, and went to work, severing the blood vessels of the man's heart and all the major arteries inside his body.
The result, once again, shattered his understanding of the world. The man was still alive. Though Orochimaru's experiments had driven him mad, he still screamed when he felt pain.
Finally, Kabuto resorted to a method that wasn't really a solution at all: dismemberment.
He separated the test subject's head from his body. Then, something that completely destroyed his worldview happened again. The dismembered head could still move.
Orochimaru smiled with satisfaction. "Heh heh. Kabuto, try putting his head back on his neck."
Kabuto nodded and placed the head back. The man's neck sprouted countless flesh tendrils that instantly reconnected the severed head. A moment later, even the wound was gone.
"Incredible, Lord Orochimaru. The brain, the heart, poison... even decapitation, and he can still recover. Have you finally achieved the immortality you've been seeking?" Kabuto asked with fervent passion.
But Orochimaru shook his head, his fleeting excitement calming down.
"This can't be called immortality yet, Kabuto. As long as every last one of his cells is destroyed, he will die. Furthermore, if his body suffers a more devastating blow—if he's turned into meat paste—he won't be able to revive."
Kabuto thought for a moment and roughly understood what Orochimaru meant. The man's regenerative abilities were astonishing, and he wouldn't die from fatal wounds to his brain or heart. But if a powerful ninjutsu were used to obliterate his entire body, he would still die.
"Then what about his lifespan, Lord Orochimaru? If he doesn't suffer a fatal injury, can he achieve eternal life?"
Before Kabuto could finish, Orochimaru grabbed the test subject and forcefully threw him out of the shade. Under the sunlight, the subject, whom Kabuto had been unable to kill, immediately began to struggle in agony, as if being burned by fire, and slowly turned to ash.
"This... Lord Orochimaru..."
"Sunlight. That is his weakness. This is an incomplete test subject."
Orochimaru shook his head. He had successfully extracted demon blood from the specimen Uchiha Nagi had given him. After several experiments, he had managed to infect a test subject and turn him into an undying demon.
But he had quickly discovered the creation's fatal flaw: sunlight.