Land of Bear, Gold Exchange.
Kakuzu carried a box filled with silver notes, with a bundle of freshly bought intelligence stuffed in his arms, walking while deep in thought.
"The situation in the Ninja World has indeed become turbulent since Uzumaki Mito's death..."
"The poor economy of the Hidden Sand, the Hidden Cloud's constant ambition, the Hidden Rock's overt arms race, the internal purges in the Hidden Mist, and even Hanzo from the Hidden Rain Village doesn't seem honest. Under the accumulation of these intense internal and external contradictions, Konoha, immersed in comfort and abundance, will be the first to fall..."
Roaming through the black market, with his rich experience, Kakuzu could already smell the scent of war in various pieces of intelligence.
The entire Ninja World is like a powder keg, whether due to hatred from defeat, internal collapse, or external ambition, each capable Hidden Village awaits an opportunity to stir up a battlefield, reshuffling the structure of the Ninja World.
After agreeing to work for Aomi, Kakuzu originally intended to work diligently, but the problem was that his boss never contacted him, let alone assigned him tasks.
This situation made Kakuzu uncomfortable, leaving him to independently kill some wandering ninjas to earn money and gather intelligence for Aomi, demonstrating that he had not broken his promise and was earnestly working.
Strangely enough, the more immersively Kakuzu worked for Aomi, the more fulfilled he felt inside.
After rebelling from the Hidden Waterfall, Kakuzu had an unhealthy pursuit of money. For a ninja who no longer had a home, the stable employment relationships and the universal exchange function of money in the Gold Exchange and black market gave him a sense of belonging, filling the void in his heart.
The betrayal of people's hearts is what Kakuzu least wanted to face and what he was striving to mend.
And after defeating him, what Aomi said—
"If you think there's anything real in this Ninja World, then you should keep your word..."
"Even if you regret it, I don't fear having you as another enemy, but understanding the falsity of the Ninja World would also be worthwhile for me."
—is deeply rooted in Kakuzu's heart.
Aomi was evidently a good boss, seeming to forget about this worker, as if blindly trusting him, never demanding money or making him take on any outrageous tasks, preferring a hands-off approach.
What reassured Kakuzu was that Aomi would gladly receive his intelligence and silver notes and would reply with encouraging letters.
This indicated that Aomi wasn't sparing him out of Senju Hashirama-like compassion but needed his value.
Sometimes, Kakuzu wondered if Aomi, like him, had doubts about the falseness and truth of bonds and promises in the Ninja World, which is why, after hearing his story, he made this bet with him.
If not, why let him go?
With Aomi's strength and that dangerous eye power, Kakuzu certainly didn't believe Aomi was just an innocent kid!
The only explanation was that Aomi had a similar psychological complex, and after hearing his story, felt internally touched...
With this mindset, the more diligently Kakuzu worked, the more fulfilled he felt inside, rediscovering the simple joy of fighting for the Hidden Waterfall Village in his youth, to the point where even seeing money didn't have much of an effect.
Nowadays, Kakuzu's perspective on things was somewhat like that of a Konoha ninja. He pondered how Konoha could get through the united attack of the four Hidden Villages.
Most importantly, how could he help his boss earn enough military achievements in this battlefield...
"Hello, are you Kakuzu?" A friendly greeting snapped Kakuzu out of his thoughts.
Hatake Sakumo wore a comfortable black tracksuit, carrying the same backpack Kakashi used for school, with a short sword hanging from his waist, and an excited smile on his face:
"Finally found you, your whereabouts were really well hidden!"
Kakuzu's pupils shrank sharply upon seeing Hatake Sakumo—who the heck was this?
Kakuzu knew of Hatake Sakumo's reputation and appearance, and on the bounty list in the Gold Exchange, Hatake Sakumo ranked quite high as well.
But the Hatake Sakumo in Kakuzu's memory was a man as sharp as a blade.
The intelligence from the black market said that when Hatake Sakumo appeared outside Konoha Village, his killing intent made people's skin hurt.
Yet the Hatake Sakumo standing in front of Kakuzu was dressed like a foolish rich young master out on a trip, wearing a tracksuit unlike any ronin or ninja, a backpack like a kid's, and an incongruous short sword hanging at his waist.
Is this guy crazy?
What Kakuzu didn't know was that this was the unique aesthetic of the Hatake Family.
After the Fourth Great Ninja War ended, when Kakashi and Might Guy traveled the Ninja World, they wore this exact outfit.
Having attempted suicide once, Hatake Sakumo had let go of many heavy burdens in his heart, and put on this attire he found most comfortable, to embrace his new life.
Kakuzu forcefully suppressed his confusion; even if he were to fight Hatake Sakumo, he wasn't confident of victory.
"What, has Konoha's White Fang set his sights on me, a bounty hunter?"
Kakuzu straightforwardly tossed the money box to the ground, rolling up his sleeves: "Looks like you've been tracking me for a while..."
Hatake Sakumo waved his hand: "Not tracking, big brother Kakuzu, I'm here to team up with you."
Kakuzu squinted his eyes; he knew about the intelligence regarding Hatake Sakumo being framed. That information was, in fact, given by him to Aomi.