"Hokage-sama, what exactly is your angle today? Please enlighten me…"
Kakuzu paused briefly before speaking in a low voice.
Danzō's expression darkened even further.
Why had he started using honorific language once it came to Hiruzen? It was nothing more than seeing through one of your ninjutsu!
"It's like this…"
Hiruzen said with a genial smile, "Uzumaki Mito-sama—do you still remember her?"
Kakuzu's gaze sharpened.
How could he possibly forget?
The wife of the God of the Shinobi.
When he attacked Senju Hashirama back then, she had been present.
When he fell to the ground and tried to struggle, it was Mito's Adamantine Sealing Chains that wrapped him up like a rice dumpling…
The combat power of that couple was something Kakuzu would likely never forget in his lifetime.
"Of course I remember…" Kakuzu replied, the suspicion in his eyes easing slightly.
He was someone who remembered old ties—just not that sentimentally.
"Mito-sama once said that there was a young man who sought Hashirama-sama for a spar. He had obtained the secret technique of Takigakure—the Earth Grudge Fear—which has remarkable effects in repairing severed limbs and restoring Chakra Pathways."
"That is correct…"
"So, Konoha would like to sign a long-term contract with you."
Hiruzen's tone turned serious. "I have heard that you are quite interested in money?"
"Name your price. We are sincere buyers. In our village, some ninja suffer from disabilities or old injuries and are deeply troubled by them. They need Earth Grudge Fear to safeguard their quality of life and their dignity as ninja."
Kakuzu frowned.
When Hiruzen mentioned Uzumaki Mito, he had thought Hiruzen was going to play the card of repaying past favors.
He truly had not expected Hiruzen to actually want to buy it.
Kakuzu had already prepared himself to cut off a portion of Earth Grudge Fear to escape.
And what did he mean by quality of life and dignity as ninja?
Individually, those words were not unusual, but put together they felt strangely unfamiliar to him.
Ninja were tools.
When a tool broke, there was no need to expend great effort repairing it—just replace it with a new one.
"Earth Grudge Fear does indeed have remarkable effects in repairing severed limbs and clearing Chakra Pathways…"
"But it is not very effective for long-standing injuries or permanent disabilities—unless the body has maintained a high level of vitality all along."
"I need to make that clear…"
Kakuzu sighed inwardly. Hiruzen spoke in such lofty, righteous terms, but in reality, wasn't he simply hoping to make use of waste?
Dreaming that Earth Grudge Fear could restore those disabled ninja to fighting strength…
Even if those disabled ninja had preserved their severed limbs relatively intact with Fūinjutsu, given enough time, even if reattached, it would merely become a useless extra hand—one that could not even form hand seals smoothly. On the battlefield, they would still be worthless.
"So in other words, it basically works on bodies that retain vitality? That would be excellent for emergency treatment…" Hiruzen nodded thoughtfully.
"It doesn't matter if the effect is limited. Having it is better than having nothing."
Earth Grudge Fear did have its limitations, but it was very well-suited to the situation with Senju Tobirama's "big figurine" body.
Tobirama—the Izuna clone's issue was that there were Chakra Pathway nodules caused by imperfect technique.
But the body's vitality itself was not a problem.
And for ordinary ninja, if their severed limbs were preserved properly, then reattachment still counted as possible—better than nothing.
At the very least, it could help their mental health.
On the battlefield, Earth Grudge Fear was also clearly excellent material for emergency bandaging…
Take Uchiha En as an example: back then, when Senju Tobirama cut off his arm, if Earth Grudge Fear had been available, he probably wouldn't have ended up one-armed for life.
"No problem. We'll take it…" Hiruzen snapped his fingers.
Danzō, his face cold, set the briefcase on the tabletop.
When he opened it, bundles of brand-new banknotes were inside—thirty million ryō in total.
It was only because the Land of Fire's banknote denominations were relatively large; otherwise, Danzō would have had to carry a big sack…
That would damage the dignity of the Hokage's advisor—the darkness of the shinobi world!
Hiruzen looked at Kakuzu with a genial smile.
By common sense, in negotiations you shouldn't let the other side name the price…
But the Kakuzu of today did not have the margin for error to make an outrageous demand.
And Hiruzen also wanted to use this chance to observe whether Kakuzu's obsession with money truly came from a pathological fixation on "equivalent exchange."
Kakuzu remained silent for a long time.
Only at this moment did he finally believe that Konoha—or rather, the Hokage in front of him—was genuinely here to do business.
Even in a situation where they clearly could have killed him and taken everything, they chose a fair deal and let him set the price…
"Depends on how much you want…"
Kakuzu tugged at his arm, and a great mass of monster-like threads surged out from the seams.
Danzō narrowed his eyes.
In this form, he could barely be considered human…
Hiruzen showed no particular reaction, only watching with curiosity.
Compared to some of the jutsu of his beloved disciple Orochimaru, Kakuzu's Earth Grudge Fear was strange, but still acceptable.
Kakuzu's lips moved slightly, as if doing mental arithmetic: "Thirteen million ryō—about ten kilograms. The most vital part. That's my cost price."
Danzō sneered coldly. "One kilogram is nearly 1.4 million ryō—are you worth over a hundred million?"
There was another line. Danzō paused, and didn't say it out loud.
He wanted to say: Do you think we're Konoha selling 'Sage Region Pills'? Making it this outrageously profitable…
Kakuzu frowned. He greatly disliked Danzō.
Because in the past, Root often hired bounty hunters and then refused to pay, pulling black-on-black schemes.
They were destroyers of the underground order.
"People who don't understand business should refrain from interrupting…"
"One, this is the most vital part; two, I calculated it based on combat losses; three, removing these parts will affect my combat strength, which in turn affects my ability to take big contracts."
At this point, things had become so peculiar that there was no need to hide anything further.
Kakuzu no longer paid attention to Danzō, but instead looked at Hiruzen. "If Hokage-sama truly wants a fair deal, this is my bottom price."
"Agreed. I'll count these Earth Grudge Fear at twenty million ryō for you. In business, there must be profit. Konoha does not treat friends unfairly."
"As for the remaining ten million ryō, you may take that as well."
"Of that, three million ryō is the deposit for the next order. The remaining seven million ryō is to hire you," Hiruzen said with a generous wave of his hand.
Thirty million ryō?
That was merely three hundred Sage Region Pills! Only about a year's supply for seven or eight nobles…
If this allowed Earth Grudge Fear to be integrated into Konoha's war system, the benefits it would bring were far beyond what thirty million ryō could compare to…
Moreover, aside from Earth Grudge Fear, Kakuzu's behavioral pattern and his person were also extremely valuable.
A bounty hunter who roamed among the great nations all year round, yet did not attract too much attention—possessing Kage-level strength and immense experience…
To be able to hire such a person with money was simply too worthwhile.
Hiruzen knew quality goods. Through his perception, the Earth Grudge Fear Kakuzu had just released contained chakra that was exceptionally dense and thick, clearly distinct from the other portions.
It was like the very lifeblood—the core essence.
Kakuzu, however, was clearly taken aback.
He felt the same sentiment that the Fire Daimyō Kujō Gen, the Nara and Akimichi, and the Hyūga Clan had once felt in their hearts.
This Third Hokage truly was an upright and generous man!
"Hokage-sama, what would you have me do?" Kakuzu asked seriously.
"During the hiring period, do not act against Konoha. We know you have handled that well in the past."
"Gather valuable intelligence—anything you believe Konoha would be interested in. As for pricing, we will adjust it ten percent above the bounty office's rate. Settlement will be made on the spot at Konoha; any excess will be refunded, any shortfall supplemented."
"I know you are a businessman, Kakuzu, one who believes in the order and principle of equivalent exchange," Hiruzen deliberately stressed the latter half of the sentence.
Kakuzu was silent for a moment.
"Hokage-sama, may I exchange one move with you? Three million ryō, deducted from the intelligence fee."
As if afraid Hiruzen might misunderstand, Kakuzu added, "To keep Earth Grudge Fear fully vital, chakra must be mobilized through combat…"
But in truth, Kakuzu wanted to confirm one thing.
Was Hiruzen truly stronger than he was?
In this shinobi world, ruled by the strong devouring the weak and filled with betrayal and filth, could someone who was stronger than his opponent, in a place where no one would know, still restrain violence and adhere to rules?
Such a person, Kakuzu had only seen once before—the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama.
"Then please," Hiruzen smiled. "I would indeed like to witness the might of Earth Grudge Fear."
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