Natsuhiko truly never imagined—even in his dreams—that he would run into Kakuzu while out on a mission.
Unexpected complications during missions were common. He had encountered plenty of trouble before when leading teams.
But facing someone this troublesome? This was a first.
Natsuhiko was very familiar with Kakuzu.
Although it had been nearly fourteen years since he transmigrated here, he had long ago started keeping notes to reinforce his memory, afraid he might forget important details.
Of course, he never left those notes lying around. They were sealed inside a scroll that he carried with him at all times.
Whenever he had time, he would take them out and review them.
As a member of the Akatsuki, Kakuzu's background and intelligence were firmly etched in Natsuhiko's mind. Originally an elite ninja from Takigakure, he later defected.
It was said that he once attempted to assassinate the First Hokage—and survived. As for how he managed that, Natsuhiko had no idea. Maybe he threw a kunai from a thousand meters away.
Though that story sounded somewhat ridiculous, his abilities were undeniably real.
He could seize hearts to prolong his life, and he could use the chakra attributes of those hearts to perform corresponding elemental techniques.
On top of that, his taijutsu was far from weak.
"Oh? I've been followed?" Kakuzu glanced back and chuckled softly. "I'm curious—who exactly dares to tail me? Are you coming out yourselves, or should I drag you out?"
As he spoke, Kakuzu casually tossed the corpse from his shoulder onto the ground. At the same time, chakra began gathering around him.
Kakashi frowned at the sight. This man looked extremely strange. And even through the mask, he could sense that his captain was tense.
"Captain, do you know this guy?" Kakashi asked quietly, signaling for Pakkun to return.
"Yes. His name is Kakuzu," Natsuhiko nodded, his hand already resting on the hilt of his blade. "A bounty hunter who frequents the black market. Mission success rate: one hundred percent. A very troublesome opponent."
That was all Natsuhiko dared to say—these were considered public records. Any Anbu member could look them up.
He didn't dare mention more.
For example, the cloak Kakuzu was wearing—the uniform of the largest terrorist organization in the ninja world, Akatsuki.
Or the fact that he possessed multiple hearts, each of which had to be destroyed individually to truly kill him.
Or that he likely could use all five elemental releases.
"I see." Kakashi nodded lightly. Then he said, "Captain, if we engage him, I'll handle him. You retrieve the body."
"Deal." Natsuhiko replied immediately, extremely satisfied.
Was there really such a good deal?
After all, Kakashi would one day be the one to personally take down Kakuzu.
Of course, compared to over a decade later, the current Kakashi couldn't match his future self—in experience, physical ability, chakra reserves, or Sharingan mastery.
But he was still the one who "snatched Naruto's kill" in the end—a certified Kakuzu finisher. With that kind of fate-buff, things probably wouldn't go too wrong.
Still, now wasn't the time to dwell on that.
Kakuzu's chakra was surging stronger and stronger—he was on the verge of attacking.
Natsuhiko had no desire to recklessly clash with a dangerous terrorist like Kakuzu. So negotiation was the obvious first step.
With a leap, Natsuhiko and Kakashi dropped from the treetops and walked forward, stopping about five meters from Kakuzu.
"Oh? Anbu?" Kakuzu raised an eyebrow. His green eyes were cold and eerie. "Judging by your uniforms, you're from Konoha. You want this guy?"
He pointed at the corpse lying on the ground—Kashiwagi Kawa. Though now, the man's face had already changed.
"Yes, Mr. Kakuzu," Natsuhiko said in a warm and polite tone. "We do want him. I was hoping you'd be willing to do us a small favor."
"A favor?" Kakuzu scoffed disdainfully. "I'm not a charity. Do you know how much effort it took me to kill him? And besides—he's not one of your Konoha ninja, is he?"
"We're willing to pay—"
"But he's our target."
Before Natsuhiko could finish, Kakashi spoke coldly.
"We're taking him back. Dead or alive."
The moment Kakashi said that, Natsuhiko's face darkened slightly.
Whether the attitude was tough or not wasn't the main issue.
The key problem was that Kakashi had just revealed an unmistakable determination—an insistence that they would take the body no matter what.
Under normal circumstances, that would be fine.
But here? It was very bad.
Anbu missions involving killing targets were common. The most frequent were hunting down traitors and carrying out assassinations.
There was also a more complicated category—eliminating spies.
"Oh?" Sure enough, Kakuzu's eyes lit up slightly, then quickly turned dangerous. "You want to fight, brat?"
"Mr. Kakuzu, please, let's not be hasty," Natsuhiko immediately pulled Kakashi behind him and spoke quickly. "You're certainly not a charity. So we're willing to purchase his head at market price. What do you think?"
"Market price?" Kakuzu looked extremely disdainful.
"You think I'm an idiot?
Now I understand why you want him—thanks to the brat beside you.
He's a spy, isn't he? And he's carrying Konoha's intelligence.
If I spread that information, I wonder how many people would be willing to raise the price for his head.
Do you really think market price is appropriate?"
"What price does Mr. Kakuzu have in mind?" Natsuhiko shot Kakashi a subtle glare, but kept his tone warm and polite.
"Simple…"
At that, Kakuzu's expression suddenly grew serious. Then he enunciated each word slowly:
"You'll have to pay extra."
"…."
Natsuhiko froze.
Looking at Kakuzu's utterly serious face, for a brief moment he wondered if this guy had transmigrated too.
But after thinking about it carefully, there was nothing surprising about those words.
Kakuzu had lived far too long and had lost interest in almost everything.
Only money made him feel alive.
In his eyes, nothing remained but cash.
Taking a deep breath, Natsuhiko quietly moved one hand behind his back and made a tactical hand signal to Kakashi.
At the same time, he kept his gentle tone.
"Mr. Kakuzu, Konoha doesn't often negotiate like this."
"So you want to fight?" Kakuzu's voice instantly turned cold, his eyes sharpening dangerously. "Anbu ninja may be troublesome—but they should still fetch a decent bounty."
"That depends on whether Mr. Kakuzu has the ability," Natsuhiko replied. His demeanor remained calm, but his chakra was already beginning to circulate at high speed.
Suddenly, Kakashi lunged forward, launching a volley of kunai with lethal precision.
In that same heartbeat, Natsuhiko moved—not toward Kakuzu, but toward the corpse.