"Futures."
The moment Nara Shikato said those two words, Kakuzu's eyes lit up.
He had a feeling he was about to make another huge profit.
"Explain in detail!"
"You're not going to the Land of Waves?"
"Not tonight. But you still have to compensate me for the ship ticket."
Nara Shikato looked at Kakuzu's serious expression. His lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he stopped himself.
Then he silently complained inwardly.
Kakuzu, you're already this rich, and you're still arguing with me over a ship ticket?!
But once he remembered the person in front of him was Kakuzu, Nara Shikato no longer found it strange.
He could only nod and agree.
"Hurry, hurry. Explain the future matter quickly. Time is money. Not a single moment can be wasted."
Kakuzu was already impatient.
Afterward, Nara Shikato slowly explained his private discussion with Uchiha Ren in the office.
"Soon, the Sky Ninja Village plans to attack Kumogakure."
"Hokage-sama plans to urgently convene a Five Kage Summit and lead a Five-Village Coalition to wipe out the Sky Ninja Village together."
"Kakuzu, you've stayed in the Finance Department for so long. You should understand what kind of enormous fluctuations Konoha personally entering a war will cause in the futures market."
"So I plan to seize this opportunity…"
"Harvest the crops?"
Kakuzu spoke ahead of Nara Shikato.
His green bean-like eyes erupted with light, and his cheeks became extremely flushed.
"Yes."
Nara Shikato nodded.
"I plan to put a little money into my own account."
"Shikato, you must notify me of the latest news in advance."
Kakuzu immediately wrapped an arm around Nara Shikato's shoulder, hoping Shikato would bring him along to make money.
He already deeply understood the secret of futures.
Only by following the banker could one earn steady profits without loss.
The old Kakuzu who had been a crop in the futures market was gone forever!
"No problem. But to earn more money, I need your help."
"Help me deal with one person."
"I will go through fire and water, die ten thousand deaths without refusing!"
"Say it, Shikato. Who do you want killed?"
Kakuzu agreed without even thinking.
Whoever dared stop him from making money was his irreconcilable enemy!
"Not kill."
"I need Hatake Sakumo to cooperate with our operation."
"Hatake Sakumo?"
Kakuzu looked confused.
That little white-haired guy's reputation had already become foul beyond belief.
Just the people inside the Land of Fire who wanted to kill him could form a line from Konoha's Hokage Building to Konoha's new district.
If the people from the Land of Lightning were included, the line would stretch all the way to Konoha's Forest of Death.
"The two projects Hatake Sakumo led allowed people to earn enormous profits in the early stages."
"As long as they weren't greedy."
"And by coincidence, Hatake Sakumo's name is now burning hot."
"Konoha can use media channels to build momentum and publicity around him, then combine it with Konoha's capital…"
"The effect will be unimaginable."
With just a few sentences, Nara Shikato enlightened Kakuzu.
Nara Shikato, whose IQ exceeded two hundred, had understood without a teacher that black-red was still red.
As long as there was traffic, money could definitely be made.
Not to mention, the two projects handled by Hatake Sakumo had both produced large groups of lucky people who got off in time and earned wealth that reached the heavens.
After hearing Nara Shikato's words, Kakuzu could not stop joy from appearing on his face.
He could already imagine it—
Hatake Sakumo spoke eloquently in front of the television like a trumpeter, urging the crops to stretch their necks so Kakuzu could harvest them.
But Kakuzu quickly realized a very serious problem.
Little White Hair's current bounty amount was so high that even Kakuzu himself drooled over it.
If he harvested another big wave…
Wouldn't his enemies bloom across the entire ninja world?
Little White Hair was so afraid of death.
Could he accept this kind of mission?
No!
Even if Kakuzu had to risk four lives, he had to make Hatake Sakumo accept this job!
At worst, he would postpone the Land of Waves and serve as Hatake Sakumo's personal bodyguard for a while.
Kakuzu was secretly swearing in his heart when he heard Nara Shikato continue.
"Hatake Sakumo spent the most time with you. You two also have experience working as partners on missions."
"So Hokage-sama wants you to persuade Hatake Sakumo to accept this mission."
"I guarantee the mission will be completed!"
Kakuzu patted his chest and agreed immediately.
Nara Shikato nodded in satisfaction.
Then Kakuzu immediately tossed aside his prepared luggage and hurried off to find Hatake Sakumo.
Aside from meeting marriage candidates, Hatake Sakumo had stayed indoors the entire time.
So Kakuzu soon found him at home.
"Little White Hair!"
"Kakuzu? What are you doing here?"
Hatake Sakumo looked at Kakuzu with dead-fish eyes.
A faint sense of unease rose in his heart.
This dead money-grubber had started working overtime nonstop the moment he returned to Konoha.
Reading ledgers.
Discussing business.
Meeting clients.
Thinking about making money at every moment.
If not for Sakumo's family fortune, Kakuzu would never take time out to see him.
"I'm here to send you warmth!"
Kakuzu grinned.
He planned to lay some groundwork first.
If he stated his purpose directly, Little White Hair would definitely throw him out immediately.
"Get lost!"
Hatake Sakumo ignored Kakuzu and immediately tried to close the door.
A weasel paying New Year's greetings to a chicken definitely had no good intentions!
"Don't close the door! Don't close the door!"
"Hokage-sama has assigned you a mission."
Kakuzu pulled out Uchiha Ren's golden signboard.
Only then did Hatake Sakumo reluctantly stop and let Kakuzu into his home.
Inside the house.
Kakuzu sat on the tatami and thought about how to make Hatake Sakumo willingly accept this mission.
"Say it. What mission does Hokage-sama have?"
"I still have three marriage meetings tonight."
"Three marriage meetings in one night?"
Kakuzu's eyes widened.
He had not expected Hatake Sakumo's time management skills to be so advanced.
"Are you using clones?"
"How could I? How could I use clones when meeting marriage candidates? That would be too rude."
Hatake Sakumo waved his hand.
No matter what, Hatake Sakumo came from a shinobi family.
His marriage candidates were all girls from the same social circle.
Using a clone to attend a marriage meeting would be extremely impolite if discovered.
"Little White Hair, I'm several decades older than you. As an elder, I'll advise you not to be too picky when looking for a wife."
Kakuzu felt Hatake Sakumo's progress was too slow.
If he searched for a marriage partner this pickily, when would Hatake Sakumo actually get married and have a son?
"Go die, you dead money-grubber!"
"Have you ever been married? You old bachelor!"
"You just want to inherit my family fortune sooner."
Hatake Sakumo snorted coldly and instantly exposed Kakuzu's purpose.
"Cough, cough. You discovered it."
"But if you keep going like this, when exactly will you get married?"
Kakuzu's skin was thick and his heart was black.
He did not care at all about Hatake Sakumo's contemptuous gaze.
"Soon. Soon…"
Hatake Sakumo perfunctorily answered Kakuzu.
He wanted to get married quickly too.
But the marriage candidates arranged by his clan would immediately tremble like flowers in the wind the moment they heard about the bounty on his head.
Then they would hurriedly flee the meeting.
Truly sinful.
He had clearly already lowered his standards.
But the number on his bounty was simply too dazzling.
No girl could easily accept such a thing.
After all, once she married him, her future life would…
Kakuzu noticed Hatake Sakumo's expression looked poor and promptly stopped this topic.
If he angered Hatake Sakumo now, then when he brought up the new mission, Sakumo would definitely slash him with a blade.
Hmm.
He definitely would.
Kakuzu had been too anxious earlier and had forgotten to drag Nara Shikato over too.
If Hatake Sakumo erupted, he could have used Nara Shikato as a shield.
Kakuzu felt a little regretful.
But it was too late to find Nara Shikato now.
At worst, he would just replace a few hearts later.
He had five hearts.
Five lives!
"Hatake Sakumo, Hokage-sama has placed great expectations on you."
"Soon, Konoha will launch a war against the Sky Ninja Village."
"The futures market will experience massive fluctuations."
"So Hokage-sama has chosen you as the public trumpeter, just like with pig iron futures."
"You know this yourself. In all of Konoha…"
Hatake Sakumo's mood went from faint unease to mental chaos, then finally seemed to plunge into a bottomless abyss.
Hadn't the Blue Sky Project only just ended?
He still wanted to hide in Konoha for a while!
And now another one?
Before Kakuzu could finish, Hatake Sakumo immediately stood up from the tatami.
"I won't do it!"
"Is Hokage-sama really trying to kill me?"
"Do you know how high my bounty is?"
"That much money probably can't even be loaded onto dozens of handcarts!"
"Can't he choose another unlucky bastard to carry out this mission?"
Hatake Sakumo's emotions erupted.
This kind of dangerous mission couldn't always be assigned to him.
Wasn't this bullying an honest man?
He had already offended a large group of people in the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning.
This time, they wanted to harvest crops across the entire ninja world.
How high would his bounty rise after that?
Would he still be able to succeed in marriage meetings?!
"Hatake Sakumo, this is all for Konoha!"
"The Will of Fire is about devotion."
"As the saying goes, where leaves dance, fire burns deeply without end."
"A shinobi must…"
"The main point is that no one but you can do this mission."
"Right now, your reputation across the ninja world is overwhelming."
"Among speculative crops in the investment world, who doesn't know your deeds?"
"The two major projects you operated both allowed people to earn until their bowls overflowed in the early stage."
"And this mission will also allow you to earn a huge amount of money."
"At minimum, your family fortune will multiply several times."
"If it doesn't, I, Kakuzu, will pay the difference myself."
Seeing Hatake Sakumo cursing in anger, Kakuzu immediately offered comfort and skillfully displayed his eloquence.
He began with the Will of Fire, defining the matter as a noble sacrifice.
Then he praised Hatake Sakumo highly, making clear that this mission was impossible without him.
Finally, he tempted him with profit.
After Kakuzu finished speaking, he felt this persuasion deserved one hundred points.
Also—
Hahaha!
Little White Hair's family fortune was growing again!
"Kakuzu, what you said makes sense."
"But I suddenly remembered something."
"The last Ponzi scheme project was recommended by you, wasn't it?"
"Is this project also your doing?"
After hearing Kakuzu's words, Hatake Sakumo first walked to the door and locked it.
Then he took down the short blade hanging on the wall.
A stiff smile hung on his face as he unsheathed the blade and questioned Kakuzu.
"I swear to the Sage of Six Paths, this time it absolutely wasn't me!"
Seeing the killing intent radiating from Little White Hair, sweat seeped from Kakuzu's forehead.
He immediately swore to Hatake Sakumo.
This time, he had not recommended Hatake Sakumo.
It was Nara Shikato!
"It was Nara Shikato! Him!"
"Nara Shikato?"
Hatake Sakumo thought of Nara Shikato's face.
A serious and earnest expression.
A gentle smile at the corner of his mouth.
He should be an honest man.
Unlike Kakuzu.
Blinded by profit, willing to do anything for money, full of lies, and black-hearted.
"Go die!"
"I don't believe you!"
Hatake Sakumo swung his short blade.
In an instant, several streaks of blade light appeared before Kakuzu.
"Calm down, Little White Hair!"
"This time, I really am innocent!"
Kakuzu moved extremely fast, dodging quickly while shouting.
At the same time, he kicked the door open and rushed toward the empty space outside.
This house would also be his property in the future.
He could not let it get damaged!
"Bastard!"
"I only scammed you once, and you want to trap me to death?!"
"Dog thief, die!"
"Little White Hair, I'm not vegetarian!"
"If you keep slashing me, I'll fight back!"
"Then come!"
Hatake Sakumo held the short blade.
The blade was only three feet long, yet cold light shimmered across it, its edge fully exposed.
Today, he would properly teach this dead money-grubber a lesson.
With a low shout, the short blade instantly traced a graceful arc.
White light flashed, like lightning tearing across the sky.
Illuminated by that white light, Kakuzu frowned tightly.
It seemed he really would have to replace a few hearts today.
After a fierce battle—
Kakuzu panted as he looked at Hatake Sakumo, keeping four or five body lengths between them out of fear that one careless move would get him slashed again.
Two of the Earth Grudge Fear masks on Kakuzu's back had been shattered.
He had already been cut down twice by Hatake Sakumo.
This little white-haired guy's strength was actually this powerful?
A couple of years ago, they had still been evenly matched.
"Have you cooled down?"
"What I said earlier was all true."
"It really was Nara Shikato!"
"Hmph. I don't care. Even if it was Nara Shikato, I still had to cut you!"
After venting, the resentment in Hatake Sakumo's heart dispersed by more than half.
He had wanted to cut this dead money-grubber for a long time!
If not for Kakuzu, after completing the pig iron futures project, he would have already retired successfully.
He could have hidden for two years until the storm passed, then taken his money and enjoyed life.
Why would he have needed to go to the Land of Lightning and carry out the Ponzi scheme plan?
And now it was starting again!
He was clearly a shinobi.
He should be establishing achievements on the battlefield!
"Kakuzu, this time, you must also stand in front with me and shout!"
"Even if I die, I'm dragging you down with me!"
No matter how unwilling Hatake Sakumo was, he could only accept his fate.
Who told Hokage-sama to specifically name him for the mission?
But he absolutely had to drag Kakuzu, this dead money-grubber, along too!
"No problem!"
Kakuzu agreed immediately.
He had no fear of danger.
As a bounty hunter in the ninja world, drifting through wind and rain for decades, what kind of danger had he not experienced to earn big money?
He had even accepted a mission to assassinate the First Hokage!
Little White Hair was still young.
Too little experience.
And far too afraid of death.
You couldn't fear death!
How could you make big money if you feared death?
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