Slap!
A crisp slap rang out. Aoba brought his hands together in a seal; chakra flames burned in his palms, and several black chakra prayer beads appeared beside his hands.
A silver storm brewed in his hands, carrying an unrivaled destructive momentum.
Aoba chose to directly confront Kakuzu and Sasori together.
"Silver Wheel Reincarnation Explosion!"
The storm surged out from Aoba's hands.
Light! Dazzling light!
The glare was so intense that the onlookers could hardly keep their eyes open; they could only raise their hands to shield their foreheads.
After a moment, the blinding white light dissipated.
Aoba still stood tall on the surface of the lake, but where were Kakuzu and Sasori?
The places where the two had stood were now empty with the fading of the light.
Of course they hadn't turned into light; they had used their jutsu and then fled when they made their move.
"Those two ran away?", Tsunade appeared beside Aoba, curiously studying his eyes.
"Is this another one of your mysteriously awakened bloodlines?", This had already become Aoba's usual excuse every time a new ability appeared.
But this time the bloodline excuse wasn't bad, those eyes really were nice.
If it were Karin, Sakura and the others, they'd probably have pounced already.
Let him go around wearing those eyes then.
"Sort of," Aoba looked a little embarrassed, he'd used that excuse so many times that anyone would start to doubt it, but Tsunade had given him enough trust.
She never asked many questions.
"Sensei, I'll go bring them back."
After leaving that sentence, Aoba's figure disappeared.
He had already set Flying Thunder God marks on them when he knocked them off the tree.
"Eh? That white-haired handsome guy is leaving already? I wanted to be friends with him," Fu watched Aoba's figure vanish and couldn't help feeling a little disappointed.
Tsunade frowned at the somewhat overly familiar girl, but didn't say anything more, "He'll be back soon."
"Really? Then when he comes back I'll definitely be friends with him!", Fu immediately returned to her usual energetic self.
———
In the dense forest, two figures were rushing along at high speed.
"No wonder the leader told us to try to provoke Konoha. Those eyes, they might be the same as the leader's."
Recalling that casual strike Aoba had just unleashed, Kakuzu's forehead was still sweating cold.
Fortunately, he had plenty of experience running away. It was by that means that he had once escaped a crisis at the hands of the First Hokage.
Aoba surely didn't expect their original plan had been to run from the start.
"If that hit, we'd be dead!"
Sasori was full of lingering fear; that was why he decisively abandoned his hundred puppets and chose to flee.
The hundred puppet men were all torn apart.
He hadn't expected that there still existed ninjas in the world as powerful as the leader, a single jutsu that could destroy all his puppets.
Luckily he saved the Third Kazekage puppet.
"We need to find somewhere to contact the leader first. As for the Seven-Tails, there's nothing we can do now."
Kakuzu was helpless. Besides the Seven-Tails, he had planned to make a profit, that heroic water should sell for a good price.
"True…"
"Leaving so soon? I still have a lot to chat with you two about."
A mocking third voice entered their ears clearly, as if it were whispering right behind them.
In an instant, both Kakuzu and Sasori felt chills run through their bodies.
They both launched attacks at the person behind them, but before their strikes could touch him, a powerful repulsive force suddenly exploded.
It slammed the two directly into the ground.
Then Aoba didn't hold back, and a one-sided beating followed.
"Cough! Cough! Cough!"
Kakuzu spat blood; all the masks on his back were shattered, and his body twitched in pieces uncontrollably.
Of course, even like this he wouldn't die, he still had one heart inside. It was only flesh; he could just stitch it back together with Earth Grudge Fear later.
That said, four of the five hearts inside him had already been smashed.
He only had one life left. If he was killed one more time, Kakuzu would truly die.
When a person is killed, they die. [T/N: So true.]
They say men don't cry easily, only that they haven't reached the point of sorrow yet, Kakuzu felt he was about at the point of crying now.
How many years had it been? Ever since being subdued by Pain, he hadn't experienced this in a long time.
To be trampled one-sidedly, vented upon, without any ability to resist.
The gap was so huge it was even greater than that between an amateur boxer and Tyson.
Sasori was likewise in no good state.
Not only had Hiruko been dismantled, but the Third Kazekage puppet was gone too.
Years of accumulation destroyed in an instant, and now a single branch was pinning down his core.
If he made any reckless move, he would really die.
"Kill me then, just do it properly."
Kakuzu didn't want to be tormented anymore and lay flat.
Seeing Kakuzu acting obediently, Aoba looked over at Sasori, "And you?"
"As you wish," Sasori replied cautiously, afraid of being stabbed to death for no reason.
A sincere smile appeared on Aoba's face.
"To be honest, I don't really want to fight you two."
"What is your purpose?"
Kakuzu was speechless, he was in pieces, and you say you don't want to fight?
Aoba continued, "Kakuzu, do you know the fastest way to get a raise?"
Since they'd met, he certainly wouldn't let the two leave easily, but of course he wouldn't kill them.
Kakuzu and Sasori were rare talents.
And they each had their own weaknesses.
Kakuzu was puzzled for a moment, not understanding why the topic had shifted so quickly, "What is it?"
"Of course, it's switching jobs."
"You want us to leave the organization and join Konoha?"
Kakuzu immediately understood the meaning behind the words.
"I heard from Konan-nee that you're good at making money, that you were the Akatsuki's financial manager, a decent talent."
Aoba's eyes narrowed into slits.
Kakuzu hesitated, "Does Konoha need my help making money?"
During the periods when he wasn't carrying out organization missions, as a bounty ninja he was keenly aware of Konoha's economic situation over the past year.
Whether it was the trade ports of Kirigakure, or the Konoha Street in Sunagakure, they were things that made his mouth water.
If the leader hadn't given instructions before, he might have wanted to rob both places.
Aoba shook his head, "Of course not."
"Konoha's money isn't something you need to earn, but I need you to help me make money."
"What do you mean?", Kakuzu had a face full of question marks.
"I'll give you the channels to make money. You help me earn it, and I'll pay you a salary."
Aoba continued, "By the way, do you get a salary working for the Akatsuki?"
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