"Now, can I leave?"
All the money he had painstakingly saved over the years was gone. Kakuzu felt that everything had become meaningless.
Living seemed to have nothing to look forward to, and dying didn't seem to matter either.
Of course, that feeling only lasted for a moment.
After all, if one could live, who would want to die?
Money could be earned again, but if a person was gone, then they were truly gone.
"What's the hurry?" Renya pointed at the cushion beside him. "Sit for a while before leaving."
He had just taken all the man's money; it wouldn't look good to immediately kick him out.
That would make it seem like he was only after the money...
Kakuzu didn't dare refuse. He instinctively glanced at the silent Uchiha Madara, then forced himself to sit down.
He kept his head lowered, not even daring to breathe heavily, afraid of displeasing the Asura of the ninja world and getting killed on the spot.
Renya indeed wouldn't kill him, but Uchiha Madara was a different story.
If he really got himself killed, there'd be nowhere to cry about it.
Uchiha Madara didn't understand why Renya wanted to keep Kakuzu, but he didn't ask directly.
This kid never did things in a conventional way...
"Since we've come all the way to the Land of Hot Water, we should definitely experience the hot springs here."
Renya took out a stack of banknotes from his robe, counted for a long time, and finally pulled out the smallest denomination.
"My treat. Take it and go soak in a hot spring."
Kakuzu: "..."
This damned bastard—he robbed him of hundreds of millions upon meeting, and now he was using this tiny amount to dismiss him.
Although he complained endlessly in his heart, he still obediently accepted the money.
Having a little left was better than having everything taken.
As for soaking in a hot spring—forget it. Keeping the money made him feel more secure.
"Work hard and make money. Don't slack off."
Renya patted his shoulder, signaling that he could leave.
If he didn't work hard to earn money, how would he be robbed in the future?
It wasn't like Renya would go out of his way to track him down just for a few million.
Seeing this, Kakuzu got up without hesitation and left. In the blink of an eye, he disappeared from the room.
"Kid, are you familiar with him?" Uchiha Madara asked in confusion.
"Not really. It's just a relationship of mutual benefit."
In Renya's eyes, Kakuzu was simply an ATM—every encounter meant he could squeeze out a sum of money.
Uchiha Madara: "..."
Calling it mutual benefit when it was clearly robbery.
This kid was really getting more shameless by the day.
"Madara-sama, consider his money as a tribute to you."
Renya placed the storage scroll Kakuzu had handed over onto the table.
Madara had been staying at Hashirama's place and didn't seem to have any source of income.
This money might as well be used for their retirement.
He didn't open the storage scroll and didn't know how much was inside.
But considering Kakuzu's money-loving nature after all these years, there should be several hundred million at least.
Uchiha Madara didn't refuse and put away the storage scroll from the table.
The kid was thoughtful.
After Izuna was revived, he could use this money to buy a decent house in the village.
At that time, he and his younger brother could live together instead of staying at Hashirama's place.
...
Outside the inn.
"What kind of joke is this!"
So the news from Konohagakure wasn't exaggerated—Uchiha Madara really wasn't dead...
Kakuzu's face was filled with despair. The sunlight shining on him didn't feel warm at all, but instead piercingly cold.
Over a decade of savings, all gone in an instant.
For him, this was even more painful than being killed.
If he had known this would happen, even a ten-billion bounty wouldn't have made him take the job.
Unfortunately, there was no such thing as regret medicine in this world.
Uchiha Renya!
That damned bastard—I will absolutely not let you go!
He would treat this money as if it were stored with him and retrieve it after thirty years.
With interest—every last bit of it!
Even though the money was gone, life had to go on.
Kakuzu didn't collapse because of this. His strong mentality allowed him to recover quickly.
After all, it wasn't the first time he had been robbed; his ability to accept it far exceeded that of ordinary people.
Rather than having strong acceptance, it was more that he had no other choice.
After all, he couldn't beat Renya.
"Hmph, see you in thirty years!"
Kakuzu took one last look at the inn, then resolutely left this place that brought him sorrow.
He hadn't done anything today and had already lost hundreds of millions.
He could only continue taking bounty missions to earn money...
...
In the shadows, Tobi spoke in disbelief.
"This guy called Kakuzu really has some skills!"
He barged into Madara-sama's room and actually came out unscathed.
He once attempted to assassinate the God of Shinobi and retreated unharmed, and now he attempted to assassinate the Asura of the ninja world and still retreated unharmed!
He'd have bragging rights in the future.
A talent—truly a talent!
The White Zetsu were worried that getting too close would alert Uchiha Madara, so they didn't sneak into the room and naturally didn't know what had happened inside.
All Tobi saw was Kakuzu kicking open Madara-sama's door and then coming out completely unscathed.
It seemed necessary to record this and tell Black Zetsu.
Looking at Kakuzu's departing figure, Tobi sighed with emotion.
"Black Zetsu needs a powerful helper like this!"
He had said it before—if this guy didn't have real ability, how could he dare accept the bounty to assassinate Madara-sama and Senju Hashirama?
Even though he failed, being able to retreat unharmed was a skill in itself.
...
"Kid, you ran into Kakuzu?"
Senju Tobirama stopped Renya, who was about to return to his room, and asked curiously.
He had sensed someone causing trouble from inside his room—the chakra was exactly the same as Kakuzu, who had once tried to assassinate him.
Originally, he planned to come out and take a look, but then he noticed the person entered Madara's room.
So he didn't bother coming out to watch.
"Yes, he came to deliver money to me," Renya said cheerfully.
Even if Kakuzu himself had some issues, for the sake of money, he could overlook those flaws.
Who could refuse a walking money-giver?
Senju Tobirama: "..."
Are you sure Kakuzu came to deliver money, and not that he got robbed?
Forget it—that guy wasn't a good person anyway. Robbing him was fine.
"What did Madara say to you?"
Senju Tobirama wasn't really concerned about Kakuzu; he wanted to find out what Renya had done in Madara's room.
That inherently evil Uchiha Madara must be trying to secretly brainwash Renya again!
He absolutely couldn't allow that to happen!
No matter what, Renya was his adopted son, long separated from the Uchiha clan, with no connection to Uchiha Madara.
He couldn't just watch Renya get taken away.
"Madara-sama said..."
Renya didn't hide anything and briefly explained the situation.
In truth, Uchiha Madara hadn't said much—just that he wanted to revive Uchiha Izuna.
As for the other trivial matters, someone hadn't paid any attention to them at all.
After hearing this, Senju Tobirama nodded thoughtfully.
"Got it. Go back and rest."
Back in his room, Senju Tobirama picked up a cup of hot tea and took a sip, lost in thought.
He hadn't expected that Uchiha Izuna, who had been dead for many years, could be revived.
Hopefully, that guy wouldn't cause trouble.
Otherwise, he wouldn't mind killing him once more!
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