After returning to the Land of Demons, departing from the sea route of the Land of Tea, it took less than three days in total.
As a bounty hunter with considerable fame, in order to hunt down the high-bounty targets on the list, Kakuzu has been a bounty hunter for over forty years. He has traveled around the Ninja Realm many times, visited many countries, learned about local customs and traditions, and gained a detailed understanding of the ancient culture of the Ninja Realm.
Sometimes, to get close to a target, pure violence does not work. Instead, one must blend in with the target's environment and become integrated with the target, so disguising as a traveler is something Kakuzu has done many times.
The foundation of disguise is having intimate knowledge of the situation of various countries and understanding ancient and modern history, so that disguises come easily.
Among the countries in the Ninja Realm, the Land of Demons is undoubtedly a very special country.
Just like the Land of Iron.
One represents pure Witch culture, the other represents pure Samurai culture.
In the era when Kakuzu was born, the culture of witches and samurai were still spreading across the world. During the Warring States Era, it was common to see witches traveling the world, healing the sick, and samurai embarking on a path of no return to train their will and swordsmanship.
In that era, while ninjas were mainstream, witches and samurai still had their place, and even monks had many ascetic monks spreading their beliefs worldwide, converting people to their religion.
With the end of the Warring States Era and the ninja's power reaching its peak, the establishment of the One Nation, One Village system, the culture of witches, samurai, and monks gradually shrank.
The past Land of Fire was an immense and monk-believing nation, yet with the rise of ninjas, even the Temple of Fire, which was loyal to the Daimyo, lost its former prestige. Its ideology could only be spread within a small range, and the traditional monk culture was gradually replaced by ninja culture.
The witches of the Land of Demons faced the same fate. In the ninja-dominated era, where ninja culture should have been exported, under the protection of the main line of witches, their activities were gradually restricted to within their country.
Compared to the numerous and militarily symbolic ninja groups, the interests belonging to witches, samurai, and monks were naturally usurped by ninjas.
Moreover, most witches in the Land of Demons were ordinary women, and those with special abilities were simply a few.
The independent witch system, no matter how strong ninjas were, could not influence the status of witches within that country.
Despite being a national leader capable of voicing internationally, the witches did not have any bounty in the underground black market.
It must be known that even the Daimyos of the Five Great Nations appear on the list. The Daimyos of other small and neutral countries are the same; their names appear on the bounty lists, varying only in the amount.
Yet, in the decades Kakuzu has been involved in the underground black market, he never saw the witch of the Land of Demons appearing on a bounty list.
A special country, a special witch system, mysterious and untouched by the ninja system.
For Kakuzu, except during special times of monster chaos, the Land of Demons is the most stable country in the Ninja Realm.
Similarly, the Land of Demons does not have a rampant underground black market, otherwise, he would not have needed to exchange Hanzou's bounty in another country earlier.
With the outbreak of the Third Ninja World War, the focus of the Ninja Realm was concentrated on major countries like the Land of Fire, making the remote, peripheral, and neutral Land of Demons inconspicuous.
However, Kakuzu is different. Because he maintains financial collaboration with the official medical company of the Land of Demons, while others focus on the Five Great Nations, he is the only one who can see beyond their framework and grasp the essence.
The Land of Demons undergoes a certain transformation every year.
This transformation is unknown to outsiders.
An improved road system attracted merchants.
The arrival of merchants spurred economic development in the Land of Demons.
Economic acceleration pushed the military integration of ninja and ordinary soldiers in the Land of Demons, setting up multiple military districts, turning the entire Land of Demons into an impregnable fortress.
Furthermore, complete roads shortened the distance between all towns and villages, facilitating the high-level command dissemination and concentrating power highly.
The implementation of new education and medical reform.
Each reform requires a vast amount of funds, as well as significant human and material resources.
Although he does not know the purpose behind these initiatives of the high-level of the Land of Demons, everything proves that the strength of the Land of Demons is steadily growing.
Yet, these activities are overshadowed by the ninja wars of major nations.
After all, major nations are the protagonists of the Ninja Realm.
But Kakuzu knows that the wealth accumulated by the small Land of Demons may not be inferior to any major country.
The only reason it cannot compare to great nations is purely because of territorial and population deficiencies.
Kakuzu only has one thought about the current Land of Demons—ambitious.
What will the next step be?
Before meeting the so-called mysterious leader described by the Insect Man, Kakuzu ponders this question.
He has a strong premonition that in the coming years, the Land of Demons will definitely not stay quietly in international matters.
As for what level of commotion it might cause, Kakuzu cannot foresee, but it will undoubtedly cause immense headaches for the Daimyos of the Five Great Nations.