Chapter 186: Unequal Distribution

Faced with relentless mockery, the short man remained thick-skinned:

"You can't say that. Forget about those previous times, but this mission was extremely risky. Before executing the mission, no one knew the real target. It wasn't until we were about to take action that we found out the target was actually the son of the Daimyō of the Land of Fire. Honestly, when I first learned the truth, I was extremely reluctant. If things went south, we'd be doomed forever. But for the sake of you two, I forced myself to go through with it.

"Fortunately, we succeeded. Naturally, I should get a bigger share now. Of course, it's not just for me personally—I'm considering it from the perspective of everyone involved."

His smooth-talking argument made Tōshirō smile.

This guy—clearly just trying to grab a bigger share for himself—was making it sound so noble. Even when pushing his own interests, he disguised them as being for the collective good. What a waste of talent—he should've been in politics.

Tōshirō's eyes, visible through the mask's openings, drooped slightly. "How much do you want?"

Kakuzu frowned upon hearing this. Was he really going to give up a share? Just as he was about to speak up, Tōshirō raised a hand to stop him, signaling to let the other man finish.

The short man stretched out five fingers, speaking bluntly, "Fifty percent."

Tōshirō chuckled.

The short man hadn't expected that reaction and snapped, "What are you laughing at?"

Tōshirō crossed one leg over the other and clasped his hands together. "Do you know who's been leading every mission?"

"You."

"And do you know who's been planning each kidnapping?"

"You."

"So..."

The short man froze. "So?"

Tōshirō's expression turned sharp. "So how the hell do you have the nerve to demand more of my share?"

Kakuzu instantly felt at ease. As expected of Tōshirō—there was no way he was giving up a share.

The short man was annoyed and continued to argue for a bigger cut.

"You idiot, do you even know what intellectual property fees are? The two of us use our brains—we earn money with our minds. Besides, we're the ones who initiated everything. Obviously, we should get more than a brute like you."

With that final argument, Tōshirō completely shut the short man down, leaving him speechless.

"What's wrong? If I don't give you more, are you planning to fight me for it?"

Tōshirō provoked him.

The short man clenched his fists. He really was considering it.

They were all in the kidnapping business—who among them wasn't ruthless? Otherwise, they wouldn't have taken this path in the first place.

As the saying goes, for fifty percent profit, one would take risks; for one hundred percent profit, one would trample on all human laws; and for three hundred percent profit, one would commit any crime, even at the risk of execution.

Right now, the money in front of him wasn't in the millions or billions, but in the hundreds of billions.

Of course, he had to fight for it. Besides, he wasn't entirely without confidence. The organization had long been discontent with these two who always took the largest share—it wasn't just a recent issue.

If a fight broke out, some of their comrades might even take his side for the sake of profit.

Seeing that the short man was seriously considering a fight, Kakuzu smirked. "If you want to try, then go ahead. Just don't blame me for not warning you—the cost will be high."

If this guy dared to rebel, Kakuzu wouldn't mind killing him on the spot. That way, his share would go straight into Kakuzu's pocket.

The tension in the air grew heavier, and the atmosphere was on the verge of exploding. Just then, another member of the organization, a man with a sharp, monkey-like face, spoke up.

"Jiguang, calm down a bit. This isn't our only job—there's no need to make things so tense.

"Out of the 500 billion, Brother Ye Wang and Brother Ding Xiu take their share, and the remaining 250 billion gets split among the eight of us. Each of us still gets tens of billions—that's more than enough."

Jiguang fell silent.

Xiaofu continued to persuade him. "How about this—since we successfully pulled off this kidnapping, I suggest we celebrate at Heaven on Earth. What do you say?"

Given this way out, Jiguang, who had just been scowling moments ago, suddenly grinned. "I was just joking earlier. Tell you what, as a show of sincerity, I'll cover all the expenses at Heaven on Earth this time."

Seeing Jiguang back down, Tōshirō didn't seem inclined to let him off so easily. As if deliberately provoking him, he wagged a finger. "You're pretty clever, but let me tell you—splitting fifty-fifty? Not a chance. Don't even think about it."

With that, he exchanged a glance with Kakuzu.

Kakuzu got the message, formed a hand seal, and summoned a massive summoning beast. There was no way the two of them could move that much money on their own, so a large summoning beast was necessary.

The creature opened its huge mouth, swallowed the money, and then vanished in an instant.

Having completed this step, Tōshirō and Kakuzu had no intention of sticking around. They simply said they would show up for the celebration before leaving.

One by one, the remaining members of the organization also began to disperse after getting their shares.

Jiguang and Xiaofu exchanged a glance before leaving. Jiguang walked alone through the streets and entered a bar. He booked a private room, took a few sips of alcohol, and then the door opened.

A man with sharp, hawk-like features walked in—another member of the organization, Xiaofu.

He closed the door behind him, clearly not wanting their conversation to be overheard.

Only then did Jiguang finally speak, cursing under his breath. "You saw it too, didn't you? Ye Wang and Ding Xiu are way too greedy."

Xiaofu hadn't come just to hear him complain. "So, what's your plan?"

Jiguang made a throat-slitting gesture—his intent was clear. He wanted them dead.

Jiguang wasn't just acting on impulse. He understood Ye Wang's personality—there was no way he'd agree to a fifty-fifty split. His earlier insistence on it was actually just a setup, an excuse to rally support within the group.

Now that they had pulled off this job, the Daimyō was frantically searching for them. If they continued doing kidnappings, they'd get caught sooner or later.

They had left a trace, so they planned to divide the two's assets and retire from the business for good.

Tōshirō and Ding Xiu were used to being domineering, and they hadn't built a strong foundation with the masses, which created an opportunity for the two of them.

...

On the other side, while walking down the road, Tōshirō took the initiative to talk to Kakuzu. "You saw that guy's expression just now, right? He's definitely up to something shady."

"It doesn't matter, I'll take care of it."

Kakuzu didn't think much of the person—they always considered whether a potential member could be controlled when choosing recruits.

Tōshirō smiled. "After this job, I want to do a little clean-up."

Kakuzu snorted. "Always doing unnecessary things."

"I'm someone with principles. I pick targets who aren't good people, but that doesn't mean they always are."

Kakuzu fell silent for a moment. "Do you want to eliminate them?"

Tōshirō nodded. "Yeah."

"Got it."

Kakuzu agreed quickly.

If they took out these people, the inheritance would all be his.

Tōshirō shook his head. "No need for you to get involved."

Kakuzu was momentarily taken aback.

"Through this dinner, I plan to take them all out at once."

"How are you planning to do that?"

Eliminating everyone in one go would still be a tough challenge even for Tōshirō and Kakuzu working together with all their might.

"All we need to do is leak this information, and soon enough, people will be rushing to deal with them for us."

Kakuzu understood—it was a case of "calling out the thief and using someone else's blade" to get rid of them. "You're pretty sinister, little brat."

Tōshirō wasn't bothered by formalities. "As long as the result is good, the process doesn't matter."

"If one day I'm no longer useful, would you do the same to me?"

Kakuzu stared at Tōshirō, trying to catch a flaw in his expression.

Tōshirō remained calm and directly denied, "I'm a good person. I'd never betray my comrades."

Kakuzu didn't believe him, mocking him. "Everything you've done so far doesn't seem very 'good' to me."

Tōshirō grinned. "Well, that's because I'm a very good person."

"Is there even a difference between being a good person and a bad one?" Kakuzu teased. "Seems like you're just flattering yourself."

Tōshirō answered firmly, "Yes, there is. Of course, there is."

Kakuzu snorted, intrigued.

Tōshirō organized his thoughts and slowly spoke. "If I help others step by step, and if I help others the way I do now, which method do you think would be more helpful?"

Kakuzu thought for a moment. "The latter."

"See? Exactly." Tōshirō shrugged. "After all, it's not my money, so I don't mind spending it, and that means I can help more people."

Kakuzu found the answer amusing and laughed. "Why do you consider me a partner and not the others in the organization? To outsiders, I don't seem any different from them."

Tōshirō pondered for a moment. "I have one strength, and that's being able to read people well. I think you, Kakuzu, are not a bad person."

This wasn't just Tōshirō boasting; after all, he knew the original story well enough to see through people.

This was probably the biggest joke Kakuzu had heard since he turned rogue. "And what's your evidence?"

"You're someone with a story. People who have stories tend not to be bad people. At least, not purely bad people."

Kakuzu: "…"

"You, with such strength, and yet you're always so eager to make money. The purpose of making money is usually for enjoyment, right? Otherwise, why would anyone bother making money?"

"But you're strange. You've made more money than you could ever spend in several lifetimes, yet you never enjoy it. I think you must have experienced something in the past that shaped your way of doing things."

Kakuzu didn't want Tōshirō to continue, his voice growing irritable. "I should have told you to stop speculating about my matters."

"Alright, I won't say anything."

Tōshirō raised both hands in a mock gesture of apology.

Kakuzu snorted.

Tōshirō sighed, thinking to himself that it would be a long road to 'pua' Kakuzu.

But never mind, he had money now and could start working on the second stage of Senjutsu. As long as he had strength, any problem could be solved easily.

(End of Chapter)

────────────────────────────────────

"If you're interested, please support me in my other novel [One Piece: General Blue]."

"If you're interested, please support me in my other novel [Battle Through the Heavens: Heavenly comprehension]."

"If you're interested, please support me in my other novel [Soul Land 2: Golden Dragon King]."

"If you want an early access join my patreon:- patreon.com/BaDwYGaMeR"