Chapter 124: Kakuzu Was Persuaded to Agree

Kakuzu could hear the sincerity in the voice of the masked man.

For a moment, he fell into deep thought.

He recalled when the village had ordered him to assassinate the First Hokage. Knowing it was a suicide mission, he still went without hesitation.

He failed the assassination, barely escaping under the First Hokage's Wood Release. When he returned to the village in disgrace, he was met only with blame and scorn.

The village wanted to make him a scapegoat.

'Damn it, I wanted so badly to protect the village, but in the end… the village betrayed me with its actions.'

From that moment, he suddenly realized. Only money would never betray him in this world. So, he resolutely defected from the village, seized its secret technique, Earth Grudge Fear, and wandered the world as a bounty hunter.

Thinking of this, Kakuzu narrowed his eyes, "I have no family, nor do I need companions. You, even if you're a ninja from my era, stop playing tricks here!"

As he spoke, Kakuzu's body suddenly split open, revealing a massive number of black threads. The threads connected to four different heads, each representing a different chakra nature.

One of the heads aimed at the masked man and suddenly opened its mouth, spewing out a massive fireball.

"Fire Release: Searing Migraine."

However, the masked man did not move, allowing the raging flames to engulf his figure. Standing amidst the fire, he continued speaking.

"Kakuzu, you can deceive anyone, but you can't deceive me."

"You love making money, yet you don't like spending money. Why is that?"

"Perhaps even you haven't realized it. You enjoy silently giving."

Kakuzu's eyes widened.

'Impossible. Why isn't this masked man even slightly injured?'

Another of his heads moved, spitting out a powerful gust of wind.

"Wind Release: Pressure Damage!"

The wind fused with the fire, and with the wind's force, the flames burned even more fiercely. In an instant, the masked man's figure was completely swallowed by the firestorm.

The forest behind him was reduced to ashes in the raging wind and fire.

Kakuzu's eyes were deep and unreadable. The masked man should be dead, right? After all, no one could withstand his most destructive attack.

However, in the next moment, the masked man's voice rang out once again.

"Kakuzu, perhaps even you are unaware… You desperately earn money, but deep down, you wish to offer it to someone or some force that deserves it."

"You want to prove your existence and value through this method."

As he spoke, the masked man walked forward, his figure gradually emerging from the flames.

He raised his hand again and said to Kakuzu, "Join us. We mean no harm. In fact, we even hope that you will stop engaging in such sinful work."

"We are an organization that longs for peace. Our greatest wish is for a world without war, where ninjas are no longer tools but individuals. Complete, independent people."

Kakuzu ceased his attack.

His wind-fire combination was devastating, yet… it seemed completely ineffective against this masked man.

On one hand, he was beginning to fear the masked man's strength.

But on the other hand, when he heard the masked man talk about how they wanted ninjas to no longer be treated as mere tools, something deep inside him seemed to stir.

Since it might be difficult to defeat this man, he might as well listen to his offer.

He said, "You want me to give up being a bounty hunter? That's impossible. If you know I love making money, then you should also know this is a very profitable job."

The masked man chuckled, looked at Kakuzu, and asked a question from an angle Kakuzu had never considered before.

"Do you think the Five Great Ninja Villages have more money, or do the Five Great Nations?"

Kakuzu was momentarily stunned. The answer was obvious, "Of course, the daimyo are wealthier. The ninja villages rely on the daimyo for funding."

The masked man continued, "Then, do the Five Great Nations' daimyo earn money by taking missions?"

Kakuzu was stunned again. This question was even more obvious, "Of course not. In fact, the daimyo even issue missions to let ninjas earn money."

The masked man spread his hands, "So, the daimyo don't rely on missions to make money, yet they are richer than the ninjas who do. This proves that there are more profitable ways to earn money in this world."

"Why cling to those measly bounty missions?"

Kakuzu thought for a moment, 'That… actually makes sense.'

Unconsciously, he asked, "So, does your organization have a more profitable method?"

For a moment, Kakuzu was tempted.

If he could join a mysterious organization that had an even more lucrative method of making money, and if he could be its treasurer, it didn't seem like a bad deal.

Of course, he was only considering it because this mysterious masked man had put enormous pressure on him. If they fought, he might not come out on top.

But the masked man sincerely said, "That method may exist in the future, but not right now."

"Our Akatsuki is still weak at the moment, which is why we need to recruit powerful individuals like you."

"To recruit you, we even used nearly half of our organization's funds."

Hearing this, Kakuzu was speechless.

'So, this organization isn't as mysterious and powerful as the masked man making it appear?'

'If I join, won't that mean suffering together with them?'

Suddenly, he felt distressed, "The black market takes a 20% commission. You should've just come directly to me and given me all that money."

The masked man chuckled, "Kakuzu-san, how would we know where you were? We had no choice but to contact you through the black market."

"So, what's your answer? Will you join our organization? From now on, you will have something to rely on. Or rather… perhaps it's not you relying on the organization, but the organization relying on you."

Kakuzu was truly moved this time.

Perhaps the masked man was right. Deep down, he wanted something to rely on, something worth dedicating himself to, to prove his existence.

He asked, "Can I refuse?"

The masked man looked at him, then at his own clothes, "To recruit you, I even put on the organization's uniform. You've already seen it. If you refuse, that would put me in a difficult position."

Kakuzu looked at the masked man's robe, then at his own clothes.

Suddenly, he realized that in terms of style and aura, the two sides were worlds apart.

It was precisely because of this robe that he had initially thought the masked man's organization was mysterious and powerful.

He smiled bitterly, "Do I even have the right to refuse?"

"You're so mysterious, I'm not confident I can defeat you. Seeing that your robe is quite tasteful, I'll agree." [T/F: TF??]

The masked man nodded in satisfaction. He raised his hand and casually grabbed at the air. Instantly, a new Akatsuki robe appeared in his grasp, "Kakuzu-san, I promise that in the future, you'll have opportunities to make a fortune. Since you have no home to return to, now that you've joined us, put on this robe and follow me back to our base."

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