Chapter 120: Serve Me

Kakuzu's mind was constantly barraged by various thoughts, but he dismissed each one. As he continued to let his imagination run wild, Torifū spoke calmly.

"I have a proposal. Would you care to hear it?"

Kakuzu, bound by both chains and Susanoo, grudgingly managed to croak, "What... proposal...?"

Torifū offered a kindly smile. "I think quite highly of you. How about you come and work for me?"

Kakuzu didn't immediately grasp the meaning of "work for him." But then he realized that this person was asking him to defect from his village.

"Impossible... I... I won't betray... Takigakure!"

Seeing Kakuzu's resolute gaze, Torifū nodded. If Kakuzu had immediately betrayed his village, Torifū would have killed him without hesitation. Such a person, even kept close, would be a ticking time bomb. However, Kakuzu's reaction was clearly acceptable.

"Your mission failed. Do you truly believe your village will still accept you? They might even be preparing to secretly execute you."

Kakuzu, who had been struggling, was stunned by Torifū's words. But then he remembered his opponent was such a terrifying person. The elders shouldn't say anything, right? After all, he was the rising star of Takigakure; everyone said he would surely lead Takigakure to glory in the future.

"Although the elders are somewhat muddle-headed, not completing one mission won't really do anything to me."

Torifū released all the restraints around Kakuzu, and Kakuzu immediately felt lightened, breathing in the fresh air in large gulps.

"You won't kill me?"

"I won't kill you."

Kakuzu glanced at the Sharingan puppet. "Do the ninja of your Konoha Village all enjoy toying with their opponents like this?!"

"Should I kill you now, then?"

Kakuzu quickly waved his hands. "No, no, no, that's not what I meant."

Seeing Kakuzu's reaction, Torifū wasn't sure if his decision was right or wrong. This young Kakuzu didn't have the composure he would later have as a member of the Akatsuki; he was merely a capable but fledgling ninja.

"How about we make a bet?"

Kakuzu was very confused. "What kind of bet?"

"I'll let you return to Takigakure. If the elders in your village don't punish you at all, or only give you a very light punishment, then we'll have no further contact." Torifū looked at Kakuzu and showed a meaningful smile. "Conversely, if you are sentenced to imprisonment or death, I will save you, but you will have to obey my orders from now on. How about it?"

After hearing Torifū's words, Kakuzu weighed the options in his mind. It seemed that no matter what, he wouldn't lose out. If those old men truly held ill intentions toward him, with these four strong ninja from Konoha, he could still escape with his life. However, Kakuzu firmly believed that those elders, even if somewhat muddle-headed, wouldn't make such an irrational move.

"Okay! I'll take that bet!"

Kakuzu quickly agreed after analyzing the pros and cons, but in this situation, he didn't have the luxury of not betting. Life and death hung on Torifū's whim.

"Then let's go."

"We?" Kakuzu was a bit confused by this "we." Could it be that these four would return to the village with him? But Kakuzu's worries were truly unnecessary. The four puppets transformed into streaks of golden light and drilled into Kakuzu's arm, forming a mark. Unlike the mark on Torifū's arm, this one was silver and a temporary marker, only lasting about a week.

This sudden change surprised Kakuzu. He hadn't expected Konoha to have developed ninjutsu to this level. Takigakure wouldn't catch up in a million years, even in the next life. The gap between small nations and great nations was indeed vast.

However, there was no time for dejection; he had to rush back to the village. After all, resolving the immediate situation was the most important thing, and his future fate depended entirely on this. He then set off, dashing towards the border of the Land of Fire.

After remotely controlling the puppets to give Kakuzu a good fright, Torifū's objective was achieved. Now he just needed to rescue Kakuzu when the elders imprisoned him and incidentally acquire the Jiongu secret technique.

His consciousness returned to his original body. This feeling was still strange; one moment he was in an endless forest, the next he was home. However, this situation was still dangerous. The drawback was similar to the Spirit Transformation Jutsu; the real body had no protection and was vulnerable to sneak attacks. However, as long as Torifū practiced controlling the puppets more, he could multitask.

Previously, Torifū rarely used puppets because he could easily solve most missions, making it completely unnecessary to painstakingly control them. But the current plan allowed the puppets to come in handy. He could establish an organization without even showing his face, just like Pain.

Torifū had harbored the idea of establishing an organization a year ago, but he hadn't finalized the specific details. The organization's main task was also to help Torifū's quality of life improve faster. Torifū estimated that if the ninja world continued to develop at this slow pace, he would truly have to wait until Boruto: Naruto Next Generations to experience modern life. But by then, he would be sixty or seventy years old; who knew when he might suddenly lose his mind and just ascend on the spot?

That's why Torifū wanted to establish an organization to search for people with scientific talent in the ninja world to bring Torifū his modern life. At the very least, he wanted to get some common electrical appliances. That way, Torifū could at least trick himself into believing he was living a modern life.

However, establishing an organization couldn't be done overnight, and talented individuals couldn't be gathered in a day or two. So, Torifū decided to establish the organization early so that by the time he was in his teens or twenties, in his prime, he might even be able to play the [Naruto Mobile Game]!

And for an organization to develop stably and sustainably, a ninja skilled in financial management was especially crucial. Torifū had taken an interest in Kakuzu's talent in this area. Even if Kakuzu didn't have the power now, he definitely had the aptitude. It would just take time.

As for Takigakure's secret technique, Earth Grudge Fear, Torifū wasn't particularly keen on it. While it could grant relative immortality or eternal life through heart replacement, making himself into a half-human, half-monster with threads all over his body was something Torifū himself couldn't accept. To put it bluntly, everyone's birth, aging, sickness, and death had a predetermined fate. Even if Kakuzu had Earth Grudge Fear and Hidan had the Jashin secret technique, didn't they still die in the end? This kind of thing couldn't be forced; it was best to let nature take its course.

After lying on the bed for a long time, his body felt a bit sore. Torifū stretched and decided to leave the room for a walk in the yard. Kakuzu should be traveling right now; it would take him two or three days to return to Takigakure. The puppets on him would constantly relay information to Torifū, so Torifū wouldn't miss the time to save Kakuzu. What a loss it would be if Kakuzu managed to escape on his own!

[T/N: Serve me by slapping me in the face with money at: https://ko-fi.com/claychampion]