Hiruzen was so furious that he laughed.
“So you admit these men belong to your delegation. And you still intend to deny responsibility?”
The leader of the Land of Lightning delegation stared back coldly.
“I’ve already said it. If we didn’t do it, then we didn’t do it.”
Hiashi Hyuga gave a humorless laugh.
“You refused to admit responsibility the last time you tried to kill my son as well. Why should anyone believe you now?”
Hiruzen clearly felt the same.
“You’ll surrender peacefully and remain in custody until my investigation is complete.”
The delegation leader sneered.
“You dare arrest us?”
Hiruzen’s expression hardened.
“Do you really think Konoha wouldn’t dare?”
“Then aren’t you afraid of war?”
That was the last thing he should have said.
Hiruzen’s temper, already stretched to its limit, finally snapped.
“War?”
His voice turned icy.
“If you want war, then war it is.”
He had no interest in arguing any further.
With a sharp wave of his hand, Hiruzen issued the order.
“Take them. If anyone resists, lethal force is authorized!”
Konoha’s shinobi moved immediately.
The entire Land of Lightning delegation was subdued within minutes.
Five Cloud shinobi resisted and were killed in the fighting.
The delegation leader’s face twisted with fury.
“You’ll regret this!”
Hiruzen’s eyes only grew colder.
Not long afterward, an ANBU operative appeared before him.
“Lord Hokage. We’ve finished counting the delegation. Three Cloud shinobi are missing.”
Hiruzen snorted.
“They’re probably the fugitives we’re looking for. Keep searching!”
The investigation continued.
Soon, Konoha shinobi discovered several faint traces inside the delegation’s compound.
The clues were fragmentary, but they seemed to point toward two targets.
The Scroll of Seals.
And Konoha’s treasury.
Hiruzen’s remaining restraint vanished.
“I knew it! You were behind this!”
The Land of Lightning delegation leader stared at the evidence in disbelief before jabbing a finger toward Hiruzen.
“This is a setup! You planted that evidence!”
Hiruzen didn’t even bother answering him.
Instead, he began issuing Hokage-level orders.
Every available Konoha shinobi currently away on missions was to be recalled.
At the same time, messengers were dispatched to locate two of the Legendary Sannin—Jiraiya and Tsunade.
Konoha was preparing for the worst.
Hiruzen’s position was clear.
“Konoha does not fear war. If Kumogakure wants one, they can come and get it.”
At the same time, the real masterminds behind the chaos that had consumed Konoha that night were already fifty kilometers away.
Kakuzu and the two shinobi who had accompanied him had regrouped deep within the forest.
One of the men leaned comfortably against a tree.
“I have to admit, Konoha really did lose a lot of strength after the Nine-Tails attack. Escaping the village was easier than I expected.”
The other ninja looked equally relaxed.
“It was mostly timing. A portion of Konoha’s forces have been sent to the border recently, and the Nine-Tails attack already cost them a lot of manpower.”
He chuckled.
“On top of that, most of their available shinobi were concentrated around the Land of Lightning delegation, the Hyuga compound, and the Third Hokage tonight. We couldn’t have asked for a better opportunity.”
Both men turned toward Kakuzu.
There was unmistakable curiosity in their eyes.
“I thought the treasury would be heavily guarded,” the first shinobi said.
“Yet you actually pulled it off. Looks like you’ve been hiding quite a bit of strength.”
Kakuzu remained expressionless.
“Konoha had already pulled most of its manpower elsewhere. The treasury was undermanned.”
The second ninja waved dismissively.
“Whatever. Let’s divide the loot.”
His grin widened.
“Everything we stole tonight belongs to us.”
Then Kakuzu unsealed their haul.
One Scroll of Seals.
And money.
A ridiculous amount of money.
The instant the contents of the storage scroll were released, a mountain of cash spilled out so violently that the other two shinobi were nearly buried beneath it.
For a moment, neither man could speak.
Then—
“Whoa…”
One of them stared at the pile with shining eyes.
“There has to be over a billion ryō here!”
His breathing quickened.
“How many Kage-level targets would you have to kill to earn this much?”
For comparison, Asuma Sarutobi’s bounty alone was thirty-five million ryō.
“We’re rich!”
“Hahaha! We’re actually rich!”
The two men burst into delighted laughter.
But beneath their excitement, something colder flickered through their eyes.
Greed.
Kakuzu noticed.
Of course he did.
Suddenly—
Shhk!
Two hardened earth spears erupted forward.
They pierced both men’s hearts before either could react.
Their laughter died instantly.
“Urgh…”
Blood spilled from their mouths.
Both shinobi stared at Kakuzu in disbelief.
“You… you…”
Kakuzu’s expression didn’t change.
“Sorry.”
He withdrew the earth spears.
“The strength I showed you before wasn’t even one-tenth of what I’m capable of.”
The two men collapsed, dying with resentment still frozen across their faces.
Kakuzu calmly cleaned up the scene.
Then he sealed the money and the Scroll of Seals away before disappearing into the forest.
There was no hesitation in his movements.
“If I want to keep that little guy’s existence secret, the two of you couldn’t stay alive.”
After all, they had seen Tenriki.
That alone made them liabilities.
Kakuzu continued through the darkness.
With this much money, however, another thought began to occupy his mind.
“Maybe I really can start a new life.”
His eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
“A domineering CEO…”
He tested the words aloud.
“That sounds pretty good.”
Kakuzu had no idea what a “domineering CEO” actually was.
But Tenriki had made it sound impressive.
That was enough.
“Before that, though, I still need to visit Kumogakure.”
He changed direction.
“Can’t forget the kid’s plan.”
Kakuzu headed toward the Hidden Cloud.
But before he had traveled much farther, he entered a narrow canyon.
A figure appeared beside him without warning.
Yellow hair.
A black cloak patterned with red clouds.
Black chakra receivers lined the bridge of his nose.
Had Tenriki been present, he would have recognized him immediately.
Yahiko.
Or rather, the man now using Yahiko’s face—
Pain.
Kakuzu stopped.
His expression darkened.
“You again.”
He had fought Pain once before.
The result had left a lasting impression.
To put it simply, Kakuzu had gotten the hell beaten out of him.
Pain looked at him calmly.
“Have you made your decision?”
“No.”
Kakuzu answered without hesitation.
“I still have something to do first.”
Pain waited.
Kakuzu continued seriously.
“I want to try becoming a domineering CEO.”
“…”
Pain stared at him.
“What is a domineering CEO?”
“I don’t know.”
Kakuzu paused.
“But it sounds powerful.”
Pain’s expression nearly cracked.
“Are you messing with me?”
Kakuzu ignored the question.
“By the way, does the Akatsuki accept contract work?”
Pain’s gaze sharpened.
“What kind of contract?”
“Destroy Kumogakure.”
Pain remained silent.
Kakuzu named his price.
“One billion ryō. You decide how much destruction that buys me.”
Pain answered immediately.
“Deal.”
Kakuzu stared at him for several seconds.
Then he sighed.
“So even someone as strong as you needs money.”
He shook his head.
“Money really is useful. It solves everything.”
Pain turned to leave.
His foot nearly slipped.
For one very undignified moment, the leader of the Akatsuki almost went face-first into the ground.
He steadied himself.
Then continued walking without looking back.
One thought passed through his mind.
You’ve got money.
You win.
The next day, news spread across the shinobi world.
“Konoha’s treasury was robbed!”
“The Scroll of Seals has been stolen!”
“The Land of Fire and Kumogakure are preparing for war!”
“Jiraiya and Tsunade of the Legendary Sannin have returned to Konoha!”
The shinobi world erupted.
Every major nation turned its attention toward the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning.
Plenty of smaller countries and hidden villages were perfectly happy to watch the two great powers tear each other apart.
Some practically cheered from the sidelines.
“Fight!”
“Go on! Start the war!”
Then, on the third day, another piece of news arrived.
This time, the entire shinobi world fell silent.
Kumogakure had been attacked.
Yugito Nii, jinchuriki of the Two-Tails, had been captured.
Killer B—the Eight-Tails’ jinchuriki and the Raikage’s younger brother—had been severely wounded.
And nearly thirty percent of the Hidden Cloud Village had been reduced to ruins.
For a moment, no one had anything to say.
The shinobi world had gone completely quiet.