After taking care of the matters concerning Nagato and the Akatsuki, Kai didn’t sit around doing nothing.
Before Orochimaru produced his results, he decided to take care of a few other things.
Everyone needs food, clothing, shelter, and transportation.
The world of Naruto was no different.
Kai wasn’t particularly picky about clothing.
The black cloak Madara had left behind suited his taste perfectly.
As for transportation, he had Kamui.
Even the chakra-powered trains of the post-Fourth Shinobi World War era couldn’t compare to it.
His living arrangements were rather ordinary.
There was a bed in the underground base, and he even had a group of White Zetsu around to keep him company.
So he wasn’t exactly bored.
He was just missing one thing—
A woman with body heat who could move around on her own…
As for food, thanks to Hashirama’s cells, Kai could survive without eating.
But just because eating wasn’t necessary didn’t mean he didn’t want to eat.
For example, he’d always wanted to try the legendary Ichiraku Ramen.
Unfortunately…
He had no money.
Madara’s inheritance included his weapons, ninjutsu, and even the Gedo Statue.
But there wasn’t a single coin.
That actually made sense.
Madara had long since distanced himself from the mundane world.
He had devoted his entire life to the Eye of the Moon Plan and had lost interest in worldly pleasures.
Naturally, he had no need for money.
Kai was different.
Someone might ask—
With Kai’s abilities, what would happen if he simply ate at a restaurant without paying?
And if he saw something he wanted, why not just take it?
Who could stop him?
But bullying ordinary civilians wasn’t Kai’s style.
So he needed money.
If he didn’t have any…
Then he would earn it.
There were many ways for a shinobi to make money.
The lowest class was becoming a bandit or highwayman, robbing ordinary civilians and traveling merchants.
Kai naturally had no intention of doing that.
A slightly more respectable method was working for individuals or organizations—protecting specific people or assassinating designated targets.
Kai didn’t like that either.
Once you worked for someone else, you had to care about their opinions.
That conflicted with the freedom he longed for.
Then there was working directly for a shinobi village and earning payment from missions.
Kai wasn’t considering that either.
Although he could easily return to Konoha under the identity of Obito Uchiha, he didn’t want to develop deep ties with the people of Konoha.
After all, the things he intended to accomplish would inevitably bring him into conflict with Konoha.
Perhaps even war.
Unnecessary emotional ties would only make it harder for him to act when the time came.
He had once been indecisive.
But in the world of Naruto, he only wanted to move toward his goal with absolute determination.
In a certain sense, his ninja way was surprisingly similar to Naruto’s.
So Kai decided to borrow a method used by someone else.
Kakuzu’s method of making money.
Hunt the shinobi listed in the Bingo Book.
Then take their bodies to a black-market exchange station and collect the enormous bounty.
Valley of the End
Water poured down from the towering waterfall.
Kai sat atop the statue of the First Hokage.
Gurgle…
White Zetsu emerged from a nearby rock.
“Did you find it?”
“Seriously…”
“You’re really bored, aren’t you?”
“Why are you looking for something like this?”
White Zetsu complained as he placed a book beside Kai. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
It was a Bingo Book.
Kai picked it up and began flipping through the pages.
The book listed wanted shinobi according to their respective villages.
The higher the bounty, the higher their position on the list.
Following the principle of proximity, Kai opened the section containing the wanted shinobi from Konoha.
Anyone who made it into the Bingo Book naturally possessed a certain level of strength.
Ordinary genin and chūnin weren’t qualified.
At the very least, they needed to be Special Jōnin level or possess enough notoriety to be considered dangerous.
Most shinobi had bounties somewhere between five and ten million ryō.
Those whose bounties exceeded ten million were generally powerful or particularly dangerous.
Kabuto Yakushi.
Konoha spy.
Missing-nin.
Bounty: 10 million ryō.
Kai skipped past him.
He turned the page.
Kakashi Hatake.
Son of the White Fang.
Konoha jōnin.
Bounty: 13 million ryō.
However, the number 13 million had been crossed out in red.
It had been revised to:
11 million ryō.
“Oh?”
“Why did Kakashi’s bounty drop by two million?”
“That was thanks to you~.”
“Oh.”
Kai understood.
The first thing he’d done after transmigrating had been to remove Kakashi’s Sharingan.
Naturally, that had reduced Kakashi’s value in the eyes of those who posted bounties.
But in the long run…
Losing the Sharingan might actually give Kakashi greater potential.
Kakashi’s chakra reserves had never been particularly large.
Acquiring the Sharingan had forced him to adapt his growth around an eye that wasn’t naturally his.
That had undoubtedly restricted his original potential.
He was the son of the White Fang of Konoha.
If Kakashi focused on the techniques left behind by his father, there was no guarantee he couldn’t eventually reach the level of a Kage.
Kai turned another page.
Asuma Sarutobi.
Konoha jōnin.
Son of the Third Hokage.
Bounty: 15 million ryō.
“I remember Asuma’s bounty being 35 million at his peak.”
“Oh…”
“That must have been after he became one of the Twelve Guardian Ninja.”
Kai continued flipping through the pages.
He found the bounty records of nearly every notable Konoha shinobi.
Elite jōnin.
The Legendary Three Ninja.
Even the Third and Fourth Hokage.
Akimichi Chōza — 20 million ryō.
Yamanaka Inoichi — 25 million ryō.
Nara Shikaku — 28 million ryō.
The famous Konoha trio’s bounties were roughly in line with their strength.
Then came the Legendary Three Ninja.
Tsunade — 50 million ryō.
Jiraiya — 52 million ryō.
Orochimaru — 55 million ryō.
Orochimaru’s bounty was slightly higher. This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
That was probably because of his dangerous experiments and notorious reputation.
As for the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze—
Hiruzen Sarutobi — 66 million ryō.
Minato Namikaze — 77 million ryō.
At his peak, Hiruzen’s strength certainly wasn’t inferior to that of the young Minato.
The huge difference in their bounties was probably because Hiruzen’s relatively moderate approach had earned him fewer enemies.
These people were regulars in the Bingo Book.
Their bounties had remained there for years.
Yet no one dared claim them.
Anyone thinking about collecting such a bounty first had to weigh their own strength carefully.
Kai flipped to the very end of Konoha’s section.
Then he suddenly stopped.
A brand-new page had been added.
“Hmm?”
His expression became strange.
Uchiha Kai.
Identity: Unknown.
Affiliation: Unknown.
Notable Activity: Assisted missing-nin from the Hidden Rain Village in escaping Hanzō of the Salamander’s pursuit.
Strength: Recognized by Hanzō as a shinobi capable of standing on equal footing with him.
Bounty: 80 million ryō.
Photograph: Unavailable.
Abilities: Unknown.
Kai stared at the page.
“This information spread a little too quickly…”
Hanzō really had kept his word.
He had said Kai’s name would spread throughout the Five Great Shinobi Nations.
He hadn’t expected it to happen this quickly.
“A lot of shinobi are already asking about you.”
“Even the ANBU of the Five Great Shinobi Nations.”
White Zetsu said from nearby.
“Well, it doesn’t matter.”
“Anyone who stands in my way has only one possible fate.”
“Death.”
Kai’s expression remained indifferent.
“So, who’s today’s unlucky victim?”
White Zetsu asked playfully.
Kai thought for a moment.
He flipped backward through the pages.
Then pointed at one of the entries.
“Him.”
The shinobi in the photograph had a particularly vicious-looking face.
Kitake.
Konoha missing-nin.
Bounty: 16 million ryō.
“Oh~ This guy?”
“He used to be a Konoha jōnin.”
“A month ago, he failed to assassinate the daimyō of the Land of Fire and defected from Konoha.”
“Now he’s being hunted by Konoha’s ANBU.”
White Zetsu explained.
“Where is he?”
Kai asked.
“Lucky you.”
“He’s in a forest not far from here.”
“You marked the area the last time you visited~.”
Spiral Zetsu answered.
“Then what are we waiting for?”
“Let’s go collect those sixteen million ryō.”
Whoosh!
Kai vanished into the swirling Kamui vortex.
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