Chapter 5

Xia Yan really never thought that he would encounter Kakuzu on a mission!

Encountering unexpected events during a mission is a common occurrence. He had faced many troubles while leading a team on missions before.

However, encountering such a troublesome guy was truly the first time for him.

Kakuzu was no stranger to Xia Yan.

Although he had been in this world for nearly fourteen years, he had made some notes early on to prevent himself from forgetting things, which helped strengthen his memory.

Of course, he wouldn't leave the notes lying around. He always kept them sealed in a scroll and carried them with him.

Whenever he had time, he would take them out and review them to reinforce his memory.

As a member of the Akatsuki, Kakuzu's background and information were all etched in Xia Yan's mind. This guy was originally an elite member of Takigakure but later betrayed them.

It was said that he once ambushed the First Hokage and survived. Xia Yan wasn't sure how he did it, maybe by throwing a kunai from a kilometer away.

Although this was somewhat negative, his abilities were very real.

He could steal hearts to prolong his life and use the chakra nature of the hearts to perform corresponding jutsu.

Moreover, his taijutsu was no less impressive!

"Oh? You've been followed?" Kakuzu turned his head and gave a light laugh. "I'm curious, who is following me? Will you come out on your own, or do I have to drag you out?"

As he spoke, Kakuzu casually dropped the corpse on his shoulder to the ground. At the same time, his chakra began to build up.

Kakashi frowned at the sight. This guy looked too strange, and even through his mask, he could sense that his captain seemed a bit nervous.

"Captain, do you know this guy?" Kakashi asked softly while sending Pakkun back.

"Yes, his name is Kakuzu," Xia Yan nodded, and at the same time, his hand rested on his sword. "He's a bounty hunter who frequents the black market. His mission success rate is one hundred percent, and he's a tough opponent."

That was all Xia Yan could say. This information was public, and ANBU members could easily find it.

As for more details, he didn't dare to reveal them, such as the fact that Kakuzu was wearing the Akatsuki's attire, or that he had multiple hearts and could only be truly killed by destroying all of them, or that he could use all elemental jutsu!

"Is that so?" Kakashi nodded lightly and then said, "Captain, if we have to fight, I'll take care of him, and you take the corpse."

"Alright." Xia Yan was very satisfied when he heard this. What a good deal!

Kakashi was the one who would personally kill Kakuzu in the future.

Although the Kakashi of now couldn't compare to the one from over a decade later in terms of experience, physical condition, chakra, or Sharingan usage, he was still a genuine Kakuzu terminator. With this advantage, there shouldn't be any problems.

However, now wasn't the time to think about that. Kakuzu's chakra was growing stronger, clearly indicating that he was about to attack.

Xia Yan didn't want to fight such a dangerous terrorist casually, so negotiation was inevitable.

He leaped down from the treetops with Kakashi and slowly walked to a distance of about five meters from Kakuzu.

"Oh, ANBU?" Kakuzu raised an eyebrow, his green eyes cold. "Judging by your attire, you're from Konoha. Do you want this guy?"

As he spoke, Kakuzu pointed to the already dead Kashiwagawa, who now had a different face.

"Yes, Mr. Kakuzu." Xia Yan spoke in a gentle and friendly tone. "We do want this guy. Could you help us, Mr. Kakuzu?"

"Help?" Kakuzu sneered. "I'm not a philanthropist. Do you know how much effort I put into killing him? Besides, he's not a Konoha ninja, is he?"

"We are willing to offer some..."

"But he is our target."

Before Xia Yan could finish, Kakashi coldly said, "We need to take him back, dead or alive."

Kakashi's words made Xia Yan's face turn dark.

The attitude was secondary; the most critical issue was that Kakashi had revealed a sense of inevitability.

In normal circumstances, this would be good.

But here, it was not.

ANBU often hunted targets, but the most common were traitors and assassination targets.

Another, more complex one, was eliminating spies.

"Oh?" As expected, Kakuzu's eyes lit up, but then they turned dangerous. "Do you want to fight, brat?"

"Mr. Kakuzu, don't get angry." Xia Yan immediately pulled Kakashi behind him and quickly said, "You're not a philanthropist, so we'll buy his head at market price. What do you think?"

"Market price?" Kakuzu looked very disdainful.

"Do you think I'm a fool?

I know why you're looking for him, and I have to thank the brat next to you.

This guy is a spy, and he has Konoha's intelligence.

I think if I leak this information, many people will be willing to pay a higher price for his head. Do you think your market price is appropriate?"

"What do you want, Mr. Kakuzu?" Xia Yan shot Kakashi a stern glance and then asked calmly.

"Simple..."

At this point, Kakuzu's expression suddenly became serious, and he said slowly,

"More money."

"..."

Xia Yan was stunned. Looking at the serious Kakuzu, he momentarily suspected that this guy might also be from another world.

However, Xia Yan remained calm. After careful thought, it wasn't surprising that Kakuzu would say this.

This guy had lived for so long that he had little interest in anything else.

The only thing that made him feel alive was his desire for money. His eyes were filled with nothing but money!

Taking a deep breath, Xia Yan discreetly made a tactical gesture to Kakashi behind his back.

He still maintained a gentle tone and said, "Mr. Kakuzu, Konoha rarely engages in such negotiations."

"Then you want to fight?" Kakuzu's voice immediately turned cold, and his eyes became dangerous. "ANBU ninjas are troublesome, but perhaps there's still a bounty on them."

"That depends on whether Mr. Kakuzu has the ability." Xia Yan remained calm, but his chakra was already building up.

Suddenly, Kakashi quickly rushed out from behind him and threw several kunai at Kakuzu.

At the same moment, Xia Yan moved, heading straight for the corpse...