Kawasaki would sometimes drop by the training grounds to see if there were any promising prospects he could recruit early.
However, most of the people who came were ordinary, with mediocre skills at best.
There was no one particularly outstanding.
Among the Twelve Rookies, most had the backing of their respective clans.
The exceptions were Tenten and that other girl, the one nobody seemed to like.
Coincidentally, Kawasaki didn't like her either, so he never gave her a second thought.
After thoroughly winning Tenten over, she started coming around frequently.
Kawasaki would occasionally have clan members offer her some guidance.
But he maintained a certain distance, not wanting to get too close too soon.
On this particular day, Kawasaki was once again strolling through the training grounds.
Along the way, a bald man with a scar on his face stopped him.
The bald man's attitude was quite polite, his posture humble.
"Greetings, esteemed Lord Kawasaki, Head of the Uchiha Clan."
"Might I trouble you for a moment? I deal in the buying and selling of intelligence, and I have a piece of information that you might find interesting."
Kawasaki scanned the bald man up and down and couldn't help but chuckle.
"Alright, follow me."
Others might not recognize this man, but how could Kawasaki not?
This man was from the Bounty Station, one of Kakuzu's partners.
Kawasaki remembered him because bald men were a rarity in the ninja world, monks aside.
Furthermore, his thick, dark eyebrows could rival Might Guy's.
The goatee on his chin was also a distinctive feature that had left a deep impression on Kawasaki.
Kawasaki led the bald man into the reception hall.
Taking the head seat, Kawasaki tapped his fingers lightly on the tabletop.
"Speak."
The bald man didn't introduce himself.
Making up a fake name was too much trouble.
He got straight to the point.
"I have intelligence regarding Tobi. I believe you would be interested, Lord Kawasaki."
Kawasaki's eyes darted around for a moment before he smiled faintly.
"You got it from Kakuzu, didn't you?"
The bald man was startled internally but kept his expression neutral. He spoke apologetically.
"The source of my intelligence must remain confidential."
Kawasaki was unconcerned and didn't press the matter.
"Name your price," Kawasaki said coolly.
The bald man hesitated for a moment, recalling Kakuzu's minimum price of five million ryo.
"Eight million."
He had deliberately inflated the price, expecting Kawasaki to haggle him down.
Kawasaki replied with a wide grin, "Excellent. Eight million it is."
The bald man's eyes went wide. Hey, that was too easy!
Are the Uchiha that rich? They don't even bargain?
Something's not right. This is the first time I've met someone so straightforward. You're supposed to counteroffer, let me give you a discount!
But Kawasaki refused to play by the rules.
He pressed a button on his desk, and someone immediately entered from outside.
Kawasaki ordered, "Prepare ten million. Put it in a case and bring it here."
The subordinate acknowledged the order and left.
The bald man shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Didn't we agree on eight million?
A few minutes later, the subordinate returned with a case.
He handed the case to Kawasaki.
Kawasaki snapped the case open and pushed it across the table toward the bald man.
"Here's ten million. The extra two million is for your trouble."
"This... this..."
Having been in the intelligence business for so many years, the bald man could gauge the amount of money with a single glance.
He never expected the Uchiha to be so wealthy.
After a quick count, the bald man closed the case.
"Lord Kawasaki, you are truly generous. I will now relay the intelligence to you in full detail..."
The bald man then proceeded to tell Kawasaki everything he had received from Kakuzu.
"Good. This information is very important to me."
"Next time you have related intel, come directly to me. Money is not an issue."
"The Uchiha clan will also be entering the intelligence market in the future, so there will be plenty of opportunities for cooperation."
Clutching the case of money, the bald man bowed repeatedly.
"Yes, of course, thank you, Lord Kawasaki. I will be sure to come to you first next time I have information."
"If you have any requests, you can also find me at this location. Here is the address and password for our outpost."
With that, the bald man left a slip of paper with the details on the desk.
Kawasaki nodded and waved him away.
The bald man stood, bowed deeply one last time, and left the Uchiha compound with his money.
He hadn't wanted to act so subservient, but Kawasaki's generosity was simply overwhelming.
While he worked for the Bounty Station, he was just an employee.
He handled large sums of money, but he only ever received a small cut.
He had asked for eight million, and Kawasaki had thrown ten million at him without a second thought.
Kakuzu's minimum was five million.
The bald man, being greedy, could have easily kept five million for himself and given Kakuzu the other five.
But thinking of the future, he knew Kakuzu might sell more information to the Uchiha.
He decided to give Kakuzu six million. It was still more than Kakuzu had expected.
After the bald man left, Kawasaki sat alone in his office, lost in thought.
The information from Kakuzu mentioned that Tobi had an associate named Zetsu.
Kawasaki already knew this.
But the other piece of information was quite interesting. Kakuzu claimed Tobi had also allied with another organization, whose leader was named Jiang Tu.
This was the entirety of the intelligence from Kakuzu.
To anyone else, this information might seem useless.
But for Kawasaki, he could deduce much more from it.
It wasn't that Kawasaki was exceptionally clever; it was the advantage of having foreknowledge.
With just a name, Kawasaki could figure out what Tobi was likely planning next.
Jiang Tu was an alias for Kazuma.
This man was once a member of the Twelve Guardian Ninja and believed the position of Hokage was entirely redundant.
In his view, the true authority over ninja should belong to the Daimyo of the Land of Fire, a stance that put him at odds with Asuma and his group.
This conflict led directly to the disbandment of the Twelve Guardian Ninja and also spurred Asuma's rapid growth.
After his defeat, Kazuma changed his name to Jiang Tu.
He later orchestrated an attack on Konoha.
Using an Earth Style jutsu, he reanimated a legion of corpses to launch an undead assault.
However, these threats were all neutralized by Konoha's young heroes.
In Kawasaki's eyes, Kazuma was a comical figure from start to finish.
The law of the ninja world had always been that might makes right. To let the Daimyo command the ninja, one would first have to ensure the Daimyo had some actual power.
Even if the Hokage told the Daimyo he was in charge, the man was little more than a mascot. The Daimyo wouldn't dare accept the responsibility, even if it were offered.
While Kazuma's ideals were naive, his intelligence...
Well, it wasn't exactly top-tier either.
After all, he was the kind of man who would turn his own son into a pseudo-Jinchuriki, a living biological weapon.
That alone was enough for Kawasaki to question his sanity.
His only noteworthy achievement was his technique for imitating Jinchuriki, and even that took him five years to develop.
He had painstakingly collected Nine-Tails chakra and implanted it into his son.
Because the amount of Nine-Tails chakra in his son's body was so immense, Kazuma had to constantly reinforce the seals to suppress it.
He believed that by eventually releasing the seal, he could break the balance.
His son's body would be quickly overwhelmed, transforming him into a true Nine-Tails.
Kawasaki tried to recall the son's name...
Sora?
Whether Kazuma's dream could have become a reality, Kawasaki didn't know.
In the original timeline, though Sora released the seal, he was stopped cold by Naruto's Talk-no-Jutsu.
Based on the current situation, Tobi must have abducted Sora.
The Konoha of today was different. The Hyuga clan was in charge of security, making it impossible for Kazuma's forces to infiltrate.
Besides, with the entire Uchiha clan alive and well, his reanimated corpses would be nothing more than cannon fodder.
It was unclear whether Kazuma sought out Tobi or if Tobi recruited him.
In any case, their goals aligned: the destruction of Konoha.
If Tobi were to use Kamui to teleport Kazuma's forces directly into the heart of Konoha, that would indeed be troublesome.
And it was still unknown what other plans Tobi and Kazuma had cooked up together.