The Anbu's investigation uncovered something extraordinary.
Kakuzu was actually a person who had lived since the Warring States Period; he was a Ninja from the same era as the First Hokage and Madara.
He was at least 75 years old this year.
Ordinary people who didn't participate in wars could live to such an age.
But among Ninja, except for exceptions like Madara, only Kakuzu could live so long and still be so strong.
The elder of Kirigakure, Marshal, was also from Madara's era, but he could no longer extract chakra.
Madara's stirring of the pot brought out all kinds of monsters and demons.
Dangerous individuals like Kakuzu couldn't be met by ordinary Konoha Ninja; it had to be the Anbu elite who were ready for battle.
Kakuzu watched expressionlessly as the Konoha Anbu exposed his entire past.
He wasn't enraged by his identity being revealed; he had worn the Takigakure rogue ninja headband for decades, and Kakuzu never had a need to conceal his identity.
This was all because he was powerful enough.
After Shinnosuke finished speaking, Kakuzu took out a small notebook, looked at the bounty list on it, and replied to Shinnosuke: "Konohamaru Sarutobi, the eldest son of the Third Hokage, an Elite Jonin of the Konoha Anbu."
"Your bounty in the black market is... 30 million Ryo."
In the original work, Asuma's bounty in the black market was 35 million Ryo, which clearly exceeded the bounty of an ordinary Elite Jonin.
Asuma's high bounty was due to him having been one of the Twelve Guardian Ninja, highly regarded by the Land of Fire's Daimyo, making him a celebrity in the Land of Fire.
Another point was "My Hokage Father," which was also a significant bonus.
Shinnosuke was a Jonin, and an Elite Jonin of the Anbu at that. Although his bounty wasn't as much as Asuma's, 30 million Ryo still made him gasp.
"Is my head worth that much money?"
Shinnosuke even felt like selling his own head for money.
Kakuzu nodded: "Do you want to go to the black market and make a fortune? You obediently give me your head, and after it's done, I'll take seven and you take three."
Shinnosuke reacted: "Pah! The saddest thing is dying before spending all your money!"
Kakuzu refuted Shinnosuke's words: "No, the greatest sorrow is being alive and having no money!"
Kakuzu loved money; he just loved money and never wasted it. His clothes were probably still the same set from when he defected.
This showed how frugal he was.
Kakuzu enjoyed the process of making money; seeing the money in his hands grow always gave him a sense of existence.
This existence made him feel like he was still alive, still human.
If he had no money, he would feel uneasy.
Shinnosuke didn't want to discuss the amount of money with Kakuzu; he asked Kakuzu: "Kakuzu, are you here to join the Shinobi Allied Forces?"
Kakuzu shook his head: "No, I'm here to sell myself for a good price."
"If you don't offer me a satisfactory price to hire me, I'll go and join Uchiha Madara."
An Anbu member burst out laughing: "Kakuzu, you're in Konoha now, and you think you can leave? Ridiculous!"
Kakuzu condensed a massive amount of chakra, so much that it even materialized: "Then let's try it!"
The Anbu members were horrified; what an enormous amount of chakra this was.
Did Kakuzu have a lot of chakra?
Yes! His Secret Technique, Earth Grudge Fear, had plundered the hearts of four Elite Jonin, along with his Kage-level Ninja stats.
It was equivalent to one Ninja having the chakra of four Elite Jonin stacked upon them.
This amount of chakra was also terrifying.
Suddenly, a figure appeared beside Shinnosuke, supporting the somewhat sweaty Shinnosuke.
Tall, with white hair, it was Jiraiya.
"Senior Kakuzu, stop bullying these children. Let me entertain you!"
"Sannin, Jiraiya!"
Kakuzu retracted his chakra, looking gravely at the newcomer.
In Kakuzu's small notebook, Jiraiya's bounty had a long string of zeros; Jiraiya was also one of Kakuzu's targets.
But such a Ninja was not comparable to a random Jonin like the third Hokage's first son, who could be casually kicked to death on the roadside.
Jiraiya commanded the Anbu surrounding Kakuzu: "Senior Kakuzu is a guest in our Konoha, why be so confrontational? Stand down!"
"Yes!"
The Anbu members retreated one by one.
Jiraiya extended an invitation to Kakuzu: "Senior Kakuzu, my teacher requests your presence. I believe our Konoha will offer you a suitable price."
Kakuzu nodded: "I look forward to it!"
Kakuzu then headed to the Hokage's Office under Jiraiya's supervision.
...
Sunagakure.
The setting sun hung in the sky, about to descend, painting the sky in a warm red interwoven with molten gold and pale purple.
Ryou and Pakura had left somewhat late, and Maki, worried about them, came out to search, asking along the way.
Upon learning that Ryou and Pakura had gone to Sunagakure's forbidden Demon Desert, Maki followed.
Maki found it strange why Pakura and Sasori would go to the Demon Desert.
The Demon Desert was Sunagakure's forbidden land, generally used for Ninja to test Forbidden Jutsu or to test the willpower of Sunagakure Ninja.
Maki guessed that her teacher hadn't had her fill fighting Sasori yesterday; she knew Pakura too well.
Extremely warlike, encountering an opponent who could make her go all out, she would definitely want to have a good fight.
When Maki reached the Sand Wall, the Sunagakure Ninja didn't let her pass.
Because Maki was only a Chunin, her rank wasn't high enough.
Maki waited for a long time, finally seeing the figures of Pakura and Sasori.
At this moment, Pakura seemed a bit strange, her face crimson, and her lips slightly swollen.
Ryou slowly walked out of the Demon Desert, carrying Pakura on his back.
Pakura wanted to bite Ryou's neck and suck his blood.
But at this time, her body was implanted with Ryou's spore, her spirit controlled by Ryou's Sharingan Genjutsu, and her whole person was in a state of sleep paralysis.
Her consciousness was still there, but her body was not her own.
"Uchiha Ryou, you bastard."
Ryou found it a bit boring: "Pakura, I just gave you a little Uchiha Milkshake, is there any need to hate me so much?"
Pakura screamed in anger: "Bastard, you damn bastard, let me go, I'll fight you to the death!"
Ryou laughed heartily: "Alright, I'll let you go when we get back, and we'll fight in bed."
"Pah!"
"Alright, we're almost out of the boundary, stop wasting your breath cursing me. Your saliva is for my pleasure, not for cursing me."
"You inherently evil and lecherous Uchiha!"
Pakura's eyes were bloodshot, her fury almost burning through her eye sockets.
How proud she was, yet she knelt humbly before Ryou, without any dignity.
At the same time, she was filled with despair.
Wood Release spore, Sharingan Genjutsu, Pakura felt that her body was no longer her own.
It was already Ryou's exclusive property.
The fact that she still had consciousness and could curse Ryou was all due to his distorted sense of humor.
This guy just wanted to see her angry and helpless expression.
Indeed, as Ryou thought, Pakura was both angry and desperate.
From now on, she could only kneel before Ryou; even if her spirit resisted, her body was already Ryou's puppet.
Pakura would rather die.