Naruto: Yes, Uchiha-sama.

Chapter 143 Without a doubt, I choose to love gold! (Seeking monthly votes)

Several high-ranking members of Takigakure sat in their high positions, their eyes fixed on Kakuzu, who was being escorted from the dungeon.

Kakuzu is now a prisoner.

Assassinate the shadow of a village.
This kind of thing is all or nothing; even the higher-ups in Takigakure didn't expect that Kakuzu could come back alive after failing to assassinate the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju.

so.
After Kakuzu failed in his assassination attempt on Hashirama Senju and fled back to Takigakure, he was imprisoned by the village's higher-ups under the pretext of mission failure. Since the assassination mission had failed, Konoha might hold Takigakure accountable for it, and someone had to step forward to take responsibility. No one was more suitable to take the blame than Kakuzu!
At this moment, Kakuzu's entire body was bound by thick chains, heavily sealed and suppressed, restricting his movements.

The higher-ups in Takigakure only give Kakuzu one soldier's ration pill every two to three days to maintain his most basic life functions.

To further erode Kakuzu's will, he was imprisoned in a dark dungeon, a place devoid of light and sound, where time was lost.

Admittedly, Kakuzu is indeed very strong, otherwise he wouldn't have been assigned by Takigakure to assassinate Hashirama Senju.

However, under such cruel treatment, Kakuzu was in very poor condition, and his consciousness was almost fading.

However, when he met the higher-ups of Takigakure, a glimmer of light still appeared in his dull eyes—a light of hatred.

"I assassinated the First Hokage for the sake of the village, following orders from higher-ups."

"Why!"

Why did you do this to me?!

Kakuzu was filled with anger at being betrayed.

He was a traditional, old-school ninja. From the day he became a ninja, his education, the ninjas around him, and the respected seniors all told him that the first principle of a ninja was to obey orders as a tool, and that such a ninja would surely earn respect and trust.

Therefore, Kakuzu always followed the rules of the ninja game. Since becoming a ninja of Takigakure, he has been extremely loyal. Even when the higher-ups of Takigakure gave him a mission with a high risk of death, such as assassinating Hashirama Senju, Kakuzu still accepted it.

But Kakuzu didn't expect that.
He miraculously survived Hashirama Senju's clutches and returned to Takigakure, the village he served.

In his imagination, he should have enjoyed the treatment of a hero, but the higher-ups of Takigakure imprisoned him without any explanation.

"shut up."

"If the mission fails, you should die a martyr's death by seppuku. Instead, you brought trouble back to the village and you still have the nerve to ask why?"

The leader of Takigakure, showing no mercy, said that the leader and ordinary ninjas considered things differently from the very beginning. Ordinary ninjas only needed to carry out orders and complete missions. But he, as the leader, had many more things to consider.

Once Konoha investigates and holds those responsible accountable...
Takigakure absolutely cannot afford Konoha's retaliation. For the sake of the village, someone must be sacrificed. Now, for the sake of the greater good, he can only let Kakuzu suffer.

Upon hearing this, Kakuzu struggled angrily, but his efforts were in vain. He couldn't even mobilize his chakra. Chakra is the energy of the body and mind, and Kakuzu's body and will had reached their limits.

The thick chains only made a jingling sound, echoing in the room.

The high-ranking members of Takigakure were amused by Kakuzu's comical appearance and let out a few sarcastic laughs.

"Kakuzu should stop making futile struggles."

"I'm asking you, after you failed your mission, did you attack a high-ranking noble family from the Land of Fire, the Qinghua family?"

The leader of Takigakure pressed Kakuzu for answers, his gaze fixed on Kakuzu's face, seemingly trying to discern the truthfulness of his responses from Kakuzu's expression.

Konoha's investigation concluded that Takigakure was responsible, but the credibility of such a statement is really low. Perhaps Konoha is using this as an excuse to shift the blame onto Takigakure.

"Hmph, no!"

Kakuzu vehemently denied it.

He had been imprisoned in the dungeon for some time and was completely unaware of the outside world. Although he didn't know why the higher-ups in Takigakure would ask this question, he immediately denied it. He wouldn't admit to something he hadn't done.

The leader of Takigakure Village understood Kakuzu's character and believed his words.

However, this is contrary to the interests of Takigakure Village.

They also wanted to defend themselves to Konoha and prove their innocence.

However, because of the Hokage assassination attempt, Takigakure has already offended Konoha. At this point, whether or not Takigakure was responsible is no longer important. What matters is that Konoha has determined that Takigakure was responsible, and Takigakure must take responsibility for this. Since taking on one thing is the same as taking on two, for the sake of Takigakure, Kakuzu should also take on this responsibility.

Unfortunately.
Kakuzu completely misunderstood his meaning and showed no regard for Takigakure Village.

"Huh, stubborn!"

"Even at this point, you still dare not tell the truth. Who else could it be but you? You are the only ninja from Takigakure who has been to the Land of Fire recently."

"You clearly did this."

"Konoha has already released the investigation report!"

"Now they're going to punish you for all the crimes and impose sanctions on Takigakure Village, you know that, you idiot? If you know what's good for you, tell me the truth, and I might make things a little easier for you in the future."

The leader of Takigakure felt that he had already made his point so clear, and Kakuzu should be dignified and take responsibility for everything.

"Hahaha"

"At this point, is my answer even meaningful?"

Kakuzu sneered repeatedly.

He finally saw through the true colors of the Takigakure village's higher-ups; these bastards didn't want to take any responsibility whatsoever and pushed everything onto him.

"It's good to know."

The leader of Takigakure didn't feel despicable at all; on the contrary, he felt great. All of this was for the sake of his village. Since Kakuzu had already accepted his fate, everyone was naturally happy. Otherwise, if Kakuzu had refused to cooperate, things would have been troublesome, and finding a suitable scapegoat like Kakuzu wouldn't have been so easy.

Of course, resolving these issues properly will not be so easy.

While Takigakure could claim innocence, stating they were unaware of everything and that it was all Kakuzu's unauthorized action, placing all the blame on him, Kakuzu alone would certainly not quell Konoha's anger.

Think of this.

The leader of Takigakure Village felt a bitter taste in his mouth.

Kakuzu had planned to take advantage of the war to assassinate the Hokage of Konoha and weaken the village, but according to Kakuzu's account, he was captured by the First Hokage in just one encounter.

In the eyes of the higher-ups in Takigakure, Kakuzu's strength was already quite formidable.

I never imagined that the First Hokage was so powerful!
Faced with the powerful Hashirama Senju, the formidable Konoha, and the formidable Akatsuki, an ally that had won a major war against foreign powers, the Takigakure leadership decisively chose to submit.

First, hand over the "culprit," Kakuzu, to Konoha. Then, lick Konoha's boots. At worst, become Konoha's vassal and sign a bunch of unequal treaties. A small ninja village facing a large ninja village—that's not shameful!

"Are you going to hand me over to Konoha?"

"That's right. Considering that you're taking the blame for Takigakure, if you cooperate well, your life will be a little easier before you're handed over to Konoha. At least you won't have to suffer like before."

"I see."

"What in this world is still trustworthy?"

Kakuzu was now utterly despondent and had completely lost hope. He understood that he had been completely abandoned, so he stopped making futile struggles and resigned himself to his fate.

"Take Kakuzu away. We can make an exception and give him some good food for now."

The leader of Takigakure waved his hand, signaling the ninja standing next to Takigakure to take Kakuzu away, and also granting him special permission to have a good meal today.

In just a few days, Kakuzu will be sent to Konoha. His fate is predictable; he will surely die. This will be his last meal before he is beheaded.

Soon.
Kakuzu was then taken back to the dungeon.

"Eat up. This is your last meal before you're executed, so enjoy it."

The Chunin on guard brought Kakuzu his dinner for the night. There were vegetables, rice, meat, and sake. It was much better than the hellish life he had endured before, where he could only have one soldier's ration pill every two or three days.

Kakuzu staggered forward, chewing greedily, determined to die rather than be a starving ghost.

The feeling of being hungry is just too painful.

"Hey, I heard you were arrested for acting without authorization, assassinating the Hokage, and killing a family of high-ranking nobles from the Land of Fire."

Is this true?

"It's all because of you that we've offended Konoha!!!"

Watching Kakuzu devour his food, the Takigakure ninja couldn't help but ask.

Rumors of Kakuzu's crimes are now circulating throughout the village, and out of his own simple emotions, he is angry about Kakuzu's unauthorized actions.

Konoha is a major ninja village in the ninja world. Offending Konoha could lead to the annihilation of Takigakure.

traitor!

"Hmph, you idiot."

"How can you believe such a thing?"

Kakuzu chewed on a piece of meat, glanced at the Chunin in front of him, and thought to himself.

By now.

He had no energy left to defend himself.

No one will believe him, no one will trust him. There is nothing in this ninja world that is trustworthy!
Seeing that Kakuzu remained silent, the Takigakure ninja naturally acquiesced, and then, unable to contain his emotions, began to chatter on and on.

"It's because of you, Takigakure Village!"

"What if Takigakure is destroyed by Konoha? If the timing isn't good, we'll have to rely on Jun, but what will we do then? There won't be any more places to connect to quests."

"If you don't get any assignments, you don't earn any money."

As an ordinary Chunin, he was very realistic in his thinking.

No, his strength shouldn't even be called Chunin. He should be called a slightly stronger Genin. Small ninja villages like Takigakure are naturally not as good as large ninja villages like Konoha and Akatsuki. They just lowered the requirements for promotion to Chunin to make themselves look more respectable and earn more commission.

A low-ranking genin struggling to survive in the ninja world wouldn't fight to the death for a small ninja village like Takigakure.

If the timing isn't right, moisturize immediately!
Takigakure only gave him a few coins; they expect him to risk his life.

However, a genin like him, once he leaves the village, can only become a wandering ninja. A wandering ninja with the strength of a genin can at most make a living in the ninja world. He certainly can't be affiliated with Takigakure like he is now, where he can reliably receive good missions.

The outlook seems to have turned gloomy again.

Because of the uncertain future, the Chunin from Takigakure kept rambling on and on, which annoyed Kakuzu, who wanted to focus on enjoying his last few meals.

"Shut up!"

"Is that all you're thinking about? Doing missions and making money—where's your ninja code?!"

Kakuzu was a powerful elite ninja with a strong sense of ninja way, and he found it difficult to understand the thoughts of the Chunin from Takigakure in front of him.

Two out of the three sentences involve money.

But for lower-ranking ninjas...
For them, who are weak, pursuing the way of the ninja is too extravagant. They don't want to pursue such an ethereal ideal. Aren't they in this line of work just to make money?
"Hmph, why do ninjas complete missions? Isn't it all for the commission? To put it bluntly, they're just risking their lives for money."

"Whoever pays me, I'll risk my life for them!"

"Ninpodo?"

"These are things that important people have to consider. You were once an important person too, but even if you possessed the ninja way, so what? You still died."

Ordinary people have their own philosophy of survival; though they remain unknown, they often have a profound understanding of certain things.

Kakuzu remained silent. For a moment, he felt that the ninja way he had always adhered to was like a bubble, an illusory existence that would burst immediately if pricked with a needle. An indescribable feeling began to fill his heart.

"If I give you a large sum of money, will you let me go?"

"That depends on how much money you have."

Takigakure chuckled lightly, not taking Kakuzu's words to heart, and casually replied.

"It's probably around ten million taels. That's all my savings. I've put the money in various places..."

"Let me go, and all of this is yours."

"Wow, you really have ten million taels!"

The Takigakure Chunin took a deep breath. Ten million ryo was an astronomical sum for a ninja whose true strength was only that of a Genin.
He might not earn this much money in his entire life.

"I'm a Jonin of Takigakure. Ten million ryo... isn't much to me. I can save it up in two or three years."

"If you don't believe me, I can tell you where I keep the money; it's about a million taels."

The Takigakure Chunin revealed an extremely tempted expression. Letting Kakuzu go was indeed a capital offense—love the Gold Saints, or love the ninja village?
But this is ten million taels, and the money will be directly distributed to Takigakure Village.

The ninja world is so vast, there must be a place for me to belong.

Give it a try and turn your bicycle into a motorcycle!

After much deliberation.

I love gold!!!
"I couldn't earn this much money even if I worked my whole life for Takigakure Village."

Tell me first that I'm afraid of you.

"Hmph, I can tell you a place first."

Kakuzu revealed a location for storing the money, and Takigakure Chunin, upon learning this, immediately went outside.

Ten minutes later.
The Takigakure ninja has returned, his face beaming with joy.

"Thank you, senior. I hope we will never meet again in this lifetime."

"I need to moisturize it first; here's the key."

The deal was quickly struck between the two. The Takigakure Chunin was only thinking about getting the money and didn't want to stay in the village for even a second longer.

Holding the key in his hand, Kakuzu felt as if he had been in a very long dream, and now he had finally woken up.

I've wasted so many years of my life!
(End of this chapter)