Naruto: Experience Pain, Start by Copying the Entire Shinobi World

The meal was eaten in silence and for a long time.

Kaku had no idea how he finished the saury. He only remembered the deliciousness of the fish and a long-lost warmth rising in his heart, which had been dead for many years.

He lived for nearly a century, and for the first time, someone treated him as a "person".

Not a tool, a rogue ninja, or a stack of walking bounties.

Qianxuan didn't urge him, but quietly drank his tea, looking at the hazy mist outside the window, as if he was contemplating some important matter in life.

He didn't speak until Kakuzu put the last grain of rice into his mouth.

"Are you full?"

Kakuzu put down his chopsticks and nodded stiffly.

"Then it's time to get to work."

Qianxuan stretched.

"Besides inviting you, I also want to take a few children back with me when I come to the Water Kingdom this time."

"Our Konoha is currently implementing a talent recruitment program with good benefits, high salaries, and comprehensive social insurance and housing fund contributions."

Kakuzu: "..."

He was slowly getting used to the man's rambling way of speaking.

"In Kirigakure, there's a kid who just passed the Chunin Selection, named Momochi Zabuza."

Qianxuan's fingers tapped lightly on the table.

"You've probably heard of it, right?"

Kakuzu's eyes flickered.

Zabuza Momochi.

This name has indeed become quite well-known in underground gold exchange shops recently.

It wasn't because he was so strong, but because his experiences were too horrifying.

The inhumane infighting that took place in Kirigakure, known as the "graduation exam."

Hundreds of companions who had spent every day together were locked in a closed space and forced to fight each other until only one person remained.

Zabuza Momochi was the sole survivor.

"A ninja student who hadn't even graduated yet killed hundreds of his classmates."

Kakuzu's voice was hoarse, as if he were recounting a trivial matter.

"He's ruthless and cruel; a born executioner. Even if you recruit him, he'll be an ungrateful wolf cub."

As a seasoned veteran who had been in the underworld for many years, he saw through the true nature of this kind of person at a glance.

"Your Excellency, I'm not asking about his character right now."

Qianxuan corrected him,

"I'm asking you, if you were me and wanted to get him, what would you do?"

What is this?

Pre-job training?

Kakuzu fell silent.

His brain, which had almost stopped thinking and was only focused on calculating money, began to slowly start turning again.

He looked at Qian Xuan, trying to discern his intentions from that calm face.

To win them over?

To incorporate?

This is far more complicated than simply committing murder.

"First, we need to investigate."

Kakuzu's voice had regained some of its former coldness and shrewdness.

"Investigate everything about him. His background, his preferences, his weaknesses. Is he greedy? Lustful? Or power-hungry?"

"Secondly, it's about making contact. We can't do it openly. Kirigakure has always been extremely hostile to outsiders, and any outsider will be closely monitored. We must find a suitable intermediary through underground channels to establish initial contact."

"Then, it's about bribery. If he's greedy, bribe him with money. If he craves power, promise him a bright future. If he has people he cares about, start with those close to him."

"Finally, it's about creating an opportunity. In recent years, Kirigakure has been known as the 'Village of Blood Mist,' ruled by a high-pressure regime and riddled with factions. We can secretly support an opposition faction, or even instigate a small-scale rebellion to put him in dire straits. Then, we can appear as 'saviors' and take him away."

The entire process was meticulously planned and executed, rife with intrigue and scheming.

This is the most standard and effective survival rule of the dark world.

After Kakuzu finished speaking, he fell silent, simply watching Sengen and waiting for his evaluation.

He believed that this plan was the most perfect one he could think of.

However, after hearing this, Qianxuan simply pursed his lips.

"trouble."

He uttered two words.

Kakuzu: "?"

"Investigation? Contact? Bribery? Creating opportunities?"

Qianxuan counted on his fingers, looking disgusted.

"By the time we get to this point, it's too late. Besides, the cost is too high and the efficiency is too low."

"Your Excellency, you must remember that time is money. We cannot waste our precious lives on this pointless foreplay."

Kakuzu was completely dumbfounded.

His textbook-level defection plan, which had been proven countless times, was seen by this man as "boring foreplay".

What does it mean to not be bored?

"So...what do you mean?"

Kakuzu's voice carried a hint of cautious probing.

Qianxuan grinned, revealing a set of white teeth.

"It's very simple."

"Walk straight into Kirigakure, kick open the door to the Third Mizukage's office, point your finger at him and tell him that I've taken a liking to that brat named Zabuza, and that he should wash his neck clean and be sent over in a package."

"If he agrees, everyone's happy. If he doesn't agree..."

Qian Xuan paused, picked up his teacup, and blew on the tea leaves floating on top.

"Then I'll beat him until he agrees."

"..."

Kakuzu felt as if all five of his hearts had simultaneously gone on strike at that moment.

He stared blankly at Qian Xuan's calm and collected face, his mouth agape, feeling as if all his nearly one hundred years of experience had been wasted.

What... what kind of approach is this?

This isn't just being unreasonable; it's trampling the rules of the entire ninja world underfoot and crushing them along the way!

"But...but...what about loyalty?"

With great difficulty, Kakuzu managed to squeeze out a few words from his throat.

"How could someone forcibly brought here possibly be loyal to Konoha?"

"loyalty?"

Qianxuan seemed to have heard something funny.

"That kind of thing needs to be cultivated."

He put down his teacup, leaned forward slightly, and looked into Kakuzu's eyes, which were filled with shock.

"Bring him back to Konoha, give him a home, give him the best resources, make sure he's well-fed and clothed, let him make friends, and let him see a world completely different from the 'Village of Blood Mist,' a world full of sunshine and hope."

"In time, he will naturally come to regard Konoha as his home."

Kakuzu fell silent.

He wanted to argue, but found himself unable to utter a single word.

Because, just now, he himself was almost bribed by a grilled saury.

"Of course, there will always be some clueless, single-minded guys."

Qianxuan changed the subject abruptly, revealing a smile that sent chills down Kakuzu's spine.

"But it's okay."

"We in Konoha have professional ideological education experts."

"Orochimaru, you know him, right?"

Kakuzu's eyelids twitched suddenly.

That name was equally well-known in the underground gold exchange.

One of the legendary Sannin of Konoha, a madman who would stop at nothing for research.

"Hand him over to Snake Uncle, lock him in the lab, and have him undergo a period of 'academic exchange' and 'patriotic education'."

"I guarantee that when he comes out again, let alone making him loyal to Konoha, even if you ask him to dig up the Mizukage's ancestral grave, he will feel that it is the supreme glory of offering his heart for the village."

Kakuzu's back was instantly soaked with cold sweat.

Looking at the kind smile on Qianxuan's face, he felt for the first time that the most terrifying thing in the world was not the First Hokage's Wood Release, nor the pressure that could crush a soul.

It was the "reasoning" uttered by the man before them that sounded reasonable yet sent chills down their spines.

He finally understood.

His newly appointed "boss" was not a ninja at all.

He is a true monster, above all rules.

And now, I've become this monster's... butler.

A strange yet incredibly real sense of security suddenly welled up in Kakuzu's heart.

Working for a monster like this... doesn't seem so bad?