Born in Sunagakure, dedicated to antagonizing Konoha for decades

Shindou discovered that his hands-on skills, combined with Kakuzu's connections, could actually be used to pull off a job. Previously, Chiyo had only asked him to go to Iwagakure to cause trouble, preferably by bringing out both tailed beasts to create some problems for Onoki.

Asking about the price of the tailed beasts was just making conversation, but as they talked, it seemed like it was actually a good idea. Since it was going to cause trouble for Onoki anyway, they might as well go all the way, just take all the tailed beasts and hand them over to Kakuzu to sell. That way, Onoki would really have a headache.

Although tailed beasts are all owned by someone, and smaller ninja villages generally wouldn't dare to buy them if others saw the Four-Tails or Five-Tails and knew they belonged to Iwagakure, there are still people who are tempted. After all, these tailed beasts are the embodiment of nuclear weapons, and if a tailed beast could be brought back to the village, it could directly boost the village's military power.

And there are also various daimyo from different countries whose intelligence is practically nonexistent. Wouldn't it be so prestigious to have a head-and-tailed beast as their mount?

Putting aside everything else, the daimyo of the Land of Wind is capable of doing something like this. Back then, the previous daimyo once tried to buy the Seven-Tails from Takigakure to use as a mount, but he gave up on this suicidal idea after being beaten up by Chiyokai.

After all, they can't even figure out the origins of their own village's first tail, and they want to add another one...

"Well... if you can really handle the tailed beast, there won't be any problem with the buyer. Although tailed beasts are hard to sell, there are still people who will buy them. However... you're the one who puts in the effort to handle the tailed beast, and I'm just finding a buyer. It's not right to take half of it!"

Kakuzu was very tempted by Shinto's words. The endorsement fee of tens of millions or even hundreds of millions a year, and even a tenth of the price of selling a tailed beast, was more than he could earn running a business all year round.

This headhunting business is tough! All the time is spent traveling all year round, and you only really manage one or two big deals. The rest are just small jobs you stumble upon along the way, like those at the border between the two countries—not much profit at all...

However, this was only their second meeting and their first collaboration, and he was still wary of this Golden Lion. Yet the Golden Lion was so generous, offering to split everything equally without treating him like an outsider, which made him feel ashamed.

Unexpectedly, this golden lion is quite a sentimental person...

"There's nothing wrong with it! We're all family, so there's no need to be so formal! How much is a tailed beast worth? We Sand Village have plenty of money! If it weren't for not wanting a little money to ruin our relationship, I would have given you it all!"

╥﹏╥.....

Masato's loyal and righteous attitude deeply moved Kakuzu.

These days, every rogue ninja is like a rat in the street, hated by everyone. Even a slightly famous bounty rogue ninja like him is still a rogue ninja. Everyone looks at him with three parts disgust and seven parts disdain. Unexpectedly, this popular star of the ninja world actually treats him as a brother!

I'm so damn touched!

σ(⊙▽⊙a

Sasori's father was already stunned by Masato's presence. Although his older brother wasn't very educated, his eloquence was legendary. He had always managed to make his mother smile from childhood, treating him even better than his own son. But this guy was a famous rogue ninja who had assassinated the "God of Shinobi." Kakuzu was almost convinced by his older brother to the point of wanting to burn paper money and cut off a chicken's head to become sworn brothers.

Wow, that's impressive!

"By the way, Kakuzu, were you going to Iwagakure to discuss business earlier? Onoki doesn't seem to have any business to discuss with you, does he? Iwagakure is so poor, did Onoki win the lottery...?"

After convincing Kakuzu to call him a brother, they started talking about serious business. At this point, research projects alone would cost a lot of money. Where would Onoki get the money to do business with Kakuzu, considering that Kakuzu's net worth was quite high at the time?

"I don't know if Onoki won the lottery, but this time it was indeed Onoki who sent someone to deliver a message to me, saying he wanted to talk business with me. I guess it's related to the higher-ups in Iwagakure. Before I came here, I did some research on Iwagakure. Recently, things haven't been peaceful in the village. Several high-ranking officials who didn't support Onoki becoming Tsuchikage are now opposing him for some reason. If I'm not mistaken, Onoki is looking for me to help him kill these people. Coincidentally, these guys have pretty high bounties, so it wouldn't be bad to make a deal with him."

Kakuzu analyzed that after so many years in the ninja world, he was used to the infighting among the high-ranking members of ninja villages. He had killed countless such high-ranking officials and sold them on the black market. So when Onoki sent him a message and he investigated the situation in Iwagakure, he felt a chill run down his spine and guessed that the situation was pretty much as it seemed.

"Sog! As expected! Every village has a few bad apples, but let's ignore them for now. When you negotiate with Onoki, try to stall for time. This tailed beast is sealed in another stomach, so it's not good to rush it."

It's clear that the higher-ups in Iwagakure must have really offended Onoki, otherwise he wouldn't have sent Kakuzu to kill him.

Although Onoki's character wasn't great and he was prone to hiding his true intentions and getting angry, when it came to loving his village, he was definitely no less devoted than any other village kage. Otherwise, he wouldn't have held onto the position of Tsuchikage for so many years. It wasn't that he didn't want to step down, but rather that there was truly no one in Iwagakure who could take over as Tsuchikage. His burly son was of average talent and barely passed the test in terms of intelligence. If it weren't for his advanced age and declining energy, he might not have passed the position to his long-legged granddaughter even decades later.

Do you really think his long-legged granddaughter is outstanding? That was during the Fourth Shinobi World War when all the major villages were wiped out. Konoha's savior and the second male lead were so powerful that they could even seal away the Six Paths' mother, forcibly bringing peace to the shinobi world. As a result, Ōkino didn't have the courage to fight Konoha. If Iwagakure didn't fight Konoha, who would become the Tsuchikage? It wouldn't make a difference.

"Well, I do have some information about Jinchuriki. About half a year ago, I encountered a group of Iwa ninja. Before I killed them, they mentioned that they were looking for a vessel for the Four-Tails. I think that at least the Four-Tails hasn't been sealed into a human body yet."

Kakuzu nodded in approval of Shinto's plan, while also providing some useful information. After all, the Four-Tails Jinchuriki in the original story was still a child, and Onoki probably wouldn't let a child be the vessel for a Tailed Beast, right? However, if Iwagakure couldn't find a person or ninja tool capable of holding a Tailed Beast, it was hard to say whether they would just let Roshi act as the Jinchuriki now. After all, such ninja tools were not only rare but also had very limited capacity. Just like how the One-Tail of Sunagakure was sealed in an "Aladdin's Lamp" for many years, it simply couldn't withstand the Tailed Beast's massive chakra for long, and in the end, Bunpuku had to be the Jinchuriki.

107. Onoki and Kakuzu had a very pleasant conversation.

"Iwagakure is indeed easy to defend and difficult to attack!"

Two months later, they arrived at the outskirts of Iwagakure. Standing on a high mountain, Scorpion's father looked down at the village surrounded by natural barriers and couldn't help but sigh. Under such a natural fortress, unless another road was carved out from the mountains, it would be almost impossible to attack Iwagakure, which only had one dangerous road leading into the village.

"Stop with the sentimentality. Kakuzu has already set off to negotiate with Onoki. It's time for us to make our move. I didn't expect that Onoki, with his red nose, to be so audacious as to seal the Four-Tails into a brat."

Shinto patted Sasori's father on the shoulder and said, "I originally thought Onoki would hide the Tailed Beasts. After all, they're like nuclear weapons that could explode at any time, and not hiding them would pose a constant threat to the village. But when I used my Observation Haki to scan Iwagakure, I didn't even need to look. A kid with a small ponytail and incredibly powerful chakra was running around the village. Under Shinto's Observation Haki, he was like a bright lamp in the dark, so radiant and outstanding..."

Who else could this be but the young Ryuugo from back in the day? Onoki is incredibly audacious. He's only guessing that Ryuugo was recently sealed away, and there are only two Jonin-level Anbu following him not far behind. Onoki is far too confident!

Generally speaking, the best choice for a Jinchuriki is a ninja, specifically one with exceptional chakra. While other Tailed Beasts don't necessarily require a member of the Uzumaki clan like Konoha's Nine-Tails, the more outstanding their chakra, the more stable the sealing formation. Otherwise, even Konoha's complete Tailed Beast Sealing Technique wouldn't be effective. Onoki actually managed to seal four of them onto a mere kid, without even assigning many bodyguards. It's clear that Iwagakure has never truly been harmed by Tailed Beasts before...

He also sensed the other Five-Tails, but its chakra remained in one place without moving, probably sealed in some kind of artifact.

"Big brother, what are you planning to do? Just rush in and arrest them?"

When Sasori's father heard that the Tailed Beast was sealed in a little kid, he became nervous. How much suffering had their Sunagakure village endured from the One-Tailed Beast? If it weren't for his older brother "getting" the complete sealing technique from Konoha, the village would still be living in misery. This showed just how powerful the Tailed Beast really was.

"...Don't rush this brat. Let's release the other one first, and then come back to take this brat away after the chaos in Iwagakure... But this time you won't have a chance to stand out. Onoki and Kakuzu's meeting place is in that cave next door. At his speed of flying to rescue, it won't take him more than two minutes to get to where the Five-Tails is sealed. Onoki's Dust Release is indeed powerful enough that the Five-Tails probably can't withstand more than a few shots, so the Five-Tails won't be able to create chaos for long. I estimate it will only take about ten minutes. That means we only have ten minutes for this operation. Regardless of whether he gets controlled by the Four-Tails, we need to take that brat out of Iwagakure and meet up with Kakuzu within ten minutes. Moreover, Kakuzu still needs to find a buyer afterward. In order to avoid Onoki suspecting us, this operation must be fast!"

Zhen Dou squatted down, picked up a twig, and drew a tactical map on the ground, leaving Handsome Scorpion's father completely bewildered. He understood everything Zhen Dou said, but he couldn't understand the tactical map he drew on the ground.

"Okay, there will be other opportunities in the future..."

However, Sasori's father understood the general meaning: this time, they couldn't boost their stats. Ten minutes wasn't even enough time to fight a Jonin one-on-one. Boosting their rank as a Chunin or Genin was pointless; no one in the ninja world had ever risen to the top tier by boosting their rank as a Chunin or Genin.

"Don't worry, I promise you, at most two years. I'll sell everything I own to make you famous, or I'll livestream myself eating shit!"

Seeing his somewhat dejected younger brother Shinto pointing at the sun, he patted his chest and promised that he had promised to take him flying, but now the plan had changed. Neither of them could show their faces, otherwise Onoki Zetsu would definitely cause trouble for Sunagakure. Now is the village's period of growth, and the losses will be the least in the first battle. Although it can't catch up with the rich Konoha, life is at least much better than before.

.......

"Kakuzu-kun, most of those people are old and faded, no longer as brave as they used to be. As long as you make a move, you can easily capture them. As for the price, could you lower it a bit? You probably know the actual situation of Iwagakure!"

"Lord Tsuchikage, just because I'm talking to you today, I've already given you the lowest market price. If it goes any lower, it will disrupt the market, and things will fall apart..."

“Kakuzu-kun..…”

"Lord Tsuchikage..."

In the other cave, Onoki and Kakuzu were having a pleasant conversation. Ever since the Second Hokage died, those old guys in the village had been causing trouble. After he took over, he became even more arrogant and domineering. Other villages had already changed their leaders, but these old guys were still occupying their positions without doing anything. Normally, he would let it go, considering that they wouldn't be able to enjoy their positions for many more years.

However, after witnessing the development of Sunagakure over the past few years during his last fight with that bastard Shiki, he finally realized the problem after reflecting on it for a long time. These old guys' outdated ideas were hindering the village's progress in the new era. Therefore, for the sake of the village's future, these old guys absolutely could not be allowed to live. However, no one would do something like killing the village's leaders for no reason unless they had their head stuck in a door.

So a suitable candidate was needed. Just then, Kakuzu's image appeared in his mind. In recent years, he had become the top bounty rogue ninja on the black market. Anyone he targeted would not live more than half a year. Half a year was spent traveling, and killing someone would only take two minutes.

This was indeed a suitable candidate, but when he saw Kakuzu's net worth, he started scratching his head again. Kakuzu's net worth was not low. Just look at the fact that the targets he always targeted were people worth tens of millions. His annual salary as the Tsuchikage was not even ten million. Moreover, the village's finances were not abundant, and sometimes he had to take money from his own private savings. After being the Tsuchikage for several years, his private savings had shrunk drastically.

But when he thought about how those old guys were seriously hindering the village's development, Onoki gritted his teeth, stomped his foot, and decided to do it!

If all else fails, we can always haggle over the price when we meet...

So when he met Kakuzu, he tried to make his tone as gentle and friendly as possible in order to get the price down to the lowest possible level. Meanwhile, Kakuzu, in order to buy time for Mato, cursed Onoki's ancestors in his heart, but spoke very politely and without any intention of killing him as he raised the price.

Damn it, you really are a worthless pauper. Three million to take down a high-ranking member of Iwagakure? Do you think I'm some nobody?! (▼へ▼メ).

108. I, Onoki, am sworn enemies with you! I'm sworn enemies! I'm sworn enemies!

"boom!"

"Roar!!!"

"Huh? What happened?"

Just as Onoki was getting into his best bargaining mode, a loud bang accompanied by a monster's roar came from the village below. This made Onoki, a little unhappy, turn to his underling at the cave entrance and ask, "Didn't you see I was in top form and about to successfully bargain?" (▼he▼メ)

Meanwhile, Kakuzu secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Luckily, Shinto had dealt with it, otherwise he was afraid he would lose control and fight Onoki. Damn it, three million per person, and he was a high-ranking official in his own village. How could he even say that? Those weakling high-ranking officials in Kusagakure were getting five million each!

"Lord Tsuchikage! Something terrible has happened! The Five-Tails has escaped and is wreaking havoc in the village!! (?｀?д?′)!!"

Upon hearing the boss's words, a henchman rushed in to report!

"What?! σ(⊙▽⊙a! How could this happen? We'll talk about this later!"

Upon hearing his younger brother's report, Onoki was greatly surprised. After speaking to Kakuzu behind him, he immediately flew quickly towards the cave entrance.

"Roar!!"

"BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!"

"Help! A monster is coming out!!!"

"How...how scary...!"

"Jonin team! Quick! Hold it off until the Tsuchikage arrives!!!"

"......"

At this moment, Iwagakure was thrown into chaos by the Five-Tails' rampage. The Five-Tails was a pure white, ugly creature formed from the fusion of a dolphin and a horse, but it was incredibly fast. Being formed from chakra, the B-rank and C-rank minor ninjutsu of Iwagakure had no effect on it. The Five-Tails had probably been out for too long, dragging its enormous body around Iwagakure. Although it didn't cause many casualties, its destructive power was immense. Countless buildings collapsed wherever it passed, and it would occasionally perform a beautiful tail drift on the surrounding houses that hadn't collapsed. When it got excited, it couldn't control itself and showed off its drifting skills that it had honed for many years, almost turning Iwagakure into a racetrack on Mount Akina.

"That's outrageous! That's outrageous!"

Five-Tail's actions left Handsome Scorpion's father speechless, exclaiming how exaggerated it was.

It's been less than two minutes since they unleashed the Five-Tails, and half of Iwagakure has already been destroyed. The destructive power is terrifying, especially with that fierce aura and indescribable amount of chakra. Sasori's father finally understands why his Shamon couldn't defeat the One-Tails. This is too scary!

"Stop sighing, Onoki is here, and the monkey inside that brat will be out soon too. Let's go!"

Masato, who had knocked the kid Yukari unconscious under his arm, had no time to pay attention to Sasori's father's feelings. Sensing Onoki flying towards them, and with Yukari's Four-Tails chakra becoming increasingly volatile and threatening to erupt at any moment, Masato grabbed Sasori's father and slipped away in the chaos.

If the monkey were to come out and keep watch at this time, he would definitely be exposed if a fight broke out. He had fought with Onoki before, and Onoki would recognize his tactics at a glance. If Onoki got angry, it would be strange if he didn't fight back against Sunagakure...

"Roar!!"

"boom!!!!"

"You bastard! You beast!! Earth Release: Steel Form Technique! ?╬?д?╬?"

When Onoki flew back, he saw the village in ruins below and an ugly monster with five tails showing off its driving skills. Although he didn't vomit blood, his pink nose started to turn dark red, and the little braid on the back of his head stuck up. He used a super-powerful earth-escape technique to summon an ugly rock monster that was about the same size as the Five-Tails and pressed the Five-Tails down on it!

This is the village he painstakingly built up since he took office! And in just a few minutes, this ugly monster has turned it into this mess!!! ヽ(#`д′)?

"Iwa ninja! You bunch of bastards!! Tailed Beast Ball! ヽ(#`д′)?┌┛〃"

Onoki's Earth Release technique was indeed powerful; the enormous rock monster pinned the Five-Tails down, rendering it immobile. However, this also enraged the Five-Tails. Ever since being captured by that bastard Hashirama Senju, it had finally managed to get some fresh air after all these years, but before it could even take a couple of spins and show off a couple of perfect drifts, it was pinned down by the rock monster summoned by that red-nosed dwarf in the sky. Did it really think its title of King Koku was just for show?! (「▼皿▼」)

Open its mouth, and a large, dark ball appears in the middle, ready to spray at any moment!

"Not good! Dust Release: Particle Style - Pillar!!"

Onoki had seen Orochi have diarrhea before and knew how powerful the big black ball in the Five-Tails' mouth was. Without thinking twice, he aimed at the big black ball and fired a map-wide cannon shot at it.

"Holy crap! Watch out...!"

"BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!"

However, Onoki's attack was too fast. While the Five-Tails' Tailed Beast Ball was still being prepared, it hit the Five-Tails' face directly, blasting it sideways. And just when things went wrong, the Five-Tails' Tailed Beast Ball was released at that moment, but it was no longer aimed at Onoki in the sky, but at the direction of Masato and Sasori's father, who were quietly running away.

Shindou sensed the direction from which the Tailed Beast Ball was coming using his Observation Haki. Instinctively, he activated his Armament Haki, his entire body turning jet black and shiny, and he appeared behind Sasori's father, shielding him from the attack.

"Huh??? (⊙_⊙)?"

Onoki, standing in the sky, was completely bewildered. He seemed to have just seen or heard a Tailed Beast Ball hit someone?

However, the explosion was too far away, and the smoke was too thick for him to see clearly...