Chapter 160: Kotoamatsukami—The Shinobi World's Ultimate Gold Mine in Hand!

Using a Three-Tomoe Sharingan to control a Kage-level opponent with genjutsu is no easy task.

It's like trying to defeat a Kage-level shinobi with a regular Rasengan—it's almost impossible.

However, when you've got enough chakra, anything is possible!

If you can pour enough chakra into a Rasengan, you could make one as big as a truck, and then not only would you be able to take down Kage-level shinobi, you might even be able to defeat an Otsutsuki!

Similarly, with Akira's current chakra reserves, even though his Sharingan was only at the Three-Tomoe stage, his genjutsu was still strong enough to overwhelm Kakuzu.

Kakuzu tried to resist for a moment, but in the end, Akira's genjutsu took hold of him.

Through Kakuzu's memories, Akira quickly learned that the miserly shinobi had been telling the truth.

In some ways, being a miser and being stingy are practically the same thing.

Though Kakuzu had earned vast sums of money over the years, he hardly spent any of it.

It turned out, every time he went out on a mission, he only carried 10,000 Ryo with him and tried to make as much money as possible along the way.

For food, he mostly ate cheap stuff like rice balls.

And as for lodging? Why bother paying for a place to stay when you can just use Earth Release to build yourself a little shelter to keep out the wind and rain?

In Akira's eyes, Kakuzu might as well be crowned the top "cash cow" of the ninja world.

He's the kind of guy who eats grass but somehow produces pure gold.

People often say, "You can't expect a horse to run if you don't feed it."

But apparently, that saying doesn't apply to Kakuzu!

Fortunately for Akira, his luck wasn't too bad this time.

Not long ago, Kakuzu had taken down a wanted criminal and received a bounty of 5 million Ryo.

Sure, in terms of Kakuzu's total savings, 5 million Ryo was just a drop in the bucket.

But to Akira, that was enough to run the life simulator five more times.

After taking control of Kakuzu with genjutsu, Akira had no trouble confiscating the 5 million Ryo.

Even still, Kakuzu looked conflicted.

After all this time, Akira had finally snagged one of the richest shinobi in the world, only to end up with a measly 5 million Ryo?

It wasn't exactly what he had been hoping for.

Still, squeezing more money out of Kakuzu wouldn't be easy.

Kakuzu was the type to value money over his own life—someone who would rather face death than give up his cash.

"Should I kill him?" Akira mused, wondering whether it was worth it to finish Kakuzu off.

Then again, killing such a skilled moneymaker would be a real waste.

But if he didn't kill him, Kakuzu was still a member of the Akatsuki.

Sooner or later, Konoha and the Akatsuki would end up at war.

And when that happened, any Konoha shinobi who died at Kakuzu's hands would be Akira's responsibility. Could he live with that?

"It's a shame my Sharingan hasn't evolved into the Mangekyō yet," Akira sighed deeply, thinking about the limitations of his current powers.

His Three-Tomoe Sharingan was good enough to control Kakuzu for a short time, but it wasn't enough for long-term control like what Tobi had done with the Mizukage.

To maintain control at that level, Akira would need to evolve his Sharingan to the Mangekyō stage.

"Mangekyō, huh?" Akira muttered to himself. The thought of not having unlocked the Mangekyō left him feeling frustrated.

Suddenly, an idea struck him.

With a quick hand sign, he used the Summoning Jutsu, and in a flash of black smoke, a crow appeared on his shoulder.

Its eye was a Mangekyō Sharingan, spinning as it stared directly at Kakuzu.

And with that, Akira activated Kotoamatsukami.

At Akira's current level, Kotoamatsukami didn't hold as much significance as it once did.

In fact, as Akira's strength continued to grow, the usefulness of Kotoamatsukami would only decrease.

It was like holding onto an asset that was steadily losing its value.

But for now, using Kotoamatsukami to control Kakuzu seemed like a worthwhile investment.

On one hand, it would allow him to form a double-agent duo with Itachi—one in the open and one in the shadows.

On the other hand, Kakuzu's ability to earn money was like having a walking treasure trove at his disposal!

With Kakuzu under his control, Akira would never have to worry about money again.

And in the shinobi world, money could easily translate into power and intelligence.

After weighing his options, Akira decided that using Kotoamatsukami to control Kakuzu was a smart move.

"Lord Akira!" Kakuzu knelt before him, fully under the control of Kotoamatsukami.

"Good. You know what you need to do from now on, don't you?" Akira asked, looking down at his new servant.

"I understand. From now on, I will do everything in my power to gather money for Lord Akira," Kakuzu replied obediently.

"Alright, you're free to go," Akira said with a satisfied nod.

Kakuzu stood up, turned, and left.

"Using Kotoamatsukami on him was definitely worth it," Akira thought to himself as he watched Kakuzu disappear into the distance.

It's like having a servant who thinks you're too poor and regularly gives you hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of Ryo.

With Kakuzu gone, Akira was already looking forward to the endless stream of money his new "gold mine" would bring him.

For the first time, he had a stable source of income.

With that taken care of, Akira turned his attention to Hidan and headed back to where Tanshin Hime had been keeping him occupied.

As one of the Sannin's top summons, Tanshin had no problem dealing with Hidan. She hovered in midair, using her Sage Art to keep Hidan at bay, making sure he couldn't get close enough to draw blood.

When Akira arrived, Hidan's expression darkened.

If Akira had come back, that could only mean one thing—Kakuzu had been killed.

With three of his hearts already destroyed, there was no way Kakuzu could've stood a chance against Akira.

"Who the hell are you?! And how do you know so much about our abilities?!" Hidan shouted, glaring at Akira.

But Akira had no intention of engaging in conversation. His Three-Tomoe Sharingan glared at Hidan, and within moments, the genjutsu took hold.

Aside from his immortality, Hidan's actual combat abilities were only at the level of a regular Jōnin.

Using the Sharingan's genjutsu to control him was far easier than controlling Kakuzu had been.

Once Hidan was under his control, Akira quickly sealed him away.

To Akira, Hidan was just as valuable as Kakuzu.

After all, Orochimaru's forbidden jutsu research always needed test subjects.

And who better for that than Hidan, with his immortality?

Akira was also curious about something else.

To use Edo Tensei, you needed a sacrifice.

But what would happen if Hidan was used as a sacrifice?

Would Edo Tensei actually kill him?

If it did, then Akira would have found a way to end Hidan's immortality.

If not, then Akira would have found a way to break Edo Tensei!

What about the Eighth Gate from the Eight Gates technique? Or the Reaper Death Seal?

Could those techniques break the rules too?

These questions raced through Akira's mind.

Of course, simply thinking about it wouldn't give him the answers. He would have to conduct experiments to find out.

Although he hadn't gotten as much money as he had hoped for, the 5 million Ryo was enough to quench his thirst for the time being.

That meant five more pulls on the simulator!

As for the 1 million Ryo Hinata had paid on his behalf? Well, Akira had no intention of paying her back.

After all, wasn't it only natural for a woman to help her man pay off his debts?

While Akira wasn't one to take advantage of others, Hinata wasn't just "anyone."

"Tanshin, thank you for your help," Akira said, turning to his summon after sealing Hidan.

"It was my pleasure to assist you, Lord Akira," Tanshin replied, her gaze soft and... a little too intense.

"Uh, I've got a few things to take care of. You can go back for now. I'll treat you to some eggs next time," Akira said, feeling slightly uncomfortable under her heated gaze.

"Alright... I'll take my leave then." Tanshin's disappointment was clear, but she nodded and vanished as she ended the summoning.

"Her gaze has been getting more intense lately..." Akira muttered to himself as he watched her leave.

That look... it was like she wanted to devour him whole.

And not in the way she had devoured him in the life simulation either...

Was it even possible to have that kind of relationship with your summon?

Would it even be appropriate?

Akira shook his head, pushing the distracting thoughts out of his mind.

In the end, things hadn't gone exactly as he had planned. Instead of hitting the jackpot all at once, he had ended up with a more gradual stream of income.

Still, he was satisfied with the outcome.

With a final glance at the battlefield, Akira vanished in a flash of lightning, heading back toward Konoha.

And as he traveled, he activated the life simulator once more.

Of course, 1,000,000 Ryo vanished in an instant.

And so, Akira's new life simulation began…

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Note: If you are interested, you can read up to chapter 210 at patreon.com/Emik01.

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