Chapter 154

"The meeting between Konoha's top officials and the daimyo in the capital went smoothly.

The daimyo was clearly pleased that Leo had been accepted as an official disciple by the Third Hokage. As a result, the Third Hokage didn't have to do much convincing, and the daimyo agreed to everything. Danzo's few attempts to cause trouble were ineffective.

Overall, the daimyo agreed to allocate funds to quickly restore Konoha to normalcy, and to prioritize negotiations with the Sand Village to avoid war, among other things.

Leo wasn't particularly concerned with these matters. After the meeting, while the Third Hokage and Konoha's leaders moved on to negotiations with the Land of Wind, Leo remained in the capital for a while.

He definitely needed to inform his master, Chiriku, about becoming the Hokage's disciple. In this world, there aren't many strict rules about apprenticeship; one can have several teachers, but basic etiquette still needs to be observed.

Moreover, he had two things to take care of before heading to Konoha to train under the Third Hokage.

The first matter was that Kina had earlier sent someone to Konoha to notify him that they had contacted the two rogue ninjas he wanted to find through the bounty office, Kakuzu and Hidan. 

Three days later, the two would be waiting for him at the bounty office outside the capital.

The second matter was that before leaving Konoha, he contacted Orochimaru through Kabuto, arranging a meeting in the Land of Rice Fields a week later.

He had only twelve days left in this world, and he needed to learn the Body Modification Technique from Orochimaru before returning, to experiment with whether he could carry a large number of items across worlds.

If this was possible, then many things would become much easier, such as not needing to make Explosive Tags himself; he could buy them in bulk in this world.

During his time in Konoha, he also consulted some jonin about the process of making Explosive Tags, and it wasn't as simple as he had thought.

Firstly, Explosive Tags can't be made with ordinary paper; they require a special type of paper that can carry chakra. Secondly, they need sealing techniques and a high level of Fire Release proficiency.

The principle of Explosive Tags is to seal a Fire Release jutsu onto paper, which is then detonated.

Sealing techniques and Fire Release weren't a problem, as his ability to learn them was only a matter of time. But where would he get the special chakra-conducting paper when he returned to the Marvel world?

It might exist in the Marvel universe, but by the time he found it, it would likely be too late.

The key is not just the Explosive Tags. Now that he could modify items with the Undetectable Extension Charm to give them a vast interior space, if the Body Modification Technique allowed him to carry items back to the Marvel world and to other worlds, the benefits would be enormous—beyond imagination.

"Let's first study the jutsu from the Scroll of Seals."

With three days before Kakuzu and Hidan arrived at the bounty office in the capital, Leo didn't want to waste any time. In the prince's residence, he took out the Scroll of Seals he had stolen and began studying the jutsu within.

The first jutsu he focused on was the Eight Gates Technique, which he valued the most. This technique allows the user to greatly enhance their physical strength by removing chakra limits.

The difficulty of this jutsu lies in the physical condition of the user; one must have a strong enough body to successfully train in it.

Many ninjas are strong, but that strength often comes from chakra and jutsu support. Without chakra, most jonin are not much stronger than ordinary people.

Take Rock Lee, for example; without chakra, few ninjas in the ninja world are stronger than him, except perhaps Guy.

The Eight Gates Technique requires the user to spend a lot of time strengthening their body beyond its limits. Only then can they gradually open the Eight Gates according to the technique's training method.

This was exactly where Leo had an advantage; his body had long surpassed its limits and was further enhanced by the Strengthening Serum, allowing him to pick it up very quickly.

Moreover, he had previously extracted a lot of information about training methods for the Eight Gates Technique from Guy and Rock Lee. Within just three days, he had already opened the First Gate (the Gate of Opening) and the Second Gate (the Gate of Healing).

In truth, neither Guy nor Rock Lee kept any secrets about the Eight Gates Technique. They were open about it and would answer any questions. 

On one hand, both of them are quite simple-minded and have no reservations about friends. On the other hand, the conditions for mastering the Eight Gates are so tough that even explaining them is harmless.

...

In a secluded basement outside the capital of the Land of Fire, a masked Leo was led by a staff member of the bounty office to a room.

"Mr. Li, these are the two bounty ninjas you were looking for: Mr. Kakuzu and Mr. Hidan."

The staff member, smiling broadly, pointed to the two members of the Immortal Duo wearing black cloaks with red clouds inside the room.

To him, this Mr. Li was a significant client. He had previously placed several high-value tasks to collect jutsu, and this time, he had spent a staggering ten million just to find Kakuzu and Hidan.

"What do you want with us?"

Kakuzu asked as he approached Leo, with Hidan mumbling something under his breath as he followed.

As the treasurer of the Akatsuki organization, Kakuzu and Hidan's task before capturing the tailed beasts was to continuously undertake various assassination missions to earn the funds needed by the organization. They occasionally accepted covert extermination missions from other ninja villages through the bounty office.

In essence, they were constantly killing people and earning money.

Hidan worshipped Jashin, whose teachings promoted killing, while Kakuzu worshipped money and loved making it. The two of them made a perfect team.

More than half a month ago, Kakuzu noticed a bounty for him and Hidan at the bounty office, with a reward as high as ten million ryō. So he didn't hesitate to take it himself.

As for why the other party wanted to find them, that wasn't important. If it was for revenge, they'd just kill the person. Either way, the money was good.

Leo glanced at the staff member, who wisely exited the room.

"The reason I'm looking for you is simple—I want you to kill someone for me."

"Killing? I love killing!" Hidan's eyes lit up at the mention of it.

Kakuzu, expressionless, asked, "Why not just post a mission at the bounty office? Why seek us out directly?"

"Because this is rather special. It's not a typical assassination mission, and only you two can accomplish it."

Leo smiled.

Even if he posted a bounty to assassinate Danzo at the bounty office, Kakuzu and Hidan wouldn't take it.

While they were both arrogant, they weren't foolish. Rushing into the strongest ninja village, Konoha, to assassinate one of its high-ranking officials would be suicide.

Kakuzu claimed to have survived an assassination attempt on the First Hokage, but only he knew what really happened.

"Who do you want us to kill, and how much are you offering?"

Kakuzu was straightforward and got straight to the point.

"I can't tell you who."

Leo didn't answer the first question, causing Kakuzu to frown.

What kind of joke was this? Asking them to kill someone without revealing the target? Is this a game?

"But I'm offering three hundred million ryō!"

However, Leo's next words made Kakuzu's eyes widen, and he exuded a powerful aura.

"Whoever you say, wherever you want—it'll be done exactly as you command!"

...