Searching for Kakuzu

"Excuse us. The next steps are a bit confidential. Please wait here for me," Cain told the Chunin squad protecting him.

There was an underground gold exchange in this small town, which he learned from the owner of the Rijun Bookstore. Suppose a bookstore like that could afford to operate in the Fire Country. Then, there must be noble support behind it, and they would naturally have knowledge of the dark forces like the underground gold exchange.

Konoha certainly knew about it too, but the two sides generally did not interfere with each other. Sometimes, the bounties announced by Konoha would also flow into the underground gold exchange. If the bounty was completed by some bounty hunters, the underground gold exchange would arrange for someone with a clean record to claim the reward from Konoha.

Moreover, many Fire Country nobles needed the underground gold exchange's dark forces to satisfy their private affairs.

After Cain left, a Chunin asked, "Captain, what will the employer do? Why is it so mysterious?"

"It should be a private matter."

The other person couldn't help but start eating the delicious food before him. It was quite comfortable along the way. As long as they came across a town, they could eat, live well, and sometimes even soak in hot springs.

This was not like going out to execute a mission at all. It was simply a luxury trip.

"Don't ask too much about the employer's affairs. Besides, this town is special. Since he doesn't need us to escort him, we should follow the employer's orders."

Captain Chunin said softly and then started eating with his chopsticks. After eating two bites, he slowly explained to the three curious subordinates, "There is an underground gold exchange in this town. Since the employer doesn't want us to follow him, he is probably going there. This kind of dark force has never welcomed the ninja of the Five Great Nations. If we follow him, the employer will not be able to act freely."

"So don't worry about it. Maybe the employer will be back after eating."

The three lower ninjas understood and stopped asking questions. Most importantly, they could see Captain Chunin no longer wanted to talk. So, they obediently started eating the food in front of them.

***

"Thank goodness it's a hot spring, not a toilet."

When Cain arrived at the location of the underground gold exchange, he was relieved to see the hot spring in front of him. He was clean, and if it was a toilet, although he would still have to go in, it would make him uncomfortable for a long time.

Following the hints given by the owner of the Rijun bookstore, Cain successfully arrived at the bounty location of the underground gold exchange hidden behind the hot spring. This was the place where bounties and demands were posted, and the people who came and went were mostly the servants of nobles and wealthy merchants. The place where bounty hunters went was elsewhere, not here.

After explaining his demand, Cain left the bounty location of the underground gold exchange under the strange gazes of the others.

Cain only posted one bounty, offering one million Ryo for Kakuzu to come and meet him. Kakuzu was skilled in five attributes, proficient in using multiple high-level ninjutsu, had five lives, and loved money. In Cain's opinion, he was the easiest to bribe. Moreover, Cain only hoped Kakuzu would be a handyman who would come when called. If nothing happened, it was basically like earning money for nothing. There was no reason for Kakuzu to refuse.

After posting the bounty, Cain, under the protection of Konoha ninjas, also visited other places in the Land of Fire.

He went to some relatively prosperous towns, and Cain didn't miss the villages next to some of the towns. His main purpose was to understand the commercial situation and economic level of the Land of Fire, which would greatly help his future development direction.

After half a month, Cain returned to Kawaki Town. This trip to the Fire Country gave him a lot of gains, and he would have a lot of time to focus on developing his power in the future.

After arriving in Kawaki Town, the ninja team around Cain had completed their mission. This was what Cain had agreed with the Task Force at the Hokage Tower. However, the Chunin team was still somewhat reluctant when they confirmed that the mission was completed.

Although they needed to be vigilant and guarded at ordinary times, they felt very comfortable eating and living here.

"Well, we'll say goodbye and go back now, Cain-san."

The Chunin leader bowed respectfully to Cain with three lower ninjas and said, "Thank you for your help during this time. I felt very safe during the escort, and I hope to have the opportunity to work with you again next time."

Cain was very polite to the four people and then sent them away. After the Konoha Chunin squad left, Natsukawa approached Cain and said, "Boss, someone said you asked him to come. He's been waiting for you for three days. But that person is a rogue ninja, and he seems to be very powerful."

"Three days early? Bring him in, Natsukawa. That person is the one I called," Cain said after hearing Natsukawa's description, knowing that Kakuzu had arrived early.

After Natsukawa brought Kakuzu in, he saw this guy complaining, saying, "I've been waiting for three full days. Since you're not here, you should have told me in advance. I might have completed it within three days."

Bang!

Cain took a box from his spatial backpack and placed it directly in front of Kakuzu. The box wasn't big, but it was heavy.

"These two million Ryo are a meeting gift, excluding the one million Ryo from the underground exchange. Kakuzu-san, I want to discuss a long-term business deal."

After Cain finished speaking, Kakuzu immediately opened the box and looked inside. Although he didn't count them individually, he knew two million Ryo must be in the box.

However, Kakuzu took the money out of the box and carefully counted it individually. Cain understood Kakuzu's habits, so he didn't pay much attention. He just picked up a cup of tea and slowly drank it while waiting for Kakuzu to finish counting the money. On the side, Natsukawa's eyes widened. She had never seen such a mercenary person who completely ignored others and counted the money by himself.

After Kakuzu finished counting the money, he fastened the box. He asked Cain, "What kind of business are you talking about? Besides killing, I'm not good at anything else."

Cain felt that Kakuzu's tone was a bit milder. Still, when it came to business, he became serious. He said to Kakuzu, "I am planning to open some casinos in the Fire Country. I hope Kakuzu-san can be the casino's flexible guard and debt collector. The remuneration won't be less than what you get for killing."

"Casinos? I won't join any forces. If it's just this matter, then I can't do anything about it," Kakuzu said decisively. He only believed in money and didn't want to join any other forces.

"I don't want you to stay in the casino all day. I just need to be able to contact you quickly when the casino needs you, and you should come to help as soon as possible. Depending on the situation, you may need to teach the troublemakers in the casino a lesson or help the casino collect debts. The minimum reward is 200,000 Ryo per task, equivalent to an A-rank mission in Konoha."

Cain slowly explained to Kakuzu, then smiled and asked, "In addition, when you're free, Kakuzu-san is still the most famous bounty hunter in the underground exchange. The casino won't delay you from taking bounty missions."