"Boom..."
The sound of Kakuzu landing was like a thunderclap, instantly snapping Samiu—lost in her daze—back to reality.
Instinctively, she drew her tanto and blocked in front of Anya, eyes sharp with caution toward the newcomer.
This reaction startled Anya slightly, prompting a small upward curve of his lips.
Samiu quickly realized what she'd done too. A faint blush flickered across her otherwise cool face.
"What am I doing? Thinking of myself as his secretary now? I'm not Mahui," Samiu mentally scolded herself.
Amused, Anya stepped up beside her, smiling gently. "Don't worry, it's one of our people. Use the flying device I gave you and head to The Land of Hot Springs first—I'll be right behind."
Without a word, Samiu sheathed her blade. She cast a complex glance at Anya before activating the flight device on her back with cold efficiency, lifting off into the sky and vanishing.
With the outsider gone, Kakuzu approached with a grim expression. "My treasury was robbed. Was it you?"
Looking at Kakuzu, Anya recalled the man's past life—nearly a century old, a lifetime spent painstakingly saving every penny. No wonder he'd go to extremes after being stolen from in his old age.
As the words formed in his mouth, Anya found himself strangely unable to say them. Somehow, he ended up nodding instead. "It was me."
When the answer came, Kakuzu had braced for rage—but it never arrived. Instead, something inside him loosened, almost relieved, as if losing it to this brat wasn't so bad after all. At least it hadn't fallen into unknown hands.
Anya watched Kakuzu stare at him in silence, a chill running down his spine. Oh man… did I actually scare him into a trance? He *just* came back from the dead!
"Uncle, are you okay?" Anya asked cautiously.
"I never thought you'd admit it," Kakuzu finally snapped out of it, stretching out a hand. "I haven't been dead for very long—you couldn't have used it all already. Whatever's left, give it back now."
Seeing Kakuzu was lucid, no heart attack in sight, no sign of rage, Anya felt relieved inside—it looked like they could actually have a rational conversation.
"Uncle, money isn't the issue here. The real problem is, there's no money."
Seeing Kakuzu's expression darken, Anya quickly pulled out the amulet—the puppet scroll belonging to Rasa.
"But good news! Your treasure is right here. The moment I heard about your situation, I got this straightaway."
Kakuzu stopped himself from lashing out, instead snatching the scroll aggressively. Before Anya, he summoned the puppet immediately. As he examined it from head to toe, his eyes held the same tenderness usually reserved for a beloved wife.
Who knows how Gaara would react if he saw this?
Satisfied the puppet was intact—if a bit worn down—Kakuzu tucked it away happily and motioned for Anya to continue.
"Uncle, have you ever thought that keeping all that money sitting around is basically a waste? Instead of working alone to earn it, why not invest it? Let others earn for you."
"Invest?" Kakuzu frowned slightly—the word sounded oddly unfamiliar.
"Exactly."
Anya seized the moment, her voice brimming with persuasive charm as she said, "You should go see Sunagakure now—it's a completely different village from before. We've developed the Oasis, constructed the Lofts, completed the Ring Expressway, and set up key service facilities. In just a few years, it'll be one of the most prosperous villages around, with a massive surge in customers. The money you invest upfront will come back to you hundreds, even thousands of times over! Think about it—before, you were making money all on your own, but now there'll be tens of thousands working for you. Do you really think the results could be the same?"
Kakuzu got the message: "So all my money went into rebuilding the village with you and Sasori."
Seeing that Kakuzu wasn't budging, Anya finally played her trump card: "After the Five Kage Summit wraps up, I'm planning to unify the entire ninja world—and then establish a bank."
At this bold declaration, Kakuzu's expression shifted slightly, curiosity creeping into his voice as he asked, "Bank? What's that supposed to be?"
"Simply put, it's an institution for deposits and loans, Uncle. You'll be the bank manager," Anya started painting the picture. "Just imagine—eventually, everyone in the world will store their money in this bank. How rich would you be? It's not just one island's treasury we're talking about—thousands of islands is entirely possible."
Even for Kakuzu, this pitch was hard to swallow at first. Still, his breathing picked up, and after a long moment of silence, he quietly muttered, "So… do you really think people will start handing over their cash once this place opens?"
"Of course. Once the ninja world is unified, currency standardization will be among the very first priorities. That's when a bank becomes absolutely essential. And aside from you? I can't think of anyone else who could pull it off."
Anya's words left Kakuzu deep in thought. After quite some time, he pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to her.
"This is how much you owe me. Once the bank's up and running, I'll log it under your loan. Come on, sign it with your fingerprint."
Isn't this just shooting yourself in the foot? Anya gave a bitter smile, took the slip of paper—and nearly jumped up screaming after counting the endless zeros. "Are you kidding me? There's no way there's this much! Not even a whole island could hold that much gold!"
Kakuzu calmly pulled out several thick ledgers. "Kid, I know you too well—I knew you'd try to wriggle out of this. From the day I defected from Takigakure, I've kept records of every single penny spent or earned. I'll go through it all with you—one number won't be off."
A dark line appeared on Anya's forehead as she grumbled, "Uncle, what about the fact that I saved your life? How does that count?"
"Hmm, fair point," Kakuzu said, picking up his pen to calculate. "Alright then—before my defection, I was ranked as an Elite Jonin. My black market value was somewhere between 30 and 40 million ryo. So I'll deduct 40 million from your debt."
"Forty million?! An Elite Jonin?!" Anya was furious but laughing at the same time. "If we're going by your numbers here, even if I killed every ninja in the shinobi world, I couldn't pay this back!"
Kakuzu replied coolly, "No rush. Take your time paying it off. I've got all the time in the world."
"Fine, fine—you win," Anya sighed helplessly. Just as she was about to press her fingerprint, she suddenly spoke up: "Uncle, do me a favor—kill someone for me."
Kakuzu nodded. "Fine, no discount then. So tell me—who's the target?"
Anya slowly uttered a name. "Fourth Raikage A."
Kakuzu's eyes narrowed. He studied Anya carefully before sighing. "Kid, you really never let anyone get the better of you, do you?"
With that, Kakuzu took the contract with Anya's print and turned to leave.
Anya asked curiously, "Uncle, where are you going?"
Kakuzu glanced back oddly. "Not obvious enough? Naturally, I'm off to kill someone. A Kage-level opponent will be quite the challenge for my newly reborn self."
Watching Kakuzu disappear into the distance, Anya's face broke into a bright smile as he muttered to himself, "Looks like my uncle is indeed different after the heart transplant. Compared to before, he's become much more... humane. Just a scrap of useless paper was enough to send him off."
Suddenly, a sense of guilt welled up inside Anya. After a long moment, he couldn't help but slap himself. How could he call it worthless? He'd even taken Yoro's retirement fund—what kind of monster was he becoming? He must repay Yoro someday...
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