Kakuzu Joins

After an intense battle, Kakuzu had three of his hearts destroyed in succession and finally admitted defeat completely.

There was not much to say about the battle. Kakuzu was not weak, but Obito knew all of his information inside out, while Kakuzu knew nothing about Obito. It would have been strange if he had won under those circumstances.

In truth, people said that every member of Akatsuki was Kage-level. That statement was both right and wrong.

The strong members of Akatsuki fell into two categories. One was the type whose combat power would be cut by at least half, or even eighty to ninety percent, once their information was known. (Hidan: Hm?) The other was the type you still could not defeat even if you knew everything about them. (Itachi Uchiha: Hm!)

Once Kakuzu’s secret of having five hearts was known, his combat power might not have been cut in half, but it would still be reduced by thirty percent. As for Obito’s Kamui, if you could not understand it, even someone as strong as Madara Uchiha or Hashirama Senju could potentially be caught off guard and killed by him.

"Well? Do you still need me to take off my mask?" Having finally vented his anger, Obito looked down at Kakuzu in the posture of a victor and asked coldly.

"Cough, cough, cough. Who exactly are you?" Kakuzu still wore a blank expression as he calmly asked.

"My name is—Madara Uchiha." Obito once again pulled out Madara’s name as a shield, followed by an awkward silence.

No emotion could be seen on Kakuzu’s face, but there was not the slightest surprise in his eyes. Instead, they held a trace of disdain.

He had even fought Hashirama Senju before! Though Kishimoto had gone completely wild later on and strengthened Hashirama Senju so much that people suspected the Hashirama Senju he had fought had merely been a Wood Clone—or that throwing a shuriken from eight hundred miles away counted as fighting him—he at least understood the strength of Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha.

You say you’re Madara Uchiha? Then show me a two-hundred-meter Susanoo Gundam.

Still, he had just been beaten up, and his life was in the other man’s hands. Kakuzu was clearly not foolish enough to voice his mockery.

But Obito saw the meaning in his eyes perfectly clearly.

"What? You don’t believe me?" After a moment, Obito finally broke the silence and asked Kakuzu coldly.

"Hehehe. Back then, I fought Hashirama Senju myself! I know the strength of those two heroes of the shinobi world very well. You say you’re Madara Uchiha? Based on the level of Fire Release you just used?"

Obito’s Fire Release was not weak. At the very least, it surpassed Kakuzu’s by a level. But compared to Madara Uchiha’s Fire Release, it was at least a whole tier worse!

Kakuzu’s words made Obito burn with anger. Why did someone always contradict him whenever he used Madara Uchiha’s name as a shield?

He could not take off his mask to prove his identity now. The key was that he was not Madara in the first place! And this guy had even fought the First Hokage—just how old was he?

But recalling Kakuzu’s neither-human-nor-ghostly appearance during their fight, such a long life clearly did not come without a price.

Seeing Obito grow somewhat embarrassed and angry, Kakuzu became a little intimidated as well and immediately changed his tone. "But whether you are Madara Uchiha or not, you may say what you want. Since I was defeated by you, this old man has nothing more to say."

Obito Uchiha finally let out a long breath. "In that case, join our Akatsuki. This is an organization made up of S-Rank Rogue Ninjas. Our purpose is to overthrow the current order of the Five Great Shinobi Villages and create an entirely new world!"

"…My apologies, this old man regrets it. Can I withdraw?"

"I’ll hand all financial authority in the organization over to you!" Gritting his teeth, Obito Uchiha recalled what Black Zetsu had said: Kakuzu’s greatest weakness.

"No problem! From today onward, I am a member of Akatsuki! Boss, how much funding does our organization have?"

Obito Uchiha felt that if he had offered to hand all financial authority to Kakuzu from the beginning, Kakuzu would never have fought him to the death and would have joined immediately.

"Are you the one said to be on par with me? The newly risen bounty hunter known as the Black Shadow Ninja."

In Akatsuki’s underground base, Kakuzu looked at Yota with an expression that found fault with everything.

Now, nearly all of Akatsuki had gathered in the underground base. Deva Path Pain and Konan stood at the head, Obito Uchiha stood together with Kakuzu, Black Zetsu, and White Zetsu, while Yota had also brought Sara, the member he had recruited, to the base.

"So it’s you, Kakuzu the Heart Hunter." Yota glanced at Kakuzu. His expression did not change, but inwardly, he was deeply disappointed.

The person Yota had most wanted Obito Uchiha to recruit into Akatsuki was naturally Orochimaru. The foremost expert in human modification in the Naruto World, he was a true treasure trove of a ninja, no less valuable than Treasure Beard from the Pirate World.

After that, Hidan and Sasori would have been acceptable too. Hidan himself was excellent research material, and Yota was very interested in his immortal body. Sasori might not have been as good as Orochimaru, but he was also an expert in human modification. The fact that he could turn himself into a lump of flesh while retaining all of his bodily functions and intelligence, without even weakening his Chakra, showed just how capable he was.

As for Akatsuki’s remaining members, Yota basically had no interest in any of them. Or rather, they offered him no benefit, so they were merely ordinary passersby to him.

Kakuzu was one such passerby. Earth Grudge Fear was powerful, but turning himself into something neither human nor ghost was clearly not what Yota wanted.

"Hmph, so you’re a member of Akatsuki," Kakuzu said sinisterly. "If any members of the organization die, can I take their heads to collect the bounty as well?"

Deva Path Pain and Yota gave this bold Kakuzu strange looks. Fine, he had just joined the organization and was already eyeing the boss’s head. He truly deserved to be called a bounty hunter who loved money more than life.

Since that was the case, Yota naturally had to oblige him. "If you don’t mind, we can go outside and spar. Let’s see whose head ends up being traded for a bounty."

Yota did not feel much about Kakuzu, but Kakuzu was different. In his eyes, every outstanding bounty hunter was a potential rival. He wished every other bounty hunter would die, leaving only himself to freely harvest and choose mission targets.

Not to mention that Yota’s bounty was much higher than that of a village’s Kage!

Hearing this, Kakuzu looked toward Deva Path Pain, who stood above them with his eyes closed. Pain slightly opened his eyes, revealing purple Rinnegan, but said nothing else.

Upon seeing the Rinnegan, Kakuzu was slightly shocked. Having lived for so many years, it was his first time seeing eyes that were practically legendary. Feeling the nearly overwhelming ocular power surging toward him, a trace of reverence rose in his heart.