"Riiip!"
Kakuzu tore open Nishijo Shu's inner robe in one motion, exposing his pale, flabby belly underneath.
Nishijo Shu was now pale as death, trembling like a sieve. His obese frame and round belly jiggled uncontrollably under Kakuzu's mocking pats.
"So, Master Nishijo, willing to part with it?"
Kakuzu grinned.
Part with it? This isn't about parting with anything—this is about cutting out a liver!
"Lord Kakuzu, how... how can you be so disrespectful?"
Xijin Zhao stammered, his voice shaking.
"Disrespectful?"
Kakuzu stopped and turned toward Xijin Zhao.
"Eating a piece of your liver is disrespectful? What about you lot providing military funds to Konoha's invading army—is that not disrespectful?! Monopolizing Amegakure's industries—is that not disrespectful?! Exploiting the people of the Land of Rain—is that not disrespectful?! You can bully others, but others can't bully you? What kind of logic is that?!"
After this speech, Kakuzu's image suddenly seemed monumentally righteous. If you added the Kaifeng Prefecture theme music and painted a crescent moon on his forehead, his dark face would look exactly like Judge Bao reincarnated.
"Lord Kakuzu, Master Nishijo is quite overweight—his liver must be full of fat. The taste probably wouldn't be very good. Please spare him."
The speaker was Kurahashi Min, head of the Kurahashi family that monopolized the Land of Fire's grain industry and current chairman of the Fire Eight Pillars Trading Group.
"Hmm?"
Kakuzu was somewhat surprised. This man had remarkable composure—he could still joke around under such murderous pressure.
"Well then, how about you?"
Kakuzu looked at Kurahashi Min with killing intent.
Kurahashi Min smiled.
"No problem. But eating too much human liver can be poisonous. I have something better..."
He pulled out a piece of paper from his coat and handed it to Kakuzu with calm dignity.
Kakuzu glanced at it.
Well, well—this guy's quite the character, and deep pockets too.
The paper clearly read: "Cash 20 billion ryō," with eight different seals stamped below.
"We know why you're here. In this world of ninja conflicts, fortunes rise and fall constantly. Once you're at the gambling table and bet on the wrong horse, you accept the loss when you lose. Blame your own poor judgment—can't blame others."
He placed the paper in front of Kakuzu.
"What's this thing?"
Kakuzu asked.
"This represents the Fire Eight Pillars Trading Group's century of credibility. In Jade City's center stands the trading group's shared vault. You can use this note to withdraw 20 billion ryō in cash. I believe this amount is sufficient for your mission."
Kurahashi Min said calmly.
Kakuzu playfully picked up the paper with two fingers and flicked it in his hand.
"That's all?"
"Twenty billion isn't small change. Our total support for Konoha front to back was only about 9 billion. This is already the maximum liquid funds we Fire Eight Pillars can produce. Any more and our businesses across the land couldn't operate normally. Any more would be pushing us to a dead end."
"So what if I push you to a dead end?"
Kakuzu raised an eyebrow.
"Then the three thousand retainers kept by our Fire Eight Pillars Trading Group will fight Sunagakure to mutual destruction!"
Kurahashi Min's attitude was extremely firm.
His firmness naturally came from confidence, and that confidence stemmed from the Fire Eight Pillars Trading Group's three thousand retainers.
These so-called retainers, also called house guests, were mainly composed of fallen samurai and wandering ninja who attached themselves to wealthy merchants. The merchants provided food and finances while the retainers offered martial protection and loyalty. Since merchants ranked below samurai socially, unless they were truly desperate, samurai wouldn't willingly become retainers. Some would rather gather in mountains as bandits than serve wealthy merchants as retainers.
Samurai were still nobility—how could they become house servants to lowly merchants?
However, merchants weren't part of the noble class. In the ninja world, only nobles could keep samurai (ninja could be hired with money, but generally only served Kage). So for survival, these people had to abandon their samurai titles. They could only wear one sword without a wakizashi, symbolizing permanent renunciation of the right to commit seppuku. (For samurai, losing a fight wasn't shameful—being denied the right to commit seppuku after losing was.)
The Fire Eight Pillars Trading Group had deep pockets and used stacks of money to attract many fallen samurai. They didn't want just any samurai—at minimum, you had to be third-class to qualify for this meal and salary.
After years of recruiting, the Fire Eight Pillars had only gathered three thousand retainers, but their combat power was formidable—arguably the third-largest armed group after Konoha and the daimyō's samurai forces.
"Didn't expect that—the Fire Eight Pillars Trading Group actually has someone this perceptive. A century-old merchant family with excellent upbringing indeed. But I have a question."
Kakuzu asked.
"Please speak, my lord."
Kurahashi Min remained composed.
"As I understand it, this vault stores all of the Fire Eight Pillars Trading Group's liquid assets?"
"Correct."
"Aren't you afraid I'll clean out the whole pot?"
"Not afraid."
"Oh? Why not?"
"Because this vault is built extraordinarily solid. The vault door alone was forged by master craftsmen from around the world using refined steel. Without keys from all eight family heads, even with tremendous strength, you couldn't open it. Outside the vault, two thousand rōnin stand guard, led by the world-famous swordsman Ryūma Yūtō. Even a Kage-level expert..."
"You mean this guy?"
Kakuzu suddenly pulled out a black cloth bundle from behind him and tossed it on the table, knocking over many exquisite dishes. The table became a mess of scattered cups and plates.
Xijin Zhao tremblingly opened the bundle and immediately collapsed in terror.
Inside was clearly a severed head with a samurai topknot.
"Chairman Kurahashi was right—this man's swordsmanship was indeed impressive. But calling him Kage-level is somewhat exaggerated."
Kakuzu said with complete composure.
"Impossible! Jinghang and Sunagakure's top experts are still confronting Konoha..."
"Sigh..."
Kakuzu's sigh interrupted Kurahashi Min's shock.
"Seems I've been away from the martial world so long that people have forgotten my identity..."
Kakuzu shook his head helplessly and pointed to the rogue ninja headband on his forehead.
"After doing accounting as a side job for so long, people forgot my main profession! Actually, I'm a—ninja."
Kakuzu slowly removed his suit and shirt, folded them neatly, and carefully placed them on his chair.
"When I fought the First Hokage Hashirama Senju, the Third Kazekage probably wasn't even born yet!"
As soon as he finished speaking, countless black tendrils erupted from Kakuzu's body, instantly binding all eight heads of the Fire Eight Pillars Trading Group tight as drums.
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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