บท 178: Chapter 177: Konoha’s Bounty List

After assigning Hanzo to the task of escorting the supplies, Byakuya left Amegakure with Kakuzu and Sasori.

Both of them were long used to Byakuya's unusual behavior, like giving orders to his "teacher." Byakuya had always been eccentric, but he consistently led them in the right direction.

Most importantly, although Byakuya called Hanzo "teacher," the relationship between the two wasn't necessarily that of a master and disciple.

Looking at the current situation in Amegakure, Hanzo no longer held the title of leader or wielded any power. The only thing left was his reputation as the "Demi-God."

As for how the once-mighty Demi-God had become a retired elder in Akatsuki, that was something only Byakuya could explain.

After all, Byakuya was the true ruler behind both Akatsuki and Amegakure, and nearly everything he predicted had come true.

After half a day of travel, the three of them left the borders of the Land of Rain.

Once they were out of the dark and damp environment, Sasori's mood improved noticeably. The climate of the Land of Rain was terrible for puppet-making and maintenance; he much preferred the dry environment of the desert.

Byakuya took three Konoha headbands and Akatsuki uniforms from his backpack and handed them to the other two.

Kakuzu and Sasori took the headbands and cloaks with puzzled expressions.

Weren't they Akatsuki ninjas? Shouldn't they wear the Amegakure headbands if anything? Why would they wear Konoha headbands while donning the Akatsuki cloak?

With a serious expression, Byakuya explained, "We are mercenaries hired by Konoha, so of course, we need to wear Konoha headbands. This is called professionalism. Once we've built a reputation, more people will come to us for jobs..."

Kakuzu thought for a moment, then silently chose to put on the Akatsuki cloak and Konoha headband.

Sasori, however, refused to take the Konoha headband, holding firm to his principles.

Seeing this, Byakuya didn't force the issue. After putting on his own headband, he opened the bounty list that Konoha had sent.

The list was filled with the names of Kumogakure Jonin.

At the top of the list was the Fourth Raikage, Ay, with a bounty of 200 million ryo—equivalent to more than thirty Asumas.

Next was Killer Bee, the Jinchuriki of the Eight-Tails, with a bounty of 150 million ryo.

Upon seeing the list, Kakuzu immediately became interested, his eyes lighting up at the prospect of earning money.

After reading the names of the Fourth Raikage and Killer Bee, he said excitedly, "Byakuya, how about we take on the task of assassinating the Fourth Raikage? With our combined strength, it's not impossible to succeed. If we do, our reputation will surely spread across the ninja world."

Byakuya glanced at Kakuzu and said, "Kakuzu, I'll allow you to act on your own for this mission. But when you get cornered by the Fourth Raikage and Killer Bee, please don't mention my name."

Realizing Byakuya wasn't in favor of his plan, Kakuzu's confidence deflated a bit.

He had always been an arrogant ninja. Though he failed in his attempt to assassinate the First Hokage, he considered the First Hokage an exception—a monster far beyond the norm. The rest of the ninja world, in his eyes, didn't have such anomalies.

But after joining Akatsuki, Kakuzu realized how wrong he had been—terribly wrong.

Within Akatsuki alone, there were five or six ninjas on par with him, and even with such strength, Akatsuki still hadn't yet risen to the level of the Five Great Ninja Villages.

Sasori, sensing Kakuzu's thoughts, had nothing to add.

As the grandson of Chiyo, an elder of Sunagakure, Sasori knew all too well the true strength of the village. Frankly speaking, Akatsuki was already powerful enough to crush Sunagakure.

But Byakuya's ambitions couldn't be satisfied by taking over a single village. Byakuya wanted to control the entire ninja world.

After some discussion, Byakuya chose their first target, a Kumogakure Jonin responsible for escorting supplies. His strength would provide a decent warm-up for the group.

Once they had locked onto their target, the three of them crossed through the Land of Fields and arrived in the Land of Hot Water.

---

On their first day in the Land of Hot Water.

Byakuya led the group to one of the most famous tourist spots in the Land of Hot Water, settling into a luxurious hot spring hotel. Relaxing in the outdoor bath, Byakuya seemed perfectly at ease, while Sasori, having temporarily set aside his puppet Hiruko, crouched in the water blowing bubbles, perplexed by Byakuya's reluctance to take the initiative.

Kakuzu, similarly, couldn't understand why they were wasting time here.

Noticing their confusion, Byakuya gave them both a disdainful look. They had come all the way to the Land of Hot Water—how could they not enjoy the hot springs? Besides, rather than actively hunting for their targets, it was far more efficient to let their enemies come to them.

Just as Byakuya predicted, the moment they walked openly into the Land of Hot Water, sporting their Konoha headbands, the Kumogakure ninjas swarmed toward them like flies attracted to honey.

When a group of Kumo ninjas stormed the hot spring hotel with weapons drawn, they found themselves ambushed by Sasori's puppet army, which had been waiting for them. The well-crafted puppets made short work of the Cloud ninjas, who stood no chance.

At that moment, a Kumogakure Jonin appeared outside the hot spring hotel.

With a loud battle cry, the Jonin swiftly used the Body Flicker Technique to reach the open-air bath. He grinned as he saw Byakuya and the others lounging lazily in the hot spring.

These Konoha ninjas were undoubtedly strong, but they were surrounded by water. As long as he used his Lightning Release, the electric current would paralyze them all. Then, using his superior physical strength, he'd easily take them down.

With this plan in mind, the Kumo Jonin formed hand seals and shouted, "Lightning Release, Lightning Fang!"

In an instant, crackling lightning fangs formed in his hands, and he hurled them viciously toward the hot spring.

Seeing this, Kakuzu, who had been resting with his eyes closed, immediately leaped up and countered with his own Lightning Release.

The two lightning techniques collided, exploding into sparks that caused the water in the hot spring to sizzle and pop.

In the next moment, the Kumo Jonin was struck by a black rod and fell into the hot spring.

As his strength ebbed away, the Jonin looked toward Byakuya, disbelief in his eyes. Byakuya was walking calmly through the electrified water without showing any signs of discomfort.

To have a body that could withstand this level of power—such strength was extremely rare, even within Kumogakure. Only a handful of people in the entire village possessed such physical resilience.

What shocked him even more was the thought that Konoha, while not lacking in powerful shinobi, had never mentioned someone of this caliber in their intelligence. Could it be that Konoha had been hiding elites, or perhaps other ninja villages had intervened?

As these thoughts swirled in his mind, the Jonin began to consider fleeing. However, he was suddenly impaled by the tail of Sasori's puppet, Hiruko, immobilizing him completely.

As he slipped into unconsciousness, he heard one last sentence.

"Sasori, didn't I tell you to leave him alive? Without this lead, it will be much harder to track down the other ninjas."