Hidan never understood why this teammate was so obsessed with money.

Especially after getting robbed that one time, the whole person had become even more unhinged!

Right now, Hidan was watching the scene unfolding in the distance with great interest.

Kakuzu kicked open the front door of a hot spring bathhouse with a single boot.

BANG!

"Money is literally life!"

The bathhouse owner froze at the sight.

"Oh my... welcome, welcome! Here for a bath?!

Let me tell you, our establishment is the largest hot spring bathhouse in the entire Land of Waves!

And we have plenty of young ladies inside who can provide companionship bathing services for our guests!

That service does come at an additional charge, of course.

And if the customer would like to do certain other things with the young ladies... well, that's not entirely out of the question, either!

It's just that... there's an extra fee!"

Kakuzu's eyes lit up at those words.

"You're saying your place is the biggest hot spring bathhouse in the entire Land of Waves?"

The owner saw that gleam and assumed a big order was walking through the door.

"Hahaha... but of course, dear customer!"

"Well. That's just wonderful..." Kakuzu muttered, stepping inside.

"Any special services the customer has in mind?!"

SWISH SWISH SWISH.

A thread shot out from Kakuzu's body and wrapped tight around the owner.

"Kekekekekeke... no special services necessary! Hand over all your money!

No, wait — hand over all MY money! Kekekekekekeke..."

The owner panicked.

"C-customer... w-what do you mean by this?"

"What do I mean?! Still don't get it?! I'm here to rob you! Hand it over, now!"

The owner's mind went blank. A ninja, robbing ordinary people? A proper ninja pulling this kind of stunt, did Kakuzu have no shame at all?

"Customer... can't we talk this over calmly?!"

"Don't waste my time. I'm only after money, not lives — assuming you cooperate. If you don't... kekekekekeke..."

Just then, a little girl came running out.

"Father — huh? Father? Why did you tie yourself up?!"

Seeing the daughter, the owner was on the verge of tears.

"Father's fine... we're just playing a game with this ninja. Run along now!"

Kakuzu's eyes lit up the moment they landed on the little girl.

Kakuzu reached out and pulled the child close.

"Owner... kekekekekeke... I hope you'll cooperate!"

"Yes! Yes, of course! Please, don't hurt my child! All the cash in the shop is right here, take all of it! I'm begging you, please don't hurt my child!"

Kakuzu looked at the stack of banknotes, a few million ryo, that the owner dragged out from behind the counter, and curled a lip in mild disdain.

This was the biggest hot spring bathhouse in the Land of Waves?

What a letdown.

All that setup for this measly amount?

Still, the owner had cooperated fully, so Kakuzu had no real interest in harming the child. Another thread slid out and delivered the little girl safely back into the owner's arms.

The two lollipops in the girl's pocket, however, were quietly confiscated.

"Kekekekekeke... thank you for your cooperation, owner!"

Clutching the several million ryo, Kakuzu turned and walked out. The two bonus lollipops made the whole trip even better.

After all, two lollipops covered at least two meals. Two meals meant two meals' worth of spending saved.

Kekekekekekekeke...

Hidan watched the teammate pocket those lollipops with a deeply unsettling look of satisfaction, and felt utterly speechless.

"I mean... Kakuzu... I always thought I was bad enough, but I never imagined you'd be worse than me. You're stealing candy from a little kid?!"

Kakuzu glanced over.

"What do you know! Two lollipops, two meals, two meals' worth of money saved. Money is literally life, do you even understand what that means?!"

"God, you are one cheap bastard. I have never seen anyone as stingy as you! Won't even buy toilet paper, you handle the whole bathroom situation with your own threads! You've really got some nerve!"

This was something Hidan had discovered a couple of days ago. Kakuzu never bought toilet paper. Not once.

Every time the bathroom called, Kakuzu would come and borrow some from Hidan.

A couple of days ago, Hidan had finally had enough and flat-out refused. That was when Hidan discovered the truth: Kakuzu just used the threads from inside the body instead.

Wipe. Wash the threads. Pull them back in.

Hidan nearly retched on the spot.

And so, with the freshly stolen ryo stashed away inside the body via those same threads, Kakuzu and Hidan resumed their march toward Gato's location in the Land of Waves.

Right around that moment, Minato Namikaze, Fugaku Uchiha, Zabuza Momochi, and Haku finished wrapping up their own business and made their way out of the Land of Waves.

The two groups walked straight into each other.

The instant Kakuzu spotted one blond head and one black head up ahead, a very bad feeling took root.

Last time, Minato Namikaze and Fugaku Uchiha had been using Transformation Jutsu. This time they weren't. So Kakuzu couldn't be entirely sure whether these two were the same Dahuang and Xiaohei from before.

Minato Namikaze and Fugaku Uchiha, on the other hand, recognized Kakuzu immediately.

The black coats with red clouds didn't help either. Both of them already knew that was the Akatsuki's signature look, every member wore the same thing.

Minato Namikaze and Fugaku Uchiha traded a glance. No words needed.

Minato Namikaze looked at Kakuzu and broke into a grin.

"Kekekekekekekeke... mysterious ninja~ we meet again~~~! What a coincidence, truly!

Do you remember us, mysterious ninja?! We're Dahuang and Xiaohei! We've been thinking about you so, so much these past days~~~

Who would have thought we'd run into each other here!

How much money have you saved up since then?!

Kekekekekekekekekeke..."

➤ Next: There Are Limits to What a Man Can Endure!

Chapter 206 - There Are Limits to What a Man Can Endure!

The moment those familiar words hit, Kakuzu knew. These two infuriating bastards were none other than Dahuang and Xiaohei, the exact pair who had robbed Kakuzu last time.

Hidan glanced over with a puzzled look.

"Kakuzu? Old acquaintances of yours?!"

Kakuzu heard that, looked at Hidan, and ran a quick mental assessment of both sides. That yellow-haired ninja was extremely powerful. Last time, Kakuzu had been completely helpless against that one.

As for the black-haired ninja's strength, still an unknown. Last time, Kakuzu hadn't seen that one move at all.

On top of that, they'd brought two more with them this time. The one with the massive blade looked like Zabuza Momochi, the Rogue Ninja from Kirigakure. The other one, whose gender Kakuzu couldn't even determine, was a total stranger.

But today, Hidan was here.

Today, Kakuzu might actually wipe away that humiliation. There was even a real chance of taking back every last ryo that had been stolen.

Just thinking about it made something surge hot in Kakuzu's chest.

Kekekekekekeke...

Hidan's ability was terrifying, after all. Sure, this one's brain wasn't exactly sharp, screaming about Jashin every waking hour, but Hidan could not be killed. Chop Hidan into pieces and Hidan still wouldn't die.

So this time, Kakuzu was absolutely going to make Xiaohei and Dahuang see what Kakuzu was truly capable of.

"Hmph! Of course they're acquaintances! Those two are the ones who robbed me last time! One's called Xiaohei and the other's Dahuang! Damn it — a pair of mangy dogs!"

Hidan's expression shifted into something slightly more serious.

Kakuzu was no pushover, and everyone knew this one treated money as more precious than life itself. For someone to have robbed Kakuzu clean, that alone said everything about how powerful these two were.

A bloodthirsty smile crept onto Hidan's lips.

"Kekehahahahahaha — Xiaohei and Dahuang?! Any interest in embracing Jashin?! Believe in Jashin! Because Jashin can grant you eternal life! I am a devout follower of Jashin, and I am immortal and unkillable!"

Minato Namikaze and Fugaku Uchiha exchanged a deeply strange look.

"Xiaohei... this person isn't actually mentally ill, are they?"

"Could be, Dahuang!"

"What the hell even is Jashin?!"

"No idea..."

Minato thought it over for a moment.

"Actually, I have heard of it... something called Jashinism? Something about gaining eternal life through faith in Jashin... don't tell me this one is actually from Jashinism?!"

Hidan lit up at that.

"I didn't expect you two had heard of Jashinism?! Kekehahahaha, that's right! I am a devoted believer of Jashin! Come worship Jashin with me! Embrace the faith, and you will become immortal and unkillable!"

Fugaku Uchiha scratched the back of Fugaku's head and looked over at Minato.

"Dahuang... could this so-called Jashin actually be more impressive than Hirofumi?!"

"No idea... but the aura does sound pretty grand?!"

....

By this point Kakuzu had completely run out of patience and turned directly to Hidan.

"Hidan! Stop trying to recruit believers! These two robbed me! Just help me get the money back!"

"Alright, alright, fine! Tch... I was just hoping to bring a few more people into Jashinism..."

Behind Minato Namikaze and Fugaku Uchiha, Zabuza Momochi and Haku stood in a state of complete bewilderment.

By now, the two of them already knew who Minato Namikaze and Fugaku Uchiha were. One was the Fourth Hokage. The other was the head of the Uchiha Clan. Both were dead, yet somehow, for reasons neither could explain, they had been resurrected and returned to the Shinobi World.

Back from the dead. And not just anyone, two of the absolute top-tier powerhouses the Shinobi World had ever produced.

Was it really a good idea to ask people like that to go worship some Jashin?

And the two on the other side actually wanted to fight these monsters?!

Zabuza Momochi and Haku had already spent three silent minutes mourning Kakuzu and Hidan in their hearts.

Hidan seized the scythe and charged at Fugaku Uchiha like a complete madman. At the same time, Kakuzu's hands flew into hand seals.

"Fire Style! Zukokku!"

But Kakuzu never finished the seals.

Minato Namikaze had already vanished from the spot. He reappeared directly behind Kakuzu, because the last time he had encountered Kakuzu, he had left a Flying Raijin mark on Kakuzu's back.

"My mysterious ninja~ you really aren't behaving, are you!

Just hand over the money quietly, wouldn't that be so much easier? Why does it have to come to blows?!

The Shinobi World is so peaceful, so wonderful — why all this fighting and killing?!

Look at my Rasengan, big and round! When it hits you, it's going to hurt. A lot.

Hand over my money, and everyone goes home happy!

Kekekekekekekeke..."

That was it. Kakuzu was done.

When your teammate wasn't here, you robbed me. Now my teammate IS here, and you're still trying to rob me. So what was the point of bringing backup at all?!

And Kakuzu had spent this entire stretch of time grinding through every hardship imaginable, painstakingly scraping together over a hundred million ryo, was all of that really about to get stolen again?!

There are limits to what anyone can endure!

Even if an uncle can grit through it, an aunt cannot!

Even if the aunt can grit through it, her mother's second great-uncle absolutely cannot!

In short, Kakuzu would not let this go. Not a chance.

Money was the same as life itself!

Besides, Kakuzu still had five hearts. Worst case, just die once.

Something went cold behind Kakuzu's eyes.

"Go to hell! Give me back my money!"

Kakuzu spun to fight back, but Minato Namikaze was not someone who did things halfway. One Rasengan sent Kakuzu flying.

"Ah... my mysterious ninja~~~ the road of life is already so short. Why must you take shortcuts?! Just hand over the money, wouldn't that be enough?! You're forcing me to pile up even more killing karma!"

But in the very next instant, Minato's eyes narrowed.

The one he'd just sent flying hadn't died.

Line after line split open across the body, and then those threads began moving on their own, frantically stitching every wound shut.

Minato watched, and felt a flicker of genuine interest.

This ninja had something unusual going on. A body laced entirely with threads, could this be some kind of Kekkei Genkai?

If so, it might be worth bringing back to Konoha for a proper look.

Orochimaru would probably find this very interesting.

Kekekekekekekekeke...

➤ Next: Hidan-Brand Dumpling Filling