At exactly 9:00 in the morning, Kizaru arrived at the entrance of the hot spring inn as scheduled.
At this moment, Kakuzu had already been waiting at the entrance for about ten minutes.
"Yo! You're really early, brother!" Smiling, Kizaru greeted Kakuzu as he walked up to him.
"How are we testing?" Money was tight, so Kakuzu asked directly.
"Quite impatient, aren't you?" Laughing, Kizaru sighed and continued, "Follow me!"
Without any hesitation, the confident Kakuzu followed Kizaru, leaving the street of hot springs.
Exiting the hot spring street and reaching the outskirts of the town, Kizaru stopped and looked at Kakuzu, who was behind him.
"Keep up, okay?" With a squinting smile, Kizaru used Body Flicker Technique and disappeared on the spot.
With 780 million in cash, Kakuzu couldn't afford to lose sight of it. He immediately followed in the direction Kizaru left.
As an old-school elite-level ninja with versatile abilities, Kakuzu had excellent physical skills. Coupled with Kizaru not exerting full effort, he quickly caught up.
Rushing toward the border of the Land of Fire, Kizaru looked back at Kakuzu, who caught up. He smiled and praised, "Not bad!"
Hearing Kizaru's compliment, Kakuzu maintained a poker face, but there was a small sense of satisfaction in his heart.
Mouth opening, Kakuzu was about to speak when Kizaru's obnoxious voice sounded in his ears again.
"Oh-ho! Keep it up!"
The moment the voice entered his ears, Kakuzu saw Kizaru accelerate, once again taking a lead of about three meters.
"Damn!"
Cursing inwardly, Kakuzu had no choice but to accelerate again, chasing after Kizaru's back.
The location of the hot spring town was not too far from the border of the Land of Fire, approximately only fifty or sixty miles.
With Kizaru continuously accelerating, the two of them took less than ten minutes to arrive in the forest within the Land of Fire.
Jumping down from a tree branch, Kizaru put his hands in his pockets, looking effortlessly relaxed.
Kizaru, standing on the ground, turned around and looked at Kakuzu, who had just arrived and jumped to a spot about two meters away from him.
"Congratulations, you passed the first test."
With a poker face, Kakuzu looked at Kizaru with a more serious expression.
"This guy's speed and physical abilities are quite astonishing!"
For his goal, Kakuzu had a deeper understanding now.
"So, let's start the second round of assessment directly!" Looking at Kakuzu, Kizaru said, "Don't disappoint me, brother!"
"This guy's personality is really nasty!"
Hearing Kizaru's obnoxious tone, Kakuzu frowned slightly.
"What's the assessment?"
"Attack me, try to kill me," pausing deliberately, Kizaru's smile became more malicious, "or let me kill you!"
"Very well!" With a sharp gaze, Kakuzu, who was already determined, entered the battle mode.
"Go ahead!" Standing in place, Kizaru looked at Kakuzu and casually said.
"You really get on my nerves!"
While speaking, Kakuzu's entire right hand, along with his arm, turned black. The Earth Release: Earth Spear allowed Kakuzu's right hand to harden.
Bending his knee and without saying a word, Kakuzu used Body Flicker to appear in front of Kizaru.
Worried about killing the opponent with a single blow, Kakuzu's hardened right hand fiercely struck the area near Kizaru's right chest.
"Dang!"
A sound resembling metal collision echoed. Kakuzu, who felt like he had struck an iron block, showed a hint of surprise on his face.
However, regardless of the surprise, years of combat experience kept Kakuzu's movements uninterrupted. After a single blow was blocked, in mid-air, he swiftly shifted to the side and launched a sharp side kick towards Kizaru's waist.
Again, a metallic-like texture, along with the recoil force, made Kakuzu, who had to exert force in mid-air, retreat and land on the ground.
"So tough!"
After landing, Kakuzu looked at Kizaru with a more serious expression.
Using an iron block, standing still and easily defending against Kakuzu's attacks, Kizaru smiled and turned his head.
"Terrifying! I thought I might be killed!"
After saying that, Kizaru's right hand left his pocket and was raised.
In front of Kakuzu, Kizaru used Haki to cover his right hand.
"We really have a destiny, brother! Our Ninjutsu seems to resonate!"
Watching Kizaru's right hand, which showed no apparent changes, Kakuzu instinctively sensed the threat.
"Cannot confront it directly!"
Staring fixedly at Kizaru, Kakuzu, relying on intuition, made the right judgment.
"Well then, I'm going to make a move," saying that, Kizaru instantly rushed to Kakuzu.
Lifting his right hand high, Kizaru, from top to bottom, delivered a powerful strike.
Because it was just a test, Kizaru did not use his maximum speed, giving Kakuzu time to react.
Chakra surged in his legs, and Kakuzu hastily jumped back, narrowly avoiding Kizaru's attack.
Boom!
With a loud noise, the spot where Kakuzu had just been standing turned into a large pit several meters in diameter.
Retreating to a large tree several meters away, Kakuzu, looking through the raised dust, saw the pit and couldn't help but curse inwardly.
"Is this what you call excellent Taijutsu?"
"Clearly, he's a Taijutsu monster, for goodness' sake!"
Once again discovering an issue in the information provided by the black market, Kakuzu made up his mind to demand more money for the bounty!
"Don't lose focus during the battle, okay, brother!"
Kizaru's voice suddenly rang out from behind, startling Kakuzu. Before he could react, he felt a tremendous force at his buttocks.
Kicked away by Kizaru, the powerful force made Kakuzu unable to adjust in mid-air, and he crashed heavily to the ground.
"Damn it!"
Slowly getting up from the ground, Kakuzu looked up at Kizaru standing on the tree trunk, still in a kicking posture.
It's been many years since Kakuzu looked so disheveled. The look in his eyes as he stared at Kizaru became fierce.
"This guy, I'm going to kill him!"
Brewing with anger in his heart, Kakuzu was just about to strike with all his might when Kizaru, standing on the tree, spoke.
"You passed, congratulations, brother!"
What stopped Kakuzu wasn't Kizaru's words but the 30 million in remuneration!
Suppressing the anger in his heart, Kakuzu looked at Kizaru and asked, "What's the mission?"
Jumping down from the tree to Kakuzu's front, Kizaru replied, "You've probably guessed it; I'm actually a ninja from Konoha."
Without saying a word, Kakuzu stared straight at Kizaru, waiting for his next words.
"Recently, there's been a bit of chaos in the ninja world. Our manpower for patrolling the borders is a bit tight, and we need a ninja with decent strength to assist in patrols."
"I don't participate in wars." Knowing the current situation in the ninja world very well, Kakuzu refused.
"No, no, no! We don't need you to engage in battle, just patrol the border at fixed times. If you find an enemy, report it promptly." Raising his right hand and extending his index finger, Kizaru said.
"30 million for how many days? How long for each patrol?"
"Three days, twice a day, one hour each time."
Ten million a day and working two hours a day, Kakuzu found it acceptable.
"In addition, if you kill or capture an enemy after discovering them, additional money will be given based on the enemy's strength and identity."
"Killing enemies will earn you money!"
Suddenly interested, Kakuzu asked, "How much?"
"For killing a Genin: 500,000; capturing: 1 million.
For killing a Chunin: 3 million; capturing: 5 million.
For killing a Jonin: 10 million; capturing: 15 million.
For targets with even stronger abilities and higher status, the price is unlimited."
With 750 million from the villages, 30 million from Kizaru, and additional money for capturing people, calculating it in his mind, Kakuzu's eyes lit up. He felt like he was going to make a fortune this time.
"Deal!" Without any hesitation, Kakuzu agreed directly.
"In that case, the job starts today." Seeing Kakuzu's agreement, Kizaru smiled and said, "Come with me!"
"Wait!" Looking at Kizaru, Kakuzu asked the last question, "How soon will the advance payment be made?"
Advance payment?
Kizaru looked at Kakuzu again, scratched his head, and said, "You'll get it at the base."
Nodding, Kakuzu, who never worried about clients defaulting on payment, said, "Lead the way."