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"A shinobi?"
Kakuzu scrutinized Jin.
The boy appeared to be around twelve or thirteen years old, dressed in black, with no visible clan emblem or shinobi forehead protector.
If it weren't for the black katana at his waist and his almost silent footsteps, Kakuzu might have dismissed him as just a passing child.
"For now, I do have a shinobi registration number," Jin replied with a cheeky grin.
"For now?" Kakuzu caught the implication in Jin's words.
He realized that this boy wasn't a shinobi in the traditional sense.
Even rogue shinobi wouldn't refer to their registration numbers like that.
But what did it matter to him? Kakuzu pulled out a stack of papers from his cloak and began flipping through them.
The papers were filled with bounty notices, each one detailing the identities of wanted individuals.
He quickly scanned through all of them.
There was no bounty matching the boy in front of him.
"Alright, now you can tell me why you're following me."
Without a bounty notice, Kakuzu's desire to fight diminished considerably.
If the boy didn't give him a satisfactory reason, he'd just bury him here.
"Well..." Jin pondered for a moment, rubbing his chin before speaking, "I plan to hire you in the future."
"Don't joke around, kid."
Kakuzu couldn't help but laugh at Jin's words.
Shinobi didn't have a future, and now this kid was trying to sell him a pipe dream? Kakuzu wasn't falling for it.
There was no such thing as hiring a shinobi in the future.
Jin continued, stating his purpose.
"So, I'm actually here to get your contact information, so I can reach you easily in the future."
That was Jin's plan from the beginning. It would be difficult to find him later.
Rogue shinobi had unique ways of avoiding detection by the major villages.
There were few rogue shinobi, and the villages preferred a "better safe than sorry" approach—kill on sight.
Even though Takigakure was weak, if they got information on Kakuzu, they would find a way to hunt him down.
If too much time passed...
If Kakuzu joined the Akatsuki, recruiting him would become much harder.
As for now...
Jin was self-aware; he didn't yet have the strength to subdue someone like Kakuzu.
"Do you know who I am, kid?"
Kakuzu asked in a deep voice.
The boy's attitude made it clear that he was specifically looking for Kakuzu, not just any random shinobi.
"Kakuzu, the man who once attempted to assassinate the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama. Your name is well-known," Jin replied with admiration.
Not to mention being known as Konoha's first mercenary.
Kakuzu ignored Jin's praise, as black threads began to emerge from his arms.
"It seems my information has leaked."
Although Kakuzu had been moving through underground bounty networks, very little information about him was known.
The bounty networks couldn't have gathered much intel on him.
So how did this boy in front of him find out?
"Can we not fight?"
Jin tilted his head. Although he wasn't a match for Kakuzu at the moment, it wouldn't be easy for Kakuzu to defeat him either.
Besides, for Jin, Kakuzu was just a shinobi who had exposed his abilities.
Kakuzu's strength was enough to be considered Kage-level.
But for Jin, who knew Kakuzu's detailed information, his strength was equivalent to that of an elite Jōnin.
And now, Jin...
An elite Jōnin wasn't someone who could easily defeat him.
Did they really think Jin's advantages were for show?
Jin's intention to avoid a fight didn't stop Kakuzu from initiating one. Having his information leaked was a dangerous matter.
Two fists, driven by black threads, shot toward Jin.
With a single step, Jin closed the distance and appeared beside Kakuzu, spinning his body and delivering a roundhouse kick to Kakuzu's side.
In the next moment, black threads burst from Kakuzu's body, wrapping around Jin's leg and quickly binding him.
Seeing Jin restrained instantly, Kakuzu declared his victory.
"It seems it's over."
"I wouldn't be so sure," Jin replied.
Jin's figure suddenly transformed into a puff of white smoke, and several explosive tags emerged from the smoke.
With a loud explosion, Kakuzu's body disintegrated into dust.
It was an Earth Release: Earth Clone technique.
Both of their figures reappeared on the other side of the battlefield, facing each other from a distance.
"It seems you're not an ordinary opponent," Kakuzu remarked as black threads danced around his body.
Jin had already drawn the Kusanagi no Tsurugi from his waist.
"So how about we just talk this out?"
Jin suggested, not wanting to engage in a fight he couldn't win.
But Kakuzu had already finished forming hand seals.
"Doton: Domu!" (Earth Release: Earth Spear)
Kakuzu's hands turned jet black.
His arms extended once more, rapidly striking toward Jin.
Jin parried one of the fists with his sword, causing sparks to fly. The other fist curved around, aiming at Jin.
"It seems there's no choice but to fight."
Jin sighed, closing his eyes. As the other fist approached, he used Soru to appear at Kakuzu's left, slowly opening his eyes.
His Sharingan, with three tomoe, rotated slowly.
"An Uchiha... A Konoha shinobi."
Kakuzu swung both arms, sending the elongated limbs flying toward Jin once more.
The arms quickly coiled around Jin's body.
Yet Jin didn't resist at all. From Kakuzu's back, a masked creature emerged, opening its mouth, with lightning flashing within.
At that moment, Kakuzu noticed the smirk on Jin's face.
He realized something was wrong.
Jin spoke with a grin.
"You've locked eyes with me."
Kakuzu's surroundings suddenly shifted.
He saw himself wrapped up by his own fists, with the masked creature's Raiton (Lightning Release) technique aimed at him.
"Sharingan Genjutsu!"
Kakuzu controlled the masked creature to dissipate the lightning within its mouth, withdrawing the fists that had bound him. His gaze returned to Jin.
"Maybe I'm not your match, but I can still make you pay dearly. Do you still want to fight, Kakuzu-san?"
Jin had exploited Kakuzu's arrogance. Kakuzu had five hearts, so he naturally wasn't too cautious about the Sharingan.
The masked creature returned to Kakuzu's body.
"When you have a bounty on your head, I'll come looking for you."
Kakuzu understood that, despite the boy's age, he wasn't an opponent that could be easily dealt with.
Without a bounty, continuing the fight would be pointless.
"Kakuzu-san, I plan to let you manage all the money I earn in the future."
Jin's words made Kakuzu stop in his tracks. He turned back, once again scrutinizing the boy in front of him.
This boy had decent strength. It was rare to see someone so young with Jōnin-level abilities. And with the Sharingan, even if he wasn't an elite Jōnin, he wasn't weak among regular Jōnin either.
Moreover, his attitude was different from that of a typical shinobi. People like this usually had grand ambitions.
A young man with such strength and potential...
He might indeed be worth investing in.
"Tell me more," Kakuzu said as he approached Jin.
(End of Chapter)