Tōshirō shook his head. "You really don't hold back, do you? They were our companions these past few days."
"Cut the act. You're even more ruthless than I am."
Kakuzu hoisted the two corpses onto his back, preparing to exchange them for money.
"If we delay turning in the bodies by a day or two, and some ninja can interrogate the memories of the dead, that would be troublesome."
Tōshirō thought for a moment and cautiously said, "In our village, the Yamanaka clan possesses such jutsu. I'm not sure if other ninjas do, but it's always better to be careful."
"You really are cautious."
Taking Tōshirō's advice, Kakuzu decided to wait a few days before exchanging the bodies for money. He had heard of jutsu that could extract memories from the dead.
However, such jutsu had limitations—it depended on the rate of corpse decomposition, or more precisely, the state of the brain.
In general, retrieving memories from a corpse required sealing it with special talismans immediately after death.
If that wasn't done, then as time passed, retrieving useful memories from the dead would become a matter of luck.
A few days later, Kakuzu arrived before Tōshirō with several large crates.
Tōshirō lay on the sofa, hands behind his head, and casually asked, "How much?"
"Two hundred million." Kakuzu's voice carried a rare note of satisfaction from behind his mask.
Such an amount was unthinkable in the past. A bounty target reaching thirty million ryo was already considered the upper limit—going beyond that was exceedingly difficult.
Tōshirō chuckled. "When it comes to their own safety, the wealthy never hesitate to spend."
Kakuzu let out a low laugh.
"You seem to be in a good mood."
Kakuzu shook his head and suddenly grew contemplative. "A Jonin risking their life for an S-rank mission usually only earns a few million ryo at best.
"But look at us—just kidnapping a rich man nets us over a billion ryo. The risk-to-reward ratio is completely unbalanced."
Tōshirō laughed. "Well, most ninjas still think like ninjas. They care too much about their reputation. But it's precisely because of that mindset that we're making all this money."
Ninjas were incredibly proud. Even if they fell into poverty, they wouldn't resort to other professions—doing so would be a humiliation. Let alone becoming kidnappers.
And powerful ninjas rarely fell into hardship, meaning strong kidnappers were an even rarer breed.
Kakuzu was an extreme exception.
"Hmph, that's true…"
At that moment, as if reminded of something by Kakuzu's words, Tōshirō fell into deep thought.
Kakuzu noticed and asked, "What's wrong?"
After pondering for a while, Tōshirō propped his chin up with one hand and smiled. "Brother Kakuzu, don't you think this world is a little strange?"
"Strange?"
"Don't you think the 'One Nation, One Village' system is a distorted creation?"
"A distorted creation? You sure have guts to say that. That system was established by the God of Shinobi to end the warring era. Back then, the average lifespan of a ninja was barely thirty years. Because of his system, nations followed suit, and the world finally found peace. If I recall, your ancestor, Uchiha Madara, played quite a role in all of that."
Kakuzu had lived through that era and knew exactly what it was like.
Although he had never gotten along with the First Hokage, he had to admit the man's achievements were extraordinary.
"Are you saying you're denying the contributions of those two?"
"I'm merely looking at things critically." Tōshirō shook his head. "The 'One Nation, One Village' system—villages provide military protection, while the daimyos provide financial support. Each has its role, and they supposedly coexist peacefully. But is that really the case?"
Kakuzu narrowed his eyes slightly. "What are you getting at?"
"Our experiences over the past few days—haven't they made you feel anything?
"Compared to ordinary people, we ninjas are too powerful. So powerful that if we wanted, we could ignore all rules.
"Take those wealthy elites, for example. You've seen them, right? They may have vast amounts of money, but so what? We played them like puppets. Everything they struggled to accumulate—if I wanted, I could strip it all away in an instant."
"And the daimyos… Forgive me for saying this, but they're just an extension of the wealthy elite. At best, they have more money. But in essence, they're still just weak, ordinary people."
"If it were a one-on-one fight, even a freshly graduated Genin from our village could take down a daimyo as easily as slaughtering livestock."
"You think the daimyo isn't aware of that?"
"That's exactly why I say the 'One Nation, One Village' system is flawed. In the past, the world only had a 'One Nation' system. The introduction of the 'One Nation, One Village' system was nothing more than a compromise forced upon the daimyo out of fear of our power as ninjas."
At this point, Tōshirō deliberately paused and asked, "If you were the daimyo, what do you think I would do?"
Kakuzu was momentarily stunned. "What would you do?"
"If I were the daimyo, I'd naturally find a way to kill all the ninjas. Ninjas are too powerful—they threaten my rule."
"Of course, naïve people would argue that they have no intention of replacing the daimyo. But tell me, do you think the daimyo would believe that? From their perspective, it's not about whether you want to take power; it's about whether you can."
"Going back to the original question—if I were the daimyo, I'd do everything in my power to eliminate all ninjas. But given a daimyo's capabilities, wiping out every ninja is nearly impossible."
"So the only option is to weaken them—reducing military funding, for instance. Of course, there's a limit to how far that can go. If ninjas can't survive, they'll turn to banditry, and that's something the daimyo wouldn't want. A safer and more effective method is to wage war under the pretense of 'protecting the territory.' That way, ninjas would be forced into another cycle of mutual slaughter."
"Oh, and why do I say 'another' cycle?"
"Heh… because in the past, daimyo did the same thing—hiring ninjas and fueling their hatred against each other so they would fight and kill, drastically reducing their numbers. This continued until the First Hokage appeared and changed the status quo. The daimyo, faced with his overwhelming power, had no choice but to accept the 'One Nation, One Village' system."
Kakuzu stared intently at Tōshirō. To be honest, the kid's words shook his entire worldview. It was hard to believe that such insight was coming from someone so young.
Back when he had failed his assassination attempt, he had once discussed the 'One Nation, One Village' system with the First Hokage. At the time, he hadn't received a satisfying answer. Who would have thought that today, he'd hear such a perspective from a mere kid? It was baffling.
Kakuzu asked, "So, after saying all this—what exactly do you want to do?"
Tōshirō spoke firmly, "I want to restore the One Nation system."
Kakuzu was taken aback. He didn't quite understand what Tōshirō meant.
From their conversation so far, this kid seemed to hold the daimyo in utter contempt. Why would someone like him willingly submit to their rule?
However, what Tōshirō said next surprised even Kakuzu.
"This world doesn't need daimyo at all."
He wasn't sure if anyone had ever voiced such a statement before, but in his knowledge, Tōshirō was the first person to openly express such a view. Kakuzu was stunned as he listened.
"In the end, power is nothing more than coercion and temptation. 'Coercion' is military strength, and 'temptation' is wealth. In reality, the villages represent military power, while the daimyo represent wealth. If the daimyo want to regain control over military power, they must eliminate the obstacle that is the ninja."
"And as a ninja, I refuse to be a pawn in their meaningless wars. So instead, I will eliminate the daimyo."
Now Kakuzu fully understood what Tōshirō meant.
If ninja wars were merely the result of the daimyo's manipulation, then eliminating the daimyo would mean cutting off the root of the chaos. But wouldn't that just create a new set of problems?
After pondering for a moment, Kakuzu responded, "All you'd be doing is jumping from one extreme to another. In the past, villages were limited by financial constraints. But if the daimyo are gone, and the villages no longer have monetary restrictions, they'll become like uncontrollable beasts, expanding without restraint. Eventually, in their fight for resources, nations will inevitably wage war against one another. And this war will be far more devastating than anything before."
Tōshirō was slightly surprised—he hadn't expected Kakuzu to think that far ahead. He smiled and continued, "Have you ever considered unifying the world?"
Kakuzu looked at Tōshirō like he was insane.
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PS author: Running out of time to write. In the next few chapters, we can speed up the plot—maybe have Itachi kick the bucket.
(End of Chapter)
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