Chapter 115 Times Have Changed, Kakuzu
Souji glanced at Kakuzu and roughly guessed what he was thinking.
In the original world, you would have been beaten up by Nagato's Yahiko, who was actually Pain, and subdued by force to join the Akatsuki organization.
Of course, now that I exist, it's a completely different timeline, so there's no point in saying all this.
The Akatsuki trio, whose strength had not yet fully developed, did indeed appear somewhat ordinary, aside from Nagato's Rinnegan, and were not considered significant in the eyes of these Kage-level powerhouses.
However, the trio has a very high ceiling.
Now that they're following me around, fighting two battles every three days, and with their increased knowledge and experience, their chakra reserves are growing rapidly.
They've almost reached the threshold of a combat-type special jonin, and their growth rate is satisfactory.
"So, everyone, this new addition is Kakuzu, the second official member of the Kage Club, who hails from Takigakure."
"Kakuzu is a senior figure who has dominated the ninja world since the Warring States period.
He is from the same generation as the legendary First Hokage, Hashirama Senju.
Everyone can learn a lot from Kakuzu."
Nagato, quite cooperatively, then said in a somewhat surprised voice:
"The Warring States period...that was several decades ago, wasn't it?"
"Konoha Village has been established for 48 years. Before Konoha was established, it was the Warring States period."
"Then Kakuzu-sensei is from the same generation as the First Hokage, doesn't that mean..."
The Souji smiled slightly and said nothing more.
It's fine to just introduce his background, but if we go any further, we'll have to mention the Earth Grudge, which would be exposing his secrets.
Although Kakuzu can't do anything to him, it's not good and unnecessary.
Sasori, who once held a very high position in Sunagakure, was aware of Kakuzu's existence.
Given that several days had passed since Kakuzu was initially captured, Kakuzu's joining the fold was no longer a surprise.
But I still can't help but think that Mochizuki Souji really prioritizes strength above all else, daring to recruit just anyone into this so-called Kage Club.
Sasori of the Red Sand, assassinated the Third Kazekage, thus triggering the Fourth Shinobi World War.
Kakuzu... indeed, as mentioned earlier, has dominated the ninja world for many years, but he is a bounty hunter who specializes in hunting down powerful ninjas, having killed countless people and making enemies everywhere.
In addition, Mochizuki Souji's killing of the Mizukage, one of the Five Kage, forced Kirigakure to make a declaration of complete surrender to Konoha, completely disrupting the balance of power among the five great ninja villages.
Its impact was even greater than his assassination of the Third Kazekage!
Led by someone like Mochizuki Souji, these powerful individuals, each with their own set of problems...
It is foreseeable that in the end, they will either truly achieve their so-called change of the ninja world, or they will bring about their own destruction!
Ignoring everyone's thoughts, the Souji gestured for Utakata to be taller and introduced him to the crowd.
"This is Utakata from Kirigakure, the jinchūriki of the Six-Tails."
Utakata calmly looked at everyone, showing neither excitement nor nervousness or fear, as composed as a six-year-old child.
Everyone looked at Utakata with curiosity. Sasori and Kakuzu were one thing, but even Yahiko and the other two wouldn't be so surprised to see a Jinchuriki.
Everyone was puzzled: why was Souji bringing Jinchuriki with him?
Does this mean that, like the other ninja villages, they will use Jinchuriki as combatants?
"I have a secret technique that can extract the tailed beast from the Jinchuriki without harming their life, but Utakata hasn't decided yet whether he wants to continue being a Jinchuriki."
"Furthermore, once the tailed beast is extracted, it can only be sealed into a special container.
It cannot be sealed into a scroll a second time, making it very inconvenient to carry and not suitable for extracting the tailed beast now."
"Therefore, Utakata will follow us for the time being.
However, since Utakata has no desire to fight, and a child like him should not participate in battles, he will not join the Kagebu as a member, nor will we consider him a combat asset."
Everyone nodded slightly upon hearing this, showing an expression of 'I knew it would be like this,' except for Kakuzu, who seemed quite surprised.
"Because they are children, even if they are precious Jinchūriki, they won't be forced to use them as combat power?"
"You were just talking about those three young people, but aren't you quite naive yourself?"
"Back in the Warring States period, it was common for even young children to go to the battlefield and kill enemies; everyone went through that process."
"Times have changed, Kakuzu."
The Souji calmly denied it:
"This is no longer the Warring States period, so what happened in the Warring States period cannot be used as a standard for conduct today.
Moreover, those were despicable practices that should have been condemned in the first place, and..."
"What I'm doing isn't naivety, it should be called having principles and a bottom line."
"Hmph! What's the difference?"
"The difference is that while I try my best to adhere to principles and bottom lines, I can flexibly adjust the position of these bottom lines when there is no other way in reality, rather than blindly limiting myself."
"this..."
Souji suddenly couldn't figure out Kakuzu.
Although I've lived for so many years, I've seen countless old foxes in the ninja world, all kinds of cunning, treacherous, shameless, and shameless.
But this guy seems to be the first to so openly declare that he can change his principles and bottom lines at any time...
Does this guy have any shame at all?
Kakuzu couldn't tell them apart for a moment.
Sasori glanced at him and said calmly:
"That's the kind of person Mochizuki Souji is.
He spouts off a whole bunch of things, whether they make sense or not.
I advise you not to even think about arguing with him, or you'll just end up being left speechless by his bunch of fallacies."
"snort..."
The Souji continued:
Now that we've all gotten to know each other, let me explain our next steps.
"The war against Kirigakure is over. As for the war against Kumogakure, I will most likely not participate.
Therefore, I have no missions related to Konoha and will focus on establishing the Kageshige."
"That is, to recruit more like-minded people who are willing to work together to change the ninja world and who have great strength or potential."
I already have a few candidates in mind. I'll go meet with them now and recruit and persuade them.
Souji took out a map and pointed to the side of the Land of Rain.
We'll go to the Land of Grass first. In the Hidden Grass Village, there's a woman from the Uzumaki clan who has very special healing abilities. She's a rare medical talent.
"Next, we will go to Takigakure, and our target is the current Seven-Tails Jinchuriki."
"There are other candidates, but we won't go into details for now..."
"Furthermore, we have been searching for Tsunade, one of the Legendary Sannin of Konoha.
Kakuzu, I hope you can use your connections to help me find information about Tsunade."
"That concludes our current actions."
________________________________________
Can't wait for the next chapter?
30+ advanced chapters are already available on Patreon!
👉 patreon.com/Tanji_Fanfics
________________________________________
End of this chapter...