Danzo left Shisui in charge of guarding the corpses and waiting for the arrival of the Konoha ninjas. He then turned to Kakuzu and asked:
"Where is the nearest underground money exchange?"
Since they were planning to exchange these individuals for funds, the underground money exchange was naturally the best choice.
It would also be an opportunity to see how the underworld operated.
Root had always kept an eye on the market of the underground money exchanges, but due to limitations in manpower, their understanding was not particularly in-depth.
After this major cleanup, Danzo planned to take the opportunity to plant a few moles there.
If Root could control this vast underground system in the future, it would be of great assistance to their intelligence-gathering operations.
"The nearest underground money exchange is thirty kilometers away from here," Kakuzu replied without hesitation, as if he had a map in his head marking the locations of all the money exchanges in the ninja world.
He immediately used the Earth Grudge Fear to string up all the corpses and carried them towards the direction of the money exchange.
He looked like a rather peculiar 'corpse herder.'
While others might make the corpses hop on the ground, Kakuzu used the Earth Grudge Fear to string them up and let them float in the air like kites, which looked even more terrifying.
With Danzo and Kakuzu's formidable stamina, it took them only half an hour to traverse the complex forest terrain and arrive at the location of the money exchange.
It was a dilapidated temple built in the wilderness.
Kakuzu, wearing a mask, walked straight in and pushed against a headless statue inside, revealing a black passage behind it. He led Danzo into it.
The interior of the money exchange resembled a dimly lit bar.
The bald owner, who had a black triangular mark on his forehead, was sitting at the bar with a pipe in his mouth.
On the wall next to the bar, numerous bounty notices were posted. The largest and most conspicuous one was Danzo's.
Seeing Kakuzu enter through the secret passage, the bald owner's face immediately lit up with a smile. "You really are the legendary Immortal Hunter. You've finally taken down Danzo, haven't you?"
Since Kakuzu wasn't wearing a mask, the bald owner recognized him at a glance and subconsciously assumed that he had taken Danzo's head.
After all, according to the intelligence, Danzo was severely injured, Kakuzu possessed the strength of a Kage, and with the help of so many hunters, even if Danzo was as strong as rumored, it would be impossible for him to survive under such circumstances, right?
But the next second, the bald owner's smile froze on his face. Because the 'coveted head' he had just mentioned was now slowly emerging from behind Kakuzu.
"Sorry to disappoint, but I'm not ready to part with my head just yet," Danzo said, leaning on his cane.
Although there was no malice in his tone, his mere presence was enough to make the bald owner break out in a cold sweat.
Fortunately, the owner was quick-witted and immediately forced a sycophantic smile onto his face: "Ah, Lord Danzo, I misspoke just now. It's you who took down those blind hunters!"
Danzo sized up the man, who had just moments ago been all smiles, and let out a cold snort: "You businessmen sure know how to change your expressions in a blink."
The bald owner wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and humbly said, bending his waist: "Lord Danzo, I was just following orders. Please don't hold it against me."
Danzo glanced at him, clearly not interested in arguing with such a minor character, and got straight to the point: "I'm here to exchange these for bounties. You figure out how much they're worth."
At Danzo's gesture, the bald owner shifted his gaze to the passage. There, dozens of withered corpses, strung together by the Earth Grudge Fear, almost filled the passage.
Though they were shrunken and resembled mummies, their identities were still vaguely recognizable.
The bald owner swallowed hard, feeling even more cold sweat on his back. These withered corpses were all well-known figures in the underworld and the main force behind the operation targeting Danzo. He never expected that they would all become victims of Danzo's blade.
What shocked the bald owner the most was Kakuzu, who was following half a step behind Danzo. Could it be that even the famous Immortal Hunter of the underworld had been subdued by Danzo?
These speculations made the bald owner's fear grow stronger.
"Is there a problem? Am I not qualified to exchange bounties with you?" Danzo's cold gaze swept over the owner. The icy killing intent made the usually arrogant man shudder.
This man, who had been so domineering in the past, quickly explained: "Since these were killed by Lord Danzo, they can't possibly be fakes!"
"I'll check their bounty amounts right away!" The bald owner burst into the fastest speed of his life, counting the corpses in the passage.
He didn't even care to verify their identities, fearing that a moment's delay would anger the killer inside.
Thus, a few minutes later, the bald owner gave a very sincere quote.
"Seventy million ryo?"
Danzo raised an eyebrow.
This action immediately made the bald owner's heart race. He quickly said:
"Lord Danzo, I missed a calculation just now. It's seventy-five million ryo!"
Looking at the trembling bald owner in front of him, Danzo felt that if he snorted coldly a few more times, he could probably earn another few million ryo.
But in the end, he didn't do that. He coughed and said:
"Then let's go with this price."
"Okay, okay!"
The bald owner rubbed his hands together and hesitantly said:
"Um, Lord Danzo, I only have thirty million ryo in cash here at the moment. Could you give me an address so I can send it to you?"
Although the underground money exchange was a large business, it couldn't possibly keep so much cash at every location. Such a large transaction was usually beyond the capacity of a money exchange. The thirty million ryo that the bald owner had was probably half of his own contribution.
Danzo understood this and simply waved his hand:
"Kakuzu, take the money.
As for the rest, just send it to the Root division of Konoha."
"Okay, okay!"
The bald owner quickly agreed and handed over a large bag of money to Kakuzu.
"Do you need to count it?"
Danzo was about to say no, but seeing Kakuzu's eager expression, he said:
"Kakuzu, you count it."
The latter immediately perked up and coldly replied:
"Yes!"
Counting such a large amount of money was quite troublesome. But Kakuzu was enjoying it and even refused the bald owner's offer to help. So, Danzo had no choice but to patiently wait for Kakuzu to finish counting.
About twenty minutes later, Kakuzu finally put the money back into the bag with a satisfied look on his face.
Before leaving, Danzo took out a kunai and stuck it into the wall covered with bounty notices. The kunai hit right on his own portrait.
"Tell your boss that next time, use a better-looking photo for the bounty," Danzo said, then left with Kakuzu without looking back.
The bald owner was left there, pondering Danzo's words.
What exactly did Lord Danzo mean by that?