A year had passed in the blink of an eye.
Sitting under the shade of a tree outside the explosive tag factory, Kagura couldn't help but feel how swiftly time had flown by. In this fictional world, she had somehow managed to live a serious and diligent life for an entire year.
During this year, she had worked tirelessly from dawn to dusk, juggling her fortune-telling business in the shopping district while occasionally checking in on the explosive tag factory. Although she had stockpiled a lot of goods, she hadn't made much money.
Yet, she had somehow managed to keep things afloat, which was quite impressive.
Back when she first transmigrated, she had vowed to let others hustle while she embraced a lazy lifestyle. But now, it seemed she had done the exact opposite. She had become a model citizen—no smoking, no drinking, no clubbing, no messy relationships—just fully dedicated to her work.
Even in her dreams, she was thinking about how to make money. Her contributions to Konoha GDP were nothing short of remarkable.
If this was her idea of being lazy, then who wasn't lazy?
"How did it come to this?" she muttered, munching on a slice of watermelon, utterly perplexed.
Her ideal life was simple: eat well, stay safe, sit when she could stand, and lie down when she could sit. In summer, it was air conditioning, Wi-Fi, and watermelon; in winter, hot soup, heating, and roasted sweet potatoes.
When bored, she'd chat with someone, when she wanted solitude, she'd stay home for days. No hard work, no rat race—just living as a happy, carefree slacker. That was her ultimate dream for this second life.
But even in this fictional world, her money-loving nature hadn't changed. Humans exhaust themselves for wealth, and birds bustle blindly for food. Busy chasing money, she was destined to never live that slacker life.
After all, hard work creates wealth—who ever got rich by lying in bed pretending to be dead?
It was during one of Kagura grumbling sessions about how exhausted she was that Kakuzu appeared in Konoha.
At this time, Kakuzu was around thirty years old, and his appearance wasn't much different from what she'd seen in the later stages of the story, except for his clothing.
He wasn't yet wearing the black cloak with red clouds of the Akatsuki.
Half of Kakuzu face was covered by a black mask, making it impossible to see his full features. Only his piercing, emerald-green eyes shone with an intimidating light.
He wasn't wearing a forehead protector, and his clothes were ordinary. At first glance, he looked no different from any other villager in Konoha. But that was only at first glance.
After a few more looks, Kagura recognized him.
This was one of the perks of being a transmigrator—it was like having divine insight. Anyone or anything that appeared in the original work was something she knew about.
When one money-lover meets another, an instant sense of camaraderie arises. Thinking about how Kakuzu had toiled his entire life, working diligently without retiring until his nineties, risking his life to earn bounties that would eventually end up in her pocket, Kagura felt a strange sense of affection for him.
It was even stronger than the affection she'd feel for the God of Wealth.
She thought.
'I should print out Kakuzu picture and distribute it to every household, telling them to stick it by their stoves and worship it three times a day. That'll ensure a steady flow of wealth.'
Kagura also mused that it had been so long since the Five Kage Summit, and only now did the Village Hidden in the Waterfall leader think of assassinating Hashirama. It just showed how uniquely twisted his thought process was, with a reflex arc long enough to make it seem like he acted on whims.
Kakuzu also noticed Kagura, who had been staring at him intently.
At first, he thought his identity as an outsider had been exposed, but upon sensing her, he found that she didn't have a trace of chakra in her body. This put him at ease, and he thought to himself.
'She's just an ordinary villager.'
The assassination of Hashirama was entirely the village leader impulsive decision. Initially, he had been quite pleased when they were assigned a tailed beast.
However, someone must have whispered in his ear later, convincing him that the distribution was unfair.
"Why do others get two while we only have one?" he had thought.
"Do you look down on our Takigakure Village?"
Even a paper cutout has its pride. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, and the angrier he became, the more he thought about it.
Finally, he came up with a way to vent his anger—go and kill the person who started all this!
So, on a pitch-black night, after drinking two pounds of fake alcohol, the village chief summoned the elite jonin Kakuzu to his office and assigned him the daunting task of assassinating the Hokage.
Kakuzu was a man with a normal thought process. To any rational person, this mission was clearly a trap. Asking him to single-handedly kill Hashirama was less realistic than setting a small goal of earning three billion ryo in a year.
However, the ironclad rule of shinobi was to obey, especially when the order came from the village chief.
When Kakuzu left the chief's office, he was deeply troubled. He weighed himself against a tailed beast in his mind, and anyone with half a brain would know which one was more formidable.
Even the tailed beasts behaved like domesticated pets in front of Hashirama. How could the leader possibly think he was up to this task?
Though he had hundreds of reasons to refuse, not a single one was valid. He looked up at the sky and made a wish to the dark heavens.
"Please let someone wiser become the village leader, or at least someone normal."
When he reached the outskirts of Konoha, the first person he encountered was Kagura, a young girl who looked innocent and was not a shinobi.
She was the perfect candidate for gathering information.
After pondering for a while, Kakuzu changed his course and approached Kagura under the tree.
He looked at her and saw a spark of excitement in her eyes, which made him frown slightly. A drop of cold sweat rolled down his forehead.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked in a cold, detached voice. Such a straight-laced man wasn't skilled at making small talk, it simply wasn't in his nature.
"Because you're handsome!" Kagura replied with a smile, her eyes sparkling like stars.
People who could make money were handsome, and someone who could earn enough to buy six trillion explosive tags was beyond handsome.
"Uh… I'm not into that sort of thing" Kakuzu replied awkwardly.
"Huh?"
Kagura widened her eyes, processing his words. Her intuition told her that this man wasn't straight. She pointed at him in disbelief and exclaimed.
"Are you… Gay ?"
Kakuzu thought for a moment before finally understanding her implication. More cold sweat dripped down his face as he quickly waved his hands to correct her.
"What I meant is that I'm not interested in romance right now. Even if you think I'm handsome, it doesn't matter."
"Oh, that's a bit narcissistic, but it's harmless. Just focus on making money" Kagura said, feeling a bit self-conscious. She couldn't seem to stop talking about money.
"See that? Follow this path straight ahead. There are no forks in the road, and it leads directly to the main gate of Konoha. If you don't want to use the main gate, you can continue along the outer wall. There's a gap in the northeast direction, probably caused by a summoning beast of some shinobi. It hasn't been repaired yet due to lack of funding. At 6 PM, it's the shift change for the patrols, and that's when they're the most lax. It's the perfect time to sneak in."
Kakuzu was completely baffled.
He hadn't even asked her anything yet, so why was she rambling on and on?
Moreover, how did she even know what he wanted to inquire about?
"Uh, wait a minute…"
"What? Don't you want to know this stuff, or was I not clear enough?" Kagura asked, puzzled.
"Ah, yes, I do want to know, but…"
...
Kagura ignored him and continued. "The Hokage's residence is in the western part of the village, situated on higher ground. It's a three-story building with red tiles and yellow walls, easily recognizable. The office, on the other hand, is located beneath the Hokage Rock—a large standalone structure that's even more conspicuous."
Kakuzu, though puzzled, listened attentively and took mental notes. But as he was memorizing the details, Kagura suddenly fell silent.
"Why did you stop?" he asked.
Kagura smiled at him, pushed a stool toward Kakuzu, and gestured for him to sit.
Then she said, "These details are for you to report back to your village leader. He'll definitely ask how you got in, how you found the Hokage, and how you killed him. As for the killing part, that's impossible to fake, so just tell the truth. After all, your opponent is the God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju. Even Madara Uchiha, the battlefield rose, with the Nine-Tails and his Susanoo, couldn't take him down. You, an elite jonin, shouldn't even think about it. If Hashirama gets serious, you're done for."
"So, what should I do?" Kakuzu asked, looking as earnest as a student seeking advice from a teacher.
"So, you should just head back home and make up a story for him. After all, he's going to kill you sooner or later once you return. Besides, Hashirama isn't even in the village right now, so even if you go, you won't find him."
"Wait a minute" Kakuzu interjected.
"why would our village leader want to kill me? I was sent here on an assassination mission."
As soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted it.
How could he have let such a confidential mission slip out so casually? This cunning woman must be trying to trick him. Damn this deceitful Konoha village.
"Your mind doesn't seem as sharp as it is when it comes to making money" Kagura remarked.
"A small village attempting to assassinate the leader of a major village and failing—this is a matter of diplomatic significance. My guess is that, to avoid triggering a war, they'll need a scapegoat. And you, my friend, are that scapegoat."
Kakuzu, who stood at 185 cm tall, sat on the stool as obediently as a schoolboy. He pondered Kagura's words carefully and realized there was some truth to them.
"Then what should I…"
"Sticking with such a foolish village leader will only lower your IQ" Kagura advised.
"Listen to me. Go back and take this Earth Grudge Fear for yourself. With that, you'll be nearly immortal, and the village leader won't be able to kill you even if he tries."
Kagura had even thought of his escape plan. Kakuzu mulled it over and realized she was right. He never wanted to take on this mission in the first place, and now that an expert had laid out the entire plan for him, all he had to do was follow it. The heavy burden in his heart lifted, and he felt instantly relieved.
And so, after just a casual conversation, Kakuzu decided to head back home, avoiding a potential battle altogether.
In the original timeline, Hashirama didn't kill Kakuzu and even let him return. However, engaging with Hashirama without getting injured was impossible.
To ensure she could secure that substantial amount of ninja currency fifty years later, Kagura was willing to make a small change to this world.
At that moment, Kagura mind was entirely focused on the ninja currency, and she hadn't considered the butterfly effect.
The flap of a butterfly wings could stir up a storm in the Pacific. Kagura arrival in this ninja world—whether it would bring fortune or misfortune—remained to be seen
.After hearing Kagura words, the honest Kakuzu indeed went back and seized the Earth Grudge Fear. However, he accidentally killed the village Leader.
Originally, he only intended to use the Earth Grudge Fear to save his own life, but fate played a cruel trick.
The village could no longer tolerate him, and he no longer had any attachment to it.
He fled with the Earth Grudge Fear, becoming the highest-level missing-nin in the history of Takigakure.