Chapter 301: Caught in the Trap
"Tell me what else you want."
Kawakaze could sense that Kakuzu still had something he was hesitant to say.
"The Konoha leadership cannot attack me again," Kakuzu finally admitted what was on his mind.
"Okay, I promise," Kawakaze replied with a clean and decisive answer, leaving Kakuzu momentarily stunned.
"I'll head back to take care of official business in a bit. You haven't caused much trouble for Konoha anyway, so letting you go is no big deal. But, well..." Kawakaze's tone shifted, and Kakuzu immediately became more attentive.
"Just say it," Kakuzu urged, his eyes full of expectation—a look that greatly pleased Kawakaze.
"You can't mention this money to anyone else, understand?" Kawakaze said in a low voice, finishing with a sly wink.
"I understand, I understand," Kakuzu responded quickly, finally lowering his guard. He realized that as long as Kawakaze wanted to keep this money under wraps, he wouldn't dare reclaim it. If it became public, the money would be classified as public funds, leaving Kawakaze without a single coin to his name.
"I'm relieved, then. I can explain to my wife when I go back," Kawakaze said with a warm smile. Only he himself knew the darkness behind that expression.
He never intended to keep the money for himself, and Tsunade wouldn't stoop to pocketing it either. Nine hundred million ryō was a significant sum, but it wasn't life-changing for them.
"Heh, Lady Hokage is really a person of character," Kakuzu mused aloud, his tone free of suspicion. He had heard rumors about Konoha's Hokage being addicted to gambling—a person with a fondness for money. In Kakuzu's mind, Kawakaze and Tsunade were cut from the same cloth, both inherently untrustworthy.