The abilities are strange and varied, and the power is very strong.

Although not widely known in the Ninja Realm, according to internal information from the Land of Demons, even Jiraiya, one of the Sannin, suffered a great loss at their hands.

"Long time no see, Kakuzu. I heard you're working hard to become the chief Gold Debt Collector lately."

The Insect Man teased.

"Hmph, isn't that only natural?"

"That's true."

"So, is there something you need from me? Just to state upfront, I'm very busy trying to meet the Gold Debt Collector's workload by next year, and it's extremely tiring."

Kakuzu replied.

"You're quite the workaholic. Don't worry, I won't waste too much of your time. In fact, we're here to ask you about a place."

The Insect Man scratched his head helplessly.

This guy is probably the staff favorite up top.

Although responsible for different tasks, occasionally one hears some information about Kakuzu from others.

Like a hundred percent debt collection task completion rate, working all year without rest, and the most exemplary Debt Collector in the organization, among other exaggerated rumors.

Such absurdities can only be accomplished by an Undying Ninja like Kakuzu.

Even with the best physical condition, an ordinary ninja would get exhausted to death on the job.

"What?"

Kakuzu was inclined to listen to what the Insect Man had to say.

"The Valley of Hypocrisy... do you know this place?"

The Insect Man succinctly asked.

"The Valley of Hypocrisy?"

Kakuzu slightly widened his eyes, revealing a look of surprise.

It seemed unbelievable to him that the Insect Man would mention this name.

"Looks like you know it."

Seeing the astonishment in Kakuzu's eyes, the Insect Man knew he had asked the right person.

Kakuzu knew about the Valley of Hypocrisy.

"Why are you asking about this?"

Kakuzu curiously inquired.

"Our mission target went to this place, but we don't know where the Valley of Hypocrisy is in the Ninja Realm, so we came to seek your help."

"I see, there's no harm in telling you. The so-called Valley of Hypocrisy is actually a sanctuary village."

"A sanctuary village?"

Kakuzu's words made the Insect Man and others frown.

"That's right. A group of mundane people established the village. They claim it to be a Pure Land avoiding worldly disturbances, basically an ideal sanctuary for humans."

Kakuzu's tone was rather disdainful.

"So where is this Valley of Hypocrisy located?"

"The place is quite hard to find, and the entrance is said to have changed a lot. Without someone from inside to guide you, it's hard to get in from the outside. However, you're in luck."

Kakuzu glanced at the darkening sky, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"The Valley of Hypocrisy is within the borders of the Land of Valleys, and the debtor I need to find next is also in the Land of Valleys."

◎

The Land of Valleys.

The Nokizaru Group of five and Kakuzu arrived here; it was already two days later.

"Is the Valley of Hypocrisy here?"

Surrounded by mountains and with vast, boundless forests.

The Insect Man surveyed the environment, somewhat surprised.

This didn't seem like a place inhabited by humans. Besides the fragrance of wildflowers on the road, there were only the residual scents of poisonous insects and wild beasts.

"It can't be wrong. Although I haven't actually been to the Valley of Hypocrisy, someone I used to know went there. Besides, I can discern some things."

Kakuzu said meaningfully.

The Insect Man and others didn't understand his implication, and Kakuzu offered no explanation, continuing forward until he stopped by a tree stump.

Kakuzu pointed to the stump, its cut as smooth as a tabletop.

"This is a man-made marking."

The Insect Man and the others judged.

There's no way a beast could leave such a smooth cut on a stump; it's clearly been artificially processed.

"That's right, and judging by the cut marks, it happened recently. The nearest small village is over a dozen miles away, so no one would specifically come to such a place to lumber."

This meant that within this forest inhabited by beasts and poisonous insects, there were humans living.

There were quite a few similar stumps around, some left from before and some very new, indicating that a massive amount of lumber had been cut down here to build an extensive building complex.

Yet now the complex was nowhere to be seen, obviously hidden away.

The Insect Man released his surveillance insects, allowing them to fly into the sky to search from above.

Even if using special methods to hide, such a massive complex couldn't be concealed easily; there must be a flaw.

Half an hour passed, and the surveillance insects flew back from afar, landing on the Insect Man's fingertips.

"How about it, big bro? Found the entrance?"

The Shadow Man asked.

"No, I found nothing. I checked everything within a five-kilometer radius, and there are no traces of human activity."

The Insect Man shook his head in disappointment.

"Further away?"

"No, that's unlikely."

"Then I'll use the Earth Escape Technique to have a look."

The Earth Man merged into the ground, disappearing to search for the entrance to the Valley of Hypocrisy.

Another hour passed, and the Earth Man seemed to have vanished, not returning, which immediately raised the Insect Man and the others' vigilance.

"Captured?"

That was the only possibility; if not captured by the enemy, the Earth Man wouldn't have taken so long to return.

The Insect Man sighed; the Valley of Hypocrisy... truly a dangerous place. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

The worst part was that they still didn't know where the entrance to the Valley of Hypocrisy was.