The pirates sat and forgot, and they really believed the nine truths and one lie.

Facing the aggressive Akaza, Kakuzu's shrewd green eyes shifted slightly. "Mr. Akaza, is it? I admit that the physical techniques you used are indeed incredibly powerful."

"In a direct confrontation with you, I'm afraid I wouldn't gain any advantage, but..."

Suddenly changing the subject, Kakuzu's gaze sharpened, like a negotiation expert about to unleash his trump card: "There's more to this world than just fighting and killing. I'm a businessman; we can make a deal."

"I know of a physical technique that can break through the limits of the human body and even surpass biological limits. Would you be interested in talking about it?"

Akaza's fighting spirit, which was about to erupt, suddenly froze, and for the first time, a hint of doubt appeared in his battle-ready eyes.

He had seen countless humans and demons, some kneeling and begging for mercy, some fighting to the death, and some plotting and scheming. But Kakuzu was the first to suddenly propose doing business amidst the tense atmosphere.

A martial art that breaks through limitations? An ultimate secret technique?

These words, as if imbued with magic, precisely struck Akaza's deepest desires.

Isn't what he's pursuing to constantly break through constraints and climb to that unparalleled peak of martial arts?

Akaza frowned deeply. "Are you trying to trick me, like that fish-man, and slip away?"

Kakuzu shook his head, revealing a mysterious smile. He did not answer directly, but slowly raised one of his arms.

The next moment, a strange pale blue light appeared on his arm, and a fine energy blade, as precise as a scalpel, slashed out!

To Akaza's slightly surprised gaze, Kakuzu did not hesitate to plunge the scalpel directly into his own chest.

Skillfully avoiding vital organs, he groped inside the body made of Earth Grudge Tentacles, and after a moment, he actually pulled out a small scroll from between the ribs.

Kakuzu casually tossed the blood-stained scroll to Akaza, saying, "Take a look at what's inside. See if it suits your taste, and then we can discuss whether or not to cooperate."

Akaza wasn't afraid of any trap. With his immortality, even poison or an explosion wouldn't kill him easily.

He reached out and caught the scroll steadily. It smelled fishy and felt slippery to the touch. He roughly tore off the outer rope and unrolled the scroll.

Inside the scroll, instead of the dense text one might expect, was an extremely detailed anatomical diagram of the human body's meridians and acupoints, with a small standing figure depicted in the center.

Inside the little figure's body, eight key points are marked in bright red, like eight doors that seal off the infinite potential of the human body. A profound and domineering artistic conception emanates from this simple pattern.

Akaza's gaze was instantly fixed on the pattern, and he couldn't look away for a moment; his breath even caught in his throat.

His voice trembled slightly with disbelief: "This is... the Eight Gates Formation?!"

Akaza is a discerning person. As a monster who has martial arts ingrained in his very bones, Tenbu once revealed a forbidden technique that forcibly broke the shackles of his body and released his full potential.

This is exactly the key he has been dreaming of, the key to breaking through the current bottleneck. If he can integrate these eight gates with his own Destruction Killing technique, Akaza's power will surely reach a whole new level.

Kakuzu sneered inwardly, having taken the bait, but his face remained impassive as he planned to gradually lock the monster into a cage he desired.

Akaza fully unrolled the scroll and carefully read through it, which contained detailed cultivation methods for the first two gates, the Opening Gate and the Resting Gate, as well as another method for circulating qi.

The more he looked at it, the faster his heart beat. This was definitely the real deal, not a fabrication. But when he saw the end of the scroll and found that it was blank, his brows furrowed tightly once again!

He suddenly raised his head to look at Kakuzu, his eyes filled with anger at being mocked: "You only have the cultivation methods for the first two gates. The scroll of the Eight Gates Formation that you obtained is incomplete."

Kakuzu finally revealed an undisguised smug smile. "Mr. Akaza, now we can properly discuss cooperation, shall we?"

His gaze was as if he were looking at a precious commodity about to be acquired, carefully examining Akaza's body, which contained terrifying power.

"A cunning businessman!"

Akaza squeezed out those words through gritted teeth. He wished he could punch Kakuzu's head right now and search the corpse for the remaining scrolls.

But he wasn't the kind of fool who would just act recklessly. He suppressed his anger and said, "Consider this your greeting gift?"

Kakuzu readily admitted that the subsequent cultivation methods were so precious that it was impossible to carry them around; it was too unsafe to keep them on one's person. "Let's make a deal."

"If you do a few things for me, I will pass on the subsequent secret techniques to you. With your strength, even if I wanted to renege on the debt, I would probably be killed by you. So you don't need to worry about a merchant's credibility!"

Kakuzu hasn't decided yet what he wants Akaza to do, but recruiting such a powerful henchman is a sure-fire way to make money.

Especially in such chaotic times, it may play an unexpected role at crucial moments.

Akaza fell silent.

He looked down at the precious scroll stained with blood in his hand, his heart in turmoil. The Eight Gates were too tempting for him; it truly was a shortcut to becoming stronger!

Kakuzu's conditions didn't sound unacceptable. He disliked scheming, but that didn't mean he didn't understand transactions. Akaza held up three fingers, "Three things!"

"I only promise to do three things for you. After each one is completed, you must immediately deliver to me a part of the secrets of the Eight Gates Formation. Once all three things are completed, I will obtain the complete Eight Gates Formation!"

Kakuzu barely hesitated, and a brighter smile appeared on his face covered with stitches. "Deal!"

Akaza gripped the scroll tightly in his hand. Although he felt that he had been slightly taken advantage of, the thought of the power of the Eight Gates made his displeasure vanish.

This taijutsu is perfect for him; it's practically tailor-made for Akaza. He's confident that with his martial arts talent, he can perfectly fuse this forbidden technique with his own destructive power to create even more terrifying moves.

A tense life-or-death standoff was resolved in such an almost absurd way that Kakuzu and Akaza temporarily ceased hostilities.

Akaza began to comprehend the profound meaning within the scroll, while Kakuzu turned his gaze once again to the distant Devil's Triangle, shrouded in black mist.

He pondered whether his next step should be to meet that ambitious Blackbeard.