Interrogating Kakuzu

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Warning: Major spoilers

Leaf had captured Kakuzu, turning him over to Waterfall understandably. Waterfall had tried in vain to pump the missing nin for information, from bribery to torture, but to no avail. The ex-waterfall nin remained tight-lipped, regardless of what they threw his way. In desperation, they requested Ibiki, Leaf's legendary torture specialist, much to everyone's surprise, not even Ibiki could break the old miser. It was then that Tsunade had an idea, she requested speaking to Waterfall's leader. Shibuki was happy to hand Kakuzu over to the 5th Hokage.

Kakuzu's destination; the very same village that Itachi and Kisame had attempted to kidnap Naruto in.

Kakuzu had been injected with a paralysis agent, he could do nothing but lie there and silently fume as he stared at the trees. Then he heard a jingling sound, it was money! This caught his interest, and he wondered what they were going to do with it? They had bribed him with exorbitant amounts of money and Kakuzu had been deeply tempted, however he knew that Waterfall just wasn't that rich. Leaf on the other hand….

He listened to the sounds of disgruntled and frightened people leaving the area, he watched patiently as various Leaf and Waterfall shinobi set seals and guards at every possible angle, then the 5th Hokage leaned over and sneered at him. Kakuzu frowned, he didn't like that twinkle in her eye. She nodded to Ibiki and his eyes widened in surprise as she dangled a large sack of money in front of his face! Not just any sack mind you, but his hard earned cash! It was well known that Kakuzu was a lot like the dragons of the west, he hoarded and guarded his gold, with a bad attitude and plenty of firepower to match. They propped him up and Kakuzu moaned in horror! They were at a casino!

Tsunade was known far and wide for being quite possibly the most unlucky gambler on the face of the planet! Her reputation for losing it and all and still having the gall to continue made Kakuzu scoff at all that money going to waste, now all he could do was whimper piteously in his throat.

Tsunade was happy as a clam! She was indulging in two of her favorite past times, gambling and gleefully torturing somebody. Plus she would get information from him, as well as notoriety. This was probably the strangest method of extracting information in all of shinobi history.

"Question one, Kakuzu-san? Why are the Akatsuki after Naruto?" Kakuzu bit his lip but refused to answer, and Tsunade smiled evilly, "Not going to talk Kakuzu-san?" She asked caustically, "As you wish." She dropped a large sum of Kakuzu's money into the slot machine, and Kakuzu held back a shriek as she lost every cent.

She looked at the machine feigning anger, "Damn thing's rigged!" She grumbled kicking the slot machine, "Ahh, this one looks more favorable." She began merrily placing coins in the machine. Kakuzu wailed, "They want the Bijuu to become powerful enough to rule the world!"

Tsunade smiled, and stilled her hand. "Very good Kakuzu-san. Now tell me who is this we?" Kakuzu shivered and shook, feeling Leader's eyes burning into his skull, the money bag was half-gone before the Akatsuki burst out screaming. "I don't know his name! We just call him Leader! He's got orange hair and gray eyes and piercings!"

Tsunade nodded, as a Waterfall nin began scribbling furiously. "What happens to the jinchuuriki when you kidnap them?" Kakuzu moaned, "The bijuu is extracted from their bodies and sealed in a statue, killing them!" Tsunade began to smolder, but Ibiki shook his head, she took several deep breaths, calmed herself and asked, "Where is the Akatsuki hideout?" Kakuzu howled as Tsunade lost most of his money, his green eyes were shining with unshed tears before he finally answered her.

Tsunade's unlucky streak was finally good for something after all!