The Land of Waves is surrounded by sea on all sides, but not far from the Land of Fire, Land of Hot Water, and Land of Water, so maritime transport is very developed.
It's a country that depends on the sea for a living.
Its once peaceful life was shattered by Gato.
He ran a shipping company and, with money and violence, took control of all the sea routes, effectively controlling the Land of Waves.
Bridge-building master Tazuna planned to break his monopoly by building a bridge to the outside world.
So Gato hired Zabuza and Haku to assassinate him and maintain his rule.
Natsume didn't know the current situation in the Land of Waves, so he sent Gunma Company's employees ahead to investigate.
Sure enough, Gato had appeared. Though he hadn't been there long, he'd already provoked public anger.
His methods—what could you say—they were too brutal, squeezing the people dry.
In fact, the Land of Waves had always been quite poor.
Natsume planned to make money in a more sustainable way.
After getting off the boat, he headed straight for the Land of Waves' metropolis.
Gunma Company's employees were already waiting for him.
There were twenty in total.
Their leader was a ninja named Shin Mitsuhashi.
Though only a Genin, that was enough.
"Lord Natsume, we've already found Gato's location."
"What about his guards? Is there a ninja with a giant Executioner's Blade, as I mentioned?"
Natsume was referring to Zabuza.
Since he had come early, Zabuza probably wasn't in the Land of Waves yet.
But he had to check.
"No."
Shin Mitsuhashi shook his head. "His guards are mostly samurai, with very few ninjas. Maybe because the Land of Waves has no ninjas of its own, he feels confident."
In the original, if Gato hadn't hired Zabuza and Haku, the rookie Team 7 could have solved things easily.
The root of it is that ninjas in this world have a certain code.
They only do missions; they don't meddle in affairs outside their assignments, nor do they attack nobles or tycoons.
Even Akatsuki is like that.
When they need money, they just do missions or accept black market bounties.
If it were Natsume, he'd have probably already cleaned out the daimyo and aristocrats of various countries.
"Let's go."
Natsume smiled and said, "No need to waste time."
"Yes."
Shin Mitsuhashi turned to lead the way and brought him to a large mansion.
"You all wait here."
Natsume put on his cat mask.
"Who are you?"
As soon as he got close, the guards noticed him.
Katanas were drawn one after another.
Because of the prevalence of ninjas, samurai had fallen out of favor.
Only the Land of Iron still had strong samurai.
But even their strength came from swordsmanship and chakra, not pure sword skill.
Natsume casually threw two shuriken, piercing their throats.
If you followed Gato, you were as good as a criminal.
No need for mercy.
Natsume opened the gate—more guards inside.
There were even a few ninjas.
Several water attacks came at him.
On both sides, two samurai charged, swinging long blades at him.
Natsume threw two shuriken, then used the Body Flicker Technique to disappear, reappearing among the crowd.
Water Style: Water Bullet Barrage!
Chakra gathered in his hands, transforming into countless water bullets, spraying in all directions.
Blood splattered.
The guards fell one after another.
In no time, only Natsume was left standing.
He turned and saw Gato, who had come to check the commotion inside.
Besides him, there were two ninjas wearing Kirigakure forehead protectors.
"Take him down!"
Seeing the corpses, Gato panicked and shouted.
Ninja Art: Hidden Mist Jutsu!
The ninja on the left pointed to the sky, spreading thick mist from himself.
Water Style: Water Fang Blade!
The ninja on the right formed hand signs; his right hand was covered in chakra, forming a sharp water blade.
He charged at Natsume, aiming to kill him in the mist.
Kirigakure ninjas excel at silent killing.
Simply put, they create mist and silently hunt their enemies.
Most ninjas can't handle this situation and die.
But Kirigakure's ninjas are used to it—they thrive in this environment.
Natsume casually drew the Thunder God Sword and stabbed it backward.
The sharp blade severed the Water Fang Blade and beheaded him.
The ninja coming from the front, hiding in the mist and circling behind, thought he had a sure kill.
But now, his face was full of disbelief—until he saw Natsume's spinning three-tomoe Sharingan.
Damn it!
Of all people, it had to be a Uchiha!
The ninja fell dead.
Natsume's body suddenly disappeared from the spot and appeared behind the other ninja, stabbing him through.
As he died, the mist gradually cleared.
"H-h-how…?"
Gato's eyes widened, his teeth chattering in fear.
Natsume quickly dodged the splattering blood—if he got the sword tassel Tsunade gave him dirty, he'd be furious.
He sheathed the Thunder God Sword, turned, and looked at Gato.
A short, middle-aged man.
His bald head reflected the sunlight.
"Sp-spare me! However much money you want, I can give you!"
Facing death, Gato suddenly spoke fluently.
Natsume didn't kill him immediately, because he needed Gato to explain his business network.
His method was simple—use the Sharingan to hypnotize and control him.
"Shin Mitsuhashi, can you use the Transformation Jutsu?"
"I can."
Shin Mitsuhashi nodded.
"From now on, you will temporarily transform into Gato."
Natsume instructed, "I've hypnotized Gato. He'll give you all the details of his company. Once you know everything, kill him."
"Yes!"
Shin Mitsuhashi replied excitedly.
"Clean up the battlefield. Try not to let outsiders know what happened here."
Natsume waved his hand.
Shin Mitsuhashi and the others immediately began cleaning the mansion.
[Because of your actions, Zabuza Momochi's fate has changed. You have gained 79 Fate Points.]
[Because of your actions, Haku's fate has changed. You have gained 60 Fate Points.]
[Because of your actions, Gato's fate has changed. You have gained 27 Fate Points.]
A rather easy harvest.
Natsume was quite satisfied.
He also had Gato sort out his assets.
This guy really deserved to be strung up on a streetlamp.
Aside from fixed assets, his cash flow alone was over a billion ryo—truly terrifying.
But on second thought, it made sense. Gato didn't just control the Land of Waves; he also controlled several small island nations.
Plus, shipping was extremely profitable.
And the billion ryo was just his available cash.
If he sold all his real estate, antiques, and jewelry, it could multiply several times, maybe even dozens of times.
Natsume had a question now: how many floors would Nagato have to carry bags of rice up to earn that much money?
Main hall.
Shin Mitsuhashi and the others stood around.
Natsume was writing a development plan for the Land of Waves.
It's easy and hard at the same time.
Anyone who has been to school can write a few suggestions.
But the details are hard to grasp.
Half an hour later, Natsume finished, handed the scroll to Shin Mitsuhashi, and said, "Just follow this."
Shin Mitsuhashi instinctively opened it—it was divided into four sections.
First, take down the daimyo of the Land of Waves, execute Gato publicly, gain the goodwill of the people, and develop the fishing industry.
Second, sponsor Tazuna to build the bridge, but seize control over it.
Third, deepen trade relations with the nearby Land of Fire, Land of Water, and Land of Hot Water.
Fourth, establish a shipping company to control the routes and the bridge, and charge transport and toll fees.
Shin Mitsuhashi understood only half but was greatly shocked.
[Because of your actions, Tazuna's fate has changed. You have gained 4 Fate Points.]