Night.
Within the borders of Nami no Kuni, there stood an extremely luxurious Western-style manor.
Inside the manor, the exquisite fountains and magnificent lights formed a sharp contrast with the country's devastated state and the miserable lives of its people.
"So this is Gato's nest?"
Naruto stood before the manor's main gate, asking indifferently.
Behind him, Zabuza carried his massive blade, staring coldly at the patrolling guards as he lowered his voice:
"There are at least two hundred mercenary samurai and mafia members inside. Are you sure you want to go straight in?"
"Of course."
Zabuza snorted coldly.
With a top-tier assassin like Zabuza leading the way, no one dared to block them.
The two crossed the courtyard as if entering an uninhabited place...
On the top floor of the manor, inside an extremely lavish office.
Gato sat on his soft leather sofa.
Swirling a red wine glass in his hand, he was shouting something at a subordinate kneeling on the floor.
When he saw Zabuza push open the door with a blonde brat in tow, he froze for a moment.
Then, his bloated, greasy face twisted with intense displeasure:
"Zabuza! Instead of completing the mission I gave you, why did you bring a brat here?"
Gato's tone was contemptuous; he didn't even bother to look Naruto in the eye.
"This brat has a few questions he'd like to ask Mr. Gato."
Zabuza stepped to the side, fading into the shadows with a playful tone.
Naruto didn't get angry at Gato's contemptuous attitude.
He sat down slowly opposite Gato, leaning back slightly with a composed posture as if it were his own living room, and said slowly:
"Before we begin, I have a few small questions I hope you can answer to satisfy my curiosity."
"What kind of thing are you?"
Gato slammed his hand on the table and roared:
"Men! Take him..."
"First question."
Naruto interrupted him directly.
His voice wasn't loud, but it carried an unquestionable weight of suppression:
"You've seized control of Nami no Kuni's shipping, leaving the people in misery. Do you... feel any guilt about that?"
Gato had intended to call his men.
But hearing this question, he reacted as if he'd heard the funniest joke in the world, laughing triumphantly.
"Guilt? Hahaha! Brat, I'll open your eyes before you die and show you how a great man thinks."
He took a deep drag from his cigar and blew out a smoke ring:
"Useless trash like them are nothing more than consumables to me."
"Seeing them kneel on the ground and beg me for a bit of moldy grain is exactly what I've always pursued!"
"As long as I control the sea, I am God here! Hahahaha!"
"Then, the second question."
"Next, do you plan to kill all the construction workers?"
Naruto raised an eyebrow, looking at Gato.
"Oh? You actually guessed my thoughts?"
Gato showed a bit of interest.
"Are you a shinobi hired by Tazuna? You don't look like a fool. Why not come work for me?"
"Third question..."
Naruto adjusted his glasses slightly.
"It seems... from the very beginning, you never intended to pay Zabuza his fee?"
"...What kind of crazy talk is that?"
Gato suddenly became flustered and angry.
Losing interest in talking further with Naruto, he turned his head toward Zabuza.
"Hey, kill him!"
However, Zabuza didn't move.
"Mr. Zabuza, my questions are finished."
Naruto spoke calmly.
"Do it. Leave no one alive except Gato."
"Eh?"
Gato hadn't even reacted yet.
In the next instant, the head of his closest subordinate flew right off his body.
Puchi—!
Scalding blood sprayed onto Gato's face.
Over the next ten minutes, the once-luxurious manor turned into a horrific slaughterhouse.
Those mercenaries and samurai who usually acted so arrogant were as weak as chicks before Zabuza.
Gato slumped onto the floor.
He watched helplessly as the bodyguards he had hired for a fortune were mowed down like grass.
The severed limbs scattered everywhere and the thick stench of blood shattered his sanity.
The wine glass in his hand shattered.
A smell of urine wafted from his crotch as he curled into a corner, trembling:
"Don't... don't kill me! I have money! I'll give you all my money!"
"Why would you think that returning my things to me could be used as a bargaining chip for your life?"
Naruto stood up, ignoring the limp Gato, and kicked open the door to the secret vault.
It was a breathtaking sight.
Inside the spacious secret room were mountains of cash, boxes of jewelry, and gold shimmering with an alluring luster under the lights.
This was all the blood and sweat Gato had squeezed out of Nami no Kuni.
A rough estimate put the cash at over a billion Ryo, not to mention the priceless jewelry.
Because Gato was suspicious and his business was sensitive, he didn't trust banks or anyone else, so almost his entire net worth was right here.
Now, it all belonged to Naruto.
"All set."
Naruto raised his hand, stuffing every item of value into his storage space.
The moment the last chest of gold bars vanished, a system notification rang in Naruto mind:
"Ding! 'Rob the Rich to Help the Poor' quest complete! Calculating..."
"Quest Evaluation: Perfect!"
"Congratulations, Host, for obtaining: A-Rank Treasure Chest x1!"
"A-Rank...!"
Naruto hand adjusting his glasses trembled slightly as waves of shock surged in his heart.
This was the first time he had received a reward of this level.
Just as Naruto was about to open the chest, from the shadows of the corridor, the sound of dense footsteps suddenly echoed.
"Thanks for your hard work, Konoha brat."
Zabuza's voice came from behind, filled with a sense of complacent satisfaction.
Zabuza stood at the front of the group.
Behind him, besides the masked Haku, were over a dozen sharp-eyed nukenin wearing Kirigakure attire.
Many of these people were loyal subordinates who had escaped with him after participating in the rebellion.
They held sharp weapons, sealing off all exits.
"Zabuza... quick! Quick, kill him!"
Seeing this, Gato actually crawled toward Zabuza like a dog, screaming:
"If you kill him and get the money back, I'll pay you double... no, ten times the price!"
"Did you really think this great one would obediently follow the orders of a Genin?"
Zabuza rested his blade on his shoulder, his eyes full of mockery, not even deigning to kick the Gato on the floor:
"A ninety-ten split? No, everything here belongs to me now."
"But your body, I can give you a ninety-ten split... I'll just take the top part, hahahaha!"
Naruto back was still turned to him as he looked at the rewards in the treasure chest, his tone full of pleasure:
"Mr. Zabuza, I have to say, your luck is very good."
"I had originally planned to kill you directly."
"But now, I've changed my mind."
"Oh?"
Zabuza sneered and took a large step forward:
"Have you misunderstood something? You're surrounded by us now!"
"No, you're the one who's misunderstood."
Naruto formed a hand seal.
"It's you all... who are surrounded by me."
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
Bang bang bang bang bang—!!!
Countless clouds of smoke filled every corner of the manor.
One hundred... two hundred... three hundred... five hundred!
A multitude of Kage Bunshin instantly surrounded Zabuza and the others.
Cold sweat instantly broke out on Zabuza's skin.
He knew exactly how troublesome Naruto Kage Bunshin were.
So when Zabuza looked around and saw the dense crowd of Naruto surrounding the entire manor, the hand gripping his blade actually began to tremble slightly.
"Hey... hey now, is this... is this an amount of Chakra a human can have?"
Even though he had tried to overestimate Naruto as much as possible in his mind, he still hadn't expected it to be this exaggerated!
"This is... a Genin?"