"Senki Ryuji, what do you mean?" Gato slammed the table and stood up, shouting angrily at Ryuji.
The two henchmen behind him, dressed in outlandish ronin attire, even drew their katana halfway, putting on menacing faces directed at Ryuji.
"Hmph hmph~" Ryuji crossed his hands, propping up his chin, a smile curling at the corners of his mouth. "Isn't it obvious? If you're not my long-lost son, what reason could you possibly have for giving a gift to a complete stranger, someone unrelated you've never even met before?"
"It seems you don't know your place!" Gato threatened. "With one word from me, I can cut off the Land of Wind's maritime transport, setting your country's economy back ten years. Even your Daimyo and Kazekage treat me with courtesy. Yet you dare insult me for no reason? Break his arms and legs for me."
"Hmph hmph~ Kid, you've offended someone you shouldn't have!"
"Remember to keep your eyes open in your next life!"
The two ronin said this as they stepped past Gato, approaching Ryuji with ill-intentioned smiles on their faces.
"Is that so?"
Ryuji remained seated, not moving. He didn't even remove his hands from his chin. Only the corners of his mouth lifted slightly, forming a mocking smile.
"Truly, you don't know regret even at death's door!"
The ronin on the right swung a punch at Ryuji, but his body spun uncontrollably, his fist connecting with his companion's face.
That ronin covered his nose, whimpering in pain, then started cursing at his companion, "What the hell are you doing, you bastard?"
"I, I don't know. My body suddenly moved on its own."
"Moved on its own?" The punched ronin was stunned momentarily, then started cursing again, "That's a lie to fool a ghost! Are you holding a grudge because the boss favors me more? Doing this on purpose?"
"What are you talking about? It's obviously me the boss favors more!"
"It's obviously me!"
"You wanna settle this?"
The punching ronin pushed his katana hilt, drawing the blade slightly.
The punched ronin wasn't about to back down either, drawing his blade halfway. "Bring it on!"
"You two bastards, do you still want this job or not?!"
Gato slammed the table repeatedly, furious and cursing, "I told you to teach this kid a lesson! What are you doing? If you don't want to work, get the hell out!"
"Yes..."
The two ronin sounded panicked, ready to apologize and then teach Ryuji a lesson. But they found themselves once again out of control, directly drawing their katana fully and slashing down at Gato.
Two cold flashes of light, accompanied by the sound of blades slicing flesh, and the two katana embedded themselves in Gato's shoulders. Blood dripped down the blades' patterns.
Gato was dumbfounded. The two ronin were also stunned, staring at the scene in disbelief.
A moment later, the two ronin reacted first, hurriedly releasing their grip on the swords, flusteredly explaining, "Wait, it wasn't us..."
But before they could finish, Gato slumped back into his chair and successfully toppled over onto the floor, screaming in pain.
He screamed while sobbing and howling, simultaneously threatening, "You bastards! How dare you cut me? Don't you want to live anymore?!"
"It wasn't us! Our bodies moved on their own!"
"Boss, you have to believe us! Without you, we're just ronin. Why would we harm our own patron?"
"You..."
Seeing their expressions didn't seem fake, Gato quickly realized something.
Whether ronin or Rogue Ninja, they were rootless wanderers, living by accepting private commissions worldwide.
Though carefree and independent, their lives were impoverished. Having a fixed, major patron was a tremendous boon; there was no reason for them to ruin it themselves.
So...
Gato seemed to think of something, looked up at Ryuji, saw that handsome face barely containing its laughter, and suddenly understood.
"It's this kid playing tricks! Take him out!"
Gato was, after all, a world-famous businessman; his mind worked fast, quickly figuring it out.
Meanwhile, Ryuji finally couldn't hold back any longer, clutching his stomach in laughter.
"I can't take it, hahaha... With this level of intelligence, how have you survived until now without dying? This world's people really are too simple and kind, aren't they!"
"Kid, you dare insult us!"
The two ronin drew their backup katana, charging angrily at Ryuji.
"Truly hopelessly stupid!"
Ryuji couldn't help but snort coldly. Flicking his right index and middle fingers lightly, pulled by Chakra Threads, the two ronin's bodies spun in place uncontrollably, then collided headfirst into each other.
Thud! Thud!!
With dull thuds, both fell unconscious simultaneously.
"This..."
Gato's eyes widened, an expression of disbelief on his face.
Ryuji stood up from his chair, slowly walked over to Gato, looking down at him indifferently.
"You, what are you going to do?"
Gato stared at Ryuji fearfully, his body involuntarily retreating.
Ryuji snorted disdainfully, "Shinobi maintain politeness towards potential employers to preserve the existing ecosystem, leading some to forget that in this world, it has always been the strong who dominate the weak."
"Yes, yes, I was wrong! Forgive me!"
"Wrong?"
Ryuji couldn't help but sneer coldly. "Probably thinking in your heart, 'Fool him for now, then hire Shinobi from other villages to kill me later,' right?"
"N-no, absolutely not." Gato shook his head desperately in denial.
"Whether you think that or not, I don't care. There are people in this world capable of taking my life, but they haven't been born yet. If you post a mission in other villages, you'll learn the result..."
At this point, a cold smile appeared on Ryuji's face. "If those you hire can kill me, fine. But if they fail to kill me, you will die by my hand. I don't care about the Shinobi ecosystem or turning a blind eye to ordinary people like you."
"N-no, really not!"
Looking at Gato's damp crotch, Ryuji couldn't help but frown impatiently. "Speak. What do you want with me?"
Hearing this, Gato calmed down considerably.
He also realized: If the other party wanted to harm him, they would have acted already.
The reason they hadn't was simply to intimidate him.
Of course, Gato didn't dare test whether the other party couldn't act against him or simply didn't need to.
His eyes rolled twice. Gato stood up, that crafty merchant's smile reappearing on his face. "I came this time to discuss a business deal with you, sir."
"A business deal?"
"You, sir, are building the Mechanical City, requiring vast amounts of materials. I can provide all those materials to you below market price."
"How much below?"
"Ten… no, twenty percent lower!" Gato gestured with his fingers. "As long as you, sir, purchase materials from me, I can provide them to your side at twenty percent below market price, including transportation."
"Such a good deal?" Ryuji looked suspiciously at Gato and asked, "What do you want in return?"
"Land in the Mechanical City!"