Kisame left a harsh parting remark and ran off with Itachi. Jokichi didn't pursue. Not to mention his relationship with Itachi, even in terms of strength...
It would be very difficult to make them stay unless he exposed the Ring of Kurama and the Mangekyo Sharingan to use the Majestic Attire: Susanoo.
"Jokichi, are you okay?"
Naruto's concerned shout came from the bridge. Jokichi looked up and saw Naruto leaning his upper body over the guardrail.
"I'm fine."
Jokichi waved at him, indicating there was no need to worry. Then, he cast his gaze on the burning forest.
This place was near the coast, and that forest was connected to the shore. If he let Amaterasu continue burning, the entire Land of Waves would be burned down to nothing.
Jokichi clapped his hands, using Wood Release to control the forest, moving it to a place far away from the shore. This way, once the forest burned completely to ashes, the flames would extinguish on their own.
Only after doing all this did Jokichi return to the bridge along the pillar.
As soon as he returned to the bridge, Naruto and a group of fully armed villagers surrounded him.
"Jokichi, were those two guys ninjas hired by Gato?"
Looking closely, Jokichi noticed that Naruto was covered in marks of battle.
His face and clothes were dirty everywhere, and in some places, there were traces of being cut by sharp weapons. Most of the other villagers were the same.
He pushed through the crowd and saw the corpses of Gato, along with some villagers and ruffian samurai, on the outside.
The wounds on them were mostly from the villagers' harpoons, crossbow bolts, and the like. Seeing this situation, Jokichi instantly understood what had happened.
Gato still brought his subordinates to pick up a bargain, just like in the anime.
And Inari was similarly encouraged by Naruto's Talk Jutsu to prepare to resist Gato. This infected all the citizens, making everyone drum up their courage and take up weapons to resist.
The difference was that no one here took the lead to kill Gato, and no one demonstrated the power of a ninja to this group of samurai ruffians. Gato's subordinates didn't flee without fighting like they did in the anime.
The two groups fought together, causing casualties on both sides. The villagers' side had Naruto's help and ultimately achieved victory.
Although the process had changed a bit, the ending hadn't.
No, it should be said it had changed. It became more tragic.
In the anime, only Gato died. Nobody else died, whether it was those ruffian samurai or the villagers.
However, things bought with lives are even more precious.
"Those two were indeed ninjas hired by Gato. But Gato is already dead. Without a reason to fight, they retre..."
Before Jokichi could finish his words, the villagers erupted in cheers.
Gato was dead, his subordinates fled, and the hired ninjas retreated on their own. This meant the Land of Waves was liberated.
From now on, they would no longer have to live impoverished lives in constant fear.
In the crowd, Jokichi and Naruto could feel the villagers' joy the most. They couldn't help but hang a trace of a smile on their faces as well.
— Emotions are infectious, whether happy or sad.
...
After the joy, everyone began handling the aftermath.
The workers building the bridge continued building. The workers who originally quit due to Gato's threats also rejoined.
And the rest buried the dead on the cliff at the back of the island. Whether it was Gato or the villagers, they were all buried equally.
Along the way, Yamato, who received the news, also hurried over with Sakura.
When the battle happened at the bridge, two samurai attacked Tazuna's home. Yamato knew something went wrong at the bridge, but didn't dare to move rashly. He could only trust that Jokichi and Naruto could resolve it.
He had to continue guarding Tazuna's home to prevent subsequent enemies from coming to capture Tsunami as a hostage.
Now, learning that everything was settled, Yamato also breathed a huge sigh of relief.
"As expected of Jokichi, able to crush even missing-nin of that level."
Yamato patted Jokichi's shoulder, praising him generously.
Facing Kisame, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, and Itachi, who assassinated the Konoha higher-up Danzo and destroyed the entire Root, even he himself didn't have the confidence to retreat completely unscathed.
And Jokichi not only perfectly protected the mission target, but also didn't suffer a single scratch himself.
Such performance would be hard to achieve even for a Jonin.
"What about me, what about me?"
Hearing Yamato praise Jokichi, Naruto quickly leaned in.
"I also defeated a lot of people! Many of Gato's subordinates were ronin samurai, and there were also stray ninjas. I had a really hard time taking them down."
"Mhm! Of course I wouldn't forget about you, Naruto!"
Yamato rubbed Naruto's head, then looked at Sakura.
"And you too, Sakura, you did well too. After returning to Konoha, I will properly explain your active performance to Lord Hokage."
"Eh!?"
Sakura looked completely dumbfounded. Did I do anything?
Just like that, a happy day passed.
Nighttime, Tazuna's home.
Tsunami made a rich feast. There was cured meat, fresh fish, and various vegetables and fruits...
These were all sent by the villagers.
Although everyone in the Land of Waves was so poor they could barely afford to eat, by pooling things together, they could still scrape up a rich feast.
Although this food was also very average in Jokichi's eyes, it was truly the sentiment of the people of this country.
Jokichi accepted it generously.
...
After dinner, Jokichi returned to his room. He locked the door from the inside, then took out Kisame's hair.
Instantly, the system's prompt sounded in his mind.
[Ding! Discovered special material "Fake Hair", can forge special items "Fake Life", "Blade of Betrayal", "Honest Person", "Fishman Belt". Do you wish to forge?]
"Fake Hair, huh..."
Jokichi pondered slightly for a moment before chanting silently in his mind, "Forge."
The next second, four things appeared in Jokichi's hands.
A high-tech-looking helmet. A curved blade about sixty centimeters long and a palm wide, blood-red all over, with barbs on its back. A fist-sized gray heart. A championship belt-style belt with a shark head engraved in the middle.
[Fake Life: This is a life simulation game helmet. Every choice you make in the game will lead to a different life direction in the future. (Note: Although this is a game with 99% realism reproduction, the life inside is all fake.)]
[Blade of Betrayal: A sharp blade stained with the blood of comrades. When used against traitors, it possesses a wound-tearing effect. (Note: Traitors cannot escape their doom.)]
[Honest Person: A magical heart that can bestow an honest personality upon a person.]
[Fishman Belt: The wearer can undergo a half-fishman transformation, granting the ability to breathe underwater, move without being hindered by water resistance, and massively enhance strength and speed.]
Fake Life, like the Harem Simulator, was a virtual game helmet. As long as one put on the helmet, they could play the game.
The difference was that the Harem Simulator was a harem-raising game where the characters inside were all related to a harem, while Fake Life was an open-world game with the real world as its background.
Players could do anything inside that could be done in reality.
Of course, the prerequisite is that you must have the ability to do so.