The current situation in the Land of Waves, fundamentally speaking, was entirely caused by Gato's personal actions.
He had set his sights on the Land of Waves, wanting to take complete control over it, and then use its advantageous geographical location to develop his shipping company.
But relying on slaughter alone couldn't truly make him control the Land of Waves, so he monopolized its maritime transportation with the outside world.
For an island nation like the Land of Waves, controlling maritime transportation meant he controlled the country's wealth, politics, and all its people.
Finally, he would find suitable excuses to slaughter dissidents, further suppressing the people's will to resist.
Meanwhile, in secret, he also used the mafia and ninjas to smuggle drugs and contraband. He even tried to seize the assets of other companies and nations.
In short, he was truly a villain who committed every imaginable crime and deserved death.
But this also meant, as long as Gato was eliminated, the current situation in the Land of Waves could be greatly improved.
Thus, on a dark and windy night, a shadow quietly infiltrated Gato's company.
"Who's there?"
"It's me," From the darkness, a figure carrying a massive decapitating blade stepped forward.
"Zabuza? Weren't you dead?", In Gato's shipping company, aside from regular employees, he had specially hired a bunch of rogue ninjas, missing-nins, and wandering samurai.
Their official job was security personnel, but in reality, they were Gato's private armed force.
Though their skill levels varied, they were enough to deal with ordinary people.
These were the main force assisting Gato in smuggling and drug trafficking.
They had originally considered going up to the bridge to kill those people, but that blonde brat's aura was too terrifying, so they simply gave up.
They only wanted money, not their lives. If making money meant risking their lives, it wasn't worth it.
"Hmph! That was just a diversion of mine."
"Bring Gato here."
This Zabuza was obviously not the real one, but Aoba in disguise.
Although he did have a desire for justice, his main goal was to rob a sum of money from Gato.
He weighed the bloodstained cloth bundle in his hand and said coldly, "I've brought Tazuna's head. He needs to verify it personally."
"...Tch, I got it."
"A mere missing-nin, what's with the arrogance?", The underling muttered and turned to walk toward Gato's office.
Soon, the short man in a suit and sunglasses, Gato, came hobbling over with the support of dozens of security guards.
As he walked, he stroked his mustache.
"Aiya aiya, truly worthy of being one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, your work is reliable."
He had originally planned to wait until the Konoha ninja left before hiring someone else to assassinate Tazuna.
He hadn't expected Zabuza to succeed.
Of course, he still had some suspicions about the man in front of him. But once Tazuna's identity was verified, he would know the truth.
As for whether the guy would attack him. Come on, he had dozens of men here. They couldn't handle just one guy?
As an ordinary person, he lacked a clear understanding of elite ninjas.
He thought dozens of men could easily reduce Zabuza to meat paste by ganging up on him.
"The target is taken care of. Give me my payment!", Aoba spoke impatiently.
Gato still wore a smiling face, "Please wait a moment. Once the identity is confirmed, 500,000 ryo will be handed to you immediately."
'500,000 ryo...', Aoba couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth, 'So just for 500,000 ryo, Zabuza went and made trouble for Kakashi?'
'Even Asuma can fetch over ten million with just a few swords.'
'And Kakashi, the top jōnin of Konoha, only worth 500,000 ryo? That is cheap...'
As Gato finished speaking, one of his men stepped forward to take the cloth bundle from him.
But the moment he touched it, his face changed dramatically.
"This is fake!"
The cloth bundle fell to the ground with a dull thud.
The sound was clearly off.
The sudden anomaly caused all the dozens of people around Gato to surround the "Zabuza" in front of them.
Gato also immediately had everyone form a shield in front of him.
Standing at the back of the group, he looked warily at the "Zabuza" before him.
"Zabuza, what are you trying to do? If you dare attack your employer, there will be no place for you in either the underworld or the ninja world!"
Aoba only sneered coldly and formed hand signs, "Once I finish this job, I'm retiring for good!"
"Water Release: Great Water Surge!"
He suddenly spat out a torrent of water like a tidal wave from his mouth.
Then, in an instant, a massive oval-shaped water prison formed, trapping Gato and all his armed personnel inside.
This jutsu was taught to him by Tsunade. In fact, most of the Water Release jutsu left by Tobirama had been given to him by her.
Unlike the Scroll of Seals, which belonged to the village, Tobirama's Water Release techniques were considered the property of the Senju clan. Tsunade could give them to whoever she wanted.
In a flash, everyone around was encapsulated by the oval water sphere.
Looking at the immobile Gato and his men inside the water prison, Aoba's figure flickered, and he pulled Gato out. As for the others, he let them live or die on their own in the water sphere.
"Cough! Cough!", Gato, just freed from the feeling of drowning, immediately started coughing violently.
Looking at the "Zabuza" standing before him with the massive decapitating blade, he began to tremble all over.
"D-Don't kill me!"
"I'll give you anything you want! Money, women, children—whatever you want, I can get it for you!"
"As long as you don't kill me, I'll do whatever you say!"
"Get up," Aoba held the blade across his neck.
Gato, trembling, forced himself to stand despite his fear.
Aoba continued in a cold voice, "How much money can you produce right now?"
"Ten million ryo! I can give you ten million ryo right now!", Gato answered without hesitation.
Aoba frowned, killing intent flashing in his eyes, and pressed the blade a bit closer, "Looks like you're not being honest."
Gato immediately swallowed hard, "T-Twenty million. Twenty million is my limit!"
Aoba didn't bother with more nonsense.
"Magic: Technique of Naraku's Vision!" [T/N: Inuyasha reference]
Gato's expression gradually turned idiotic and terrified.
"How much money can you give me now?"
"There's 50 million ryo in cash! Plus some treasures I've collected. If I liquidate everything, it should be worth another 50 million."
Aoba continued, "Is there more?"
"That's all my personal wealth. If you want more, I'll need to liquidate the company's assets, but that'll take time."
"Liquidate the company…", Aoba rubbed his chin.
Gato's shipping company was massive. There was no rush to sell it off.
Better to have Tsunade find a way to take over the company, abandon the drug and contraband trades, and use the rest to continue making money.
But then there was Kirigakure nearby.
'Forget it. If we can't take over, we can sell it off later.'
'Anyway, once I become Hokage, that money would just be moving from one hand to another.'
"First, give me all your money."
———
Aoba used Katsuyu to contact Tsunade and reported the full situation of the Land of Waves to her.
Facing such a huge profit, Tsunade dispatched the ANBU directly.
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