Gato's Treasure

"All right, Naruto, stop messing around."

Kakashi glanced at Naruto, who was punching and kicking the two ninja while muttering to himself.

"I have something to ask those two."

Hearing that, Naruto reluctantly stopped.

He was certain that the frozen, colorless scene from earlier had been the system's doing, but strangely, the system options had not appeared directly.

The ripples that had appeared and vanished in an instant were as if the system had suffered some terrible lag. Naruto had no idea what had happened to make the system emerge and then retreat again.

Had it been played to death?

Naruto felt vaguely uneasy. During the previous bell-grabbing choice, he had chosen to seize the bells with all his strength rather than give up and slack off.

That option had been unreasonable to begin with. Do nothing? Wouldn't that harm both himself and others? Even if he got Wood Release, Team Seven might cease to exist.

At the same time, Naruto realized something.

The choices given by the system were not equal. They were more like random occurrences. The system had no emotions; it merely triggered options at random.

Neither proactive options nor slacker options were perfect. Once a choice was made, there would inevitably be an opportunity cost.

Take Mizuki's invitation, for example. Naruto had chosen to refuse and gained Max-level Fishing Skill. At the same time, he had lost the chance to obtain Multiple Shadow Clone.

Still, Naruto did not regret it afterward. Few people could use Multiple Shadow Clone anyway, and it would end up in his hands sooner or later.

But if he had agreed to Mizuki, he might have been dragged into the touching drama arranged by the Third Hokage and the higher-ups, forcing himself to speak of his loyalty to the village through his disgust.

After summing it all up in his heart, Naruto realized something else. The system was only an aid. No matter what he chose, it was all for the sake of improving his situation.

Because of the system, Naruto could obtain ninjutsu without relying on anyone. He could even draw directly on the Nine-Tails' power without forming any sort of bond with it.

That was the meaning of the system's existence: it spared Naruto a great deal of trouble. He could refuse what he did not want to do and obtain whatever he wanted.

Naruto silently thought that this was probably the true meaning of the Slacker System.

"Are you okay?" Sakura asked worriedly.

"I'm fine." Naruto waved a hand, indicating that he really was all right.

Sakura relaxed slightly at that, but then seemed to remember something and asked hesitantly.

"Naruto, why did you suddenly stand there without moving?"

"It was my first real battle, so I got a little nervous."

"Is that so?" Sakura showed a relieved expression and comforted him. "I was scared too. My whole body went stiff."

Rather than comforting Naruto, Sakura was more likely comforting herself. When Kakashi had been cut into five or six pieces by those two Mist Ninja, Sakura's face had been as white as paper.

Naruto nodded and said nothing more.

Meanwhile, Kakashi's interrogation had made progress. The two Mist Ninja were the Demon Brothers, and they had come for Tazuna.

But when asked about Tazuna, he kept his mouth shut.

They had already accepted the mission. Even if they sensed something was wrong, they could not simply abandon their client. After some thought, Kakashi decided to grit his teeth and lead Team Seven to complete the mission.

It was not until Team Seven reached the shore opposite the Land of Waves and boarded a boat headed for its island that Tazuna finally told them the truth.

"The man trying to kill me is a wealthy shipping company owner. You've definitely heard his name before." Tazuna wore a helpless expression.

As Tazuna explained, the truth of the matter gradually became clear.

Gato was the owner of a shipping company, a major figure who had connections in both the underworld and the legitimate world. Publicly, he ran a company; secretly, he used money to hire ninja for illegal crimes.

And it was Gato who had set his sights on the island nation of the Land of Waves, surrounded by the sea on all sides. He wanted to control its waterways, expand his influence over the island, and eventually gain complete control of the Land of Waves.

The only bridge on the island was still under construction, and this old man was the only person who knew how to build bridges over the sea. If Gato killed him, the bridge naturally could not be completed.

Naruto leaned against the side of the boat, one arm hanging down as his fingers brushed the flowing seawater. He calculated how to make a fortune off Gato.

The Land of Waves was a tiny island nation poor enough to eat dirt, but Gato was a genuine tycoon. Since Gato was going to die in the end anyway, Naruto might as well use the opportunity to get rich.

After all, becoming a ninja was about making money to eat. If he kept doing missions forever, not only would he not earn much, but he could not possibly work all the time.

Ninja had their prime years too. Ninja from great clans generally only went out to gain experience when they were young. After that, they worked regular hours, burned incense, and sipped tea.

Since Naruto had already decided not to work toward becoming Hokage, he could only rely on himself in the future. There would be plenty of places where he needed money.

Dates, a house, travel.

Come to think of it, Jiraiya's lifestyle was not bad either. Traveling everywhere, visiting different places, and exploring hidden springs with different women.

He was already fifty or sixty, yet he still lived so well.

Just as Naruto's thoughts were wandering, the boat reached shore.

Tazuna's lies gave Kakashi quite a headache. They could choose to give up, but one purpose of this trip was to train Team Seven, so he settled on the next plan.

They only needed to escort Tazuna safely home for the mission to be complete.

"What should we do after this mission ends?" Kakashi said leisurely as they walked. "How about giving Team Seven another two days off?"

"That sounds good." Naruto was the first to agree.

"That's great." Sakura said with a smile.

Sasuke said nothing, his gaze sweeping over the surroundings. With the mission nearly over, the others seemed to have let down their guard, even discussing what to do after the mission ahead of time. He frowned slightly.

If ninja were all like this, they would probably have a hard time surviving to the end.

"Hey, I'm asking, how much longer?" Naruto turned toward Tazuna with an unfriendly look. "Old man, say something."

Unlike Sasuke, Naruto was not worried at all about Zabuza Momochi suddenly appearing. With the fifty-fifty—no, Kakashi—there was absolutely nothing to worry about.

Even if Uchiha Madara showed up, Kakashi could still exchange a few moves with him. Kakashi could roam the world and fight anyone to a draw.

With such a powerful safeguard in place, Zabuza's ambush could only become a joke.

Besides Kakashi, Sasuke and Naruto could fight as well. Three against one—the advantage was with Team Seven. Yet Naruto was not focused on Zabuza at all. He kept thinking about Gato, Zabuza's employer.

System, system, come out already. Naruto silently thought. Without you, I can't pull off something as big as robbing the rich to help the poor on my own.

System?

System daddy?

Ding!

The familiar synthesized mechanical voice rang out. Naruto immediately sucked in a cold breath. To him at that moment, the sound was like heavenly music.

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