Gato was clearly playing something completely new.
He had neither followed the original plot nor developed military force. Instead, he had started playing democracy.
Naruto breathed a sigh of relief. He was now eighty percent certain that this man had never read the original Naruto.
It was not that he disrespected Young General Bro, but democracy was completely unworkable here. Controlling military force was the absolute path to power.
"This guy is most likely from Goryeo... I never expected a foreigner to transmigrate here too." Naruto thought.
Well, that was a lot of information.
"Can I get some food?" Naruto held to the principle of since I'm already here, I might as well, and decided to ask Scar for some provisions.
"Of course." With that, Scar reached into his bag.
"Wait." Naruto interrupted his spellcasting. "There are seven people in my family, and we all want to support Mr. Gato. Can I take seven portions?"
The Team of Three, Kakashi, and Tazuna's family of three—everyone was one of Mr. Gato's loyal citizens.
"Uh, this..." Scar froze. How did this turn into a bug exploit?
Naruto patiently explained, "Think about it. You'll have to hand some out when my family comes out to support you anyway. Why not give it all to me now? I'll make sure to explain things properly to my family later."
Scar scratched his head. He felt that the man in front of him was trying to swindle him, but he could not explain exactly how.
Naruto kept talking him around, and in the end, Scar gave him all seven portions.
Naruto was extremely satisfied.
Now this is what you call talk-no-jutsu! (Tactical lean-back.jpg)
He put all the food into one bag. It contained not only rice, but also vegetables, fruits, and assorted grains. The variety was quite impressive.
"Does this count as Gato doing a good deed?" Naruto muttered as he squeezed out of the crowd and started walking back.
Because people could receive food by supporting Gato, quite a few had begun gathering around the mercenaries.
They knew how brutal Gato was, but they could no longer worry about that. If they did not eat their fill, they would starve to death.
The hungry fishermen began shoving one another. Their gaunt bodies rubbed and collided incessantly.
The smells of sweat and fish mingled together. The temperature in the crowd continued to rise, and the cramped street became a steamer.
From the rear, one could vaguely still hear the mercenaries shouting, "Mercenaries, attention! Salute Commander Kakashi! Loyal! Ty!"
Naruto glanced back, and an unprecedented sense of absurdity rose within him.
A forest on the border of the Land of Waves.
After finishing his lesson, Kakashi had left the Team of Three here to practice tree-climbing on their own.
"Although this is childish, we still can't let our guard down." Sakura listened carefully to Naruto's explanation, without any wishful thinking.
Sakura said, "It could also be an act. Take the number-one expert in Stormveil Castle from Elden Ring, for example. His damage isn't high, but if you touch him, he teleports behind you and kills you in one slash."
After Naruto informed them of the situation, they still decided to relocate.
It was worth mentioning that Sakura had successfully persuaded Inari. It seemed that her talk-no-jutsu was no weaker than Naruto's.
"What are you talking about?" Sasuke also came over after finishing another round of tree-climbing.
He suspected that Naruto and Sakura were ostracizing him. Whenever they opened a private chat, they never included him.
"Nothing. Sakura is sharing her tree-climbing experience." Naruto answered casually.
Just like in the original story, Sakura had the best results. She had even surpassed the original Sakura and quickly reached the top.
"Is that so..." Sasuke's tone immediately became hesitant. "C-can you tell me about it?"
After hearing that, Naruto immediately decided to tease Sasuke. "Sakura said she'll tell you if you become her boyfriend."
"What?" Sasuke's eyes widened. Why could Naruto listen for free while I have to offer myself up?!
Sakura rolled her eyes at Naruto. "Don't listen to his nonsense. I'll tell you the secret to tree-climbing."
"Now you're denying it? That's clearly not what you said earlier." Naruto lied without the slightest change in expression. "To be fair, Sasuke's looks are pretty unbeatable. You're not attracted to him at all?"
"There are lots of handsome men in my hometown." Sakura replied indifferently.
"Aren't they all sisters?"
"...There are lots of handsome straight men too. Mm, quite a few people used to pursue me as well."
"So you look down on fictional characters?"
Sakura glanced at Naruto. "Sasuke started becoming deranged after killing Karin. I wouldn't dare like someone like that."
Sasuke's face was filled with question marks. "Who's Karin? When did I kill anyone?"
What confused him most was why Naruto and Sakura always badmouthed him to his face. Couldn't they talk behind his back?
Could they show the person involved a little respect?!
Sakura turned to Sasuke. "But with the way you are, won't you end up killing someone sooner or later?"
Sasuke froze.
Sakura continued, "Your dream is revenge, right? Even if you don't lay a hand on anyone along the way, won't you still have to kill someone in the end?"
Sasuke grew angry. "He has to be killed. If I don't kill him, the Uchiha clan will never rest in peace!"
"Choosing the path of revenge means you're destined to hurt innocent people." Naruto cut in. "Your target killed your entire clan, right? Then he must be very strong. To kill him, you'll have to keep practicing killing people. Won't that mean hurting innocents?"
Sasuke froze again.
"And what will you do after killing him?" Sakura added. "You won't have any goal left in life."
Sasuke said, "I'll revive the clan!"
Sakura said, "Then stop thinking about killing people. Reviving a clan requires political skill and connections. Besides, you definitely can't avoid Konoha. Instead of thinking about how to kill people, you should think about how to gain the Hokage's support."
Sakura stared at Sasuke. "May I ask whether Lord Hokage would publicly support you killing someone?"
Sasuke fell silent.
He had never considered these questions. More accurately, Sasuke's entire life had been like that of a puppet on strings.
First Itachi controlled him, then Obito controlled him. At last, after he had finally figured out a path for himself, Six Paths Naruto immediately blocked it.
In the end, he wandered the world to atone for his sins, forever alone, calling it protecting the village.
How tragic.
Seeing that the atmosphere had grown cold, Naruto hurriedly patted Sasuke on the shoulder. "It's okay, Sasuke. No matter what you want to do, the two of us will definitely support you."
With that, Naruto looked at Sakura and blinked. "Right, sis?"
Sakura was silent for a moment before nodding.
What she did not say was, What if Sasuke gets possessed by someone else in the future too?
Sakura explained the essentials of tree-climbing to the two of them once more, and Naruto and Sasuke continued practicing.
She herself headed toward the area near the bridge, posted a work-stoppage notice, and greeted the workers nearby.
That night, in a small house somewhere by the sea.
"Thanks to the food Naruto brought, we can have a proper feast tonight."
The lady prepared a delicious dinner for everyone. The Team of Three wolfed down their food, while Kakashi and the lady ate slowly and carefully. Only Tazuna and Inari were in low spirits.
"There might be more tomorrow." Naruto put a plump piece of ham into his mouth and chewed as he spoke indistinctly to everyone.
"They'll distribute food again tomorrow?" Sasuke asked.
"They can't promote it for only one day. Sasuke, you go tomorrow and say that all nine people in your family have converted to believing in Mr. Gato. Put on a tragic face and try to fleece them for as much as possible."
Sakura looked somewhat speechless from the side. You've harvested every last shoot of bamboo in the Land of Waves...
"By the way, there's one more thing to discuss." Naruto turned his gaze toward Sakura.
Before you continue