Sasori's Dissatisfaction

This section of the ceiling had indeed been removed before. It was easy to pry open.

Inside the gap was a safe.

Above the ceiling where the light bulb was installed was a simple mechanism made of rope and gears. When the bulb was turned, the gears were pulled, moving the rope.

The rope was fixed to this previously removed section of ceiling. Once the rope was pulled, the ceiling panel would naturally lower.

If the bulb kept turning, the rope would also catch the safe and push it down through the missing section of the ceiling.

It was a crude design, but undoubtedly practical. Unless someone tore the place apart in a violent search or scanned it comprehensively with high-tech equipment like Batman, it would not have been easy to find.

Naturally, the safe's key had also been destroyed earlier by Black Gold, along with the room key and its owner.

But Shimizu was not without a solution.

For ninja, the truly secure method of protection was Sealing Technique. There were still many ways to crack something locked like this.

Shimizu took out a paperclip with its tip ground sharp, connected it with Chakra Thread, and inserted it into the safe. After moving it up and down a few times, he pulled it out, twisted the paperclip into the shape of a key, and inserted it again.

A fellow villain had used this trick back in Arkham, but that man had relied on experience and skill. Shimizu, meanwhile, used Chakra Thread to sense the inside of the keyhole and reverse-engineer the shape of the key.

"Click."

The safe opened, revealing stacks of green U.S. dollars and the refreshing scent of fresh ink.

A smile spread across Shimizu's face.

There were no gold bars this time, but there was obviously more money than the Black Boss he had encountered last time. The overall haul should not be much smaller.

If you wanted to get rich, what was the point of working hard to earn money and desperately pinching pennies? You had to exploit others.

Chidi Cole, as well as that Nightclub's Black Boss from before, were merely leaders of small gangs, yet they could so easily possess such a huge sum of money.

"Boss! There are four hundred and ten thousand dollars in here!"

After finishing the count, the accountant said excitedly to Shimizu.

"Take out two hundred thousand and split it among the brothers. Take another hundred thousand to buy guns and the like. The rest is mine. Also..."

"From now on, the Cole Gang will no longer be called the Cole Gang. Rename it Hogg United."

Having received their reward, the thugs were naturally delighted and cheered jubilantly.

Having just brought these men under his command, he naturally had to offer them some benefits. Combined with the methods he had displayed earlier, rewards and intimidation went hand in hand. Only then could he make this group work for him more effectively.

Perhaps feeling that he had grown closer to his new boss, the accountant Dura sought Shimizu out for a chat after helping distribute the money.

"Hogg United? Boss Wade, doesn't that sound a little lacking in prestige?"

"Any idiot who hears a name ending in Gang will know it's a criminal gang. Hogg United at least sounds like a legitimate organization, and it won't so easily draw the attention of those bat freaks. Later, we can set up something like a football club as a front. Then we'll be a proper legal organization, a private association."

Shimizu explained to Dura.

Most of the other thugs were low-level workers who had barely read a few books and been raised on mindless entertainment. Only Dura had attended university.

Church universities in America varied greatly in quality. The good ones were truly among the world's top universities, but more were regional schools serving specific communities and groups, with fairly mediocre standards.

The Gotham Gradia Church University he attended could not compare to first-rate institutions like Gotham University or Central City University, but it was still a legitimate university.

Dura was also the only person under Shimizu's command who had received higher education and possessed some ability to assist with management. He was worth taking seriously.

"I understand. From now on, we can also collect protection money under the pretext of financial arrangements like private lending associations. It'll be harder for outsiders to find anything to use against us.

"But Boss, I think I need to remind you of something. This is Gotham's slums. The rules of the rich districts don't apply here. The rules here are that whoever has more guns, more people, and stronger fists gets to claim more turf and take more money. The gang's future growth will still depend on fists doing the talking. Of course, I don't think anyone here has fists harder than yours."

Dura said as he pushed up his glasses.

Shimizu nodded in satisfaction.

This guy knew what he was doing.

Naruto World.

A day had passed since the S-rank mission incident.

After Miyuki used Medical Ninjutsu to initially stabilize Ishido's injuries, the group escorted him back to Sunagakure for better treatment.

The Third Kazekage returned to the front lines.

With Hatake Sakumo seriously wounded, this was the best opportunity to counterattack Konoha. He needed to take command of the overall situation.

Ebizo had specifically granted the Sixth Division several days of leave so everyone could rest properly.

But Shimizu still planned to go to the Puppet Force base as usual to use the training puppets.

When Shimizu arrived at the base, however, he found Sasori already assembling a puppet at the workbench.

"Sasori, what are you..."

"I was here all night."

Sasori pointed to the repaired Ibuse beside him, then looked at Shimizu.

"Your two puppets are very good. Once I finish assembling Black Ant, we'll have another match."

"Black Ant..."

Shimizu looked at the puppet Sasori was assembling.

Though it had not yet been fully assembled, its general shape had already emerged.

It was clearly an upgraded version of Termite, only much larger and made from different materials.

"Is something bothering you?"

Shimizu felt that Sasori's current state was somewhat abnormal.

Thinking of how Sasori would turn his childhood companions into puppets in the future, then assassinate the Third Kazekage after growing up and turn him into a puppet as well, Shimizu suddenly worried that Sasori might want to turn him into a puppet too.

After all, he and Sasori were teammates, and he had beaten Sasori during the selection before.

It would be best to straighten him out as much as possible while he was still young.

Sasori's hands paused, but then he began installing the parts even faster as he spoke.

"What about you? You seem to admire the Third Kazekage a lot."

"Perhaps. At least in Sunagakure, at present, we are all subordinates of the Third Kazekage. What about you? Are you dissatisfied with him?"

Sasori pursed his lips and stopped moving. His bright eyes stared at Shimizu.

"He didn't lead us to defeat Konoha, and a lot of people died."

So that's why you assassinate the Third Kazekage a few years later?

Sure enough, like Uchiha Itachi, this kid had no one to teach him when he was young, and his mind had gone crooked.