Go deal with his accomplices?

Before Shirozumi enlightened everyone, everyone's thoughts were actually similar to Itachi's.

They believed the Daimyo managed the economy, the Kage managed the military, and the ninja villages couldn't do without the Daimyo's funding.

In reality, the so-called Daimyo were a bunch of people who bullied the weak and feared the strong.

The Raikage of Kumogakure was strong and often ignored the Daimyo's opinions.

The Kazekage of Sunagakure was weak, leading to repeated budget cuts.

The Daimyo of the Land of Fire was quite formidable. When faced with a strong individual like Danzo, he would cower like a pig.

When faced with an innocent like Naruto, he would start making friends.

When faced with someone like Shikamaru, who lacked sufficient strength, influence, and reputation, he would directly turn the tables, relying on his status to arrogantly suppress them.

Therefore, Shirozumi's assessment was entirely correct: the Daimyo system was a bad habit of the old era, and Daimyo were parasites sucking the lifeblood of the nation.

If Shirozumi's words were heard by people from the Five Great Shinobi Villages, even Kumogakure, which had a poor relationship with its Daimyo, would consider Shirozumi's words to be outrageous.

But now, everyone around him was a rogue ninja, their thoughts unconstrained.

"No problem, Zabuza, you are indeed more suited to go with Kisame to assassinate the Daimyo. You've already assassinated the Mizukage anyway, so one more crime won't matter.

It'll also save you from being like the previous wielder of the Kubikiribōchō, who tried to slap a Tailed Beast Bomb with his sword."

Shirozumi affirmed Zabuza's words, but...

"Your mouth is truly venomous. By the way, is that how Juzo died? He was truly brave."

Zabuza's mouth twitched.

Slapping a Tailed Beast Bomb with a sword, what kind of terrifying maneuver was that?

"Hozuki Juzo was my previous comrade. We were up against the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, and he died there."

Uchiha Itachi interjected.

Mentioning Juzo brought back memories for Itachi.

It was also during that mission that Itachi awakened and mastered Amaterasu.

~

They arrived at the Great Naruto Bridge in the Land of Waves.

Gato, along with his large contingent of mercenaries, had been lying in ambush there for a long time.

"This guy, he probably wants to see me and the escort ninjas get wiped out, and then he'll be waiting here to silence me too?"

"If Kisame and you guys hadn't shown up, maybe he really would have succeeded, that bastard!"

Zabuza saw the situation on the bridge and grinned.

"Mr. Zabuza, you're injured. Leave it to me."

Haku raised his hand, which held three senbon, and took a step forward.

"Haku's strength is more than enough to deal with these trash. You see..."

Zabuza looked at Shirozumi and the others.

"Let me try my hand. After all, I'm still a Pure White Youth and have never killed anyone before."

Shirozumi shook his head.

"Oh? Then you certainly need to try your hand on some enemies that pose no threat."

Kisame was surprised by this but then agreed.

"Never killed anyone, it seems the ninja world might have a considerably peaceful time ahead."

Uchiha Itachi chuckled lightly.

"Or perhaps it's because they're not qualified to face real enemies. Even a Kage is just meat on a chopping block; how can they even injure, let alone kill, an enemy?"

Shirozumi refuted Itachi's statement.

The peace that lasted less than twenty years after the Naruto-Sasuke war in the original timeline was a peace that came at a price.

The two of them deliberately concealed the threat of the Otsutsuki Clan, which allowed the ninja world to relax temporarily.

The price was that twenty years later, the Otsutsuki would attack, and the ninja world would be completely unprepared.

This was mainly because they were too confident and didn't understand the true strength of the Otsutsuki.

Although the ninja world appeared to be developing rapidly with advanced technology and various scientific ninja tools, it was actually being suppressed.

All of Orochimaru's research was monitored and reviewed by Konoha, and Kabuto Yakushi was purely relegated to being an orphanage director.

The two most brilliant research talents were restricted.

Speaking of the future Kabuto Yakushi.

He was one of the few people Shirozumi knew in Konoha back then.

"Do you want me to lend you my sword?"

Zabuza asked.

"No need, I'm not like you. I'm not a bloodthirsty person."

Shirozumi refused.

Zabuza chuckled. Just as he was about to say something, he realized Shirozumi had vanished.

He turned his head and saw the mercenary squad led by Gato in utter chaos.

Shirozumi had, at some unknown point, appeared behind Gato and punched directly through his chest, then tossed him aside like trash.

"This is what he calls not bloodthirsty? This is his first kill?"

Zabuza was speechless.

Even someone from the Village of the Bloody Mist like himself hadn't been so decisive and brutal on his first kill.

Although he had killed all his classmates, including his teammates, during his ninja graduation exam at age nine, that wasn't his first kill.

His very first kill had been as simple as slitting a throat with a kunai.

But on second thought, it wasn't too strange.

After all, even if you haven't eaten pork, you've seen pigs run, right?

Shirozumi only said he hadn't killed anyone before, not that he hadn't seen anyone die.

As for Uchiha Itachi's talk of "ninja world peace," Zabuza couldn't understand it.

"Is this indeed an amplification like Sage Mode Chakra?"

Uchiha Itachi, seeing Shirozumi punch through Gato, reaffirmed his previous guess.

He had learned from some Uchiha records that the most obvious characteristic of Sage Mode cultivation was greatly increased strength.

Besides that, sensory abilities also improved, though this couldn't be discerned by the naked eye.

And there should also be some changes in appearance.

Itachi had dismissed his idea earlier because Shirozumi's situation differed significantly from the descriptions of Sage Mode in the records.

His appearance hadn't changed, and there didn't seem to be any "duration limit."

But Shirozumi's punch now made Itachi certain he hadn't guessed wrong.

Shirozumi wasn't cruel and bloodthirsty like Zabuza thought.

He probably just wanted to test his strength and underestimated it, leading to this scene.

"Everyone, I apologize. I don't know any ninjutsu, so please bear with the pain."

As Shirozumi spoke, he dealt with two more Rogue Ninjas.

The two rogue samurai exchanged glances and, believing they had a clear shot, launched a slash at Shirozumi. Suddenly, their vision blurred, and they realized they had already finished their attack, yet had cut nothing.

The next second, the two rogue samurai were hit in the forehead by two shuriken thrown from a distance.

It wasn't Shirozumi. It was their own allies, fellow mercenaries, who had accidentally hit their teammates.

"Damn it, this guy is too troublesome! Ignore him, take care of his companions!"

One rogue ninja suddenly shouted.

After the others reacted, some felt that since Gato was already dead, why should they risk their lives? They secretly slipped away.

The rest charged towards Itachi and Kisame.

"Uh..."

Shirozumi, standing alone in the middle of an empty area, was stunned.

These people were truly tired of living.

Although he could crush them here, his efficiency wasn't high.

As long as they weren't bots, they should have fled after realizing so many of their comrades were dead.

But now, they were rushing straight over there, which meant they were finished.

"Water Style: Water Shark Bomb Jutsu!"

A giant shark made of water leaped out from the water beneath the bridge, swallowing the charging ninja samurai in one gulp. It then fell back into the water, leaving behind traces of blood and debris.

Silence fell instantly.