"Tsk! I really have no idea what the ninjas from those great nations are doing in a tiny country like the Land of Waves!"
Though Gato said he didn't know and made remarks like, "What's so great about a poor little country like this?" he actually understood why the ninjas from the various villages had come.
"The Talismans..."
That's right—the Talismans. As a figure of "emperor" status in the Land of Waves, he'd used a few tricks to claim one for himself the moment it appeared.
In his own words, "Everything under the sun belongs to the Gato Company!"
As a merchant whose wealth rivaled that of a nation, did Gato need the Daimyo of the Land of Fire's hundred-million bounty? Of course he did. After all, being rich and being greedy were two different things.
But as a super-rich man, he also had what people called "vanity." According to Enshi Shu's lost-property bounty, there were apparently only twelve of these Talismans in the whole world. A limited-edition collectible like that was, of course, a fine way to show off his "status."
He could also brag about it to his "business partners" later.
As for the Talisman's divine power? Gato said he couldn't see any at all... He'd spent ages studying the Talisman in his palm, engraved with the upper bodies of two white tigers. He'd clutched it tightly, stepped on it, bitten it, and even offered it incense—but nothing had worked...
So he figured its "magical abilities" were probably just a gimmick cooked up by the Daimyo of the Land of Fire!
"The Land of Waves... Could the Talisman really be in a place like this...?"
A frowned. He didn't mean to look down on small nations, but would a poor country like this really have a Talisman that was a treasured heirloom of the Daimyo of the Land of Fire?
"This is the result of our tailing the Daimyo of the Land of Fire's guards, you idiot big brother, baka yarō! Kono yarō!" (Idiot! Bastard!)
"Huh? Are you asking for a beating, you little brat?!"
The two who'd started fighting as soon as they entered the village were the A-B Combo from Kumogakure. Killer B was a Jinchūriki, so he shouldn't have been allowed to leave the village. But the A-B Combo needed to work together in perfect harmony, so if A left the village, his younger brother had to come too.
Meanwhile, in a two-story building somewhere in the village, two pairs of eyes watched the A-B Combo from the shadows as they entered.
"Is that... the Third Raikage's son?"
"Mm... And the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki..."
"Looks like this contest for the Talisman is going to be fun!"
One of the two had long green hair, thick eyebrows, and sharp teeth. Bandages wrapped his upper body, and he wore a black vest over them. The other was a towering man, a full two and a half meters tall, with waist-length orange hair and sharp teeth. Fluffy bandages wrapped his neck, and green stripes were painted on his cheeks.
That's right! These two were Raiga Kurosuki and Suikazan Fuguki, members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen. At the command of the Fourth Mizukage, Karatachi Yagura, they'd formed a squad and come to seize the Talisman.
How had they made it to the Land of Waves? That was, of course, the Shadowkhan's doing! On Qian Yu's orders, the Shadowkhan had deliberately revealed their locations instead of sneaking into the Shadow Kingdom, drawing the Kumogakure and Kirigakure squads to this small country.
However... it seemed someone unexpected had shown up.
The man who had already arrived at the entrance to the Gato Company was Kakuzu, who had paid a fortune for information about the Talisman. How had the information leaked? All he could say was that an invisible hand was manipulating everything. (Qian Yu: I'm just earning some Dimensional Points. It's nothing to be ashamed of.)
"The Gato Company...?"
As one of the most avaricious people in the Ninja World, Kakuzu knew of this one-in-a-million tycoon.
"Lord Kakuzu, Mr. Gato invites you inside."
Just as Kakuzu stood there with a grim expression, apparently lost in thought, the Gato Company's doors suddenly opened. Several samurai attendants stepped out and ushered him inside.
"You must be the famous 'Ultimate Killer—Kakuzu,' renowned in the underground black market. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Gato held out his hand, but Kakuzu ignored it. Sitting on a leather sofa, he asked expressionlessly, "What do you want?"
"Surely you can tell, Lord Kakuzu? I have a lot of money." Under Kakuzu's look of "So what?" Gato continued:
"I know full well that this world is extremely dangerous. Money alone isn't nearly enough. I need power, power capable of protecting this wealth and helping me expand even further!"
"And I have money, while you have the skills, Mr. Kakuzu. Why shouldn't we work together?"
Gato smiled and held out his hand again, inviting Kakuzu to join forces. His ambition was enormous. Taking over almost all the surrounding waters near the Land of Waves wasn't enough for him. He wanted more.
"You make a good point..." Kakuzu reached out as well, but the moment he grasped Gato's hand, he looked up, revealing a murderous glare.
"But why should I work with you?"
As if he'd expected Kakuzu to refuse, Gato let go of his hand and clapped. Immediately, the screen behind them opened, revealing hundreds of samurai armed with long swords, eager for a fight.
"Don't be so hasty, Mr. Kakuzu. Wouldn't it be better to work with me and share wealth and power?"
An ordinary person would have caved the moment they saw such a display. Kakuzu was no ordinary person, and Gato had underestimated the gap between an ordinary person and an elite jōnin.
"In all my years, you're the first person who's dared to threaten me..."
Kakuzu's voice was ice-cold, his eyes devoid of emotion. The next instant, the residents of the Land of Waves and the special-operations squads from Kumogakure and Kirigakure all witnessed the "fireworks" sent up by the Gato Company.
—Rumble!
Flames engulfed the entire Gato Company building from the inside out. The walls collapsed and the load-bearing pillars snapped amid successive explosions. Countless charred corpses, burned beyond recognition, flew out.
"P-please don't kill me! I'll give you money! I'll give you everything I have!"
Only after all his men had been reduced to ashes by Kakuzu's Fire Release and he himself had nearly been swallowed by the flames did Gato finally understand the difference between them. Yet as he kowtowed and offered up his entire fortune, begging for his life, Kakuzu calmly began pulling the black threads from his arm.
"Fool! If I kill you, the money will still be mine!"
—Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Kakuzu separated his wrist from his arm and released a dense mass of black threads from the stump, ready to shoot them at Gato and pierce his heart in one strike. At that moment, Gato kowtowed several more times, his earlier arrogance completely gone. "I... I can still help Lord Kakuzu make money!"
As the tentacle fist was about to hit Gato in the chest, he shut his eyes in terror and trembled violently. He even wet himself.
"Make money? Explain."
Kakuzu's fist, covered in black tendrils, hung suspended in midair, as if to say, "If I'm not satisfied, you're dead!"
"Lord Kakuzu, forgive my bluntness, but I doubt anyone with better business sense than me has even been born yet. I can use my influence and wealth to intercept all the seaborne goods going to the surrounding island nations at low prices, then sell them at a higher price for a profit."
Gato's plan was simply to act as an "intermediary," but his influence really was enormous. Only he could so easily speak of "intercepting goods bound for the surrounding island nations."
"Very good... You've convinced me..."
"But... before that, you'd better understand what happens if you betray me!"