Leave None Alive

Zabuza waved a hand, stopping Gato. "No, Mr. Gato, leave them to me."

"Since they're all ninja, your men won't be able to handle them."

With the rise of ninja, samurai held a rather awkward position on the ninja continent and had fallen into decline.

Simply put, samurai were people who only knew swordsmanship and basic Taijutsu. They could gain no advantage against ninja.

"Clan Head! What happened?"

At that moment, dozens of Uchiha Clan members crowded inside Tazuna's home rushed out as well.

They stood in rows behind Mingyou and the others, glaring at Gato's group with hostile eyes.

"What? So many ninja—and that clan crest on their matching uniforms... could they be the Uchiha Clan of Konoha?"

Zabuza's face changed drastically. He had never expected that helping Gato today would lead him to kick an iron plate.

The Uchiha had long been famous throughout the ninja world. Rumors about the Sharingan's bizarre abilities had spread far and wide.

Mingyou's eyes shifted as though he had suddenly thought of something. He whispered a few words into Fugaku's ear, then stepped forward.

"Zabuza, I'm sure you know who we are. If you oppose us, you'll undoubtedly die."

"How about this? I'll show you a way out."

"My clansmen won't interfere. I'll face you alone in a one-on-one match."

"If you lose, you must join the Uchiha from this day forward. You will accept my arrangements and commands, and obey all my orders."

"If you win, you may ask me for anything you want—even my Sharingan."

As he spoke, Mingyou's eyes narrowed. His irises turned red, and as the three tomoe spun, they formed the pattern of the Uchiha Clan crest.

"What? Do you mean that?"

Zabuza's eyes lit up.

Facing so many Uchiha Clan ninja, he knew he was no match for them.

But if his opponent was Mingyou alone, he still had some confidence in winning.

Zabuza was confident in his own strength. The title Demon of the Hidden Mist was not one he had earned for nothing.

What moved Zabuza even more was the condition of receiving a Sharingan.

It was one of the two rare great dōjutsu of the ninja world. Anyone would be tempted by greed.

"Absolutely. I, Uchiha Mingyou, can swear it to the heavens."

Mingyou nodded and raised a hand to make his oath.

"Big Brother Mingyou, why are you making a deal like that with him?"

Nami could not understand Mingyou's actions. He was only a ninja, so why go to such lengths?

"Come back here, girl. Don't interfere with your Big Brother Mingyou's decision."

Elder Soki beckoned, signaling for Nami to step back.

Wise with age, Soki understood Mingyou's intentions the moment he heard the proposal.

The Uchiha had no allies abroad. If they wanted to establish themselves on this tiny island nation, they had to recruit talent from every field.

Though Zabuza did not look like a good man, with the Uchiha Clan keeping him in check, he would not be able to cause much trouble.

Besides, judging from the aura Zabuza gave off, he was at least a jōnin-level ninja.

Bringing him under the Uchiha's command would likely add a powerful force to their ranks in the future.

"Hey! Zabuza, what are you still babbling about with those people for? Hurry up and kill them all for me!"

Gato was deeply dissatisfied with Zabuza talking to the enemy. He had paid a hefty price to hire Zabuza, not to have him trade words with them.

"Shut up! Say one more word, and I'll kill you!"

Zabuza glared fiercely at Gato.

Gato staggered back in fright. That look had clearly been filled with killing intent.

Gato had never expected that the man he hired would turn on him so quickly.

"Listen up, everyone! Forget Zabuza! Kill him along with those people!"

As Gato rapidly retreated, he gave the order to his thousand-plus lackeys.

"Got it! Boss Gato!"

The mobsters and samurai drew their weapons one after another and slowly closed in on the Uchiha Clan members with malicious expressions.

"Sorry, but let me deal with these pests first."

Zabuza's gaze sharpened as he charged toward the samurai with the Kubikiribōchō slung over his shoulder.

Like a tiger pouncing into a flock of sheep, Zabuza sent scarlet liquid spraying wherever the Kubikiribōchō passed.

Heads were severed, limbs were cut apart, and the bloody scene was horrifying to behold.

"Clan Head! What do we do?"

The Uchiha Clan members were dumbfounded. Weren't these people here to cause trouble? Why were they fighting among themselves instead?

All because of the wager Mingyou had made with him? Then Zabuza was far too unreliable.

"Mingyou, how do you think we should handle this?"

Fugaku turned toward Mingyou, his eyes asking for his opinion.

"Join Zabuza and deal with these people. They've followed Gato and committed plenty of evil deeds in the Land of Waves."

Mingyou's eyes narrowed slightly. With that simple sentence, he had decided their fates.

"Attack!"

Fugaku swung a hand and charged toward the mobsters and samurai.

The Uchiha Clan members activated their Sharingan, drew their kunai, and followed Fugaku into the crowd.

Mingyou did not rush into action. His gaze swept the area as he searched for Gato.

"Hmph! That scum really ran fast."

Seeing his underlings being slaughtered into disarray, Gato had already slipped away and fled several hundred meters.

Kamui!

Space warped before Mingyou, and in the next instant, he appeared behind Gato.

With a vicious swing of the kunai in his hand, he slit Gato's throat.

Gato's face was filled with terror. He clutched the gushing artery tightly with both hands, instinctively trying to stop the blood from flowing out.

But unfortunately, he could not hold on for long. He soon collapsed into a pool of blood, never to wake again.

In only a few minutes, vast numbers of mobsters and samurai had died beneath the slaughter of the Uchiha Clan and Zabuza.

The ground had lost its original earthy yellow color, soaked and stained crimson with blood.

"Mr. Gato is dead! Mr. Gato is dead!"

"Run! They're all ninja!"

Quite a few sharp-eyed samurai noticed something was wrong. Even with their numerical advantage, they were no match for these ninja at all.

As soon as one person fled, the remaining hundreds of samurai abandoned all resistance, threw down their swords, and ran for their lives.

The cancer of the Land of Waves had finally been removed. These terrified samurai would probably never dare remain in the Land of Waves again and would soon flee the country.

Mingyou's thoughts shifted as though he had suddenly remembered something. He shouted to his clansmen, "Kill them all! Don't leave any survivors, or our whereabouts will be exposed."