Anger Must Be Carved Out With a Blade!

"Gentlemen, honorable ninja lords, please ask whatever you wish. As long as I know it, I will tell you everything!"

The boatman responded with a trembling voice.

Although these ninja lords were smiling quite kindly, he dared not be the least bit careless.

One had to know that even those wandering samurai could kill a commoner like him in a fit of rage without facing any consequences.

Let alone these high and mighty ninja lords!

"Don't be nervous."

"You should be from the Land of Waves, right?"

Natsume asked pleasantly.

After all, he wasn't some man-eating beast.

"Yes."

"Then have you heard of the Gato Shipping Company or the Gato Group?"

"I have, I have!"

"That company is on our island right now. They arrived suddenly two years ago. They said that since our Land of Waves is surrounded by the sea and transportation is inconvenient, they were willing to cooperate with us to transport supplies and trade goods for the citizens."

"By now, almost all the maritime trade and transport on the island has been monopolized by their company."

"Oh? And what do you think of their company?"

"To tell you the truth!"

The boatman hesitated for a moment before speaking candidly:

"At first, it was quite good. Many people on the island relied on their large cargo ships and the maritime trade market to sell various goods and earn some money."

"But starting from last year and this year, the people from the Gato Group have gradually used all sorts of excuses to drive down our purchase prices!"

"Take the salmon my family often catches, for example. At the beginning, it could sell for over 20 or 30 ryo per jin."

"But now, it has been compressed by the Gato Group to eight or nine ryo per jin. Occasionally, they only give five or six... they have even openly robbed us several times!"

"It has made most of the fishermen on the island miserable, and they can barely make ends meet!"

The boatman gritted his teeth, accusing them with a heart full of hatred.

It wasn't just the fishing industry.

Almost every industry in the entire Land of Waves was being squeezed step by step in this manner.

Otherwise, having fished for over twenty years, he wouldn't have given up fishing to come here and ferry passengers.

It was truly getting to the point where he couldn't support his family!

On the contrary, the Gato Group, relying on the low-priced goods collected from the Land of Waves, turned around and sold them for several times the price, making a fortune.

Hearing this, Uchiha Gin was the first to exclaim:

"Huh? Such a low purchase price?"

"Can't you sell to other buyers?"

One had to know that at his uncle's shop in Konoha, even the most ordinary bowl of ramen cost 60 ryo.

Yet here, a whole jin of salmon only had a purchase price of five or six ryo!

This couldn't even be described as exploitation...

It was even more ruthless than a crusher!

"No, we have no channels!"

"The entire island's purchasing channels are controlled by the Gato Group. Except for them, we have no other channels to sell!"

"Moreover, if anyone is caught selling privately, it's not as simple as just having the goods confiscated..."

Gin and the others were shocked.

"Can't you resist?"

"Being squeezed like this, you'll lose your lives sooner or later..."

The boatman gave a bitter smile.

"Some people have resisted."

"But the Gato Group has hired many wandering samurai!"

"Those samurai lords wielding weapons are simply not people we can resist."

"Even the lord has been controlled by them; we are completely powerless to resist!"

The boatman recounted with tears in his eyes.

If they could resist, if they dared to resist, they would have taken action long ago.

How could they have ended up in such a miserable state!

It is just a pity that the enemy is far too powerful; they simply cannot win!

Recently, I heard that Kaiza is organizing a resistance, but it is nothing more than a path to certain death...

"How can this be? A mere company, a few wandering samurai."

"How can they control this entire island nation and keep countless people under their heels, oppressing them?"

"Young Clan Head... Young Master, this is completely unreasonable!"

Gin stood up abruptly and looked at Natsume, his eyes burning with a flicker of rage.

Having already suffered endless discrimination and oppression in Konoha, the Uchiha people naturally loathed such bottomless exploitation and brutality with every fiber of their being.

Likewise, the others, including Nichiyo, all wore stern expressions, deeply displeased by such a tyrannical company.

"Gin, sit down."

"But..."

"Sit down!"

Natsume spoke again, his youthful voice carrying an undeniable tone of authority.

Gin had no choice but to sit back down in a hurry, continuing to suppress his rising anger.

Seeing the atmosphere growing increasingly heavy, the boatman hurriedly waved his hands and pleaded.

"My lords, please, do not take offense!"

"I was just spouting nonsense; please do not take it to heart."

"I also beg you, my lords, not to let this slip!"

"Otherwise, my family's lives will likely be forfeit..."

Natsume comforted him warmly: "Get up, uncle. Rest assured, we will not speak of this."

The boatman let out a sigh of relief.

He then dared to add a few more words:

"We are almost there."

"May I ask what business you ninja lords have in the Land of Waves?"

"If it is convenient, please let me know. That way, I can choose which port to drop you off at..."

Natsume replied casually.

"Any port will do."

"We are merely entrusted by someone to come to the Land of Waves and bring back some local specialties."

Nichiyo: ???

Gin: ???

Tsukihime: ???

Uncle Ryu: ???

The group remained silent, then lowered their heads to stifle their laughter.

The Young Clan Head is truly something else!

He doesn't even bat an eye when telling a lie!

It sounds just like the truth.

I suppose these "specialties" will be worth tens of millions of ryo again, right?

Soon, the small boat docked.

Natsume and the others disembarked.

The boatman initially dared not accept any money.

In the end, under Natsume's insistence, he tremblingly accepted the transport fee.

At this moment, there were not many people at the port.

However, there were quite a few cargo ships waiting to be loaded.

Moreover, the villagers loading the goods were being watched and driven by several samurai wielding long swords.

It was as if they were commanding slaves to work.

The entire port was filled with a dead, oppressive atmosphere that made one feel quite uncomfortable.

"It seems that boatman did not lie; the villagers here are indeed being controlled and exploited..."

Uncle Ryu scanned the area and concluded in a low voice.

Seeing this, the fury in Gin's heart was stoked once again.

"Young Clan Head, why didn't you let me speak just now? Such evil forces deserve to be wiped out!"

Natsume's expression remained unchanged.

He patted Gin on the shoulder.

Walking past him, he said:

"Gin. Doing is better than saying."

"Shouting the anger in your heart out of your mouth is useless; you must strike it out with the blade in your hand. Only when you make the enemy scream in agony will they understand your rage!"

"Back then, our ancestors, the clan heads... if they had only made Konoha feel the pain, our clan wouldn't have fallen to such a state."

"And now, it is the same!"

Gin suddenly realized, his heart hardening as he hurriedly followed Natsume ahead.

"Young Clan Head, what should I do?"

"Gin, when was the last time you killed someone?" Natsume asked, his eyes narrowing as he spoke in a ghostly tone.

"A year ago, during the seventeenth mission..."

"That's been a while. Do you still remember the taste of blood?"

"I have never forgotten!"

"Good, let's go."

"There will likely be quite a lot to kill today! Be careful, don't dull your kunai."

"Understood!"

Gin replied heavily, a blood-red halo rising sharply in his pupils.

The next moment, the group sped toward the target stronghold of Gato's company to slaughter.