"Gentlemen, honored ninja, ask me anything. As long as I know the answer, I'll tell you everything!"
The boatman replied with a tremble in his voice.
Although the honored ninja all smiled and seemed friendly, he didn't dare let his guard down for a moment.
After all, even if wandering samurai killed a commoner like him in a fit of rage, they wouldn't face any consequences.
And these were esteemed ninja, far above ordinary people!
"Don't be nervous."
"You're from the Land of Waves too, aren't you?"
Natsume asked amiably.
It wasn't as if he were some man-eating beast.
"Yes, I am."
"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 showed up out of nowhere a couple of years ago. They said that since the Land of Waves was surrounded by the sea and had poor transport links, they were willing to work with us and ship supplies and trade goods for the people."
"Now they handle almost all the island's maritime shipping."
"Oh? What do you think of the company?"
"To be honest!"
The boatman hesitated, then spoke candidly:
"At first, they were pretty good. Quite a few people on the island used their company's large cargo ships and maritime trade market to sell all kinds of goods and make some money."
"But starting last year and continuing into this year, the people from Gato Company gradually started using all kinds of tricks to lower the prices they paid us!"
"Take the salmon my family often catches. At first, we could sell it for twenty or even thirty silver coins per jin."
"But now Gato Company has driven the price down to eight or nine coins a jin. Sometimes they only give us five or six... and they've even robbed us outright several times!"
"It's made life unbearable for most of the island's fishermen. We can barely get by!"
The boatman gritted his teeth and spoke with bitter hatred.
And it wasn't just the fishing industry.
Almost every business in the entire Land of Waves was being squeezed, step by step, in much the same way.
Otherwise, after fishing for more than twenty years, he wouldn't have given it up to ferry passengers around.
His family was barely scraping by!
Meanwhile, Gato Company bought goods from the Land of Waves for next to nothing, then resold them at several times the price, raking in a fortune!
Hearing this, Uchiha Gin was the first to exclaim:
"What? They're paying you that little?"
"Why don't you sell to other buyers?"
After all, a bowl of the most ordinary ramen at his uncle's shop in Konoha cost sixty coins.
And here, a whole jin of salmon fetched only five or six coins!
This was beyond exploitation...
It was worse than a shredder!
"There... there are no other buyers!"
"Gato Company controls all the buying channels on the island. We have nowhere else to sell!"
"And if they catch anyone secretly selling elsewhere, they don't just confiscate the goods..."
Gin and the others were even more shocked.
"Why don't you fight back?"
"If they keep squeezing you like this, you'll all end up dead..."
The boatman gave a bitter smile.
"Some people have tried."
"But Gato Company hired a lot of wandering samurai!"
"We can't stand up to those samurai lords with their weapons."
"They've even taken control of the lord of the land. We're powerless to resist!"
The boatman spoke through his tears.
If they could fight back, if they dared to, they would have done it already.
They wouldn't be suffering like this!
Unfortunately, their enemies were too strong. They couldn't beat them!
Lately, they'd heard that Kaiza was organizing a resistance, but that was still a dead end...
"How can this be? Just one company and a few wandering samurai."
"They can control an entire island nation like this and trample countless people underfoot?"
"Young Clan... young master, this is outrageous!"
Gin shot to his feet and looked at Natsume, anger rising in his eyes.
The Uchiha, who had endured discrimination and oppression in Konoha, naturally loathed this ruthless exploitation and cruelty. They despised it with all their hearts!
The others, including Nichiyo, also looked stern. They were all disgusted by this tyrannical company.
"Gin, sit down."
"But..."
"Sit down!"
Natsume repeated, his young voice carrying an unmistakable edge of authority.
Gin had no choice but to sit back down, still seething.
Seeing the atmosphere grow heavier by the moment, the boatman hurriedly waved his hands in supplication.
"Please, honored sirs, don't get upset!"
"I was just talking nonsense. Please don't take it seriously."
"And please don't tell anyone what I said!"
"Otherwise, my whole family could be in danger..."
Natsume soothed him gently. "Get up, sir. Don't worry, we won't go telling anyone."
The boatman let out a sigh of relief.
Then he ventured to say a little more:
"We'll be there soon."
"May I ask why you honored ninja have come to the Land of Waves?"
"If it's not a secret, please tell me. Then I'll know which port to drop you off at..."
Natsume answered casually.
"Any port will do."
"We're just here at someone's request to bring back some local specialties."
Nichiyo: ???
Gin: ???
Tsukihime: ???
Uncle Ryu: ???
They all fell silent, then lowered their heads to stifle their laughter.
The Young Clan Head really was something!
He could lie without even blinking!
It was just like he was telling the truth.
Those "local specialties" would probably be worth tens of millions of coins, wouldn't they?
Before long, the boat reached the port.
Natsume and the others disembarked.
The boatman hadn't dared accept payment at first.
But after Natsume insisted, he finally took the fare, trembling.
There weren't many people at the port just then.
But plenty of cargo ships were waiting to be loaded.
The villagers bringing livestock to be loaded were watched and herded around by several samurai carrying long swords.
They looked like slaves being ordered to work.
A lifeless atmosphere hung over the entire port, making the place deeply uncomfortable.
"Looks like the boatman wasn't lying. The villagers here really are being controlled and exploited..."
Uncle Ryu looked around and said in a low voice.
Seeing this, Gin's anger flared up again.
"Young Clan Head, why wouldn't you let me say anything just now? We should wipe out scum like them!"
Natsume's expression remained unchanged.
He patted Gin on the shoulder.
Then he walked past him, speaking as he went:
"Gin. Saying more is no match for doing more."
"Shouting your anger out loud does nothing. You have to swing the blade in your hand and make the enemy suffer until they scream. Only then will they understand your anger!"
"If our ancestors, our clan leaders, had made Konoha feel the pain back then, our clan wouldn't have fallen so far."
"And now is no different!"
Gin suddenly understood. He steeled himself and hurried after Natsume.
"Young Clan Head, what should I do?"
"Gin, when was the last time you killed someone?" Natsume asked quietly, narrowing his eyes.
"A year ago, during my seventeenth mission..."
"That was a while ago. Do you still remember the taste of blood?"
"I've never forgotten it!"
"Good. Let's go."
"We'll probably have quite a few people to kill today! Be careful not to dull your kunai."
"Understood!"
Gin replied firmly, a crimson gleam suddenly rising in his eyes.
The next moment, the group sped toward the Gato Company's target stronghold, intent on slaughter.
Before you continue