Investigation

"I've had too much to drink. I'm going to step out for a moment." Obito said goodbye to Tsunade and got up.

"Go ahead. We'll leave when you get back." Tsunade waved him off. She already regretted coming in. The outside world wasn't all that exciting, either.

Obito pushed into the crowd. The crush of people reeked of sweat and women's perfume. Without drawing attention to himself, he squeezed up beside one of the masked men selling powder, grabbed his arm, and activated Kamui, sucking the man straight into the Kamui Dimension.

The dim lighting and the feverish crush of people gave Obito perfect cover. No one noticed that someone had gone missing.

Obito found an empty spot and entered the Kamui Dimension. The drug dealer was clearly terrified. Just seconds earlier, he'd been in a lively bar; now he was in a strange, deathly silent world. Then a person appeared out of nowhere!

"I ask, you answer. Don't hide anything. Understood?" Obito asked coldly.

Obito's sudden appearance seemed to frighten the drug dealer, but also gave him hope of staying alive. The greatest fear came from the unknown. The appearance of another person—even an enemy—was a good thing to him.

The man standing before him was clearly someone with extraordinary powers. The drug dealer crawled over to Obito, stuck his rear in the air, and knocked his head against the ground several times. Trembling, he spoke quickly with his head bowed. "Spare me, sir! Please, spare me! Ask whatever you want. I wouldn't dare hide anything I know."

"What are you selling people?" Obito asked.

"It's Holy Powder. After you inhale it, it takes you to another world and makes you feel happy inside. It makes all your worries disappear," the drug dealer said with his head down.

"Where did you get it?" Obito continued.

"From Boss Gato."

"Gato? That sounds familiar. Right, Gato was the villain in Naruto's first mission outside the village, in the Land of Waves. I wonder if this is the same guy," Obito thought.

"Who is Gato?"

"Boss Gato owns the bar. He owns a lot of bars and casinos in the Land of Hot Water, not just this one, but he usually stays here."

Obito figured this Gato was almost certainly the same one from the Land of Waves. His way of making money was similar: he was mixed up in organized crime and made his fortune through extortion and exploitation. The only difference was that his businesses weren't as extensive yet.

"Where is Gato?" Obito asked.

"Boss Gato usually stays in his office on the bar's third floor. That's all I know. I'm just a nobody; I've never been to the third floor. I've told you everything, sir. Please, have mercy and spare me! I've got an eighty-year-old mother to support, and a baby who still needs feeding. I can't die, sir!"

"You know what happens to people who inhale this stuff, don't you?"

"I—I don't know, sir. I'm just an ordinary person. I owed Gato money from gambling, so I had no choice but to sell this stuff for him to pay off my debt. Please spare me! If I didn't do it, that bastard Gato would take my wife and daughter away from me... Sir! Please let me go! I'll never do it again!"

The drug dealer sobbed uncontrollably.

Obito actually felt a little sorry for him. Sigh. I'll make sure to be a good person in my next life!

Kamui!

Obito checked his watch. Less than five minutes had passed. He washed his hands, returned to his seat, and left the bar with Tsunade.

Obito didn't want Tsunade involved. It wasn't just because of her fear of blood—she'd been through too much cruelty. Obito hoped that from now on, she could live every day in the sunlight, like a happy princess.

Now that he knew where Gato's lair was, there was no way he could escape.

And just like that, an opportunity presented itself. Tsunade had gone to work overtime at the ninja hospital, so Obito used Kamui to appear right inside Gato's bar.

He activated his Sharingan and used genjutsu to subdue several employees. It didn't take long to find Gato's office.

Gato was very short, around one and a half meters tall, but sturdily built. His small eyes were sharp and cruel. In the original story, he'd managed to become a ruthless man who plundered an entire country's wealth. It might have been a small country, but he was no ordinary man.

But in the face of absolute power, his cruelty and cunning were nothing but futile.

"You! Who are you?" The person who suddenly appeared in his office nearly scared Gato to death. Guilty people were easily frightened, and Gato had done too many bad things over the years to count.

"Ah!..." A disheveled woman suddenly crawled out from under the desk, covered her face, and ran out...

He really knew how to have fun.

"Where did you get the Holy Powder?" Obito asked.

"Sir, bursting in here like this—isn't that a little rude?" Gato had gained some experience and broadened his horizons as his business had grown over the past few years. He'd seen plenty of ninja, and had even bribed one himself. So Obito's sudden appearance didn't shock him too much.

He thought Obito was interested in the Holy Powder and had come to demand a share.

"Ha..." A kunai shot straight into Gato's shoulder.

"Ah! You!..." Pain shot through Gato's shoulder, and his pupils contracted. Was this guy trying to rob him?

Clutching his shoulder, Gato said, "Sir, Gato didn't know who you were. Please forgive me."

"Look up and look at me!" Obito shouted. Gato instinctively raised his head and looked at Obito. In an instant, his eyes grew blank. He had clearly fallen under Obito's genjutsu.

"Camilla?"

After interrogating Gato, Obito was somewhat surprised.

The Holy Powder wasn't what he'd imagined. It wasn't white powder; it had been given to Gato by a woman named Camilla.

Gato had originally been a small-time thug. With his ruthless nature, he gradually gathered a few followers and opened some underground gambling dens, earning his first fortune. With money, he bribed even more thugs and criminals. Gato's reputation grew, and he became the leader of a modest criminal gang.

But as his gambling dens multiplied, he took business away from a local clan's casino. The casino owner hired a major local gang to hunt Gato down. His gambling dens were smashed, his followers ran off, and only by luck did Gato survive.

Though Gato escaped, he didn't dare stay in the area, so he fled to the Land of Hot Water. The country was near the coast and had many docks, so Gato found work in cargo transport.

Drawing on his years of experience in the criminal underworld and his ruthless streak, Gato gathered another group of men and returned to his old trade. But he no longer dared set up gambling dens in busy areas. Instead, he became the local tyrant of a small patch of the docks.

Then, one day, he met a beautiful woman named Camilla by chance. Everything changed after that. With Camilla's help, Gato's influence expanded rapidly, and he became the notorious crime boss he was today in the Land of Hot Water.