Gato Killed

He knew all too well where the human body was most vulnerable, and how to deliver the most precise kill in the smallest space and the shortest time.

The glint of kunai flashed endlessly through the crowd, each flash accompanied by a scream and a spray of blood as Dan cut through them.

One warrior after another fell, their swords and spears unable even to aim at their target before Dan severed their lifelines.

Standing at a distance, Kakashi watched Zabuza's demon-like figure dart back and forth through the crowd, his brow slightly furrowed.

He felt that Zabuza did not need anyone's help right now.

A furious beast had its own battlefield.

But Zabuza was not invincible after all.

His injuries were too severe. Losing both hands had left him unable to maintain his balance or deflect force, and his stamina was draining rapidly.

After slicing open the throats of more than a dozen warriors in succession, his speed began to slow, and flaws began to appear in his movements.

A spear thrust in from the side. Zabuza failed to dodge completely, and its tip tore open the flesh at his waist, leaving a bone-deep wound.

Then another blade struck his shoulder from behind, blood streaming down the edge.

Then came an arrow, piercing through his thigh. Its head protruded from the back of his leg, dragging a bloodied shaft behind it.

But Zabuza did not stop.

Covered in Vessels, with an arrow embedded in his thigh and a blade buried in his shoulder blade, he walked step by step through the warriors who had already been scared out of their wits.

Bright, scorching blood drew a red trail broken by Dan across the ground. With every step, more blood dripped from his wounds, mixing with the mud beneath his feet and turning it into dark-red sludge.

The warriors began to retreat.

For many of them, this was the first time they had witnessed what a real ninja was.

The man before them was not human at all. More Vessels were stuck in his body than they held in their hands, and he had so many wounds that even looking at them made their scalps tingle—yet he was still walking.

Blood from the kunai dripped down Zabuza's chin, pooling into a small puddle.

At that moment, his face was fully exposed to the sunlight, like a ghost that had just crawled out of a battlefield of carnage.

The last few warriors standing between him and Gato exchanged glances, then simultaneously threw down their Vessels, turned, and fled.

Gato collapsed onto the ground, his fat body scrambling backward until his back struck the railing at the edge of the bridge. There was nowhere left to retreat.

"D-Don't... don't kill me... I have money! I'll give it to you, all of it!" Zabuza did not say a word.

He lowered his head and looked at the short, fat man who had kicked Haku's corpse, at that face twisted beyond recognition by extreme terror.

The next moment, the cold glint of a kunai flashed.

Gato's scream abruptly cut off, as though an invisible hand had Dan-choked it away.

A shocking gash appeared across his short, thick neck. Blood erupted from the wound, drawing a high arc through the air.

He clutched his neck with both hands, his mouth opening and closing like a fish thrown onto shore. Then Zabuza kicked him away, sending him over the bridge railing and into the icy seawater with a splash.

A wide patch of red foam spread across the surface, then faded into stillness.

With Gato's death, the wandering warriors he had hired completely lost their reason to fight.

But immediately afterward, another, more dangerous idea began to spread among them.

"The boss is dead. No one's paying us anymore..."

"A wasted trip? Are you kidding me?"

"Aren't there still people in the town?"

"The Land of Waves is poor, sure, but if we loot the place, we can squeeze out something..."

In an instant, pairs of eyes turned in unison toward the town of the Land of Waves.

The greed of plunder burned in their eyes. Fear gradually gave way to avarice on their faces, and the warriors tightened their grips on their Vessels.

"This is bad," Kakashi said quietly.

Just then, the sound of chaotic footsteps and clashing metal came from the direction of town.

Then a group of young and middle-aged men from the Land of Waves rushed to the bridgehead carrying fish spears, hoes, wooden clubs, and crude bows, sealing off the bridge exit completely.

Tazuna's grandson stood at the front, his eyes red and his expression resolute.

A messy chorus of shouts erupted from the crowd behind him. Some voices trembled, some were choked with tears, but not a single person stepped back.

Naruto looked at them.

They wore clothes covered in patches, and the things in their hands could barely be called Vessels. Some of their legs were shaking, and the hands gripping wooden clubs trembled so badly that even the clubs shook.

"You'd be better off relying on yourselves than on them!"

Naruto took a deep breath and formed a cross-shaped hand seal.

"Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!"

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang...

This time, the smoke was greater than it had ever been before.

When the smoke cleared, more than a hundred of Naruto's Shadow Clone Techniques stood neatly across the bridge.

More than a hundred Narutos formed an orderly square formation, a sea of gold bathed in sunlight spilling through the gaps in the thick mist, radiating an imposing presence.

All the Narutos clenched their fists in unison, their knuckles cracking in a chorus as they stared at the wandering warriors in terrifying silence.

Watching this display, Kakashi's one visible eye curved slightly.

"This could intimidate them. It might be worth trying..."

"Shadow Clone Technique."

With that thought, Kakashi formed the same hand seal.

A dense cloud of smoke followed, and Kakashi's Shadow Clone Techniques appeared on the other side of the bridge. Their green ninja uniforms formed a striking contrast with Naruto's gold, one green and one gold, sealing the bridge exit as tightly as an iron barrel.

"Come on, make your move!"

More than a hundred Naruto clones and dozens of Kakashi clones spoke at the same time. Their voices layered together into a deafening wave that echoed above the bridge.

The bridge fell silent for a second.

Clang!

A warrior's katana fell to the ground, the sound of metal striking stone especially crisp in the silence.

Then came a second sound, a third, a tenth.

The wandering warriors who had just been shouting about looting the town saw that terrifying number of ninja, and their fighting spirit instantly collapsed.

They threw down their Vessels, turned, and fled, scrambling away in panic.

One person running made ten run. Ten people running made everyone run. In less than half a minute, only Vessels lay scattered across the bridge.

The wandering warriors fled completely, leaving behind nothing but a mess.

After a brief moment of shock, the townspeople of the Land of Waves erupted into thunderous cheers.

Some jumped and cheered, some dropped to their knees and kowtowed toward the sea, some threw their hats into the sky, and some embraced each other and wept uncontrollably.

"This is wonderful!"

"This is wonderful!"

"We defeated Gato..."

The cheers carried from the bridgehead all the way out to sea, drowning out even the sound of waves crashing against the reefs.

Naruto watched the scene and released the Shadow Clone Technique. In an instant, every clone dissolved into white smoke and vanished beneath the sunlight.

Kakashi's Shadow Clone Techniques disappeared at the same time.