"The operator of the underground black market in Seagull City is the Funaya family. These scum not only traffic people and contraband, they also monopolize the island's grain trade…"
Since following Uchiha Keizumi, Izumi had already seen who knew how many utterly depraved scum, but a situation like that of Seagull City was still her first time encountering it. "If it were just for profiteering, that would be one thing—but the most hateful part is that they deliberately create famine, forcing poor people who can't afford to raise children to sell their kids to them!"
"Those people have no food to eat—they don't even spare cats, meow! So many cats were captured and eaten by them, meow!"
Tachibana Jirō was so furious that he could barely speak clearly, baring his claws and waving them as if he wanted to tear someone apart.
"The intelligence I gathered is more or less the same. In previous years, there were still several underground black market groups in Seagull City that balanced each other, but in recent years, the Funaya family suddenly rose to power and swallowed up the others…"
Biwa Jūzō spoke in a low voice. Although his infiltration of the black market had been stopped by Kurosuki Raiga, as a former member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, gathering some basic intelligence in towns within the Land of Water was still effortless for him.
"Then we'll start with the Funaya family! First, let every sinner receive the fate they deserve!" Izumi spoke through clenched teeth. This was her first time presiding over such a large-scale purge. With the scale of Seagull City's black market, there were probably hundreds of criminals whose sin levels had reached red-name status. "In the name of Absolute Justice!"
"The opponents are likely far more troublesome than you imagine. Just among those I know, there's a former member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen and several rogue ninja at the jōnin level…"
Jūzō crossed his arms and glanced at Izumi's somewhat youthful figure, unable to stop himself from offering a reminder. "Besides that, you also have to guard against those who profit from the black market—they might take advantage of the chaos, or even join forces with the Funaya family…"
"Are you trying to persuade me to give up, senpai?"
Izumi frowned slightly, a trace of dissatisfaction mixed into her calm tone.
"No. I mean the enemy is strong…"
Jūzō gripped the handle of Kubikiribōchō, murderous intent surging as he spoke, "So I'll have to take action as well."
"Meow! And me too!"
Jirō struggled to extend the claws hidden within his thick paw pads. "I'm going to seek justice for the other cats!"
With that, two humans and one cat reached an agreement. After exchanging a glance, their figures swiftly vanished from where they stood.
...
As night fell, inside the black market warehouse of Seagull City, unlike the town district below where only scattered lights flickered, the warehouse remained brightly lit and bustling with noise even in the dead of night.
Gang leaders were competing over the grain shares allocated to their respective territories. This not only determined how much money they could make in the coming period, but also how many subordinates they could recruit—and even their own survival.
Because of this, the method by which they competed for shares was extremely bloody. Each would send out their subordinates to participate in a free-for-all slaughter without regard for friend or foe. The duration of survival would determine the grain share they would receive for the next period. The one who survived the longest would obtain the largest share, while the first to die would receive the least.
To secure greater profit—or simply to stay alive—the gang leaders employed every possible method. Some trained subordinates skilled at escaping, others recruited highly skilled swordsmen, and some directly hired wandering ninja and rogue ninja.
Naturally, the result of this was that in order to pay the rogue ninja, the gang leaders had no choice but to further exploit the civilians within their territories. Those who could no longer survive were forced to sell their children—or even their wives—to the gangs, who would then resell them to the Funaya family that controlled the black market. Thus, a chain of crime was formed, beginning with control over food and ending in human trafficking.
...
By the time the two humans and one cat infiltrated the warehouse using the Transformation Technique, the death match inside had already reached a fever pitch. Most of the participants were already dead, leaving only two wandering ninja, one rogue ninja, and a rōnin still alive.
"These damned scum! Jūzō-senpai, no need to hold back! Not a single person here is innocent!"
Izumi only took one glance before nearly being dazzled by the hundreds of red names before her eyes. Both shocked and furious, she spoke decisively to Jūzō: "Kill them all!"
"Hmph! Just what I wanted!"
Jūzō raised Kubikiribōchō without hesitation. Before anyone in the warehouse could react, he charged toward the nearest gang leader.
"Who goes there?!"
A gang leader capable of making a name for himself in Seagull City naturally had some skill. Almost at the exact moment Jūzō launched his charge, the man he targeted had already reacted.
Clang! Slash!
Unfortunately, before absolute strength, even the fastest reaction was useless. Just as the gang leader drew his blade, the massive Kubikiribōchō, carrying a fierce tearing wind, cleaved him—and his weapon—clean in two.
"Enemy attack!"
"They're here to cause trouble! Get them!"
"Kill them!"
…
However, such a brutal scene did not intimidate the gang leaders present. Instead, it stirred their ferocity, and they rushed forward with their subordinates and thugs toward Jūzō.
Only a few well-informed rogue ninja noticed the Kubikiribōchō in his hands and instinctively halted their steps.
As rogue ninja operating in the Land of Water, they might not remember Biwa Jūzō himself—but they absolutely recognized the infamous broken blade: Kubikiribōchō!
"Go to hell, trash!"
Jūzō grinned, revealing a mouthful of sharp teeth, and swung Kubikiribōchō mercilessly at the charging enemies. In an instant, blood and carnage erupted.
Ordinary gang thugs were no match for him at all. With Izumi's permission, Jūzō showed no intention of holding back. In just a few breaths, he cut straight through the crowd, leaving behind a ground littered with severed limbs.
Seeing this, Izumi's eyelid twitched slightly. Although she had seen Keizumi-senpai kill before—and she herself was no longer a rookie who had never seen blood—such a brutal slaughter still instinctively made her feel nauseated.
But after just one glance at the dense list of crimes above the remaining red names, she discarded all unnecessary pity, drew the katana she had specially prepared, and moved to engage the gang thugs targeting her.
"Sinners…"
The Sharingan in Izumi's eyes spun rapidly. In an instant, she finished reading the crimes above her opponent's head. Then she locked eyes with him—her three-tomoe Sharingan's genjutsu immediately froze the thug in place.
"They must be executed!"