Naruto clenched his fists, wanting to rush forward.
This time, Kakashi grabbed Naruto's head with some irritation and said, "First, tell me what you're rushing out to do. If you can explain it clearly, I won't stop you."
"Of course, it's because they killed so many people!"
"Then when that group wanted to kill them just now, why didn't you stop them?"
"I—"
"Look carefully, Gato is still alive. So what just happened was simply a death match between ninja. You have no reason to interfere in someone else's death match. Are you afraid you won't die fast enough?"
After speaking, Kakashi pushed Naruto away and looked at Zabuza with a complicated expression.
He was witnessing the end of a ninja's road.
Unlike Naruto, Kakashi had experienced countless helpless situations and deeply understood that there were some things you simply couldn't do.
At least for now, Naruto wasn't qualified to do them.
"Hatake Kakashi, it seems you're not going to make a move?"
Zabuza spoke with difficulty, slowly sitting down with Haku's support.
"How much longer can you live? If you're about to die right now, I might consider, for the sake of you being a good opponent and a good teacher, helping you collect your corpse."
Zabuza laughed arrogantly twice, then said between coughs, "I'm not going to die yet. We'll meet again."
"It's better if we don't meet again. Otherwise, next time I won't hold back."
Kakashi pulled Naruto along, leading Sasuke and Sakura away.
Just as he had said before, this mission to the Land of Waves had already been upgraded from C-rank to B-rank when those chūnin ambushed them.
Earlier, when Zabuza suddenly attacked them, this mission had already been upgraded to A-rank.
The fight that just happened was purely a lesson.
Kakashi wanted to use this unscheduled death match to teach Naruto and the others that ninja must do what is within a ninja's duty; the rest they shouldn't and couldn't interfere with.
As for what happened afterward, that was even less within Kakashi's consideration.
Just after Kakashi and his team had walked far away, Ryun appeared, wearing a mask.
"Sir, Boss, please, please save Zabuza-sama!"
"Don't worry, he won't die."
Ryun didn't act immediately. Instead, he placed his hands on their shoulders.
The next moment, Ryun disappeared with them, arriving in front of a long line of carriages.
This scene shocked Zabuza and Haku once again.
Although they had never seen the Flying Thunder God Technique before, who in the entire ninja world didn't know the name of the Yellow Flash of Konoha?
"You… are you the Fourth Hokage?"
Even Zabuza unconsciously used respectful language, his voice trembling slightly.
"No, I told you, I'm a civilian."
"As for where I got my technique, you need to understand that the Flying Thunder God wasn't created by the Fourth Hokage either."
The reason Ryun demonstrated the Flying Thunder God in front of these two was that he would definitely be using it frequently before them from now on; hiding it would be meaningless.
However, Zabuza and Haku were both professional ninja; keeping it a secret in the short term wouldn't be a problem.
Moreover, Ryun had already placed his Flying Thunder God mark on them just now.
It might not be very effective against Kage-level and above opponents, but it was definitely something Zabuza and Haku couldn't resist.
Zabuza's eyes flickered as he speculated about Ryun's identity.
He didn't know the exact lineage of the Flying Thunder God Technique, but when it came to creating techniques, there was another person in Konoha equally renowned throughout the world.
At this moment, it seemed that Ryun was that person's disciple, junior, or perhaps a bloodline successor.
While Zabuza was still thinking, Gato stumbled over, shouting for the drivers to move the carriages. He wanted to flee from this place and escape that bloodthirsty demon, Zabuza.
However, no matter how much Gato pushed them, the drivers didn't move at all. They were clearly all hypnotized by Ryun's genjutsu.
Only then did Gato notice Ryun, and also see Zabuza and Haku beside him.
Gritting his teeth, he rushed forward, nodding and bowing as he said, "So it's you, my lord!"
"Thank you for helping me capture these two traitors. I've prepared a reward of one hundred million—no, five hundred million ryō!"
"Kill them now and come back to headquarters with me. I'll give you the cash immediately!"
Ryun looked at Gato with new appreciation. He hadn't expected him to be able to produce five hundred million ryō in cash.
Conservatively speaking, Gato's assets must have been in the tens of billions.
Truly a fat sheep.
"Alright."
Ryun nodded again, and in Gato's despairing gaze, used the Mystical Palm Technique.
This time, Zabuza and Haku were both seriously injured, so the treatment took longer.
Gato scrambled backward, then turned and ran, not daring to look back.
Zabuza tested his condition and said, "Boss, do you need me to get rid of him for you now?"
"No, I'll do it myself."
Ryun's words drew a strange look from Zabuza.
"Boss, I remember you said you were a civilian, right? Is it appropriate for a civilian to just kill someone?"
"Although we're ninja, we're missing-nin. So even if we kill Gato, it won't cause much trouble."
"I don't think any ninja village would be bored enough to send jōnin to their deaths."
What Zabuza said was true.
Although he couldn't beat Kakashi, his strength was undoubtedly in the upper tier among jōnin.
Combined with Haku, who possessed the Ice Release Kekkei Genkai as a trump card, most jōnin would indeed fall to his Executioner's Blade if they weren't careful.
"It has nothing to do with that. I just need to get used to the feeling of killing."
"Using Gato as a sacrificial flag isn't bad."
Although Ryun had killed countless times in simulations and personally experienced the process through memories, there was still a gap between that and reality.
Now was the time to break his killing taboo.
Ryun then healed Haku as well. Once they had regained the ability to move, he unhurriedly pursued Gato.
In the end, Ryun found Gato hiding in a small wooden hut by the roadside.
"How much money do you want? I'll give it to you! I'll give you everything! Isn't that enough?!"
Ryun approached step by step and said, "Do you think you're more important to me, or is money more important to me?"
Gato cautiously replied, "Me?"
Ryun shook his head.
"Then… money?"
Ryun raised his hand.
"What's the answer?!"
"The answer is—"
Ryun used genjutsu to extract the location of all the wealth Gato had hidden, then thrust his hand through Gato's throat. The sensation of warm blood didn't cause any reaction in Ryun.
Aside from the tempering of simulations, Ryun's mental strength in reality was also terrifyingly strong; such stimulation naturally couldn't shake him.
"Of course, you disappearing is what's most important to me."
Ryun withdrew his hand, used Water Release to clean the bloodstains, then incinerated Gato with a Great Fireball Technique, and finally used Wind Release to scatter Gato's ashes into the sea.
After finishing everything, Ryun clapped his hands and turned around, seeing Zabuza and Haku, who had already followed him. He smiled and greeted them.
The two remained silent.
They were used to seeing people killed, and used to killing.
But someone like Ryun—who called himself a civilian one moment and then professionally destroyed all traces of a corpse the next—was something they had never encountered before.
"Don't just stand there. We still have a lot to do."
Ryun emphasized again. This time, Zabuza replied, "Boss, what do you need us to do? Give the orders."
"Very simple. Clean up the ninja on the island."
"Those with a history of indiscriminately killing innocents—kill them directly. Those who followed Gato's orders and committed atrocities—expel them from the country. For the rest, if there are any usable people, tell them their salary is increased by thirty percent."
"If there truly aren't any usable people left, then use your connections to recruit new ninja. Remember, their backgrounds must be as clean as possible."
"From now on, the Land of Waves will focus on legitimate business. After all, I'm just a civilian, not some bloodthirsty villain."
The corner of Zabuza's mouth twitched. He accepted the order and left.
He had no intention of criticizing Ryun's actions. As a ninja, he only needed to follow orders.
As for how to determine who had committed evil, the solution was simple.
He would tell everyone he was recruiting thugs, then take them to pull off a big job.
Anyone who admitted to being a thug would be killed on the spot.
After dealing with Gato, Ryun turned back toward the bridge.
He had come to see someone.
Sure enough, after the battle ended, Tazuna rushed over immediately to inspect the damage to his beloved bridge.
When Ryun, still wearing a mask, appeared behind him, Tazuna didn't panic. Instead, he seemed relieved.
He slowly turned his head, looked at Ryun, and said, "So I really couldn't avoid death after all… Are you the new ninja Gato hired?"
"If you want to kill me, then do it."
Ryun smiled and removed his mask, saying, "No. I am the new boss of the Land of Waves United Corporation. You can call me Ryun."
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