"Young Clan Head, should we continue waiting here for Lord Uchiha Madara, or should we move somewhere else?"
Uchiha Setsuna spoke with visible concern.
His worry was not for Madara's safety—few people in the Ninja World could truly threaten the legendary Uchiha Madara. Instead, Setsuna's concern was focused on the group gathered here.
The Uchiha clansmen who had followed them were the elites of the clan.
Every single one of them was valuable.
Even losing one person would cause Setsuna deep regret. The mere thought of it would keep him awake at night.
As for the Uchiha who had remained in Konoha…
Setsuna had already forced himself to stop considering them as fellow clansmen.
If they were unwilling to follow the clan's path, then they were no longer companions.
No longer family.
At best, they were strangers.
At worst… they might someday become enemies.
Uchiha Su understood that the moment to make a decision had arrived.
Should they remain here and wait for Uchiha Madara?
Or should they leave immediately and continue their journey?
Uchiha Setsuna remained silent.
Several Jonin gathered nearby, their eyes fixed on the young leader.
Even though Uchiha Su was only a child, the events of the past days had already proven his capability. None of them doubted his judgment anymore.
All of them waited quietly for the Young Clan Head to speak.
Uchiha Su thought for only a moment before making his decision.
"Leave this place," he said calmly.
"We are heading to the Land of Waves."
The surrounding ninjas exchanged brief glances but remained silent.
Uchiha Su continued speaking.
"The Land of Waves is close to the sea. It's the perfect location to prepare ships capable of transporting hundreds of people to the Land of Water."
He paused briefly before giving another order.
"As for this place, leave one ninja squad behind to wait for my uncle."
"The rest of you will travel with us."
No one objected.
The decision was finalized.
Arrival in the Land of Waves
The Land of Waves was a small island nation.
Unlike the major countries of the Ninja World, it did not possess its own ninja village.
Its military strength was almost nonexistent.
Most of its people were ordinary civilians who struggled simply to survive.
This was the first impression Uchiha Su had after arriving in the country.
As he walked through the coastal town where they had temporarily settled, he saw thin fishermen mending old nets, merchants arguing over small amounts of money, and children wearing patched clothing running barefoot through muddy streets.
Many people looked exhausted.
Most were living day to day without any certainty about their next meal.
Uchiha Su observed everything carefully.
In his previous memories, the Land of Waves had once been controlled by a merchant named Gato.
Under Gato's rule, the country had fallen into extreme poverty.
He had monopolized maritime transportation, raising prices so high that the people could barely survive.
Even the construction of a simple bridge had been beyond the nation's ability.
But now Uchiha Su wondered something.
"Has Gato already arrived in the Land of Waves at this time?"
The timeline he was living in was extremely distant from the era he remembered.
Even Naruto and Sasuke had not been born yet.
Their parents likely hadn't even met.
For example, Sasuke's father—Uchiha Fugaku—did not appear anywhere in the current Uchiha clan records.
Uchiha Su had checked the clan registry long ago.
The name simply didn't exist yet.
Thinking about it made the timeline feel incredibly ancient.
He shook his head slightly and focused on the present.
"Jonin Setsuna," Uchiha Su said.
"Take a team and gather intelligence about the Land of Waves."
"We may need to stay here for a while."
"Understood," Setsuna replied immediately.
Without wasting any time, he selected several clansmen and departed to gather information.
Temporary Settlement
At the moment, the Uchiha clansmen were staying in a small coastal town.
Fortunately, the town had enough empty houses to accommodate their group of around two hundred people.
The houses were simple but functional.
For the time being, it was more than sufficient.
A knock sounded on the door.
"Young Clan Head," a calm female voice said.
After receiving permission, the door opened.
A girl around fifteen or sixteen years old stepped inside.
She wore practical clothing suitable for work rather than combat.
Her name was Uchiha Nami.
Although her combat abilities were average, she was extremely capable when it came to organization and paperwork.
"Young Clan Head," she said respectfully.
"The Daimyo of the Land of Waves has invited you to his mansion for a discussion."
Uchiha Su frowned slightly.
"The Daimyo?"
"What does he want with me?"
Truthfully, Uchiha Su still found the political structure of the Ninja World rather strange.
Each country possessed two leaders.
The Kage, who ruled the ninja village.
And the Daimyo, who ruled the country itself.
The Kage commanded military power.
All ninja followed the Kage's orders.
Meanwhile, the Daimyo controlled the nation's wealth and political authority.
Officially speaking, the Daimyo funded the ninja village in exchange for military protection.
But if one spoke more bluntly…
The ninja village was essentially a powerful guard dog raised by the Daimyo.
When the dog was hungry, the Daimyo would toss it a bone.
Because of this arrangement, the Daimyo's status was technically higher than the Kage's.
Whenever a new Kage was chosen, they were required to travel to the capital and formally greet the Daimyo.
Only after receiving the Daimyo's recognition would their leadership be considered legitimate.
Without that approval, even the strongest ninja could struggle to maintain authority.
After thinking briefly, Uchiha Su looked at the clock.
"What time is it now?" he asked.
"12:00 PM," Nami replied.
Uchiha Su nodded.
"Tell the Daimyo that I will visit his mansion at 6:00 PM."
Nami bowed slightly.
"Understood."
Once she left, Uchiha Su began preparing.
Six hours was more than enough time for Setsuna to gather intelligence.
And before meeting the Daimyo, Uchiha Su wanted to understand the situation of the Land of Waves completely.
Intelligence Report
At exactly 3:00 PM, Uchiha Setsuna returned.
In his hands was a thick stack of documents.
"Young Clan Head," he said.
"This is the intelligence you requested."
Uchiha Su accepted the stack and began flipping through the pages quickly.
His eyes moved rapidly as he scanned the information.
Then one name immediately caught his attention.
"Gato?"
Uchiha Su raised an eyebrow.
He hadn't expected the man to appear so early in history.
Setsuna nodded.
"Yes."
"This Gato is currently twenty years old. He is originally from the Land of Waves."
"His public identity is the president of a shipping company."
"But in reality…"
Setsuna paused slightly.
"He employs a group of ronin and rogue ninja."
"About a dozen of them."
Uchiha Su continued listening.
"Among them, the strongest is a rogue ninja from the Hidden Sand Village," Setsuna said.
"His strength is approximately at the level of a Chunin."
"The Hidden Sand Village has issued a B-rank danger rating for him."
Uchiha Su turned to the next page.
There he saw a wanted poster.
The bounty listed beneath it was 100,000 yen.
The man in the picture looked gloomy and dangerous.
"'Sin of the Sand,' huh?" Uchiha Su muttered.
"That's quite an intimidating nickname."
He smirked slightly.
"Since Gato runs a shipping company publicly," Uchiha Su said, "what is his hidden business?"
Since Setsuna had memorized all the intelligence already, Uchiha Su stopped reading and simply asked.
Setsuna answered immediately.
"Behind the scenes, he operates as a gang leader."
"In addition to the dozen combatants he employs, he also controls hundreds of thugs."
"Using these people, Gato conducts illegal trade."
"Smuggling, black-market goods… and drugs."
Uchiha Su blinked in surprise.
He hadn't expected drugs to exist in the Ninja World.
Originally, he had been considering recruiting Gato.
Despite his flaws, the man clearly possessed business talent.
But now that idea was no longer appealing.
Uchiha Su shook his head.
"Never mind."
Then he asked another question.
"I will meet the Daimyo at 6:00 PM."
"Do you have information about him?"
Setsuna nodded.
"Yes."
"The Daimyo of the Land of Waves is named Araki Taro."
"He has moderate governing ability but lacks ambition."
"Before Gato rose to power, the people of this country lived reasonably well."
"At the very least, they had enough food and clothing."
"But after Gato monopolized maritime transport, prices began to skyrocket."
"That is why the country has become so poor."
Uchiha Su slowly closed the document.
"For an island nation," he said thoughtfully, "controlling maritime transport is the same as controlling the nation's economic lifeline."
"If someone monopolizes shipping…"
"They control trade."
"They control wealth."
"They control politics."
"They even control the people."
Setsuna suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
Although Uchiha Su was smiling gently, there was something unsettling in his tone.
After a moment, Uchiha Su spoke again.
"So in other words…"
"If we want to travel to the Land of Water by ship…"
"We first need permission from Gato?"
He leaned back slightly in his chair.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"Well…"
"That certainly makes things interesting."
Advance Chapters avilable on patreon (Obito_uchiha)