Naruto: The Legend of Red Haired Shanks

Zabuza's voice roared like crashing waves. 

Gato stared at him from a distance, cold sweat dripping down his forehead. 

That scene from two weeks ago at sea flashed in his mind again—Zabuza cutting his smuggling ship clean in half with a single swing. 

His guards had been useless. They didn't even have a chance to fight back against that man. 

But Gato wasn't about to hand over his money without a fight. 

"Zabuza, you're just a rogue ninja from Kirigakure." 

"If you want my money, come take it yourself." 

Standing at the bow of his ship, Gato shouted angrily. 

He wasn't strong, and he was a coward, but when it came to his money, he would fight tooth and nail. 

Besides, he wasn't the same Gato from two weeks ago. 

After witnessing Zabuza's power, he had spent a fortune hiring over ten ninja from the underground black market. 

"Tsk, collecting protection money is such a hassle." 

Zabuza stepped forward with his right foot, launching himself into the air. 

A crisp sound of footsteps echoed. 

Everyone stared in shock as Zabuza ran through the air. 

Even the hired ninjas were dumbfounded.

Even as ninjas, they had never seen anything like this before. 

"Hurry, aim at him!" 

Gato reacted immediately, shoving aside the gunner next to him and taking control. He turned the weapon toward Zabuza. 

He had spent a lot of money to deal with Zabuza. 

"So what if you're a ninja? You think you can take my money? Go to hell!" 

Gato's face twisted with rage as over ten ships fired their cannons at the same time. 

The cannon blasts sent waves crashing across the water, and the heat rushed toward them. 

Feeling the sheer power of the artillery, Gato grinned even wider. 

But in the next instant, his smile froze. 

A flash of a blade—Zabuza swung, and the cannonballs in front of him split cleanly in half. 

No fancy technique. Just a simple slash. 

"Boom!!" 

The rest of the cannonballs either crashed into the sea or slammed onto the ice. 

But around Zabuza, nothing remained except a few traces of smoke. 

"Quick! Stop him!" 

Seeing this, Gato immediately turned and ran. 

The others on the ship pulled out their guns, all aiming at Zabuza. 

It was clear that Gato had really spent a fortune on this battle. 

"You really think this stuff can stop me?" 

Bang! Bang! Bang! 

Gunfire echoed across the sea, mixing with the sound of Zabuza's footsteps. 

With a few quick movements, he dodged the bullets with ease. 

His bandage-wrapped Kubikiribocho cut straight into the deck as he leaped onto the lead ship. 

At the same time, several chains shot out around him, as if they had been waiting for this moment. 

"Chain Bind!" 

Four ninjas wielding chains locked Zabuza in place. 

At that instant, kunai with explosive tags appeared above him, while several other ninjas below began forming hand seals. 

"Fire Release: Long Flame!" 

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!" 

In the blink of an eye, explosions and fire rained down on the deck. 

No one could survive that. 

As professional mercenary ninjas from the underground, they fought with full force, never giving their enemies a chance to breathe. 

"A rogue ninja from Kirigakure, one of the former Seven Swordsmen—so this is all he amounts to?" 

"Is that so?" 

A cold, chilling voice rang out. 

"When did that happen?" 

The ninjas below hadn't even reacted yet, but the spot where Kubikiribocho had been stuck was now empty. 

Then, blood splattered everywhere. 

A thick mist covered the fleet, and the chilling screams echoed across the sea. The white fog was tinged with a faint red hue. 

Within the mist, Zabuza moved like a vengeful ghost. 

No—something even more terrifying than a ghost. 

"Run!" 

"Get out of here!" 

"That thing is a monster! Run!" 

The crew on over ten ships completely broke down, jumping into the sea one after another. 

They didn't have the courage to face such a terrifying creature. 

People kept diving into the water, while bodies continued to fall into the sea. 

Gato stood at the stern, completely in despair. 

Didn't those merchants say that hired ninjas from the underground black market could easily take care of Zabuza? 

And what about these ship cannons and guns? They cost a fortune! 

Before facing Zabuza, everyone had been so confident. But now… 

"How can something like this exist? How can a sword cut through cannonballs?" 

"How can a person run through the air?" 

"This is impossible! Impossible!" 

Gato stared at the raging waves, fear written all over his face as he backed away from the stern. 

"Gato, I'm here for the money." 

Zabuza stepped out of the mist, his upper body bare, revealing his chiseled muscles. 

The fog was slowly clearing, and his towering figure loomed over Gato, looking down on him. 

"Z-Zabuza… Please, spare me! I-I'll give you the money! I have plenty of money!" 

At this moment, Gato finally broke down completely. 

Fight back? He wasn't even qualified to do that. 

Against someone like Zabuza, he didn't even have the right to resist. 

And his life? It meant nothing to Zabuza. 

What mattered was Gato's money—and the shipbuilding technology of the Land of Waves. 

Zabuza didn't know what use it had, but thinking back… Kisame's organization had almost gone bankrupt because of Orochimaru's scams, and they had chased him all over the world for it. 

So research and money… were probably pretty important. 

He wasn't good at making money, but Gato was. 

"Your life isn't worth much, Gato." 

"Take us to the Land of Waves." 

"Y-Yes… Zabuza… sir…" 

Hearing Zabuza's words, Gato barely managed to speak. 

His life wasn't worth much?

Gato wasn't stupid. His life was completely in Zabuza's hands now. If he didn't prove himself useful, no matter how many lives he had, it wouldn't be enough to survive today. 

Meanwhile, on a small boat in the distance. 

Two people lowered their binoculars and exchanged looks. They could see the shock on each other's faces. 

They had been sent to observe Gato's battle. 

In this era, merchants weren't entirely weak. Some powerful traders controlled forces comparable to small ninja villages. 

Out at sea, there were even underground black markets that specialized in selling ninja slaves. After the Fourth Great Ninja War, Sasuke had shown up in one of these black markets, which was a gathering place for wealthy merchants. 

"Let's go." 

"We need to report back. Gato lost." 

"Zabuza is way too strong." 

"Either way, we just have to tell the boss exactly what happened." 

"....."

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