Nighttime.
After a banquet filled with the profuse gratitude of the entire Village, the three returned to their room.
In the middle of the night, Aoki Yoru opened his eyes. After telling Kenta, who was on watch, he quietly left the Village.
He had previously intentionally left one survivor alive to ask for Gato's location, which turned out to be in a city 10 kilometers away.
After an hour of travel, Aoki Yoru stealthily crept up to Gato's residence. Extending his senses, he was surprised to find only ten Genin and a few samurai guarding the place.
It seemed the news of the destruction of those gangs hadn't reached Gato yet; otherwise, given his wealth, it was impossible he would only arrange for these few guards.
Before coming, he had worried that Gato might have hired Zabuza and Haku as his personal bodyguards. If that were the case, he would have turned around and left without a word, as the income would not be worth the risk.
"It seems heaven is determined to destroy you!" Aoki Yoru transformed into a middle-aged man and snuck inside.
At this moment, the patrolling Ninja and samurai were conducting their rounds lazily, completely unaware of the impending danger.
Suddenly, a gust of wind blew past. A thin, bright red line appeared on the necks of several guards simultaneously. Blood instantly gushed out, and they collapsed stiffly to the ground without even a groan.
Inside the master bedroom, the lights were dim. On a wide, soft couch, Gato was fast asleep, embracing two seductively dressed women, snoring heavily as he dreamed sweet dreams.
Suddenly, he felt a chill on his neck, as if touching a piece of metal. He immediately opened his eyes and saw a middle-aged man holding a blade against his throat.
He was shocked, his sleepiness vanishing instantly. "Good sir, please state your demands. As long as you spare me, anything is negotiable. I have money, I have a lot of money."
Having come from a merchant background, he understood how to read the situation.
The two women beside him woke up at this moment. Seeing Aoki Yoru with the blade, they were terrified and about to scream. A flash of cold light passed; bloodstains appeared on their necks, and they immediately collapsed, dead.
This scene made the hair on Gato's body stand on end, and he didn't dare make a single move.
Half an hour later, Aoki Yoru walked out holding a scroll, his face full of smiles. He had extorted 800 million in cash from Gato, which should have been all of Gato's liquid assets.
Thinking of the original story, which mentioned Gato's tens of billions in assets, he instantly felt a pang of heartache, as if his own assets had flown away.
But he knew he couldn't touch those; much of it was property belonging to the high-ranking officials of various countries, and Gato was merely a white glove.
At this moment, Gato, covered in wounds and mangled flesh, lay on the cold floor, convulsing continuously, breathing his last amidst endless fear and excruciating pain.
When he returned to the room, the sky was already faintly brightening.
Opening the door, four bright eyes stared at him, their faces filled with anticipation.
Aoki Yoru smiled and took out two scrolls, tossing them to them. The two picked up the scrolls and opened them expectantly.
"Thirty million!!" Yui exclaimed in a low voice.
One must know that their Shimizu clan had had Ninja for generations, yet their total ancestral assets didn't even add up to thirty million.
They still had to rely on the women doing sewing to subsidize household expenses. With this money, the expenses for the little ones in the clan could finally be increased.
Kenta was also breathing heavily, his face flushed; he didn't even know how to spend so much money.
Aoki Yoru certainly knew this was no small sum; it was nearly the bounty on Asuma's head. However, to seal their lips, this money had to be given. Tomorrow, the news of Gato's death would spread throughout the Land of Waves.
"We'll give Kakashi-sensei his share when he wakes up." Aoki Yoru was counting on Kakashi-sensei to take the lead if something happened.
The two took the scrolls and placed them inside their inner garments, patting them down to keep them close, with no intention of letting them leave their persons.
Early the next morning, they carried Kakashi on their backs and continued their journey amidst the villagers' farewells.
Swoosh—swoosh—
Having stepped into the Land of Fire, the three of them—Aoki Yoru and the others—traveled at full speed, maneuvering through the tree branches.
"Yoru, this isn't the road back to the Village, is it?" Discovering the route was wrong, Yui asked in confusion.
"No. Given Kakashi-sensei's physical state, I don't know how long he can hold out. It just so happens that Tanzaku Town isn't far from here, so we'll go and try our luck to see if we can encounter that 'Big Fat Sheep of the Ninja World'."
"The Big Fat Sheep of the Ninja World?" Both Yui and Kenta had heard this name and looked confused.
Aoki Yoru didn't explain to them and just kept traveling intently.
Tanzaku Town.
This was the most famous bustling place in the Land of Fire, a prosperous street market known for its tourism and gambling industries.
The streets here were wide, with an endless stream of pedestrians. Flashily dressed wealthy merchants, dissolute Ninja, and brightly adorned geishas wove through the area, while the air was filled with the scent of alcohol, rouge, and money.
Compared to the dilapidation and desolation of the Land of Waves, this was simply another world.
Ignoring the two who were dazzled by the sights, Aoki Yoru focused all his senses on the town.
Since graduating, after continuous training, his sensory abilities had broken through, allowing him to easily cover the entire town.
Skipping over the scenes that would make one blush, he intruded into the casinos. Although every casino had barrier techniques, they couldn't stop someone as skilled in sensory perception as him.
Luck was on his side; he spotted Tsunade's figure in the most luxurious casino in the center of the street.
He brought them to the side of the casino, had Kenta and the others wait in a nearby alley, and went in himself.
"Hey, this is a casino, brats can't come in." As soon as he entered, he was stopped by the security guard at the door.
Aoki Yoru tossed him a stack of money, "A casino surely can't stop people from coming to play, right?"
Not caring about the guard's stunned expression, he walked straight to the front desk and, under the shocked gaze of the attendant, exchanged for one million in chips.
At this moment, a circle of people surrounded Tsunade. Whenever she placed a bet, everyone else would rush to bet on the opposite side.
At this time, Aoki Yoru walked over and placed all his chips on the same spot, immediately drawing glares from the crowd.
There was only so much money to be won from the 'Big Fat Sheep', and yet a brat had come to get a share. However, constrained by the casino's rules, they couldn't do anything.
The 'Big Fat Sheep of the Ninja World' truly lived up to her name. In just a short while, his principal had tripled; it was practically picking up money, and Aoki Yoru couldn't help but click his tongue.
Not long after, all the chips in front of Tsunade were lost completely amidst Shizune's constant pleading, and she immediately left with the dejected Shizune.
The crowd was still unsatisfied; opportunities to pick up money like this weren't easy to come by.
Watching Tsunade leave, Aoki Yoru immediately went to the front desk to cash out and left.
There was no face-slapping drama. At this age, being able to produce so much money meant he either had backing or was strong, so there was no need to provoke him.
"Lady Tsunade, please wait."
"Ah! It's you, little brat. What is it? Do you want to lend me money?" Tsunade, who was furious about losing money, turned her head and saw the little brat who had just won her money.
"There is a patient I would like you to take a look at." Then, he turned to look at the alley, "Kenta, Yui, come out!"
Looking at the familiar figure behind Kenta, Tsunade said in surprise, "Kakashi? You are actually from Konoha."
Aoki Yoru and the others had removed their headbands when entering Tanzaku Town to avoid trouble from Konoha's enemies, so Tsunade had always taken him for a wealthy noble.
"Follow me."
On the way, Aoki Yoru told Tsunade about how Kakashi was injured; after all, it was better to know the cause of the mental trauma.
"Itachi? That's the son of that brat Fugaku. I didn't expect him to be able to wipe out his entire clan."
Tsunade said, her tone suddenly full of dissatisfaction, "The old man is really regressing as he gets older. To actually let such a large Ninja clan be wiped out—is this still the original intention of Konoha's founding?"
Only a fool would believe that Itachi could hide it from everyone and wipe out a clan alone; the Konoha high-ups must have taken action as well. She had left in anger precisely because she couldn't stand the way those people operated.