Chapter 55: Fall, Thunder Dragon
"Huh? What do you mean by Gato Company?"
The drunken man squinted at Kenichi, eyes glazed. His breath reeked so strongly of alcohol that Kenichi instinctively leaned back.
"Yes, Gato Company. Where is it based?" Kenichi repeated, his tone already turning impatient.
He had made it all the way to the Land of Waves, yet after asking around he had found no trace of Gato's business. That alone was enough to make him frown.
Could it be that Gato's company had not extended its reach to the Land of Waves yet?
"No... hic... never heard of that..." The man hiccupped mid sentence, then slumped forward onto the table and started snoring.
Kenichi scratched his head. It seemed the situation had shifted from what he remembered. On second thought, though, it was not all that surprising.
Right now, Naruto had only just been born. By the time he accepted the escort mission to the Land of Waves and arrived here with his team, he would already be twelve. That meant there were still more than eleven years until Naruto made his debut.
Eleven years was more than enough time for the world to change.
"I guessed wrong," Kenichi muttered.
At this point in time, Gato's company might not have even set foot in the Land of Waves. Whether Gato would eventually grow into one of the great tycoons of the ninja world was still a question mark.
This was the downside of living in a world without the internet. If there were a network, information like this would be a simple search away.
Without it, just finding out who the richest person in a region was became a time consuming problem.
"Forget it. I can collect intel while I look around," Kenichi decided.
He casually took out a thin needle and pricked the drunken man's hand, drawing a bead of blood.
As long as he was out here, he planned to gather as much genetic information as possible and store it away for later.
There had been no chakra in this world originally. Chakra only appeared after Kaguya Otsutsuki planted the God Tree. Yet even before Kaguya, there had been so called native gods and strange beings in the ninja world.
The evil god Hidan worshipped, for example, and the death god sealed in the Land of Whirlpools.
If beings like that had existed in the distant past, it was entirely possible that human genes carried remnants of something unusual, buried deep and waiting to be uncovered.
"We can collect some of the local plants too."
Kenichi plucked a fruit from a nearby tree. A moment later, a man rushed over angrily, face twisted with outrage.
Before he could even open his mouth, Kenichi flicked a handful of coins his way.
The anger on the man's face melted instantly into a fawning smile.
Kenichi had considered simply using his Sharingan to hypnotize people whenever problems came up, but he decided that would be a waste of his eyes. For trivial matters like this, money worked just fine.
He wandered through the streets of the Land of Waves, taking in the simple lives of the civilians around him. His fingers went up to his hair as he scratched his head.
Without Gato, life here was difficult but straightforward.
Under the heavy dark clouds that seemed to press down on the island, people drifted along the streets in worn out clothes. The whole place felt like nothing more than a small, weather beaten fishing village.
Poverty clung to every corner.
This tiny country survived almost entirely on fishing. There was not even a trace of ninja activity. If Kenichi wanted to, he could probably establish his own ninja village here with ease.
But there was no point.
What was the use of founding a shinobi village in a place like this? To have the villagers fish for him every day, then declare himself the Fish Kage?
If that title spread, the entire ninja world would probably die laughing.
To make matters worse, this unfortunate country did not even have a daimyo. That disappointed Kenichi. If it had, tracking down the wealthiest people and sources of funding would have been much simpler.
"Forget it. Let's go check the port. If Gato is involved in trade here, there has to be some trace," Kenichi murmured, rubbing his chin.
If he still could not find anything, he would have no choice but to go back to the Land of Fire and look for money there. There was never any shortage of rich people in the Land of Fire.
Maybe his luck was finally turning, because the moment Kenichi set foot on the docks, he spotted a ship moored there with the Gato Company crest painted clearly on its hull. Men were moving cargo up and down the gangplank in a hurry.
A deafening clap of thunder split the sky, followed by a jagged flash of lightning that illuminated the harbor. The sudden roar made one of the dockworkers jump, drawing a stream of curses from a man on the ship.
"You peasants, watch what you are doing! That is headed for the Land of Water for the big shots to enjoy!"
Looking at the arrogant man barking orders from the deck, Kenichi smiled faintly.
What good luck.
"Gato?" he called out to the well dressed but still slightly youthful looking man.
Gato turned reflexively at the sound of his name. The instant his gaze met Kenichi's, he saw a pair of red eyes spin open, three tomoe revolving slowly within them.
Controlling an ordinary person with the Sharingan was hardly a challenge. Almost the moment Gato's eyes locked with his, the man fell into a genjutsu and Kenichi seized his mind.
However, Gato had clearly not come here unprepared. Four ninjas flickered into view beside him, forming a protective ring around their employer.
"Water Release, Great Waterfall Technique!"
One of the bodyguards flashed through hand seals. A roaring wall of water surged forward, rushing straight at Kenichi.
"Seriously, why do you people insist on shouting the name of your jutsu every time? Is it some kind of obsession?" Kenichi muttered.
He could activate a technique without saying a word. What was the point of yelling it out?
Did announcing it somehow make the ninjutsu stronger?
"Kenichi, the ones who shout like that are usually third rate ninjas. Real shinobi can unleash their jutsu without a sound."
That had been his teacher's answer when Kenichi asked the same question.
Of course, the funny part was that in the anime, his teacher had shouted the names of his own jutsu too.
So, confirmed. Third rate ninja.
Naturally, Kenichi knew the real reason: it was for the audience's benefit, so they could tell which technique was being used. Still, that did not make it any less funny in person.
He had already anticipated that Gato would be guarded by shinobi.
Kenichi flew through his own sequence of hand seals and slapped his palms against the ground.
Earth rose and solidified in front of him, forming a towering earthen wall that took the brunt of the crashing torrent.
"Somebody is killing people!"
The dockworkers scattered in all directions, fleeing the harbor in a panic.
Kenichi felt a trace of relief at the sight.
If the spectators had stayed to watch the show, the lab would have ended up with a few more human test subjects by the end of the day.
Taking advantage of the cover, Kenichi loosened the restraints on his senses.
Lightning shaped markings bloomed around his eyes once more, the familiar pattern etching itself across his skin.
"It really is a thunderstorm today," he said, glancing up at the roiling dark clouds overhead.
He had seen the lightning earlier. With the help of his three tomoe Sharingan, he could now track the flicker of power within the clouds even more clearly.
A damp chill spread through the air. Mist began to rise from the surface of the sea, growing thicker and thicker until visibility dropped to nothing.
"The Hidden Mist Technique, huh?" Kenichi almost burst out laughing.
Here was a little known detail: fog could conduct electricity.
Strictly speaking, pure water vapor was not conductive, but natural fog contained countless impurities suspended in the air. That made it an excellent conductor.
Kenichi raised his hand, eyes gleaming.
"Fall, Thunder Dragon!"
<><><><><>
[P@treon Christmas Discount: 20% OFF]
[Check Out My Patreon For +40 Advance Chapters On All My Fanfics!]
[[email protected]/FanficLord03]
[Every 100 Power Stones = +1 Bonus Chapter]
[Join Our Discord Community For Updates & Events]
[https://discord.gg/MntqcdpRZ9]