Before Makoto enlightened them, everyone's thoughts were actually quite similar to Itachi's.
They believed that the Daimyo controlled the economy while the Kage controlled the military, and that the shinobi villages couldn't survive without the Daimyo's funding.
In reality? The "Daimyo" were just a bunch of soft aristocrats who bullied the weak and wet themselves in front of the strong.
Look at the Raikage of Kumo.
He was a tyrant who barely listened to his Daimyo.
Look at the Kazekage of Tsuna.
He was weak, so his Daimyo cut his funding repeatedly, treating the village like an unwanted stepchild.
And the Fire Daimyo? That guy was a piece of work.
When faced with a hardliner like Danzo, he was as spineless as a jellyfish.
When he met a naive kid like Naruto, he tried to act like a friendly grandpa.
But put him in a room with someone like Shikamaru—smart but lacking raw power—and he'd immediately start acting like an arrogant king, throwing his weight around.
Makoto's assessment was spot on.
The Daimyo system was a rotting corpse from the old era, and these lords were just parasites sucking the lifeblood out of their nations.
If regular civilians heard this, they'd call it treason. But the people standing here were S-rank rogue ninjas.
Their minds were already unshackled.
"No problem," Makoto nodded. "Zabuza, you're the perfect man for the job. You already have 'Attempted Assassination of a Kage' on your resume. Adding a Daimyo is just padding the stats. Besides, it'll save you from ending up like the previous owner of that sword."
Makoto gestured to the Executioner's Blade. "You know, the guy who tried to swat a Tailed Beast Bomb with a sword like it was a fly?"
"You really have a sharp tongue," Zabuza grunted, the corner of his mouth twitching. "By the way... is that really how Juzo died? The guy had guts, I'll give him that."
Blocking a Tailed Beast Bomb with a piece of metal? That wasn't bravery; that was insanity.
"Juzo Biwa was my previous partner," Itachi interjected calmly. "We were facing the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura. He died protecting me."
The mention of Juzo brought back memories for Itachi.
It was also during that mission that Itachi awakened and mastered Amaterasu.
...
The group finally arrived at the bridge, only to find Gato and his small army of hired thugs blocking the path.
They had been waiting.
"This little rat," Zabuza grinned, looking at the mob. "He probably wanted me and Kakashi to kill each other, then swoop in to finish off the survivor. If you guys hadn't shown up, the bastard might have actually pulled it off."
"Zabuza-sama, you're injured," Haku stepped forward, three senbon needles already laced between his fingers.
"Please, allow me."
"Haku can handle this trash in his sleep," Zabuza said, glancing at Makoto. "What do you think?"
"Let me give it a try," Makoto stepped forward, cracking his neck. "After all, I'm still a pure, innocent young man. I've never taken a human life before."
Makoto shook his head with mock solemnity.
"Oh?" Kisame looked surprised, then nodded. "In that case, you should test your skills on these guys. They pose zero threat to you. Good practice targets i'd say."
"To have never taken a life..." Itachi chuckled softly. "It seems the Shinobi World of the future really does enjoy a long period of peace."
"Or maybe I'm just not qualified to face real enemies yet," Makoto countered. "In my time, even a Kage is just a piece of meat on the chopping block. It's hard enough to scratch an enemy, let alone kill one."
Internally, Makoto knew the truth.
The "peace" Itachi imagined was a lie.
The twenty years of quiet following the Naruto-Sasuke final battle came with a heavy price tag.
Naruto and Sasuke had hidden the threat of the Otsutsuki Clan, letting the world get soft. When the aliens finally attacked, everyone was caught with their pants down. The two heroes were overconfident, thinking they could handle it alone.
Sure, technology advanced. They had scientific ninja tools and video games.
But real progress? Stifled. Orochimaru's research was leashed by the Leaf's bureaucracy. Kabuto Yakushi—arguably the brilliant scientist of his generation—was wasting his talent running an orphanage.
"Want to borrow my sword?" Zabuza offered, holding out the massive blade.
"No need. I'm not a bloodthirsty savage like you," Makoto declined.
Zabuza smirked and was about to say something when he realized Makoto had vanished.
Turning his head, he saw that Gato's mercenary squad had been thrown into chaos.
Makoto had appeared behind Gato at some point, punching straight through his chest, then tossing him aside like a piece of trash.
"You call that 'not bloodthirsty'?!" Zabuza stared, speechless. "That's his first kill? Bullshit."
Even Zabuza, a graduate of the Bloody Mist Academy who had slaughtered a hundred classmates at age nine, hadn't been that brutal on his first kill.
His first kill was a simple throat slit. This was... efficient butchery.
But then again, even if you've never eaten pork, you've seen a pig run.
Just because Makoto hadn't killed didn't mean he hadn't seen death.
"Is this the physical enhancement of Sage Art Chakra?" Itachi murmured, analyzing the scene.
He had suspected it earlier, but this confirmed it.
According to the Uchiha tablets, Sage Mode granted massive physical strength and sensory boosts.
Makoto didn't look like a typical Sage but that punch was definitive proof.
Makoto wasn't a sadist; he just didn't know his own strength.
He wanted to test a jab and ended up putting a hole in the guy.
"Sorry everyone!" Makoto shouted over the screams, dodging a sword swing. "I don't know any fancy Ninjutsu. This might get messy!"
As he spoke, he backhanded two rogue ninjas, snapping their necks instantly.
Two samurai saw an opening. They exchanged a look, thinking they had him cornered, and swung their katanas in a perfect cross-slash.
Whoosh.
Their blades hit nothing but air.
Before they could process where he went, thwack-thwack.
Two shuriken embedded themselves in the samurais' foreheads.
It wasn't Makoto.
It was friendly fire from their panicked teammates behind them.
"Damn it! This guy is a monster!" one of the mercenaries screamed, dropping his weapon. "Forget him! Go for his friends! They look weaker!"
The logic of a mob is a fascinating thing.
They saw Makoto exploding chests left and right and dodging like a ghost, so they decided he was the strongest.
Gato was dead, so they weren't getting paid, but they were too adrenaline-pumped to run.
Instead, they looked at the sick-looking guy (Itachi) and the fish looking man (Kisame).
"Charge!"
The entire mob turned away from Makoto and sprinted toward Itachi and Kisame.
"Uh..."
Makoto stood there, surrounded by corpses, completely dumbfounded.
Are these guys fucking stupid?
He was killing them, sure, but he wasn't exactly speed-running it.
But now they were charging straight over there? Weren't they just signing their own death warrants?
Kisame sighed, looking at the horde of screaming idiots rushing him.
"What a pain."
He weaved a single hand seal.
'Water Style: Water Shark Bullet Jutsu.'
A massive shark made of condensed water exploded from the river under the bridge.
It swallowed the entire front line of the charging mob in one gulp, crashing back into the ocean with a thunderous splash.
The water turned red and silence fell over the bridge instantly.
The remaining mercenaries dropped their weapons, realizing that maybe—just maybe—they had picked the wrong fight.