Yesterday evening.Gato's Mansion – A little too fancy for someone so filthy.
"You couldn't even deal with an old man! How in the hell did you ever become a Jonin?" Gato's shrill voice rang through the gilded hall, bouncing off the tasteless gold-plated walls.
Zabuza sat in the corner, arms crossed, posture relaxed—but his silence was deafening. Dangerous.
He didn't reply.
Not until Gato slammed his hand on the table, knocking over a glass of wine that was way too expensive for someone this cheap in soul.
"You're pathetic! I paid you to get rid of the bridge builder, not to see your defeated face!"
That was the last word Gato managed to spit before the knife slid into Zabuza's hand like it belonged there.
A single, smooth motion.
He picked up a fruit knife—tiny, but in his hands it looked like a death sentence—and in a blink, it was pressed right against Gato's neck.
Gato froze, eyes wide, breath caught.
Zabuza leaned in, eyes like frozen steel. His voice was a low growl, calm—but dripping with warning.
"Because you gave me money..."He pressed the blade in deeper, just enough to draw a line of red."…doesn't mean you get to spew garbage from that sewer you call a mouth."
Gato gulped, sweat pouring down his temple.
"Say one more word," Zabuza whispered, "and the next sound you make will be your throat whistling in two pieces."
The silence that followed could've cut through bone.
Then Zabuza pulled the knife away—calm, casual—as if the moment hadn't just nearly ended in murder. He flicked the blood off the blade and went back to his seat, grabbing a piece of fruit like nothing had happened.
"Don't confuse business with ownership," he said, voice almost bored now. "Next time, choose your words better."
Gato was frozen for a few moments longer, too stunned to speak.
And Zabuza?
Zabuza didn't even spare him a second glance.
"Tomorrow, your job is going to be finished."Zabuza stood tall, towering even in his silence. His voice was cold. Final."That's all I came here to say."
He turned without waiting for a reply and strode out of the room, the tension in the air trailing behind him like smoke from a snuffed-out candle.
As the door slammed shut, Gato sat there frozen, jaw clenched.
Then slowly, with the caution of a man checking if the storm had truly passed, he tiptoed toward the door and peeked out.
Zabuza was gone.
The moment that registered, Gato snapped.
He spun around and roared, his voice filled with fury and humiliation."That pathetic idiot! Couldn't even get rid of an old man whose bones creak louder than a rusty door!"
He hurled a vase against the wall. The shatter echoed like his pride."He walks in here like he owns the world, when he couldn't even squash a bridge-builder!"
Gato's tantrum exploded into full-blown chaos.
A chair went flying. A table was flipped. An ornate lamp—probably imported—was smashed under his boot. The room transformed into a war zone of broken furniture, shattered glass, and splinters of ego.
The guards outside burst in, kunai ready—but stopped cold.
They saw Gato, panting, face red with rage, standing amid the ruins. One of them opened his mouth to ask—but wisely shut it when Gato shot him a glare that could curdle milk.
After a long, growling breath, Gato straightened up, adjusted his crumpled suit, and muttered through clenched teeth:"Replace everything."
The guards nodded silently, scurrying to obey.
And as they began cleaning up the carnage, Gato sat down on the one surviving chair, eyes narrowed.
"I'm done playing games."
His fingers tapped against the armrest.
"Time to show everyone… what real power looks like."
"Hire as many as you can. I don't care where they come from. Mercenaries, thugs, ex-shinobi—I want numbers."Gato barked the order like a man throwing coins at a wildfire, desperate and dangerous.
The guards nodded and scrambled. Some still replaced furniture with trembling hands, while others rushed out into the night to spread the word. The scent of gold spread faster than smoke—within hours, armed men started gathering at Gato's estate like flies to a rotting feast.
Blades gleamed. Armor clanked. Greedy eyes glinted under moonlight.
Gato stood on his balcony, hands behind his back, smug like a king.
"This time," he muttered, "they all die."
Back to the Present.
Gato stood atop a makeshift cart near the bridge, surrounded by dozens of mercenaries. He raised his hand and shouted:
"Attack! Kill them all! I want that brat's head on a stick!"
The hired men roared and surged forward.
But then—
A rumble.
Not of thunder.
Not of Earth.
Of people.
From the opposite side of the bridge, a massive crowd approached—villagers, armed with farming tools, broken swords, even wooden sticks. But what they lacked in weapons, they made up for with fire in their eyes.
The mercenaries stopped. Confused.
Then one of them shouted, pointing past Gato.
"Hey... who are they?"
Gato turned.
His face dropped.
Tazuna was at the front, flanked by the entire town. Men, women, even teens and elders—they all walked with unshakable resolve. Their fear had been scorched away, replaced with fury and hope.
"There he is!" someone yelled.The crowd echoed, voices overlapping in a storm of righteous anger.
"Gato!""You ruined this village!""We believed your lies, but not anymore!"
Gato stepped back. His eyes widened.
"W-What are you all doing? You were afraid of me! You obeyed me!"
Tazuna stepped forward, eyes hard.
"We were afraid, yes. But fear isn't forever."He raised his voice, booming across the crowd."And today—we take back our home!"
The villagers erupted into cheers, charging forward.
Gato's army hesitated. Some stepped back. Others threw down weapons entirely. Gold wasn't worth dying for.
And in the center of it all, Naruto slowly stood, bloodstained but smiling.
"Told you," he muttered to himself."People just need a reason to believe."
"Gato, are you afraid now?"Tazuna's voice sliced through the air like a blade sharpened by years of grief and grit.
Gato's army, once a snarling wave of mercenaries, had crumbled into dust. The villagers fought with desperation, Naruto and his squad took down every high-level threat like it was a warm-up exercise. Sasuke's Sharingan flared like wildfire. Kakashi moved like a ghost with a vendetta. Karin supported with chakra pulses and sensory awareness, making sure no one on their side fell.
And in the middle of it all, Naruto moved like a storm—relentless, swift, and unstoppable.
One by one, the so-called "strong" fell.
Until only one remained.
Gato.
Panicked. Sweating. Alone.
His fine robes were torn, his slicked-back hair wild. His smug face was now contorted into raw terror.
He bolted—legs flailing like a cartoon villain—as he sprinted toward the edge of the bridge.
The sea roared below. Deep, dark, endless.
Maybe he thought he could swim to freedom.
Maybe he thought the sea was kinder than the people he'd wronged.
But Naruto was faster.
"Oh no you don't."
With a blur, Naruto appeared beside him, grabbed him by the collar mid-jump, and yanked him back like he was pulling a child from traffic.
Gato kicked and screamed."Let me go! You can't treat me like this—I'm rich!"
Naruto stared at him. Calm. Cold.
"You threw people away like trash. You destroyed lives. Hurt innocent kids. You don't get to run."
Gato flailed.
Naruto didn't even blink.
"You're not escaping justice."
He dragged Gato back to the center of the bridge, where the villagers stood in silence, watching.
Naruto turned and looked at Tazuna.
"This isn't my punishment to give."He let go of Gato and stepped back."It's yours."
Gato fell to his knees.
The villagers closed in.
Tazuna walked forward, slow and steady.
"This bridge," he said, his voice like thunder, "was built by our blood. And now, we take back everything you stole."
Gato's scream echoed into the sea as justice crashed down on him like the tide.