As a ninja, attacking one's client is extremely risky.
Neither the ninja village nor the ninja world would tolerate a ninja randomly harming their employer.
Of course, the usual consequence is simply getting put on a wanted list; few would be eager to personally organize a hunt. This is precisely why most people are willing to release missions through the ninja villages: missing-nin don't care about any rules regarding clients. If not for Haku stopping him, Momochi Zabuza would have killed Gatō right away.
Typically, ninjas in a shinobi village are wary of harming clients for the sake of the village's reputation. The bigger the village, the less likely its ninjas are to lay hands on an employer.
But Link simply didn't care about such constraints.
He became a ninja to gain more power and control over his destiny. Having witnessed many twisted aspects of the Naruto world, he no longer aimed just to survive.
After ensuring that none of his three subordinates had noticed Uchiha Fugaku using genjutsu on Teishi, Link once again left the mansion.
Before departing, he used Earth Flow River to carve out a huge underground space beneath the mangrove forest. There, his shadows were hard at work—some reinforcing the cavern walls, others transferring everything from Gatō's old hideout.
That included the entire electricity system, lighting, generator, seats, desks, plumbing, beds—basically all usable furnishings. Though it had once been Gatō's base, and was "usable as-is," it was much too obvious a location, so he preferred his own separate hideout. But there was no need to waste decent infrastructure; his shadows could simply tear it all out and move it underground without trouble.
A hundred or so shadows toiling away gave the entire mangrove forest a ghostly vibe.
By the time Link arrived, the moving work was nearly done—every usable object from Gatō's lair was dismantled and transported into his underground base. Not even a single lightbulb remained.
And as for its original owner, Ketsu?
After a quick genjutsu interrogation to confirm he had no family and no one would come looking for him, Ketsu now lay quietly in that underground base awaiting further "research."
Having followed Gatō, he'd definitely committed some evil deeds. Link wasn't the soft-hearted type; faced with a genuinely malicious scumbag, he felt no moral qualms.
After all, Ketsu was the first to shout about destroying the village and seizing valuables when Gatō died and Zabuza collapsed. He was bold and greedy enough to want to form a new gang.
Using Subterranean Voyage to enter his own base, Link then sealed off the earthen passage with the Earth Flow River. He joined the shadows in working.
He would probably head back to the village tomorrow. He wanted to at least get the base mostly assembled tonight; details could be improved bit by bit. Once his three subordinates returned to Sunagakure, he presumably wouldn't be leading a squad for a while. Konoha was quite close to the Land of Waves, so he could drop by while traveling on missions.
Admittedly, he could have simply ignored Teishi's final payment. But that might cause complications: the old man might pursue Ketsu's death in hopes of collecting his remaining wages, leading to trouble. Spending a bit of money now saved him future hassle.
He toiled until well after midnight, then surfaced to find his newly-dug base was basically formed, though many details remained unfinished. It certainly wasn't livable yet, being gloomy and damp, unsuitable for a lab.
He dragged over Ketsu, who was still unconscious, pondering how best to use this test subject.
Five-Element Seal? Not even worth thinking about—the guy couldn't do ninjutsu, might not even mold chakra.
Medical experiments? He hadn't figured out a plan. Maybe in the future he'd try bodily modifications—like height-increasing surgeries, perhaps.
Throw him into the Swamp of the Underworld?
After mulling it over, that seemed the only option. Link had never tried tossing a living person in there and was curious about Gatō's prior transformation.
"I can't test that jutsu inside the base; if it spawns that stinking mud again…"
So he took Ketsu back to yesterday's Swamp of the Underworld testing site and cast it again.
Up rose the same disgusting form of Gatō, identical to the previous night. He seemed like he was permanently bound to the swamp. Oddly, the stench was milder than before.
"Splat!"
Ketsu was flung in and landed with a muddy splash. The half-mummified Gatō instantly "swam" over and grabbed him.
"Agh!"
Ketsu woke up screaming, saw Gatō's horrific face, and struggled in terror.
"Squish! Squish!"
Abscesses on Gatō's body burst, spurting thick yellow-brown pus swarming with tiny wriggling insects. The fluid splattered across the swamp. One of Gatō's arms tore off, flopping weakly as Ketsu thrashed. Probably from sheer horror plus the nauseating gore, Ketsu fainted, getting dragged underwater.
"No special effect. Gatō's hold was weak enough a normal guy could break free…"
Link shook his head, having expected that puppet-like Gatō to possess some unique ability. Turns out it was just some kind of "zombie"—like a "chained ghost" that was even more fragile physically than before.
"Glub, glub…"
After some time, the equally repulsive Ketsu resurfaced, now radiating that familiar pungent stench.
"So whether it's a soul or a living person, both get swallowed and come back as a 'zombie'? Or maybe an 'Underworld soldier'?"
Link retreated two steps, observing carefully.
"Gatō isn't as smelly now, but Ketsu returned with that rancid odor."
Interesting.
He waited without canceling the jutsu. Ordinarily, he would have long since run out of chakra, yet the swamp continued existing for three more hours, until the sky lightened. Only then did it vanish.
Even stranger, as the two "zombies" sank back into the swamp, the stench rapidly dissipated. By the time the Swamp of the Underworld disappeared and reverted to normal ground, there was no foul-smelling mud left behind.
"It seems that reeking mud is fueling the swamp's duration somehow."
He had a shadow toss a rabbit over, then checked the area. Indeed, everything looked as it had before, just like after his initial Swamp of the Underworld test near the village.
"Souls or living people tossed in both yield that vile mud, which lengthens the swamp's existence. But maybe it has some other use…"
He strongly suspected there was more to that disgusting mud than just maintaining the Swamp of the Underworld. Could eating it grant energy?
…Gross.
Link shook his head. He'd test that later. For now, it was time to head back.
~~~
Patreon(.)com/Bleam
— Currently You can Read 100 Chapters Ahead of Others!