The silver note Sora gave the girl wasn't much in value, but it would keep her alive—at least she wouldn't starve to death.
"Thank you," she whispered. Sora didn't respond. Without looking back, he walked toward Gato's mansion.
It wasn't that he didn't want to give her more. He knew that if she was seen with too much money, she probably wouldn't survive the day. Wealth was dangerous here.
He just needed to wait seven days. Once the bridge was completed, the villagers would flood into the Land of Fire, where things would finally be better. The Land of Waves had no feudal lords to stop them.
In less than ten minutes, Sora stood before Gato's luxurious mansion.
The girl hadn't lied—this side of the island had only one house, and no one else lived nearby.
"Who the hell are you?! Get lost! This is Lord Gato's estate!" barked two guards at the gate, their tone arrogant and condescending.
Shing!
A flash of steel.
The two guards clutched at their throats, trying in vain to stop the blood pouring through their fingers. It was futile—their life force spilled out with each heartbeat.
Sora didn't spare them a glance. He simply stepped over their collapsing bodies and continued walking.
Anyone who worked for Gato wasn't worth mercy. Killing them was no big deal.
Just because Sora had a good temperament didn't mean he'd tolerate people barking orders at him.
"What?! Someone killed Lord Gato's guards! Kill him!"
"Hahaha! Finally, some bloodshed again—it's been too long!"
"That pretty boy's skin looks smooth. Don't kill him yet, I want to enjoy him first!"
As soon as Sora entered the courtyard, a flood of armed thugs stormed out to surround him. Each one wore different armor and weapons, laughing crudely, shouting vulgar threats, not taking Sora seriously in the slightest.
Sora had already sentenced them all in his heart. Calmly, he asked, "Where's Gato?"
"Pfft! This kid's brain must be fried! Doesn't even know he's about to die!"
"You think you're worthy of meeting Lord Gato? Dream on!"
"Enough talking! I can't wait to rip him apart!"
Their racket reached inside the mansion.
Gato himself strolled out leisurely and asked, "What's going on out here?"
The moment he appeared, the thugs dropped their posturing and gathered around him like obedient dogs, quickly explaining the situation.
In less than a minute, Gato understood what was happening and looked Sora up and down with amusement.
"You've come looking for me? Speak quickly—I might give you a clean death."
"Don't, my lord! Let me take care of him—I haven't killed anyone in ages!"
"Say your last words quick. You're running out of time."
Their laughter grew louder, treating Sora like a toy. No one had dared come after Gato in years.
But Sora wasn't just anyone.
Inside, recovering from his wounds, Zabuza furrowed his brow at the noise. "Haku, what's going on out there?"
"I'm not sure, Lord Zabuza. I'll go check," Haku said and made to leave.
Zabuza waved his hand. "No—we'll both go."
Grimacing from the pain in his chest, he staggered to his feet, and the two walked out together.
The moment Zabuza and Haku appeared, the courtyard fell utterly silent.
These thugs weren't real warriors—they were just brutes who called themselves "samurai" to sound intimidating. If they angered someone like Zabuza, none of them would make it out alive.
Haku, still kind-hearted, was the first to speak. "Who are you? Why have you come here?"
He wanted to give this stranger a chance to leave and avoid dying unnecessarily.
Gato scowled but didn't dare interrupt. The last time he'd tried ordering Zabuza around, the Executioner's Blade had ended up at his throat. He'd learned a harsh truth: beyond his wealth, he was nothing.
"You finally came out. I've been waiting," Sora said calmly, cracking his knuckles. "I'm a shinobi from Konoha—my name is Sora."
"...Sora? The Konoha Demon?!"
Zabuza's knees buckled. He would've collapsed if Haku hadn't caught him.
"You... you're really that Sora?" he asked, voice trembling, face pale.
Sora nodded. "Unless you've met another one, I'd say that's me."
Hearing it from Sora himself, Zabuza's heart sank. His eyes went dead with hopelessness.
He remembered the name well. In his old notes, Sora was at the very top of the "do not provoke under any circumstance" list.
There was even a photo—though Sora had grown and changed so much, Zabuza hadn't recognized him until now.
"Who is he, Lord Zabuza?" Haku asked, noticing Zabuza's terrified reaction.
"Konoha's Demon, Sora," Zabuza whispered, "At six, he drove off the S-rank rogue Kakuzu. At eight, he stormed Kumogakure and killed a Kage-level opponent solo."
"Now, he's on par with the Five Kage—maybe even stronger. No one truly knows how powerful he's become."
"But the entire ninja world agrees: Sora could kill any of the Five Kage if he wanted to."
Fear gripped Zabuza, but he couldn't think of any way to escape.
Thump! Thump!
One by one, the so-called "samurai" collapsed to their knees. They had heard Zabuza's words—and while they didn't understand all the names, "kill any of the Five Kage" was more than clear enough.
They had insulted that kind of monster?
Several of them lost control of their bladders, dark stains spreading down their pants.
Eyes empty, faces pale, they threw themselves to the ground, kowtowing like mad.
"Forgive me, great one! I was blind—I deserve to die!"
"I'm sorry! Please pretend I'm just a fart and let me disappear!"
A few fools tried to sneak away, creeping toward the gate.
Zabuza noticed and sneered. "As if you lot could escape... What a joke."
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