Name: Kitami Hiro
Title: The Final Gate
Level: 45
Age: 36
Rank: Ronin (B–)
Occupation: Elite Bodyguard
Bio
Kitami Hiro is an experienced ronin, or a rogue samurai from Tetsu no Kuni, the Land of Iron. He, along with a group of forty six others were unknowingly sent on a suicide mission to stop an S-rank shinobi beyond their capabilities, all in service of their Daimyo. However, only thirteen of them, Kitami included, managed to escape with their lives. Homeless, angry and betrayed, he was eventually met and recruited by Gato in order to serve as the leader of his personal body guard squad – The Fourteen Gates.
If there was ever any doubt in my mind that the world I was in was the farthest thing from canon, this, right here, proved it. The slender, dark-haired, bearded man in a dark blue kimono-esque robe and two katanas attached to each side, just proved my point that I should not rely on conceptions from 'canon'. For starters, Gato never had anybody that looked this capable in his employ, but had instead used his money to hire a bunch of ragtag thugs that could be bested by Academy Students. It had always slightly bothered me, to be honest, as it made no sense as to why a man as rich as Gato would have cut costs so much when it came to something as important as his own protection. He struck me as the sort of person who would rather go bankrupt than die, because if he was dead, then he wouldn't be able to use any of his money in the first place.
This was how I slowly arrived at the realization that this Gato was not only more ruthless, he was smarter.
We rode to the docks in a carriage, and I only ever so often pushed aside the curtains of the horse-driven vehicle to stare at the scenery of the environment. The Land of Water, or Mizu no Kuni, definitely had the right name. The trees were luscious and evergreen because the sky was constantly cloudy and weepy, and it was as though the sun had long since retreated from the land. The weather was often cold and chilly, the mornings were filled with heavy fogs and the nights were below freezing, meaning that anyone stupid enough to stay outside at night in Mizu no Kuni would be doing their best impression of a corpse the following morning.
We lived in one of Mizu no Kuni's port cities, a little bit off from the capital, and from the tidbits and snippets of information I could hear around me, and which was compiled by my passive "ABC's" I realized that the Water Daimyo had given Gato full reign to spread his influence along the tiny port town however he so wished.
"I'm curious," I said, turning my attention back to my 'dearest' father as the ride continued "Why'd you suddenly decide that today was the day to let me out?"
Gato snorted. "Burying your nose in books all day isn't going to cut it. It's good, but you need hands on experience to finally get things moving."
My nose crinkled. "I get that." I said, leaning back and ignoring a particular nasty bump on the road, "but why now? Out of the blue? On a whim? What happened that made you realize that I needed to get some hands on experience, now."
Most people would have been marveled by a four-year old being that perceptive, but Gato was not amongst most people.
"Nosy brat," he said, before scoffing. Then, I noticed his lips twitch, as though he was debating whether or not to tell me something, before he finally came to a decision.
"Well, if you must know – I also have some… other business that needs to be taken care off… and you – well –" He grinned, he grinned a massive, nasty type of grin that I knew well, considering that it was the grin he wore right before his predatory gaze fell upon my previous wet nurses "– you're going to handle it for me."
Well… fuck.
________________________________________
Gato's Shipping Business was, at the surface, an entirely legitimate business.
As I stood at the shipping docks which he owned and managed, I could spot from passenger ships which served as a medium of transportation from this port city to other cities or key areas in Mizu no Kuni, to serving as a means out of the Land of Water. People bustled patiently or impatiently on these ships, stopping at regulated checkpoints which were guarded by what I assumed were some form of samurai-police task keeping force. I took it that these individuals were the equivalent of immigration services or border patrol.
Moving forward, I could spot smaller ships, these ones were apparently ships that were used exclusively for fishing ventures, and as much as I wished I possessed more nautical knowledge and lingo, I did not, and hence, I referred to them as what I perceived them to be, which were ships that was filled to the brim with nets and the familiar aquatic creatures, flopping around on deck or in their various containers of captivity.
Finally, heading deeper in, we got to the parts that held large cargo ships, containing various rectangular containers and crates of varying sizes, this was one of the major ways in which Gato attained his income. The ships contained goods ranging from tobacco, to spices, to food items, to steels and metals, to precious ores, and on and on. Gato Shipping distributed these essentials or materials across the numerous countries, and such as one which caught my attention, which was a shipment of grains and spices that was heading to Yuki no Kuni, or, the Land of Snow.
Considering how that nation was covered majorly by ice and snow, it made sense that they would import food from other countries. There was even a shipment that was labelled Sunagakure no Sato, which had made me raise an eyebrow in confusion, until Observe informed me that the shipment would land at a dock in the Land of Wind and be offloaded to shinobi, who would then transport it safely back to their village.
Gato Shipping distributed everywhere and to everyone, which made me seriously wonder how in the world someone like Kakashi had failed to know who Gato was in 'canon'. Shaking my head at the thought, I took my time to take in the smell of the fresh sea breeze, and took some further time for Economic Observation to take in all the information I had gathered so far, and convert it into a simple interactive format.
"Can you see this boy? From here and down on until the horizon, all of it, is mine."
I blinked. Wait, was Gato about to give me the 'all that the light touches is yours' speech?
He turned to me, patting me on the shoulder, an action which made me stumble slightly.
"One day, it will be yours, and your son's, and his son's, and on and on it goes – the name Gato, echoed endlessly as the king and ruler of all the seas, forever!"
He turned his gaze back to me.
"Now, boy, you learn the basics."
New Features Unlocked!
Management Panel
Gato Shipping Company – Level 1
The largest shipping empire in the elemental nations is at your fingertips to majestically develop or completely destroy as you so wish.
Tutorial
The Gato Shipping Company makes its money via the transportation of people, goods and services across the seas, to distant countries.
The longer the distance and the rarer the goods being transferred, the more the lucrative the deal. (E.G. Distributing vegetables and fish to the Land of Wind/Sunagakure)
The closer the distance and the commoner the goods, the less lucrative the deal. (E.G. Distributing vegetables and fish to Land of Fire/Konohagakure)
Trade Contracts are issued by Daimyo Courts, Kages, and Other Respective Village Leaders.
You can generate your own Trade Contracts, or supply/demand goods from countries and villages which you possess Trade Treaties or are otherwise allied with you.
Additionally, you can make investments in countries that you are allied with, in exchange for eventual benefits or materials naturally provided by those countries. (E.G. Investing in the Land of Fire will earn you large supplies of strong, great-quality Flickerwood.)
Making the right investments, or the right trade deals will not only unlock new benefits, Quests, and exclusive rewards, but also have a massive effect on the world in General, and can even cause great, irreversible changes. (E.G. What do you think would happen if the Land of Wind no longer had access to grains or vegetables?)
Additionally, [Illegal] trades exist, which allows you to trade in materials barred or banned by certain or all countries in the Elemental Nations. These are extremely lucrative, but will however, earn you the ire, hatred or loathing of several countries, and possess heavy, often irreversible repercussions.