I, Naruto Uzumaki, don't need your approval.

Shisui swung his sword and severed the corner of his clothes, but the flames on them did not go out. He immediately frowned and stared intently at the bloody tears in Itachi's eyes.

"This is your Kaleidoscope Eye Technique?"

"Of course, this is the inextinguishable flame of Amaterasu. Show me your Mangekyou Sharingan, Shisui. Could it be that you have lost your Mangekyou Sharingan? Who took it from you?"

Shisui snorted coldly, his figure transforming into more than ten phantoms, and said in a cold voice: "Even without the Mangekyou Sharingan, I am still Shisui of the Body Flicker Technique, and I can still capture you alive and make you kneel at the Nanga Shrine."

“Nanka Shrine?” Itachi Uchiha scoffed. “Then I’ll wait and see, Shisui.”

……

Because of the flood, Gato was forced to leave the secret room and stood on the third-floor balcony, gazing at the battle between ninjas in the distance.

Upon seeing the waist-deep floodwaters and the frozen ice crystals covering the ground, Kado could no longer remain calm.

As a wealthy man, he had dealt with many ninjas and even hired Jonin to suppress ignorant troublemakers, but this ninjutsu scene, comparable to a natural disaster, still broadened his horizons.

If a ninja with such power were to launch an attack on nobles and Jonin, could they really resist?

Seemingly sensing Gato's thoughts, Obito smiled faintly. He enjoyed the sense of superiority of being a ninja and also liked the surprised expression on Gato's face.

But as Obito looked into the distance, the smile on his face gradually disappeared.

On a distant tower, another figure looked down at the battle below. He would never forget that person's attire; it was none other than Whirlpool Face, the leader of Whirlpool Village who had secretly tricked him.

As Obito frowned in thought, Naruto activated the Body Flicker Technique and appeared beside him, his Rasengan ready to strike.

Obito, who understood the power of the Rasengan, smiled and said, "Don't rush to attack. It wouldn't be good if you hurt Mr. Gato. He's a very wealthy man in the ninja world."

Hearing this, Naruto put away the Rasengan and frowned, saying, "Including the time in Kirigakure, this is the third time you've provoked me. Next time, I will not hesitate to take action."

"Three times?" Obito thought for a moment, realizing that he hadn't provoked the other party three times.

Before he could finish speaking, Naruto hurled the Rasengan at Obito, but Obito dodged it, saying with a grim expression, "Didn't we agree to wait until next time? Why are you attacking now?"

Naruto said without any politeness, "Since I can't kill you anyway, I might as well test my control over ninjutsu."

Obito's expression was somewhat unpleasant, but he still said in a low voice, "I was planning to attack your subordinates while you were away, but I didn't expect to miscalculate. I admit defeat this time, but it won't be so easy next time."

After saying that, Obito released the White Zetsu from his control, and his body turned into a pool of White Zetsu.

Just like last time, Obito wasn't entirely confident he could kill Naruto, so he chose to preserve the information. He had plenty of ways to sow discord, and the one facing the pressure wasn't him, but Nagato of Akatsuki.

It would be even better if we could create conflict between these two ninja.

After all, if Nagato and Menma joined forces to collect the Tailed Beasts, he didn't know how to seize the Rinnegan and gain control of the Ten-Tails.

After Obito left, only Naruto and Gato remained on the balcony.

Having overheard the entire conversation between Naruto and Obito, Gato knew that the other party was the leader of Uzushio Village. His voice trembled as he said, "You are the leader of Uzushio Village. Did you send the ninjas who attacked me?"

“That’s right, I sent them. Your men attacked the Land of Whirlpools, so they have to pay the price.”

Faced with the situation, Kado said somewhat dejectedly, "I understand. I will compensate your village for its losses. If your village has any needs, Kado Shipping Company will do its best to meet them."

Naruto remained silent, simply gazing at Gato.

Gato understood Naruto's meaning and had no choice but to continue adding to the bargaining: "How about 300 million in compensation? That price is enough to buy the lives of more than a dozen Jonin."

Naruto shook his head slightly and said, "The price is still too low and not enough to make up for the losses of the Land of Whirlpools."

Kado fell silent, then looked up at Naruto: "So what exactly do you want, sir? This is already a lot of money."

Naruto glanced at Gato in surprise, then said calmly, "It's simple. I want half of Gato Shipping Company's shares, and in addition, the Land of Waves must be placed under the jurisdiction of the Land of Whirlpools."

Kado's expression shifted between anger and fear. He disregarded his own fear and directly questioned, "Being too greedy will lead to great losses. Other major powers will not stand idly by and watch the Land of Whirlpools annex the Land of Waves."

Naruto smiled, then said in a serious tone, "I'm not bargaining with you, I'm informing you that if you're not willing to hand over these, the Kado Shipping Company will disappear from the ninja world."

"You're robbing me outright!" Gato couldn't stay calm and stared intently at Naruto.

Naruto said dismissively, "I am robbing openly, but it's much better than you plundering the people of the Land of Waves and smuggling at sea. At least under the rule of the Land of Whirlpools, they won't be in such a miserable state."

Hearing this, Kado sneered, "What do you bunch of fighting ninjas know about governing a country? Under your rule, the lives of the people will only get worse and worse, and you're the ones who start all the wars, big and small, in the ninja world."

In Kado's view, although ninjas are powerful in combat, they are all war fanatics who don't understand management or business at all.

"Therefore, I am not only the leader of Uzushio Village, but also the daimyo of the Land of Whirlpools. At least under my rule, the ninja village and the country will be integrated, instead of the distorted national village system."

"I'm not wasting my breath talking to you to get your opinion, but to tell you that I will change the times and end the old world."

"Let's watch this battle unfold and see who wins."

Chapter 140 Increased Affinity for Wind and Water Chakra

Naruto's words terrified Gato.

For him, submitting to the ninjas' force and being forced to provide them with funds was at most a humiliation.

However, the fact that the other party wanted to simultaneously possess the identities of the leader of the ninja village and the daimyo clearly broke the rules that had been in place for decades.

After all, the daimyo of the five great nations are essentially cooperating with the ninja villages, but the two sides have a superior-subordinate relationship, and the five great ninja villages nominally obey the daimyo's arrangements.

If he were to truly submit to Uzushio Village, he would be feared by the daimyo and become a thorn in their side.

But if he were to rebel against the leader of the Whirlpool Village now, he probably wouldn't see the sun rise the next day.

As Gato fell into deep thought, the battle in the distance gradually came to a conclusion. Although Zabuza and Haku tried their best to deal with Kisame, the huge gap in strength could not be bridged by fighting desperately.

After the Executioner's Blade shattered into two pieces, Samehada greedily absorbed Zabuza's blood and chakra.

While Haku's Ice Release has some effect in countering Water Release, Kisame's Water Release is more accurately described as Sea Release in a sense.

Upon seeing this, Naruto jumped into the puddles and secretly manipulated the water flow to save the two.

He instantly appeared in front of Kisame and punched him in the abdomen. The wind-style chakra sent Kisame flying more than ten meters and crashing into a concrete wall.

Kisame climbed out of the concrete wall and frowned as he looked at Naruto in the distance.

After being punched, he himself was not seriously injured, but the chakra on the other party gave him a familiar feeling, as if he had seen it on the Fourth Mizukage.

Was the mysterious person in front of him the Fourth Mizukage? This question flashed through Kisame's mind.

But the opponent could not possibly be the Mizukage, as the Mizukage could not be proficient in such a large-scale wind release technique. That leaves only one possibility: the opponent is the leader of Uzushio Village, Uzumaki Menma.

According to known information, Uzumaki Menma is not only proficient in Wind Release, Water Release, and sealing techniques, but also possesses ninjutsu similar to the Tailed Beast Ball, placing him among the top ranks of the Five Kage.

Thinking of this, Kisame felt his blood boil. He picked up Samehada and lunged at Naruto, unleashing a powerful slash.

Naruto had no time to dodge and was directly struck by Samehada, revealing a pained expression.

But the next moment, Naruto turned into a cloud of smoke and disappeared, reappearing above Kisame's head. He slammed the Rasengan down hard, slamming Kisame into the ground, and the Samehada sword flew out of his hand.

After forcefully subduing Kisame, Naruto was about to deliver the final blow when Kisame was dragged into the whirlpool.

It was Obito who saved Kisame's life. Naruto glanced at the spot where the vortex disappeared, frowned, then picked up Samehada and walked towards Zabuza and Haku's location.

Kisame, who had been rescued, glared at Obito and then said, "I still have the strength to fight..."

Obito glanced at Naruto in the distance and said in a low voice, "Kisame, Uzumaki Menma is stronger than you think. If you continue fighting, you will definitely lose."

Of course, the deeper reason why Obito saved Kisame was that he saw the Rasengan ninjutsu.

The Rasengan is a ninjutsu that imitates the Tailed Beast Ball. Very few people in the entire ninja world have mastered it, and only the Fourth Hokage has been able to use it with ease.

Combining his previous actions of using the Great Rasengan and saving the Uchiha, he began to suspect Uzumaki Menma's identity.

The other party might not be a surviving member of the Uzumaki clan, but rather his teacher, the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze. If that's the case, many things can be explained: why Menma Uzumaki was close to the Uchiha clan, and why Konoha hesitated to attack Uzumaki Village.

As for why the originally deceased Fourth Hokage would hide his identity and deliberately disguise himself as a member of the Uzumaki clan.

It was probably to deal with Madara Uchiha himself, hoping to make him relax through cooperation, and ultimately achieve a fatal blow.

After a few seconds of silence, Kisame guessed it was Obito and nodded slightly.

He was loyal to Obito, so naturally he would obey his superior's orders; this was his professional ethics as a ninja.

After Naruto appeared and defeated Kisame, the outcome of the battle between Shisui and Itachi became irrelevant. Seizing the opportunity when Shisui was distracted, he split into four and each unleashed a large-scale Fire Release ninjutsu.

Faced with the overwhelming flames, Itachi was forced to use Amaterasu to ignite the flames and escape.

Shisui did not pursue it further. He understood from the beginning that he was no match for Itachi, and his only goal was to deplete Itachi's Mangekyou Sharingan power. Once Itachi's power was nearly exhausted, he would naturally lose his threat.

Watching Itachi Uchiha's retreating figure, Shisui hurried towards Naruto's location.

Upon seeing Naruto using medical ninjutsu to treat Zabuza and Haku, Shisui quickly said, "Lord Menma, it is because my strength is insufficient that I was unable to defeat Uchiha Itachi."

Zabuza also looked ashamed. He and Kisame were both members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, but the difference in their strength was so great.

Naruto finished the treatment and gently shook his head, saying, "Itachi Uchiha and Kisame are both Kage-level ninjas, so it's perfectly normal that you can't beat them. But when you get back, you'll have to find a good way to improve your strength. I look forward to the day when you can stand on your own."

"Let's deal with the flood first, then get a good night's rest. Tomorrow we still need to take over Kado's property and the administration of the Land of Waves."

"Yes, Lord Menma." Shisui, Zabuza, and the others nodded quickly.

After comforting his subordinates, Naruto went alone to the top of the tower and looked down at the barren island below.

There's a saying that Gato wasn't wrong: ninjas don't know how to manage the people; they're just mercenaries who only know how to fight and kill. Although there are all-rounders like Orochimaru, they are a minority.

This is why ninjas, despite possessing formidable martial prowess, were still driven by nobles and merchants.

Because in such turbulent times, ninjas only focused on military and destructive power, never considering using ninjutsu for warfare and development, which led to increasingly serious conflicts between ninja villages.

By the time these thoughts were truly awakened, the Fourth Shinobi World War had already ended.

"Haku's favorability towards you has reached the level of approval. You have obtained the 'Method of Using Ice Release Bloodline Limit,' and you are more attuned to wind and water chakra."

At that moment, a crisp system notification appeared in Naruto's head, causing him to freeze in place.

After thinking about it carefully, Naruto remembered that he seemed to have a system and had received a reward that was like a mosquito's leg. But even a mosquito is still meat, and it was not bad to be able to increase his affinity with water attribute.

This is also one of the reasons he established the ninja village. The ninja village naturally has a high degree of recognition and goodwill towards its leader.

As the ninja village grows and prospers, he will naturally become an all-around ninja, with no weaknesses in any aspect.

Chapter 141 Snake and Weasel

After leaving the Land of Waves, Itachi and Kisame gradually slowed down their pace.

Their trip to the Land of Waves was a devastating one. They lost not only their precious eye power, but Kisame also lost his signature weapon, the greatsword Samehada, significantly reducing his fighting strength.

However, during the battle, they did learn a lot of useful information.

Itachi knew that Shisui had led his clan to settle down, and Kisame also knew that the Fourth Mizukage had broken free from control. These were all good things that they had longed for before.