With the situation growing urgent, Gato left the Land of Waves on the same day the Blade-less Pirates set sail.
That night, in a hidden underground black market, Gato met with the person he was supposed to see.
"Remember, just pass on the intel. Don't do anything extra."
Haku's words echoed in his mind.
"Haku means spreading this information as quickly and widely as possible. No need to refine it—just focus on getting it out there."
Gato looked at the man in front of him. He had already made up his mind—he couldn't afford to mess up this job. Who knew what those pirates would do to him when they came back?
"Kakuzu, I heard you once fought the First Hokage and were evenly matched. That's why I believe you have the strength and status to take on this bounty."
Gato adjusted his small sunglasses as his thin mustache twitched up and down while he spoke. His lips carried a faint smile, half mocking.
"Evenly matched?"
Kakuzu's fist clenched as he took in Gato's smirking face and the words he just said.
Evenly matched? The only reason Hashirama didn't kill him was that he didn't bother. If Hashirama had been serious, Kakuzu wouldn't even be standing here.
*Bang!*
A kunai stabbed into the table, and the killing intent in Kakuzu's eyes was obvious.
Gato's heart tightened. Something was off.
Years of surviving dangerous situations had sharpened his instincts. In an instant, he sensed Kakuzu's hostility. If he kept pushing, he might not make it out in one piece.
These damn ninjas were all crazy. He should avoid dealing with them as much as possible in the future.
"Just tell me what you want."
"We need to spread some information."
"The price?"
Kakuzu narrowed his eyes. If they came to him for this, it wasn't just about spreading some random news.
"Thirty million."
"Forty million."
Before Gato could even finish, Kakuzu raised the price. He didn't even care what the job was—he just didn't like this guy.
"The information is about a Devil Fruit user named Dark. About half a month ago, he was spotted in the waters near the Land of Waves meeting with members of the Revolutionary Army—Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame."
"After that, the two Revolutionary Army officers traveled to the Land of Fire. "
"Meanwhile, the Kazekage of Sunagakure has led his village's ninjas to Konohagakure for the Chunin Exams. Other smaller villages have also sent their ninjas to participate."
Gato finished speaking and looked at Kakuzu.
"That's all. The key is making sure everyone notices this information quickly."
"That's it?"
Kakuzu was a little surprised. With just this kind of intel, it would be hard to sell.
"That's it."
Gato nodded. For once, he was actually being careful. If something went wrong, it wouldn't be his fault.
"Add another ten million. This kind of useless intel is hard to sell, and getting it into the major villages won't be easy."
Kakuzu raised the price again. He had no choice—he was a businessman. Information like this wasn't easy to distribute.
Sure, he had lived long enough to have connections in various villages, but those old guys wouldn't do anything for free. It was always about money.
"Fine."
Gato nodded. Forget fifty million—no matter how this situation played out, a lot of underground forces would be wiped out.
Making the money back later would be easy.
That much, Gato was sure of.
Seeing how decisive Gato was, Kakuzu didn't hesitate either.
Even though the intel contained information about their own people, it didn't matter. More than half of Akatsuki's money was earned by him, Kakuzu. If anything went wrong, it would be Itachi and Kisame's problem.
Kakuzu moved even faster than Gato had expected.
In less than a day, he had already spread the news.
This time, there was no attempt to hide anything. Anyone who cared to look could easily find out that Kakuzu was the one who spread the news.
No one knew what exactly the so-called "Revolutionary Army" was, but that wasn't the point. The real significance of this seemingly insignificant piece of information was that it connected to something much bigger.
At that moment, everything started to come together.
In Kirigakure, Terumi Mei put down the report in her hands.
"Tell Ao he doesn't need to go after Shanks anymore. Right now, we have something even more important to deal with."
Her brows were tightly furrowed. The internal issues within Kirigakure had been settled, but the battle against the Mizukage had cost them a lot.
And now, something even bigger was happening in the ninja world.
"Mei-sama, why are we calling Ao back all of a sudden?"
Chojuro glanced at the report on the table. It didn't seem like anything special.
"The tribute from Kirigakure was stolen. It had nothing to do with Shanks. In the end, it was Zabuza's doing. After that, Zabuza took over the Land of Waves, and then everything else we know followed."
"Dark gained the power of a Devil Fruit. We all assumed he got it from Shanks, but what if he didn't?
What if it didn't come from Shanks, but from Konohagakure?"
Terumi Mei stared at the report.
It was too much of a coincidence. Everything was lining up too perfectly.
Under normal circumstances, having a Kage attend the Chunin Exams wouldn't be unusual. It could be seen as a diplomatic move between villages.
But this time, she had just taken office as Mizukage, and a powerhouse like Shanks had suddenly appeared in the ninja world.
Now, the major forces across the sea were starting to gather, and everyone's attention was focused on Shanks.
At the same time, because of the Chunin Exams, multiple factions were also gathering in Konohagakure.
Was it just a coincidence?
Yes, all of it could be a coincidence, but the thought alone sent a chill down Terumi Mei's spine.
It felt like an invisible net was slowly spreading across the entire ninja world.
She couldn't afford to take that risk. The suspicion surrounding Konohagakure was too strong. Even if there was a 99% chance that this was all just a coincidence, she still wouldn't take that gamble.
If she was wrong, Kirigakure might be completely wiped out. But if she was overthinking it, what would they lose? Almost nothing.
"But Mei-sama, didn't you say before that Shanks was a much bigger threat to Kirigakure and the Land of Water than Zabuza?"
Chojuro looked confused. Terumi Mei rubbed her forehead. He was still too young.
"That's true, but…"
"Shanks is from the Uzumaki clan. The Land of Whirlpools was wiped out during the Third Ninja War. Back then, Konohagakure was supposed to be their ally. But they just stood by and watched as the Uzumaki clan was destroyed."
"Shanks is definitely a major threat to Kirigakure. But… he's an even bigger threat to Konohagakure. Understand?"
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