Gato, one of the earliest villains in Naruto, was really just a side character.
But you can't deny that even though Gato did bad things, compared to someone like Obito, Gato was an angel.
At least he had some basic morals. For example, the fact that Tazuna, who went against him, managed to live this long shows that Gato still had some humanity.
And as a merchant, Gato was also full of tricks and schemes, like any cunning profiteer.
No matter what, in this era, everything Gato did could not be ignored.
He had his own schemes, his own ambition, and his own kind of wisdom.
On him, you couldn't see the madness of this age, nor that so-called "man's romance."
Gato only wanted to be the ruler of the Land of Waves. That was as far as his ambition went. He knew he couldn't grasp anything bigger, especially if it had to do with Shanks.
After his first attempt ended with him getting beaten badly by Danzo, Gato realized this clearly.
He feared death—terribly feared it. Most people in this age feared death, but even more so for a wealthy man like him.
Still, people are complicated.
Last time Jin came back, he brought Gato a Devil Fruit. That was a gift from Shanks.
Inside the box, there was also a short letter Shanks left for Gato:
"Why not come take a look at the New World?"
Gato had his flaws, sure, but in Shanks's eyes, he had already been one of them for a long time.
And with the way this era was changing, staying alone in the Land of Waves could bring Gato all kinds of unexpected dangers.
Of course, Shanks didn't know Gato had already eaten the Devil Fruit.
After seeing what Shanks sent him, Gato hesitated for a long time.
Truthfully, it was impossible not to be tempted.
Gato's ambition wasn't limited to the Land of Waves.
Back when he first traveled with Shanks to the Land, Gato had thought: if he could truly gain Shanks's recognition, and stand alongside this man who stood at the very top of the world, looking down on the age together—then even death would be worth it.
That was the first time Gato didn't fear death.
But later, Shanks warned him. Because he really could die—his little tricks could truly drag him into danger.
Even though Shanks eventually accepted him, even willing to shield the Land of Waves, never once denying the things Gato had done…
But after everything, Gato understood. He was not the same as Shanks, or Zabuza, or the others.
They were still companions, and he was willing to risk his life for Shanks. But unlike them, he couldn't go to the New World.
After receiving that "gift," Gato stored it together with the flag Shanks once gave him, locking them away in his treasure vault.
He refused.
His fat, heavy body was too slow. His will and faith weren't strong enough. He couldn't bear to drag everyone down.
But when Gato's vault was opened and the others saw the Devil Fruit inside, along with Shanks's words…
They couldn't hold themselves back.
It was as if a Pandora's box had been opened in that instant.
"Why not come take a look at the New World?"
The beginning of an era had nothing to do with small men like them. The end of an era had nothing to do with them either.
They were only nobodies who moved around the Land of Waves. But now, after seeing Shanks's words, how could the buried faith and ambition in their hearts still be tied down to this small place?
The answer was clear: they couldn't.
In the end, only a few people remained in the Land of Waves.
And on the warship carrying Gato, Rikudou Sennin and the Third Tsuchikage watched this scene in the mirror. A chill rose in the Tsuchikage's heart.
"As long as Shanks is willing to speak, the Earthly Sage Kingdom probably won't last long before it collapses!"
"The spirit and conviction of that man completely changed this era."
The Third Tsuchikage let out a long sigh.
The more he saw the admiration people at the bottom had for Shanks, the harder it was for him to understand—or rather, it just felt unbelievable.
"Yeah, but Shanks wouldn't do something like that.
Hahaha!"
The Sage of Six Paths smiled. It was exactly because Shanks wouldn't do such things that so many people supported him.
The red will had already fully spread through this era.
And even now, the New World hadn't truly opened yet. Shanks was just standing guard at its gates.
Beyond the Red Line, there was still a world no one had set eyes on. When that time came, things wouldn't be as they were now.
But thinking about it, even the current situation was already outrageous. The scale of this war was something the Sage of Six Paths had never imagined.
From commoners at the very bottom to sages at the very top, everyone had joined the war.
Even White Zetsu had been drawn in now.
Handling all these problems wasn't something that could be wrapped up quickly.
And that was just what his clone could see. The real body probably had even more trouble waiting.
"Let's go. Time to head to the Revolutionary Army. I can also check on Ashura and Indra."
The Sage of Six Paths waved his hand, and the image before them faded away. Then, the two of them left the battleship occupied by White Zetsu.
From beginning to end, no one had noticed the Sage of Six Paths or the Third Tsuchikage. His control over sage chakra had reached an absurd level.
Now, following the marks left in Ashura and Indra's chakra, he tracked their presence.
Looking at the bounty posters of Nagato and Itachi, the Sage of Six Paths was also curious to see what this generation's Ashura and Indra were like.
But when he finally arrived at their location, he froze.
The Sandai Tsuchikata was stunned too.
"This... doesn't add up!"
The disguised Sage of Six Paths looked at Naruto, then at Sasuke beside him.
Behind Sasuke were four small drums, each marked with tomoe. The power coming from them carried not only Indra's aura, but also the Sage of Six Paths' own strength.
Normally, this should have been impossible, since the marks he left carried the will of the world itself.
The problem was that Orochimaru had meddled with it. That trace of world will—Orochimaru hadn't even noticed it. He just merged it directly along with Indra's reincarnated chakra.
That was why Sasuke now carried a touch of "divinity." The power within him could actually stir the will of the world and even bend reality.
As for Naruto, his situation was different. Nothing was wrong with him at all. In fact, everything seemed perfectly fine.
"It really doesn't make sense. I couldn't have been mistaken. What I felt back then was clearly the power of Ashura and Indra."
The Sandai Tsuchikata muttered. With power like that, there was no way he could have misread it.
But looking at the Sage of Six Paths now, it seemed Ashura and Indra were on their side of the sages?
"Where did things go wrong?"
Even the Sage of Six Paths couldn't figure it out right away. For him, this phenomenon was strange. The sages couldn't have made a mistake, and neither would he.
"Forget it. Let's just keep watching."
For now, he let it go. Conveniently, both the Eight-Tails and Nine-Tails were here, and before long the two sides would clash. By then, everything would become clear.
On the other side, Naruto and Sasuke also noticed the Sandai Tsuchikata and the Sage of Six Paths, but neither of them found it strange.
Naruto and Sasuke had always been focused on their training, and they didn't need to worry about political matters.
"That sage is really strong. He feels completely different from the others."
Sasuke's expression grew serious. Sandai Tsuchikata could be said to be the second strongest sage he had ever seen.
After gaining the power of a Devil Fruit, Sasuke's sensing ability had improved a lot—so much that even he didn't really understand it himself.
It felt almost like he had awakened Observation Haki.
"Yeah, I feel the same.
The aura he gives off is very different from the other sages."
Naruto nodded in agreement.
They didn't notice anything unusual about the Sage of Six Paths, but the power coming from the Third Tsuchikage was real and easy to sense.
"We can't underestimate the sages. That Master Genichi is also amazing—he was able to suppress Orochimaru head-on and break apart most of Orochimaru's Haki pressure."
"Now that the sages are gathering, it looks like this war will soon be over.
And Kakashi-sensei said that from now on, we might need to move around different regions of the ninja world. Some clans from Konoha seem to be taking action."
Naruto's face showed a trace of sadness. He understood what was happening in Konoha. Konoha had already changed.
Or rather, the Konoha now was the truest version of Konoha. What he had seen before was only because of his own childish ignorance.
"You mean the ninja clans expanding outward?"
"Yeah. It just feels like... everyone has changed. The whole Konoha has changed.
Hahaha, I still prefer the little village it used to be!"
Naruto forced a sunny smile, but inside, he didn't know how to face such change.
"You already knew, didn't you? That it would end up like this.
Ambition and profit will always push the ninja clans to change like this. But you and I, since we're not tangled in those interests, we can stay free."
Sasuke crossed his arms. He couldn't stop it, and he wouldn't judge the clans for what they did.
Because if the Uchiha clan were still around, they would probably be even more reckless. And he himself, Sasuke, might have been part of it too.
"Yeah, I knew long ago.
That's exactly why I want to become Hokage. I'll change Konoha. If big brother Shanks can change this era, then I can change Konoha."
Naruto spoke with confidence. His thoughts were no longer on the battlefield. He had already heard that the Hyuga clan had gone to the first half of the New World to join the war with other ninja clans.
Konoha was falling apart, but the more it fell, the stronger Naruto's resolve became—the resolve to walk the path he had chosen.
The two were still talking outside when another shadow flew across the sky. Another sage had arrived.
"Things really are changing now, huh?"
Their eyes turned once again toward the meeting hall.
After his first clash with Shanks, Master Genichi went straight back to the East Blue battlefield.
No one knew exactly what had happened, but it didn't matter. His return alone lifted the spirits of both the Marines and the sages in East Blue.
The World Government's forces began to gather quickly, and the sages were all called in as well.
In the great battle a few days ago, Master Genichi even managed to suppress Orochimaru by himself, and the Marines scored their first real victory.
Though the pirates hadn't lost much either.
After all, there were plenty of strong pirates too, and by now the Red Will of the New World had already been answered.
This was all thanks to the accident Orochimaru caused last time. During that fight, the pirates' strong will and belief hadn't been awakened.
But when Orochimaru caused that accident, everyone's potential was forced out, even Orochimaru's.
Because of that, the pirates' strength in battle grew at an incredible speed, and now quite a few had become big-name pirates who could hold their own.
And besides the pirates, the Revolutionary Army joining the fight also meant the pirate side didn't suffer too many losses.
Orochimaru being held down alone by Master Genichi goes without saying. Even Orochimaru thought it was ridiculous, but he couldn't help it.
Master Genichi was already a top-level fighter, on the same level as Orochimaru, and Orochimaru knew his own strengths and weaknesses.
His biggest strength was how much of a beating he could take. As for dishing out hits? Compared to others at the same level, Orochimaru's attack power really wasn't that strong.
And against Master Genichi, all his dirty tricks were useless, because Genichi's methods were even dirtier.
Anyway, Orochimaru ended up taking quite a lot of pain.
But Master Genichi didn't have it easy either, because Orochimaru could really take punishment—more than even Shanks.
He finally understood what kind of terrifying creature could survive being cut by Shanks and still be standing.
Honestly, the fact that something like that could even stay alive was insane.
As for "Nagato" and "Itachi" appearing on the battlefield, Master Genichi didn't notice anything unusual about them.
From his senses, they really did feel like Ashura and Indra, but they didn't carry that sense of "destiny" on them.
Master Genichi never doubted Shanks' words. His destiny and Fukuda Kiyomu's destiny really did match.
Shanks' attack had struck Fukuda Kiyomu, but passed through him and landed on the will of the Earthly Sage Kingdom that he had drawn out. That fact alone already said a lot.
He just couldn't fully understand it yet.
Meanwhile, unlike Genichi's side, Orochimaru was living quite comfortably.
Reuniting with his comrades, Orochimaru was the first to walk up to Itachi, a smug look on his face.
"Itachi, long time no see!"
"You haven't met Sasuke yet, have you?"
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