Gato isn't someone with big dreams, but he's definitely a good businessman. He'll do anything if there's enough money in it.
And businessmen don't just care about money. Being greedy is at the heart of being a good businessman.
Especially in this time, who cares about economic systems, market economies, or supply and demand?
That's nonsense.
No businessman studies that stuff, and most aren't economists anyway. They don't think everything through step by step.
If you're not greedy, you'll stay where you are forever. You'll never get ahead.
You have to be greedy enough, and also quick to make decisions. Sometimes you even have to risk your life, put it all on the line.
You can't get anywhere by playing it safe.
Gato is a big businessman, after all. Maybe before he only saw his own little area, the Land of Waves.
But now Gato is completely different.
He's really afraid of dying, and that's normal after everything he's been through. But if you've been through so much and still haven't died, something's wrong.
First, he faced Zabuza head-on, and went through all kinds of battles on Zabuza's ship, big and small.
Then he used Shanks' power, and then Danzo caught him and almost killed him.
After that, he moved between the underground market and different countries of the world government.
He's been through a lot, big and small. Even a pig would learn something from all that, if it survived.
And when Gato heard Naruto was coming, his ambition grew again with his greed. Basically, he couldn't stand losing.
He worked so hard to build up his business, and because of it, he didn't go to the New World, or the Red Line, or Shanks' pirate crew.
And then it was just gone!!!
Now Gato was completely ignoring his own safety. His mind became clear in an instant. Everything he'd been through made his mind reach a state of full awareness.
Things that used to confuse Gato were now clear to him in an instant. Gato was incredibly strong now.
"It seems like Gold Lion brought the world government's attention to the Land of Demons, and this might just be the start.
Forgotten history... there's history in this world that even the sages don't know. In the thousands, or even tens of thousands of years of the ninja world, how much power is left over? Even the world government doesn't know."
"..."
"But with our current power, it's not enough. Not nearly enough."
Gato's eyes under his sunglasses were wild, but he was trying hard to control himself. He was crazy, but also aware.
His current power wasn't nearly enough, but his position could bring him more power.
To get the Land of Waves and control of the underground market, the world government had officially confirmed his identity.
This identity would cause problems, but in this time, as long as Shanks was alive, the problems were nothing compared to the benefits.
In terms of strength, Gato wasn't anything. Even if he ate a devil fruit, he wouldn't be strong.
But in terms of experience, his experience and position were incredibly high.
A member of the Uzumaki family... besides the big pirates in the New World, Gato was the biggest pirate in the ninja world, a noble among pirates.
With this identity, it would be much easier to do what he needed to do.
After walking through the snowy plains for a day, Gato's group met a second group of people.
Obito and Black Zetsu appeared in front of Gato.
When Black Zetsu saw the fat, big-bellied man in front of him, he couldn't help feeling contempt for Gato. But when he saw the madness in Gato's eyes behind his sunglasses, Black Zetsu was shaken.
The members of the Uzumaki family were truly worthy of their name. Even a distant relative like Gato was terrifying.
Unlike Black Zetsu, Obito didn't feel any contempt for Gato. The old Obito might not have cared about someone so weak.
But in this time, after seeing so many pirates, so many people with such strong wills that they didn't even care about their own lives, Obito understood something.
Some "weak" people weren't as weak as they seemed. Like Gato in front of him, a ruthless person who couldn't be threatened with his life, someone who had already ignored his own safety.
"Mr. Gato, we're here to talk about working together."
Obito said.
They needed Gato's identity, and Gato knew that Obito and Black Zetsu's motives weren't pure. But he didn't care.
That was the benefit of being an Uzumaki.
The two sides formed an alliance with almost no extra talk.
A few days later, at Orochimaru's headquarters in the South Sea.
What happened in the East Sea battlefield had changed Orochimaru's way of thinking. Now the pirates in the East Sea were heading towards the New World, and Bai and Zabuza, and the Revolutionary Army, were heading towards the Red Line.
Orochimaru returned to his headquarters to wait for his next move.
For now, Orochimaru was still a temporary "ally" with the Revolutionary Army and Shanks' Red Hair Pirates. And after coming back, Orochimaru had noticed something strange.
Amado had been revived on his ship.
From Amado, Orochimaru learned about Shanks' general plan.
Yes, just the general plan, because there was only a general plan from the start. And Bai knew even less, just a general idea of the general plan.
But Orochimaru was used to it. The strange thing about Shanks' pirate crew was that they only had a general plan for everything, but with the strong ability of the crew of ruthless people, they could make that general plan succeed.
Amado didn't know the specific situation on the Red Line, but not long after, Kidomaru brought someone back.
Dak's pirate crew's second-in-command, "Hamura Ryu."
"Are you sure you saw this person?"
Orochimaru took out a picture. There was a picture, and the back of the scroll had some records about the Sage of Six Paths.
And now, all of Orochimaru's leaders were here.
Hiruko and Kabuto looked serious, and even Amado's face was not good.
"Yes, that's what he looked like.
That old man is very strong. At first, we thought he was one of Shanks' crew, but then we realized that the Red Hair Pirates didn't have anyone like that."
"And the ninja skills he used were very strange."
Hamura Ryu, as an outsider, couldn't tell how strange the ninja skills used by the Sage of Six Paths were.
But after hearing Hamura Ryu's description of the ninja skills, even Amado, the "outsider," started sweating.
Not to mention Hiruko. Hiruko had a deep understanding of bloodline abilities, and so did Orochimaru. And Kabuto, even though he hadn't been studying it for long, his knowledge was among the best in the world.
"I think it sounds like a bloodline ability. Isn't that something that even the Sharingan can't copy?"
Kidomaru asked, confused.
Kabuto hesitated for a moment.
"Don't think, it is the power of a bloodline ability. And it seems like that person can copy any bloodline ability that we know of."
"It's not so much copying, as... being able to truly use it."
Hiruko also spoke.
They knew the Sage of Six Paths, but others didn't know much about him.
And after hearing Hiruko and Kabuto's words, Kimimaro's eyes narrowed as he looked at Orochimaru.
"The only one who could do something like that is... the Sage of Six Paths, right?"
After hearing Kimimaro's words, Orochimaru, Kabuto, and Hiruko all nodded silently.
And when the words Sage of Six Paths came out, Kidomaru, who hadn't understood before, looked at Amado, who was already sweating, and his own forehead started sweating too.
As for Suigetsu, who was behind the crowd, he felt weak in the legs.
No, I just got on the ship, and you guys are already talking about the Sage of Six Paths?
It wasn't just Suigetsu who felt weak in the legs. Any ninja would feel weak in the legs after hearing the name of the Sage of Six Paths.
"The Six... the Sage of Six Paths?"
Hamura Ryu's voice trembled. If it was the Sage of Six Paths, and thinking about what his captain had done, it seemed like there was, it really would be impossible to save him.
"It's the Sage of Six Paths. Since it's the Sage of Six Paths, then he's not one of Shanks' people. And..."
Orochimaru looked at the news in the newspaper about the Red Line and Gold Lion. From Hamura Ryu, they knew that Gold Lion wasn't in good shape.
For Orochimaru, this was good news.
Overall, he was now more confident in himself.
That Gold Lion guy definitely took a full hit from Shanks, and a full hit from Shanks after he had become stronger.
Just one hit knocked Gold Lion unconscious.
If it was him, Shanks could only make him run away with his tail between his legs.
At that moment, Orochimaru had complete trust in the strength of his body. Although he wasn't as good as Shanks and Gold Lion in other areas, his body was good.
And because he was connected to the Dragon Vein, Orochimaru could still connect his body with the power of the world's Dragon Vein at any time. The destruction of the Dragon Vein wasn't a problem at all.
Because the power of the Dragon Vein was essentially the power of the world. Orochimaru could still do that.
It's just... if he was in that state for too long, he would become stupid.
So Orochimaru didn't want to face Shanks. Shanks couldn't kill him, but he could kill his intelligence, which was the most terrifying thing.
And now it seemed like things were getting more and more interesting.
"I think that just Gold Lion alone probably wouldn't be enough to hurt Shanks so badly."
Orochimaru looked at the newspaper again. Anyone could see that the injuries Shanks received this time weren't that simple.
And to directly cut a gap in the Red Line was too much. Even for Shanks, it would be hard to do.
"To be hit by the captain's full power and still survive, and even become stronger after waking up, shows that Gold Lion is definitely not weak."
"But even Gold Lion before becoming a Four Emperors, and even Gold Lion after becoming a Four Emperors, is probably still far behind the captain in strength."
Amado nodded. He had absolute trust in Shanks' strength.
Besides, whenever Shanks showed up, he was always surrounded.
And every time it was Shanks beating everyone else.
Not just Amado, who was a key member of the Red Hair Pirates, but even new pirates knew this.
Every time Shanks appeared, he was being beaten by a group of people.
Um... or rather, Shanks was beating a group of people alone.
"But the Sage of Six Paths has controlled the ninja world for thousands of years."
Hiruko thought of the power of the Sage of Six Paths, and couldn't help but sweat. If it was really the Sage of Six Paths and Gold Lion ganging up on Shanks, that sounded too unbelievable.
"You haven't faced Shanks, you don't know how scary he is.
Although they're both powerful people who have controlled an era, I can say for sure that the Sage of Six Paths is probably not as good as Shanks, that terrifying person."
Orochimaru shook his head. His tall and wild body was so full of power that you could feel the pressure just looking at him.
But even someone as powerful and impressive as Orochimaru was still completely under Shanks' pressure when he faced him.
Shanks' strength was different from normal people, different from any kind of normal power.
"You only know how strong that guy is when you actually face him.
Even if you feel like you can hold him back, he can keep breaking through in that situation. His strength keeps rising, as if there's no end to it."
Orochimaru felt this the most. It was like that in the battle in the Land of Wind. He felt like Shanks was about to give up.
But in the end, he still managed to drag him to his death.
Orochimaru was using the body of the strongest creature, and the power of the Dragon Vein, but in the end, Shanks dragged him to his death.
His strength was defeated head-on by someone else. What could Orochimaru say? There was nothing to say.
"And although we don't understand how strong the Sage of Six Paths is, we can get a general idea from our research on Senjutsu and ninja skills."
"This battle was probably the Sage of Six Paths and Gold Lion working together, trying to hold down Shanks on the Red Line."
"But those two probably underestimated Shanks' power, hahaha!"
Orochimaru laughed loudly.
A second Four Emperors?
You?
Gold Lion, who teamed up with the Sage of Six Paths to fight Shanks, and then got knocked out by Shanks with one hit?
"It's true that Shanks has made everyone realize how scary and powerful the people who controlled an era are.
The Sage of Six Paths controlled the ninja world for thousands of years, which is very powerful, but don't forget that this time is the age of pirates."
Orochimaru's power burst out.
The Sage of Six Paths is just an old thing from the past. If he dares to climb out of his coffin, then Shanks can put him back in it.
"I thought they'd be stronger, but that's all they are.
Gold Lion needed the Sage of Six Paths' help to become a Four Emperors, but I, Orochimaru, don't need it."
"With all of you here, that's enough."
Now Orochimaru was incredibly confident. He was stronger than Gold Lion.
Gold Lion had the Sage of Six Paths' help, but he didn't need it.
"The Sage of Six Paths controlled the ninja world for thousands of years alone. If we, the Beasts Pirates, work together, we might not be worse than the Sage of Six Paths."
"Hahaha!!!"
Orochimaru's arrogance was on full display, and black flames appeared around him. Seeing Orochimaru's arrogance.
Hiruko, Kabuto, Kidomaru, and the others felt at ease.
As geniuses, they all had their own pride.
None of them could compare to the Sage of Six Paths, but if they all worked together, they might not be worse than the Sage of Six Paths.
"Orochimaru, you're really arrogant, but..."
"I also think that Gold Lion is not as good as you."
Hiruko grinned.
"We are all people who can control this era, why can't we compare to the Sage of Six Paths!"
"That's right, with us here, Orochimaru-sama will become a Four Emperors sooner or later."
"Just some leftovers from the old era, if we work together, we're not worse than that old Six Paths guy."
Kidomaru said boldly.
He, Kidomaru, was a strong person who had faced Shanks head-on. He wasn't weak.
"What a... terrifying pirate crew."
Seeing Orochimaru and his leaders like this, even Amado couldn't help but feel impressed.
Orochimaru was definitely a strong person.
In this chaotic world, Orochimaru could definitely be called a strong leader, the strongest leader in this chaotic world.
But Amado was just impressed, because his captain was the strongest ruler of this time.
That carefree-looking man was the strongest ruler who had created this era.
The ruler-like man waiting for these leaders on the Red Line, the ruler who had directly pushed the Sage of Six Paths, who had controlled the ninja world for thousands of years with ninja skills, back into his coffin.
The scene made Suigetsu feel like he had been abandoned. How could these people be so confident!
But when he thought about Orochimaru's power on the East Sea battlefield.
And the spirit and strength shown by the pirates on the battlefield.
Suigetsu's face also showed confidence. These people deserved it.
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