Even a rogue ninja like Zabuza wouldn't harm civilian clients, and if Sakura were truly to target Gato, it would certainly provoke an all-out assault from the entire shinobi world.
"Kakashi-sensei, you're overthinking," said Sakura casually. "I understand the unspoken rules of the shinobi world too. As long as Gato doesn't bring it on himself, I won't just go around harming him for no reason!"
"I plan to have the Celestial Society drive Gato's shipping empire into bankruptcy, then smoothly take over everything under the Gato Group. After that, I'll have people from the Celestial Society help develop the Land of Waves!" she continued.
"What exactly are your intentions?" Kakashi asked cautiously. "Because honestly, I don't believe you'd do this purely out of goodwill toward the Land of Waves."
"Because there's profit to be made here in the Land of Waves," Sakura didn't even bother denying it—it was exactly what she'd planned. And considering her actions wouldn't hurt the Land of Waves but actually benefit its people, she felt no guilt about it at all. "The Land of Waves has abundant marine resources, but due to Gato's existence, they've never reached their full potential. Once I take control of everything under Gato through the Celestial Society, these marine products will achieve their true value—bringing me profit while also benefiting the people of the Land of Waves. A win-win situation—why wouldn't I do it?"
"Why are you so into making money?" Kakashi couldn't quite understand. Few ninjas cared that much about wealth. Plus, Sakura already had more than enough property to last a lifetime.
"I'm not really into making money—I'm just a bit bored, that's all. Besides, who really hates having too much money?" Sakura wore a faintly superior look before continuing, "Maybe one day in the future, when I control the economic lifelines of the entire shinobi world, I could enforce peace across it all through economics."
"Do you really think that's possible?" Kakashi wasn't sure how to respond to Sakura's dream. "Sakura, now that I think about it, it sounds like you're planning to single-handedly force peace across the entire shinobi world. That's not advisable!"
"Kakashi-sensei, do you know what Senju Hashirama's biggest mistake was?" Sakura suddenly asked.
"The First Hokage? I'm not sure." Kakashi shook his head—he had no way of knowing what had happened back then and thus avoided judgment.
"Hashirama's greatest mistake was handing the Tailed Beasts over to the other ninja villages!" Sakura scoffed slightly. "Perhaps in Hashirama's eyes, this would balance each village's power and prevent war—but in reality, how many wars occurred among the villages after he distributed the beasts? The tailed beasts were used as weapons of war, hurting their spirits and causing countless ninja deaths!"
"In Sakura's opinion, Hashirama Senju's decision was nothing short of foolish. Giving the tailed beasts to other nations was like handing out nuclear weapons. As a result, once the villages obtained the beasts, they all coveted their power. Instead of bringing peace, it only led to endless wars over control of the beasts. Worse still, the tailed beasts were used as weapons by the villages, causing countless casualties.
'Of course, that's just my personal view. I can't really say for sure how things would turn out. Peace is never lasting—it's just how things work. My earlier idea of shaping peace in the shinobi world through economic influence was nothing more than an immature thought. Whether or not it should be implemented still depends on the future.'
Sakura offered a brief explanation. Truth be told, she had simply spoken from the heart, caught up in the moment. If she actually had to carry it out, she wouldn't know exactly how to proceed either.
'We often can't judge what our predecessors did. Whether or not the First Hokage made a mistake, their intentions were always for the sake of peace!' Kakashi scratched his head. This wasn't an easy topic to discuss. After all, Hashirama Senju gave the tailed beasts to different countries to maintain balance and pursue peace. It couldn't exactly be called wrong—just ineffective.
'Never thought you'd actually use Wood Release. Looks like Konoha is set to rise again!'
Zabuza, who entered behind them, ignored Kakashi and Sakura's discussion and fixed his gaze on the wooden hut with a complex expression. Back then, the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, wielded the Wood Release technique with such overwhelming power that he alone suppressed the entire shinobi world, preventing any village from launching wars. During Hashirama's lifetime, peace across the shinobi world was unprecedented—purely because no one could defeat him.
Chapter 145: Gato's Death Wish [Lower]
'Wood Release isn't as impressive as you think!' Hearing Zabuza's words, Sakura smiled and replied, 'Many people believe it was Wood Release that established Hashirama Senju's legendary reputation. But in my opinion, it was actually Hashirama Senju himself who made Wood Release famous. Under his hands, Wood Release became unmatched, but the same might not hold true if someone else used it.'
'I've never met the First Hokage in person,' Zabuza responded, 'but according to historical records, Hashirama Senju pacified the Warring Era with his mastery of Wood Release techniques and earned the title of Ninja God. From him came the concept of ninja villages in the shinobi world. Perhaps you're right—Hashirama might have achieved all of this even without Wood Release.'
Shaking his head, Zabuza added that nowadays, nearly ninety percent of what was said about Hashirama Senju was exaggerated or fabricated, based more on myth than fact. For the most part, the truth behind his life story remained unknown.
Although the Dazuna household was located in a remote and desolate area, this environment had one advantage: it was incredibly quiet. Sakura and the others stayed here, spending almost every day in cultivation. Their meals were taken care of by the gentle and capable Haku and Dazuna's daughter Tsunami. As for Dazuna himself, he had already gathered many locals who wanted to resist Gato and started building the bridge. Every day, Naruto would send out a Shadow Clone to protect Dazuna, preventing any interference from Gato's men.
For several consecutive days, everything remained peaceful. Dazuna happily continued constructing the bridge, while Sakura and the others peacefully cultivated. The only real annoyance for Sakura, you could say, was Inori, Dazuna's grandson. Ever since their first meeting, when Inori learned that Sakura's group had escorted Dazuna back and would continue protecting him during the bridge construction, his attitude toward them became constantly sour—sullen and resentful. A passerby would've thought they had a personal grudge against each other.
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