Under the full moon, the streets of Qinghai City's west district were silent.
Inside the Qinghai Gang's headquarters, the scene was… humiliating.
Naruto sat lazily on the throne in the main hall, legs crossed, stifling a yawn.
Before him, the entire Qinghai Gang—dozens of so-called "tough men"—were kneeling on the cold floor, trembling.
The operation had gone ridiculously smooth.
Truth be told, these "gangsters" weren't worth a single jutsu. Their so-called "protectors"—rumored to be Chūnin—weren't even Genin-level.
Naruto hadn't lifted a finger.
Haku hadn't even drawn his blade.
Ringo Yuri got bored halfway through, knocked a few heads together, and called it a day.
Aoiha and Kabuto, on the other hand, handled business quickly and efficiently—every thug was floored in minutes.
A shadowy figure in black appeared before Naruto and knelt.
"President, these are the Qinghai Gang's ledgers—records of income, expenses, and protection payments to the city lord."
"Protection payments?" Naruto raised a brow.
"Yes," the agent replied. "The city lord calls it a 'legal operations tax'—a way to legitimize the gang's existence. It's corruption, just dressed up pretty."
Naruto flipped through the pages.
After a few seconds, his eyes widened.
"…Holy crap."
The numbers were astronomical.
Even he—leader of the Red Sun Society, with entire cities under his control—felt broke just looking at it.
"Come here," he waved. "Take a look. You'll understand what I meant earlier—how even a small-town gang earns more than elite ninja risking their lives daily."
Ringo Yuri frowned, curious.
She took the ledger—and froze.
Her eyes darted across the endless columns of figures. Her brain simply gave up.
Aoiha and Haku leaned over too.
Kabuto only took a quick glance before his pupils shrank.
The raw figures made even him—a man who'd handled massive sums—break into a cold sweat.
"One… two… three… four… how many zeros is that?" Ringo muttered, dizzy.
"One hundred thirty-seven billion, seven hundred fifty-eight thousand ryō," Haku said flatly.
Kabuto adjusted his glasses. "Over the past ten years, twelve billion went directly to the city lord. The gang kept one-point-seven billion, plus seventy million in operating funds."
The room went silent.
"…How much?" Ringo's voice cracked.
She looked like she'd seen a ghost.
Aoiha's expression wasn't much better. Her brain just… shut down.
They'd fought wars, led armies, bled for missions—and this is what the world rewarded?
As elite jōnin, their pay for an S-rank mission—after risking death for weeks—barely touched a few million ryō.
Now, a group of drunk street rats in one mid-sized city had raked in enough money to equal ten thousand S-rank missions.
Ten. Thousand.
Even if they lived for a hundred years, there was no way to catch up.
Ringo Yuri slumped down, eyes hollow.
What the hell was the point of all that training… all that blood?
Weren't shinobi supposed to be the powerful ones?
The elite of this world?
So why were they poorer than thugs?
Naruto's voice broke the silence.
"See this? This—" he tapped the ledger "—is what's wrong with the world."
He stood, tone steady but sharp.
"Everyone says this is a 'ninja world,' filled with legendary warriors and heroes. But tell me—what kind of ninja world makes its strongest people live poorer than the merchants they protect? The nobles grow fat on luxury while ninja die for pocket change."
His voice grew louder, more passionate.
"This world is sick."
Naruto paced slowly, his gaze distant.
He'd seen it all—farmers starving while daimyo threw banquets, gangsters living richer than shinobi, and people crushed under the weight of systems built to serve only the top.
The ninja world wasn't unified—it was broken.
And he intended to fix it.
Kabuto finally understood.
All this time, when Naruto spoke of unifying the ninja world, it wasn't just about peace or power—it was about rebuilding the system itself.
Aoiha, Ringo Yuri, and Haku watched him with shining eyes.
His words struck something deep inside them.
He didn't just lead—he inspired.
Naruto stopped before the kneeling gang members.
"Kabuto," he ordered, "confiscate everything. Sort the guilty by degree of crime."
"Those guilty of murder or grievous harm—execute them."
"For the rest—labor reform. The punishment depends on the crime."
Kabuto nodded immediately.
"And another thing—contact Kui Ox and White Tiger. You four will establish a new salary system for the Red Sun Society."
He continued firmly.
"From now on, pay will be based on three principles:
More work, more pay.
Less work, less pay.
No work, no pay."
"The funds we seized from Qinghai City will be distributed accordingly."
He turned, voice calm but resolute.
"These sudden windfalls won't last forever. We need sustainable revenue. Businesses. Trade. Industry. That's your mission, Kabuto. Build a stable foundation for this organization."
Kabuto bowed deeply. "Understood, President."
"Good," Naruto said, smiling faintly. "Now, let's go see this 'city lord' who's been stealing billions."
He left the hall with Aoiha, Ringo Yuri, and Haku following close behind.
The City Lord's Mansion was massive—clearly built from blood money.
As Naruto entered, dozens of black-cloaked operatives immediately knelt.
"President!"
"Lord President!"
"Welcome, President!"
Their presence was suffocating—disciplined, deadly, radiating strength.
Aoiha's heart skipped. So this was the true power of the Red Sun Society.
Ringo Yuri's eyes gleamed. "Damn… this isn't a gang. This is a small army."
From the shadows, a man stepped forward—middle-aged, with a calm but commanding aura.
"President." He bowed deeply. "Uchiha Fugaku, reporting. Qinghai City is now fully under control."
Naruto smiled. "I knew I could count on you."
Aoiha froze. "Uchiha… Fugaku? The Uchiha clan leader?!"
Ringo's jaw dropped. "Wait, wasn't the Uchiha clan wiped out?!"
Their minds reeled.
Wasn't that supposed to be history?
Naruto waved casually. "Relax. The truth is… what the world believes isn't always reality."
The other operatives in the mansion—all wearing the Uchiha crest—stood silently behind Fugaku, their Sharingan eyes glowing faintly in the dim light.
Aoiha and Ringo were speechless.
The entire Uchiha clan—alive, loyal, and part of the Red Sun Society?
Naruto just smiled faintly.
"The world calls them extinct. But I call them allies."
In that moment, it was clear:
The Red Sun Society wasn't just powerful.
It was rewriting the entire structure of the ninja world—one city at a time.
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