Chapter 065: Kado Attacks!

Sasuke and Kakashi had absolutely no interest in this kind of production. Without waiting for Naruto to approach them, the two had already used the excuse of preventing sabotage to slip away onto the bridge under construction.

Haku was still assisting the arriving Uzumaki clansmen, and Karin was busy arranging accommodations and assigning tasks. Only Sakura remained at Naruto’s side, following him around and asking questions out of curiosity.

She considered her strengths not to lie in combat; if she wanted to be of better help to her companions, she had to master more knowledge. Sakura was fascinated by everything Naruto was methodically doing in this fishing village.

“But isn’t it too late to plant crops now?” Sakura asked, looking at the freshly cleared fields around them. “And those high-yield seeds you brought—by the time they become food, won’t it take months? Isn’t it too late to start now?”

Indeed, Naruto had brought advanced, high-yield crops from Uzushio Village. These seeds were disease-resistant and produced abundant harvests; if successfully cultivated, they would significantly boost the Land of Waves’ food production.

Moreover, these crops could be grown in the scattered plots near the fishing village, making it even harder for those who wished to monopolize the food supply to carry out their plans. Yet the problem remained: wasn’t it too late to start cultivating land and sowing seeds now? It was as if one remembered to make paper only after needing it in the restroom.

“It doesn’t matter; as long as they know there will be more food,” Naruto replied. Truthfully, he didn’t fully understand the reasoning himself. He had simply witnessed in his previous world how his country kept announcing increasing food supplies and continually releasing grain into the market, forcing their enemies into a frenzy.

Naruto’s expertise lay in combat and engineering; asking him to devise economic strategies was a bit much. Still, he genuinely distributed food, driving prices down to affordable levels.

To that end, Naruto had also promoted the steam-powered automatic fishing boats used on the shores of the Land of Whirlpools. Equipped with relatively advanced navigation and fishing equipment, these boats greatly increased the catch. Within a single day, the fishermen in the village harvested dozens of times more fish than before.

Meanwhile, in the factory district beside the village, the roar of steam-powered machinery broke the usual tranquility. Using his advanced technological knowledge, Naruto secretly established a steam-powered mechanical factory in a hidden valley, bringing about a dramatic transformation for the small fishing village.

Soon, Naruto’s sudden rise caused a sensation throughout the Land of Waves. Many local noble families realized a turning point was imminent.

But they did not welcome change; they hated it.

They wished everything would remain as it always had: the noble eternally noble, the poor eternally poor, never to change.

To that end, many began to take action—especially the forces most directly threatened, such as Gato’s shipping company.

“We can’t let them continue like this!” Gato slammed the table. “Clearing land, planting fields, fishing—what won’t they try next?”

“Since those so-called ninja from the Land of Whirlpools arrived, the farmers have become outrageous! Today they dare to shake off my absolute rule—who knows what they’ll want tomorrow? I don’t even dare imagine!”

“These aren’t just ordinary troublemakers anymore! We must strike hard!”

Gato’s furious voice echoed in the meeting room. The assembled thugs exchanged uncertain glances.

Finally, a slightly bolder thug raised his hand and said timidly, “But, boss… that woman called Mei Terumi isn’t here.”

The other lackeys murmured in agreement.

“Yeah, I heard some people from the Land of Fire caused trouble for her, so she took her team to deal with it.”

“She only left us two squads of ninja, and they’re just guarding the gate.”

“Without ninja, how can we fight those Whirlpools ninja?”

“Boss, maybe we should wait for another round! Wait for that woman…”

The thugs debated among themselves, when one of Gato’s underlings shouted, “Are you even employees of Gato Shipping Company? You haven’t even fought yet, and you’re already saying we can’t do it! If you keep boosting the enemy’s morale and dampening ours, what are you trying to do?”

“At least we should fight them—if we can’t win, then we surrender! Right, boss?”

The thug leaned closer and asked Gato.

“Bakayaro!!”

Gato slapped his underling aside.

“I paid so much to bring you here—not to listen to your pathetic excuses!”

He cursed, “At least you should fight those ninja! If you don’t even try, how can you claim defeat?”

“Go fight! Take the ninja left by that woman with you! If you really can’t win, surrender then—it won’t be too late!”

The slapped underling thought to himself: Boss, you’re saying the same as me—why slap me?

In the end, Gato led his gang of thugs, together with the remaining Mist ninja stationed at the company, and marched aggressively toward the seaside fishing village in the Land of Waves.

Their intent was simple: harass the villagers, sabotage the bridge construction, and drive out the ninja.

They aimed to plunge the people of the Land of Waves back into subjugation and exploitation, thereby consolidating Gato’s power.

However, they had no idea that their plan wouldn’t even get off the ground.

As soon as Gato and his men arrived at the fishing village, they were stunned by the sight of the ultra-wide, steel-cast bridge spanning the sea.

A colossal steel dragon, still incomplete, lay across the water, while towering iron beasts prowled around it.

Gato and his lackeys froze.

Hearing about it was one thing; seeing it firsthand was quite another.

They had never imagined that the sea bridge was no longer a crude, foolish scheme, and even less that such a feat of ironwork was accomplished by those titanic steel beasts.

Wherever the steel giants passed, the rough stone bridgework was swiftly replaced with steel and expanded several times over.

At this pace, within a month, the entire bridge would be transformed into a genuine steel dragon.

“B-boss…” a small thug asked, “Can we even take this apart? I mean, after we seize it…”

“Why do you care so much?” Gato stammered in reply. “Just seize it! Once we have it, we’ll figure out what to do!”

Then Gato turned to the Mist ninja, who were just as dumbfounded, and asked, “Mr. Kazue, could you please make a move? We really can’t handle this thing.”

If you can’t handle it, what makes you think I can? Kazue, the Mist ninja, cursed inwardly, then frowned and said, “I’ll do my best to try.”

With that, he formed a seal, vanishing into the mist.

Ninjutsu: Hidden Mist Technique!