Although the money 'donated' by Root was a large amount, Kozue could not simply use it all in the Land of Waves.
As I said before, the situation in the country of waves was not unique.
In the land of fire alone there were many villages and small towns subjugated by bandits or nobles, so if he wanted to help, he couldn't use all the money he had taken from Root in the land of the Wave.
His shadow clones opened shops in all those places and took it upon themselves to restore order, even using mind control magic to control the noble rulers of those lands so as not to attract attention after assassinating them.
With all those activities, Root's money wouldn't last long. And to make it last, Kozue and her clones would only provide financial assistance to children and women.
What about men?
Those who had children and women in their families would benefit indirectly, but single men without families did not receive their help.
Kozue apologized to them, but they'll have to fend for themselves for a while longer.
In any case, it won't be long before things improve.
Suddenly, something caught his attention in the distance.
But since one of his shadow clones was already there to fix things, he didn't bother with it.
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"Please don't take my things!"
"Woman, I'm losing my patience!"
"Drop those bags or I'll break your legs!"
On a busy street, a scene unfolded before the eyes of those around, but none dared to stop it.
After all, everyone knew what would happen to them if they angered Gato's henchmen.
"My children haven't eaten!"
"Please!"
Facing two men with swords at their waists and a criminal appearance, a woman carried a couple of bags in her hands and hugged them while begging and trying to prevent the two men in front of her from taking them away.
But the two men had no intention of showing mercy.
After all, after so long getting their way working for Gato, they were used to always getting what they wanted.
In contrast, the woman's teary eyes only made them feel sadistic pleasure and they thought about having a little fun.
"Come here…!"
The man's words stopped when he saw a man approaching from behind the woman and smiled contemptuously.
Although it wasn't common anymore, there were still idiots who wanted to play the hero and they had to be given a public lesson so that the rest could learn.
But before he could even pick up his sword, the man's mind went blank.
And not only him.
But also his partner.
"Get out of here," this person told the woman, and she remained in her place for a few seconds, not knowing what was happening.
The two men who wanted to take his things stood still like statues and did not react when the man stood in front of them.
"Thank you"
But reacting quickly, the woman came out of her shock and thanked the man before leaving the place.
The only thing that came to mind when analyzing what was happening was that the man was a ninja and had used one of those legendary jutsus against the two cat thugs.
And although she was grateful, she knew it wouldn't be good for her and her children if she became more involved in this matter.
After all, Gato also had his own ninjas working for him.
With the woman walking away from the scene and the other people around still watching her actions, Kozue's shadow clone retreated while Gato's two thugs followed him.
Under a Genjutsu, Gato's 2 thugs were firmly under his control and he led them to a secluded place.
He had already obtained what he wanted from the minds of these two thugs, so he led them to a secluded place to kill them for their crimes.
After all, he didn't want to traumatize the people around him.
Meanwhile, similar scenes were taking place all over the city.
Many people had appeared carrying bags with numerous provisions and inevitably attracted the attention of some thieves and Gato's thugs.
Luckily for these people and unluckily for Gato's thugs, Kozue's shadow clones were already ready to act at the opportune moment.
Of course, news of Kozue's actions of giving away money and food spread throughout the city, and many people headed there to get their share.
Meanwhile, other people went to their boss to tell him what had happened.
.
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"Are you saying they're giving away money and food?" asked a short man with dark glasses.
"Yes, my lord," said one of his subordinates as he bowed slightly and began to recount what his men had discovered.
Gato listened to the details from the man's mouth and didn't believe what he was hearing.
Wanting to confirm the news, he sent more men to the city to verify what was happening.
But when they returned and confirmed everything, Gato frowned as he thought about this unknown element.
After many years, the entire country was under his control, and only he could trade with the outside world.
And with his men controlling all the ships in the country, he has been able to prevent anyone from interfering and causing him problems.
Or at least that was their plan.
According to what his men told him, this store has a huge amount of items, which never run out no matter how much he sells or gives away.
But this should be impossible with his control over the country.
Although small rats like that bridge builder sometimes slipped through, it was impossible to smuggle such a huge amount of merchandise without his men noticing.
But apparently it still happened, and I had to find out who was behind this store and eliminate it no matter who it was.
He has put a lot of effort and spent a lot of time taking control of this small country and he wouldn't give it up so easily.
But he would not dare underestimate this unknown enemy.
After all, the only thing that came to mind when a large amount of merchandise arrived in the interior of the country without his men noticing was that ninjas were involved.
Therefore, he placed great importance on this new variable and did not dare to underestimate it.
The only thing that confused him was, who had so much money that they could just throw it away and give it away so casually?
The person behind this is definitely not an ordinary person, and Gato didn't think someone would start doing this for no reason.
Anyone with even a modicum of power and influence would know they had control over this country. But even so, this person and their group dared to do these things without considering public opinion.
Therefore, they definitely did not have good intentions.
Gato got up and prepared to give some orders.
He wanted to gather most of his men to follow him and find out about this new enemy.
He even summoned that rogue ninja from the mist he had recently hired.
Remembering why he hired that ninja, Gato cursed the bridge builder and regretted not killing him sooner.
But when he thought of taking control of that bridge, ambition blinded him, and the old man took advantage of a moment to escape the sight of his men and run towards the land of fire.
Although he didn't like spending Ryo's millions to hire that rogue ninja, he had no other choice when the Leaf ninjas could get involved.
His wealth and connections in the land of fire afforded him a certain level of security from the Leaf ninjas, as they would not dare to kill him and cause a stir.
After all, the nobles in the capital would be happy to go after the Leaf ninjas if they killed an 'honorable' merchant like him.
But nothing is certain with these ninjas, and I preferred to have insurance.
As long as the bridge builder is killed, the Leaf ninjas will have no reason to continue here and will retreat from their personal paradise.
Because this was the land of the waves, his personal paradise.
Far from those nobles who took a large part of his earnings to work in their territories and far from those ninjas who could assassinate him on commission.
As his control over the country becomes fully established, he would take control as its new Daimyo and would now also be a nobleman.
With his ambition about to become a reality, Gato wouldn't let anyone stand in his way.
But without him noticing, a human figure stood behind him and his mind went blank.