Inside the ship's cabin, when Gatō finally came back to his senses, he was drenched in cold sweat, his eyes filled with terror and reverence for the mysterious figure before him.
Although the Narakumi no Jutsu was merely a simple C-rank genjutsu, to an ordinary person with no chakra like Gatō, it was nothing short of a "divine technique."
"My lord!"
The moment he escaped the illusion, Gatō dropped to the floor, scrambling on hands and knees until he was prostrate at Menma's feet, his voice trembling.
"Gatō is willing to serve you with absolute loyalty!"
He raised his head anxiously, small eyes brimming with fear and submission, terrified that he might be deemed useless and killed on the spot.
The Narakumi no Jutsu forced its victim to witness their deepest fear.
And Gatō's greatest terror was simple:
To die before spending his fortune.
In the illusion, he had lived through countless cycles—watching himself build Gatō Company into a world-class conglomerate, only to perish time and time again for various reasons.
Sometimes it was accidents.
Sometimes he was dragged into ninja wars.
Other times he was simply assassinated.
Over and over—more than a million repetitions.
The time Gatō experienced within the illusion, when converted to reality, exceeded an entire year.
Of course, Menma had added a few "extra touches," letting Gatō witness how even lofty daimyō and nobles were effortlessly slaughtered by powerful shinobi.
Thus, the moment he escaped the illusion, Gatō abandoned all faith in the old order of the ninja world and begged the masked shinobi to accept his service.
His belief in the existing hierarchy of nobles and rulers had been completely crushed.
Menma nodded in satisfaction and placed his hand atop Gatō's head.
Gatō lowered his face nervously.
"Blood Pact Seal!"
As Menma's dark, violent chakra poured into Gatō's mind, a swastika-shaped curse mark branded itself deep upon his tongue.
This was a curse seal Menma had developed back in the "Limited Tsukuyomi World."
It resembled Root's Tongue Curse Seal in function—but where Root's seal merely paralyzed the user if they revealed Danzō's secrets, Menma's version was far more ruthless.
If the bearer ever tried to disclose information about Menma, their brain would be instantly destroyed—preventing enemies from extracting memories.
Menma had further refined the technique, allowing it to store chakra equal to that of an ordinary genin, greatly enhancing the recipient's physical abilities.
"I need your talent for making money to fund my organization."
Menma floated in midair, looking down at Gatō kneeling before him.
Feeling the subtle flow of chakra within his body, Gatō's face lit up with surprise and delight as he bowed again.
"Thank you for your gracious gift, my lord! Gatō swears to serve you with his life!"
Night fell, and waves gently slapped against the hull.
Gatō's office had been cleaned spotless. The corpses were tossed into the sea, and after a thorough scrubbing, the room now served as Menma's private quarters.
"My lord, this is top-grade tea from the Land of Tea, specially offered to the daimyō. Shall I brew a cup for you?" Gatō asked cautiously from the side.
"Mm."
Menma, still wearing his mask, lounged lazily on the sofa.
Little Kurama had already hopped out of Menma's collar and was happily devouring sweets on the table.
Gatō hurriedly brought more snacks as if attending a deity.
"Your main task is to manage your business well and accumulate funds for the organization," Menma said, casually flipping through an ancient foreign book from Gatō's collection.
"Yes! I shall obey your command!"
Though handing over his hard-earned wealth stung Gatō's heart, he had gained power—and a position within this mysterious organization.
Perhaps in the future, he might even become a noble in a new world order.
"How long until we reach the Land of Lightning's port?" Menma suddenly asked.
"My lord, approximately five or six days. It's currently the northern wind season, so our speed will be much faster."
From the Land of Fire's harbor, they would sail past the Land of Hot Water and through a gulf before reaching the Land of Lightning's coastline.
Not an extreme distance—roughly comparable to traveling from Konoha to the Land of Hot Water.
A wooden sailship like this, aided by seasonal winds, could manage around 18 knots—about 33 kilometers per hour—meaning roughly 800 kilometers a day.
So five to six days sounded about right.
By this calculation, the ninja world was actually quite vast.
It only felt small because shinobi moved absurdly fast.
When Naruto and his team rushed to aid Sunagakure, they crossed an enormous distance in just three days—easily over ten thousand kilometers.
Judging from such figures, the planet's size seemed roughly comparable to Earth, with the ninja continent likely housing around three hundred million people.
Menma stroked Little Kurama's head and added, "Besides earning funds, expand your company across the Five Great Nations and smaller surrounding countries. Gather intelligence as well."
"What kind of intelligence, my lord?" Gatō asked carefully.
After a brief thought, Menma replied, "Information on terrain, major cities, strategic chokepoints, ports, population distribution, social structures, and conflicts between nobles and commoners."
"And intelligence on ninja villages?" Gatō ventured.
Menma didn't bother explaining that ordinary people like him were ill-suited for spying on shinobi. He simply said, "I will arrange separate teams for that."
"Understood, my lord!"
Little Kurama, dressed in her red-and-white kimono, sat on Menma's lap like a child, holding a large pastry. Just as she was about to bite into it, she looked up.
"By the way, what about that Cloud ninja corpse? Aren't you going to deal with it?"
Only then did Menma remember—the body of the Cloud special envoy was still sealed inside his storage scroll.
"Where is the Land of Lightning's bounty exchange?" Menma asked Gatō.
Since he was passing through anyway, he might as well exchange it for some cash.
And while he was at it, pay a visit to Kumogakure.
Perhaps even deliver a little "local specialty" from home.
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