Infinite Anime [229-230] (Patreon)

Chapter 229: Extorting the Raikage

In the evening, Gusion walked out of Orochimaru's base, saying he needed some fresh air.

After confirming with his Observation Haki that no one was following or watching him, he took out the message talisman the Raikage had given him and activated it.

After waiting a while, amidst the crackle of electricity, the Raikage's voice rang out, "Calamity, it seems you haven't forgotten our deal."

"But Raikage, it seems you forgot to pay me a deposit," Gusion replied. He had told the ANBU from the Hidden Cloud to remind the Raikage about the deposit.

There was a brief silence from the other end of the talisman. "What do you want?"

"Lightning Release Chakra Mode."

Gusion went straight for the biggest ask.

"Impossible. You haven't provided any intel yet," the Raikage said. "I heard you've succeeded in joining Akatsuki. Any results?"

"Raikage, you have to give up something to get something. If you're not even willing to pay a deposit, how can I trust you? You should be more aware than me how dangerous Akatsuki is, right? I'm undercover here to provide you information—you know what a huge risk I'm taking?"

Gusion sneered, "If I give you intel and you turn around and sell me out, my head will be delivered for bounty the very next day."

The Fourth Raikage fell silent again. "I'll tell you the hand seals for Summoning Jutsu. Use the blood on the talisman to perform the technique. I'll pay your deposit first."

Gusion smirked; he had already noticed the bloodstain on the talisman. The Raikage wasn't that dumb—he'd left a way to complete the transaction.

Once the Raikage finished, Gusion gathered chakra and performed the Summoning Jutsu. Surprisingly, he succeeded on the first try—seems he was quite talented at ninjutsu.

With a bang, a scroll appeared amid the smoke.

Gusion picked it up and used Identify. It was a legendary skill item called "Thunder Dance."

Because it counted as a quest reward, the item had been converted by the system and wasn't restricted to the chakra system.

Any explorer could learn this secret technique and use it with their soul energy.

While this technique wasn't much help to Gusion directly in battle, it could be fed to his Origin Seed to help it grow. That made him feel that the Naruto world was a great place to farm Origin Seed growth.

His Origin Seed was almost ready to unlock a third slot after some nurturing; he hoped he could gather enough to unlock the fourth slot before leaving this world.

"Not much sincerity," Gusion replied to the Raikage, expressing his dissatisfaction with the deposit.

"Don't push your luck. Where's the intel?" the Raikage said angrily.

"I can give you information, but you have to pay first. What if I tell you and you refuse to give me the secret technique?"

"This intel is heavyweight. You'll have to pay with the Lightning Release Chakra Mode."

"You're going too far! I could reveal your undercover identity right now!"

"Sure, you can sell me out, but then you won't get the life-and-death information related to the Hidden Cloud," Gusion said calmly. The Raikage had worked so hard to establish this line, and he'd just given Gusion a secret technique as a deposit—the sunk cost alone would keep him from giving up easily.

"You…"

The Raikage sounded furious but was worried Gusion really did have major information. After some thought, he said, "I can give you several advanced secret techniques at once. After all, the trade has just started. I need to verify your value as an undercover agent."

Gusion thought for a moment—this was definitely the Raikage's bottom line. "Fine, but you pay first. What if, after hearing my intel, you just sell me out?"

Another silence. Amidst the electrical background noise, there were messy voices—the Raikage seemed to be arguing with his advisors. After a while, the Raikage transmitted, "If you dare take the secret techniques and cut off contact, Akatsuki will know your identity by tomorrow."

"Cut the crap. Send the goods," Gusion urged.

After a while, the Summoning Jutsu activated again. Gusion received an epic-grade secret technique scroll and two legendary-grade secret technique scrolls.

Gusion grinned. Extortion really was fast money. "I'm not untrustworthy. Listen carefully—Akatsuki's next target is the Tailed Beasts. You'd better keep an eye on your rapping little brother."

"What!? Bastards! Those guys dare to set their sights on the Tailed Beasts? I always knew they were dangerous!" The Raikage's voice was furious and shocked. "When are they planning to act? Who is the first target?"

"That's another deal. When I have definite info, I'll contact you. But Raikage, remember—you'll have to offer even better secret techniques next time."

Gusion laughed.

He was really feeling the perks of being a spy—just a few words and he'd gotten several high-level skill scrolls. Easy money.

However, he also knew this line of work wouldn't last long. Once the Raikage decided he was no longer useful, he'd be cast aside.

Akatsuki was ruthless with traitors—if there was a chance, they'd hunt him down immediately, even Pain himself might do the job.

Orochimaru only survived after leaving Akatsuki because Sasori, who was in charge of hunting him, was compromised by Kabuto—the spy had all his secrets, so Orochimaru stayed free.

After cutting off contact with the Raikage, Gusion returned to Orochimaru's base, greeted him, and prepared to leave.

"Gusion-kun, are you leaving? Akatsuki's mission could come down soon. If we're not together, it might be troublesome," Orochimaru asked, puzzled why Gusion wanted to leave so soon after joining—weren't they supposed to destroy Konoha together?

"If I don't go out, where will you get your research funding, Orochimaru? As for Akatsuki missions, I can usually handle them alone," Gusion replied.

"I see. Gusion-kun, contact me if you need help." Orochimaru, happy that Gusion was going to help him get money, gave him his contact info.

He really didn't want to do Akatsuki missions himself—he preferred to stay in the lab researching. If Gusion could handle it, all the better.

"Help me get in touch with Ryuchi Cave while I'm away. When I come back, I want to check out Sage Mode," Gusion said before leaving. He didn't want Orochimaru taking his labor for free.

Saying he needed to make contact was just an excuse. Orochimaru wouldn't give him an introduction until he offered real benefits.

Actually, Gusion knew Orochimaru could contact Ryuchi Cave and even reverse summon himself there at any time.

But in the ninja world, some things are best left unsaid. Everyone exchanges interests for mutual benefit.

"Stingy as hell," Gusion grumbled after receiving funds from Kakuzu.

He had thought that after some carrot-and-stick tactics, Kakuzu would be more generous. Kakuzu did agree easily when he asked for money, but the cash delivered by his subordinate was… only fifty million.

Gusion thought, I'd make more killing a few bounty rogue ninjas on the road. Kakuzu, is this all you've got? I kept you alive for this?

"M-Master Calamity, may I go now?" the runner asked, trembling. When Kakuzu sent him, he'd looked at him as if he were already dead.

"Get lost," Gusion waved, not interested in killing small fry.

He stashed the case of money in his storage space, pondering the fastest way to make money.

It wasn't entirely to help Orochimaru, but to get more hidden quest rewards. If he missed this opportunity, who knows when he'd be back in the Naruto world? Maybe by then Orochimaru would be gone.

Besides, if they were planning to cause trouble in Konoha, they'd need a lot of money. War runs on cash—it's not just a saying.

Gusion quickly scanned his memories of comment sections from watching anime in the End Space, and suddenly thought of a huge cash cow.

Not Tsunade, but the shipping magnate and underground king of the Land of Waves—Gato.

In the original, Gato was described as being rich enough to rival a country, and even Zabuza worked under him after defecting.

Gusion thought, Zabuza was too honest—he could've just killed Gato for his money instead of working for him. Ninja from the big villages really had professional ethics.

Gusion had no such qualms about ethics or the ninja world's conventions—he planned to rob Gato outright.

He moved out at once, and within a day arrived in the Land of Waves.

After a bit of inquiry, he quickly learned where the local celebrity lived and headed straight for Gato's luxurious estate.

Swoosh—

By coincidence, as Gusion landed in front of the estate, two other figures landed almost simultaneously on the other side.

The three glanced at each other and instantly recognized each other's intentions—they were all here to rob Gato.

No words were exchanged. After activating their scouting skills, the two—clearly not from the same faction—both attacked Gusion, the strongest.

And then…

That was it.

Lightning flashed on Gusion's body, paralyzing them instantly. Then he dashed forward and finished both third-rank explorers with a single blow each.

Clap, clap, clap—

A man with bandages on his face and a massive sword on his back applauded from within the estate.

"Impressive. Could you be the legendary Calamity?" he asked calmly, ignoring the gangsters rushing over.

"That sword… are you one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist?" Gusion asked knowingly. With his sharp senses, he also noticed a young 'girl' peeking from behind a building—Haku, adopted by Zabuza.

"Former Swordsman. Momochi Zabuza. It's an honor to face the legendary Calamity," Zabuza introduced himself, gripping his sword, wary.

He'd heard of Calamity's feats and knew this would be a tough fight. Since defecting from the village, Zabuza had worked for Gato, but his ninja pride wouldn't let him retreat without a fight.

"I'm just here for some cash. If you don't want to die, step aside."

Gusion strode forward. With a burst of Conqueror's Haki, the gangsters surrounding him collapsed like wheat before the scythe.

Zabuza was shocked, sweating—he'd never heard Calamity had this kind of power.

For a moment, he felt like Calamity had become an invincible conqueror, making it hard to even breathe, his legs almost buckling.

Because this was a private job, Gusion wasn't wearing the Akatsuki cloak. He walked calmly and unhurriedly into the estate, brushing past Zabuza.

What humiliated Zabuza most was that as Gusion passed him, he didn't even have the courage to attack.

In fact, when Gusion was gone, he felt relieved, as if spared from death.

Boom—

When Zabuza turned back, lightning exploded in the villa—clearly, it was already over.

While counting Gato's assets, Gusion noticed Zabuza approaching. "If you've got nowhere to go, come with me."

Chapter 230: Do You Want to Be Mizukage?

"Why didn't you kill me?" Zabuza asked, staring at Gusion's back, confused.

In his worldview, only the strong survive. He'd lost the battle just now, but Gusion had spared his life.

"Do you want to die?" Gusion turned his head. "I can grant your wish," he said, drawing his Mazuko blade.

He wasn't surprised by Zabuza's presence—this world had already been messed with by the first wave of explorers, so the plot had shifted.

Technically, Itachi hadn't joined Akatsuki yet, so Juzo Biwa hadn't been killed by the Mizukage, meaning Zabuza shouldn't have his sword. But Gusion had noticed Biwa wasn't carrying the sword either, so Zabuza had probably gotten it early after his own defection and coup attempt.

"I didn't mean that. I'm just curious—the legendary Calamity is different from what I imagined."

Zabuza shook his head; he didn't want to die—he still had unfinished business.

A year ago, he'd staged a coup in the Mist, attempted to assassinate the Fourth Mizukage, but failed. He hadn't given up on his ideals.

So he'd endured humiliation, working for Gato to accumulate funds, waiting for the day he could return.

"Oh? What did you expect me to be like?" Gusion asked as he opened Gato's safe. Gato turned out to be unexpectedly poor for a shipping monopolist; most of his assets were tied up in business, not cash.

Fortunately, banking wasn't well-developed in this era, so Gato kept most of his liquid assets in his mansion. After a thorough search, Gusion found assets worth billions—enough to keep Orochimaru busy for a while. Next time he saw Kakuzu, he'd have another allowance.

"Cold, ruthless, efficient killing machine—that's how the Mist's textbooks describe you," Zabuza said.

Gusion was surprised—he didn't expect to be mentioned in Mist textbooks. He hadn't fought on the Mist front during the Third Great War; that was mostly the Uchiha's territory.

"I don't deny your assessment of my battlefield conduct, but I'm on my own now," Gusion said, storing the loot in his space. In the ninja world, storage jutsu were common, so it wouldn't seem odd.

He had two reasons for sparing Zabuza: first, he had no interest in killing defeated foes; second, he'd just realized Zabuza might prove useful.

His world exploration progress in this world wasn't high yet—he'd only gained some after causing chaos in the Hidden Cloud. He figured it was because the Uchiha storyline hadn't advanced yet, and he'd been keeping a low profile.

After the One Piece world, Gusion had wondered: What would happen if world exploration hit 100%? In One Piece, he wasn't top-tier, but in the Naruto era, he could definitely shake things up.

Naturally, he started thinking about stirring up even more trouble—not just in the Cloud, Leaf, and Sand, but also in the Mist.

Zabuza was a revolutionary. If Gusion helped him overthrow the Fourth Mizukage and become the Fifth, Zabuza would be his plant in the Mist. Perfect.

"You want me to follow you? What can you offer me?" Zabuza asked, a little jealous watching Gusion collect Gato's fortune, but he didn't regret not killing Gato himself years ago.

He was a rogue ninja, but he still believed he could someday return and lead a successful revolution, so he maintained loyalty to his employers.

"If even the future Mizukage behaved like a thug, who would hire Mist ninja afterward?" he reasoned.

"Honestly, I'd never heard of you before. Before the Third War, you were just a kid, right?" Gusion smiled. "But you seem strong enough to be useful. Why don't you tell me—what do you want?"

After a pause, Zabuza said, "I want to become Mizukage and reform the Mist's cruel system."

This answer surprised Gusion a bit—he knew Zabuza had staged a coup to become Mizukage, but he didn't know that this man, infamous for killing his classmates, actually wanted to end the Blood Mist era.

"You want to be Mizukage? That's a big ask. You're too weak," Gusion said bluntly.

Zabuza felt humiliated—he was the Mist's silent killing prodigy and had never been called too weak before.

But he couldn't argue—as Calamity had just subdued him with mere intent and aura, he hadn't even dared draw his sword.

"But if you're willing to work for me, maybe I can help you," Gusion continued, surprising Zabuza.

Zabuza thought he'd misheard. "I said I want to be Mizukage, Calamity. Are you sure you heard me?"

He thought Gusion was overconfident. As a rogue ninja, taking over the Mist was as hard as Gusion taking over Konoha. But Gusion said that if Zabuza worked for him, he'd help him achieve it.

The Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, was no ordinary ninja—he was a perfect Jinchuriki. Only a handful in the world could fight him.

Zabuza had heard of Gusion's exploits in the Hidden Cloud, but doubted he could beat the Fourth Mizukage.

"I don't like repeating myself. If you want to be Mizukage, come with me," Gusion said, finishing his looting and jumping out the window, ready to leave. He believed Zabuza would follow, because a new hidden quest had just appeared.

[Hidden Quest: Zabuza's Ambition]

Quest: Kill the Fourth Mizukage Yagura and help Momochi Zabuza become the Fifth Mizukage.

Difficulty: Hard–Nightmare

Reward: Mist Village Ninjutsu Compendium Scroll ×1

Failure Penalty: None

The scroll was a dark gold item, containing all Mist jutsu, secret techniques, and forbidden techniques—a perfect fertilizer for his Origin Seed.

This quest's reward was far greater than the Hidden Cloud quest, but the difficulty was also higher, with no reward for failure.

The Cloud quest was nice because he could keep extorting the Raikage for steady income.

Of course, he was going to do Zabuza's quest—not just for the Mist scroll, but also for the huge world exploration gain.

If he could control the Mist through Zabuza, causing chaos in the ninja world would be even easier.

"Lord Calamity, please wait," Zabuza called out, following, more respectful now.

In the ninja world, only strength commanded respect. Gusion's power had subdued Zabuza, and the promised benefits made him unable to refuse.

When Gusion stopped, Zabuza brought a child with him. "This kid is Haku—a boy, with the Ice Release kekkei genkai."

Gusion glanced at the pretty, delicate-faced Haku. With long hair and pink cheeks, he didn't look like a boy.

He knew Zabuza introduced Haku this way to highlight his value—hoping Gusion wouldn't discard such a useful tool.

"Ice Release, huh? A kid with potential. Bring him along, but take care of him yourself," Gusion said. He wasn't interested in raising kids—Haku was promising, but not much help as a child on this world trip.

"I'll do my best, Mr. Zabuza," Haku said timidly, glancing at Gusion with some fear.

Zabuza hoisted Haku and caught up. "Lord Calamity, where are we going?"

"Land of Rice Fields. I'll settle you two first," Gusion replied. He sensed Akatsuki would make a move soon, so he planned to send Zabuza to Orochimaru's base as reserve force for the Konoha destruction plan.

Also, as Naruto's best-known instructor, Orochimaru could help train Haku—he'd become stronger than if he just stuck with Zabuza.

Orochimaru's teaching skills were no joke—Kakashi only managed to teach Sasuke Chidori after ages, and Naruto still caught up. But with Orochimaru, Sasuke progressed in leaps and bounds—and his style got flashier, too.

…

"Gusion-kun… where did you get so much money?" Orochimaru's voice rose in excitement and shock when he saw Gusion pull out billions.

"I have my ways, Orochimaru. Don't you want it?"

Gusion didn't elaborate. Honestly, robbing merchants wasn't usually considered good in the ninja world—otherwise Gato wouldn't have survived so long.

After all, ninja mainly worked for the wealthy. If they started robbing rich merchants, the world would fall apart—so even Akatsuki didn't do that.

Gusion didn't wear his Akatsuki cloak for this very reason—he didn't want Akatsuki to find out and nag him about damaging their reputation.

Yeah, Akatsuki might look like international terrorists in the original, but at this time, they were mainly a mercenary group. Reputation mattered, so they never messed with potential employers.

"Thank you for your support, Gusion-kun. The First Hokage cell project can restart soon," Orochimaru said with a sinister smile. He could tell Gusion cared about that project, so he played to his investor's interests.

"Hope your research goes well. These two are my new subordinates—future valuable assets," Gusion introduced Zabuza and Haku. "The kid is an Ice Release ninja—teach him when you have spare time, Orochimaru."

"Hehe… Gusion-kun, you never stop surprising me," Orochimaru licked his lips, crouching to look at Haku, who shrank behind Zabuza in fright, grabbing his pants.

"I didn't expect one of the Legendary Sannin to be in the Land of Rice Fields. Are you planning to attack Konoha?" Zabuza speculated, thinking of the fact that both Gusion and Orochimaru were Konoha defectors.

"Momochi Zabuza, I remember you—a Mist prodigy who failed to assassinate the Mizukage and defected?" Orochimaru looked away from Haku, now less interested. He'd seen plenty of geniuses; Zabuza's power was nothing special.

But Haku, the Ice Release child, was a raw gem he was interested in shaping.

Just like Kimimaro, Orochimaru didn't mind teaching kids as long as they were talented—he enjoyed the sense of achievement and could use them as potential bodies.

Of course, his ideal body was still Kimimaro—Haku seemed a bit weak, but maybe he could become stronger under Orochimaru's tutelage.