The news of Gato's death spread through the mercenary ranks like wildfire.
Dozens of ronin and rogue samurai gathered in the courtyard of the shipping company headquarters. They held their katana and clubs nervously looking up at the balcony where the short businessman usually stood to shout orders.
Today however Gato was not there.
Instead a young teenager wearing a purple raincoat stood by the railing. He was leaning casually against the stone balustrade eating an apple he had found on Gato's desk.
"Listen up" Uehara Naraku's voice wasn't loud but it carried clearly over the murmuring crowd. "Gato is dead. He had an unfortunate accident involving a very sharp card and his throat."
The mercenaries exchanged uneasy glances. Some gripped their weapons tighter.
"So who is paying us now?" a bold samurai shouted from the front. "If Gato is dead our contract is over. We are taking what we can and leaving!"
"Is that so?" Uehara took a bite of the apple. "You can try. But I should warn you. Zabuza Momochi and Haku just left. Do you know why?"
The crowd went silent. They all knew the Demon of the Mist. He was the strongest fighter among them.
"Because they realized they couldn't beat me" Uehara lied smoothly. "So they ran. Now if the Demon of the Mist ran away what makes you think you lot can survive?"
He tossed the apple core over the railing.
"However" Uehara continued wiping his hands "I am a generous person. The Gato Company is now the Akatsuki Company. I need employees. If you stay your wages will be doubled."
"Doubled?" The samurai blinked.
"Tripled for the captains" Uehara added. "But there is one condition. You follow my orders. Absolute obedience. If I tell you to jump into the sea you ask how deep. Do we have an agreement?"
Money was a powerful motivator for mercenaries. Fear was even better. Uehara offered both.
Within minutes the ronin had dropped to their knees pledging allegiance to their new teenage overlord.
"Good" Uehara nodded satisfied. "Now go clean up the mess in the office. And someone bring me a map of the bridge construction site."
An hour later Uehara was walking through the dense forest of the Land of Waves.
The mist still clung to the trees but the sun was trying to break through. According to the intel he gathered from Gato's files the bridge builder Tazuna lived in a small house near the coast.
"If I remember the timeline correctly" Uehara mused as he walked "Team 7 should be here. They just fought Zabuza a few days ago. Zabuza is injured so they are probably using this downtime to train."
He pushed through a thicket of bushes and stopped.
Ahead of him in a small clearing three young ninjas were practicing.
One was a boy with spiky blonde hair wearing an orange jumpsuit. He was running up a tree trunk yelling at the top of his lungs before losing his footing and falling back down.
"Damn it! One more time!"
Another was a boy with black hair and a high collar looking cool and aloof. He was also climbing a tree marking his progress with a kunai.
The third was a girl with pink hair sitting on a branch high up looking down at the boys with a smug expression.
Team 7.
Uehara watched them from the shadows. It was surreal seeing the characters from the anime in real life.
[Main Mission Triggered: The Son of Destiny.]
[Objective: Make contact with Naruto Uzumaki.]
[Reward: 100 Gold Coins.]
"Easy money" Uehara thought.
He adjusted his facial expression to look friendly and harmless. He stepped out of the bushes.
"You guys are working hard" Uehara called out pleasantly.
The three Genin froze.
Sasuke Uchiha reacted first. He flipped backward off the tree landing in a crouch with a kunai drawn. His eyes narrowed instantly scanning Uehara for a threat.
Naruto fell on his butt. "Ouch! Hey who are you?!"
Sakura looked down warily. "Who is there?"
"Just a passerby" Uehara raised his hands showing his palms. "I saw people running up trees and I got curious. Is this a local circus act?"
"Circus act?!" Naruto jumped up pointing a finger. "We are ninjas! Ninjas of Konoha! I am going to be the Hokage believe it!"
"Hokage huh?" Uehara smiled. "That is a big dream for someone who can't even climb a tree."
"What did you say?!" Naruto growled rolling up his sleeves.
"I am just saying" Uehara walked closer ignoring Sasuke's hostile glare. "You are using too much power. That is why the bark is breaking and you are falling. You need to focus the chakra calmly."
Naruto blinked. "Focus... calmly?"
"Who are you?" Sasuke interrupted stepping between Uehara and Naruto. "You know about chakra. You aren't a civilian. Are you with Gato?"
Uehara looked at Sasuke. The young Uchiha looked intense.
[Side Mission Triggered: Provoke Sasuke Uchiha.]
[Reward: 50 Gold Coins.]
Uehara suppressed a laugh. The System really knew what he liked.
"Gato?" Uehara tilted his head. "Oh the short guy with the glasses? He is dead."
"Dead?" Sakura climbed down from the tree looking shocked. "What do you mean?"
"I mean he stopped breathing" Uehara shrugged. "I heard a very handsome and talented ninja took over his company today. The town is quite happy about it."
Sasuke didn't relax. "And how do you know that?"
"Because I am that handsome and talented ninja" Uehara pointed to himself with a grin.
Silence fell over the clearing.
"You?" Naruto squinted. "You look like a rain coat model!"
"I am from the Rain Village" Uehara admitted. "My name is Uehara Naraku. I am currently... managing the shipping business here."
Suddenly a lazy voice spoke from the trees above.
"Ma ma... I didn't expect to meet a Rain ninja here."
A man with silver gravity defying hair and a mask covering half his face dropped down landing softly between his students and Uehara. He held a small orange book in his hand.
Kakashi Hatake. The Copy Ninja.
"Sensei!" Sakura cheered.
Kakashi looked at Uehara with a single exposed dead fish eye. But Uehara knew that underneath that lazy exterior Kakashi was analyzing every muscle twitch.
"You said Gato is dead?" Kakashi asked putting his book away.
"Yes" Uehara nodded. "I killed him."
Kakashi's eye widened slightly. "You killed him? Why?"
"Business dispute" Uehara lied smoothly. "He was interfering with my organization's trade routes. So I removed him. Now I own his assets. Which means..."
Uehara looked at Tazuna the bridge builder who had just arrived at the edge of the clearing carrying a bottle of sake.
"Which means I am the one who decides if that bridge gets built" Uehara finished.
Tazuna dropped his bottle. It shattered on a rock.
"You..." Tazuna trembled. "Are you going to stop us too? Are you worse than Gato?"
"Depends" Uehara smiled pulling a card from his pouch and twirling it. "Gato wanted to kill you to keep a monopoly. I on the other hand like infrastructure. Bridges are good for trade."
He looked at Kakashi.
"But I heard Gato hired some rogue ninjas. Zabuza Momochi right? Is he still around?"
"We defeated him" Naruto shouted puffing out his chest. "Kakashi sensei beat him up!"
"Is that so?" Uehara's eyes twinkled. "Well he isn't dead. I met him an hour ago. He seemed very... angry. If I were you I would keep training. Climbing trees might not save you when the mist comes back."
Kakashi stared at Uehara intense calculation visible in his eye.
"You met Zabuza?" Kakashi asked. "And you are still alive?"
"We came to an understanding" Uehara said ambiguously.
He turned around waving his hand over his shoulder.
"Anyway I just wanted to introduce myself to the neighbors. I will be staying at Gato's mansion. If you need anything... like a job... come find me. Being a ninja is dangerous work but shipping pays well."
"Wait!" Naruto yelled running after him. "You said I was using too much power! Tell me how to fix it!"
"Naruto!" Sasuke hissed. "Don't ask the enemy for advice!"
Uehara stopped. He looked back at the orange clad boy.
"It is all about the toes Naruto" Uehara tapped his boot. "And... maybe stop yelling so much. It wastes energy."
He walked away into the forest leaving a confused Team 7 behind.
[Mission Complete: Make contact with Naruto Uzumaki.]
[Reward: 100 Gold Coins.]
As he walked out of earshot Uehara opened his status menu.
"Kakashi is strong" Uehara muttered. "Even with Nashor's Tooth fighting him would be tricky. He has too much experience. But Zabuza... Zabuza will be back. And when he comes back I need to be ready to steal the show."
He looked at the sky.
"Maybe I should help Zabuza a little bit. A balanced fight is more profitable for a third party."
.….
Author Note
Hi guys! Thank you for reading my fanfiction.
I wanted to let you know that I'll be releasing bonus chapters for Power Stones. Here are the goals:
15 Power Stones: 1 Bonus Chapters
30 Power Stones: 1 Bonus Chapters
50 Power Stones: 1 Bonus Chapters
75 Power Stones: 2 Bonus Chapters
100 Power Stones: 2 Bonus Chapters
Thanks for the support!