Chapter 47: The Umbrella Corporation

The two started by throwing shuriken at each other, followed by a fierce clash of taijutsu and ninjutsu.

Naruto mainly focused on defense, using ninjutsu only occasionally to force Sasuke to change his positioning.

Half an hour later...

Sasuke was completely exhausted and panting heavily.

"Sasuke, are you seriously this weak?"

Naruto felt as though he had held back enough water to fill an ocean, yet the result was simply that Sasuke lacked the stamina. This was pathetic. At this rate, forget about reviving the Uchiha clan or building a harem. Could he even handle Sakura?

Uh, why Sakura?

Naruto figured Sakura had the highest probability of success. Proximity breeds opportunity, and affection grows with time... it was just that simple.

"Hmph!"

Sasuke could only respond with a cold snort. He had long since been pushed by Naruto's shuriken and ninjutsu until his chakra and stamina were entirely depleted. At this moment, he couldn't even maintain his final shred of dignity and could only lie flat on the ground.

"All right, that's enough for today."

At that moment, Kakashi popped up.

From the battle just now, Kakashi had already seen enough. Both of them, whether in terms of chakra reserves, variety of ninjutsu, or proficiency, long ago surpassed the level of genin and had even exceeded chukin.

In comparison:

Sasuke: Chakra reserves at the upper-tier chunin level; proficient in several Fire Release jutsus and Chidori.

Naruto: Still an unfathomable mystery.

Chakra: Countless times greater than his own.

Ninjutsu: Possessed all five elemental transformations, a wide variety of techniques, plus several self-developed ninjutsu with plenty of tricks up his sleeve.

The combat experience and skills of these two puzzled Kakashi the most. They didn't act like novices at all, let alone fresh graduates from the Ninja Academy.

Where did they learn all this? Could these things be mastered without actually experiencing real combat?

"Could this be what they call genius?"

On second thought, that didn't seem right either. He, Kakashi, had also been hailed as a genius, but he had never witnessed anyone progress at such a terrifying speed.

"Both of you have grown exceptionally fast, far beyond your teacher's expectations," Kakashi praised first, though he felt like he was being completely drained dry. Especially Naruto.

Kakashi continued, "Still, there are many areas where you can continue to improve. Sasuke, your Chidori is coming along nicely. Next, you can try to master deeper nature transformations. I'll give you some special training."

Glancing at Sasuke, Kakashi said this. Sasuke's Chidori had progressed rapidly; he had only taught it to the boy a few days ago, yet Sasuke had already mastered it proficiently.

"Understood," Sasuke nodded.

Kakashi then looked at Sakura, "Sakura, your chakra control is improving very rapidly. I have a scroll on medical ninjutsu here, as well as the Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique, which I can teach you."

"Thank you, Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura felt a wave of internal joy. She had actually been praised by Kakashi-sensei!

Finally, Kakashi looked at Naruto with a complex expression.

During the last C-rank mission, the Naruto-brand juicer had already squeezed him dry. There was simply nothing left to teach.

"Naruto, you... you should just cultivate on your own."

"Uh......" Glancing at Kakashi-sensei, Naruto was utterly speechless. He had thought that Kakashi-sensei, as an experienced jounin, would surely have some profound insights, but the result was... this?

"Fine then, Kakashi-sensei."

Naruto nodded, pulled an orange out of his backpack, and continued to supplement his Vitamin C.

However... glancing at the other three who were already busy with their training, Naruto thought to himself: *Looks like I've been isolated by the clique.*

Taking advantage of the gap, Naruto checked the channel messages. Just in time, Zabuza had already made his move. He used the Flying Thunder God Technique to go join the fun.

Scene shift, Gato's mansion.

"Mr. Jiutong."

Seeing Naruto wearing the Jiutong mask, Zabuza, whose hands were stained with blood, greeted his elusive benefactor.

Haku stood beside him, looking at Naruto with curious eyes.

Glancing at Haku, who possessed stunning beauty yet was actually a boy, Naruto felt a bit surprised. *So pretty, yet a boy? What a pity... um... what a waste.* He wondered if Haku had any older or younger sisters he could be introduced to.

"Hmm, where is Gato?"

Zabuza pointed in a certain direction, "Already dead."

Following the direction of the finger, Naruto saw Gato hanging on the wall. The man looked rather miserable, his eyes wide with lingering resentment in death.

However, seeing him made Naruto's eyes light up.

This composition was quite nice.

A glowing white wall, Gato clad in dark clothes nailed directly to it, blood flowing down from the corpse along the wall like branching streams, eventually trickling slowly onto the ground, shining in the sunlight with an eye-catching, deep crimson hue.

Under the dazzling sunlight, all of this actually carried a rather poignant meaning.

This was rare sunlight in the Land of Waves, holding significant commemorative value.

The annual news award was in the bag!

He pulled out his game console, selected the camera function, and recorded the scene.

The next front-page headline was born!

"What should we do with these lackneys? Shall we just get rid of..." Looking at the hundred-plus thugs outside, Zabuza wore a bloodthirsty smile, his intent self-evident. Zabuza was no good guy, after all. Besides, having just obtained immense power, he was itching to test his skills.

However, this attitude didn't make Naruto very happy.

As someone destined to become the Mizukage in the future, carrying on with such a thug-like demeanor simply wouldn't do. It was bad for his image. It seemed he needed to help him manage his public image properly.

Moreover, Naruto looked outside.

That was a group of obvious villains—arrogant in attitude, evil in their smiles, dressed in ruffian-like attire, screaming bad guys from head to toe. They all appeared to be scoundrels who had acted as Gato's accomplices and thugs.

These were prime materials... no... these were fine comrades.

As the saying goes: learn from past mistakes to avoid future ones, and cure the sickness to save the patient. Killing people should always be the last resort. He believed that after a thorough "admonition" from him, these villains would surely realize their errors and turn over a new leaf. They would undoubtedly contribute bricks and tiles to the revolutionary cause.

"Pay no attention to them. You go on ahead; leave this place to me," Naruto replied.

"Very well."

Zabuza felt a slight disappointment, but since it was Jiutong's arrangement, he chose to respect it.

"Oh, right," before the two left, Naruto suddenly added, "Stay put in your old hideout. I'll send someone to find you later who will help map out your route to becoming the Mizukage."

"Understood."

After Zabuza left, Naruto began the process of reforming these individuals.

There were 145 people in total, all possessing jounin-level templates. However, these individuals usually lived as ordinary people and wouldn't reveal their strength unless fighting to protect their property.

Naruto already had a plan for them. They would primarily be used to build a sales network, avoiding the major nations and focusing instead on small countries without ninja villages.

Media: Newspapers, books, and magazines. They would start practicing in small countries to test market reactions first, before eventually breaking into the Five Great Nations to grow larger, stronger, and achieve new heights.

Xiaoyao Pills: Completely roll out the Male-formula Xiaoyao Pills and start making big money. Furthermore, launch the "No. 50 Xiaoyao Pill" (i.e., 1/50th of a regular Xiaoyao Pill) and the "No. 100 Xiaoyao Pill" specifically targeted at commoners. The No. 100 Xiaoyao Pill could restore 100 health points, enough to bring an ordinary person back from the brink of death to full health. It was nothing short of a divine medicine. He believed it would take the entire world by storm!

Price: 1,000 ryo. A divine medicine that everyone could afford.

As for the formula being leaked—who said Male-formula was the only kind of Xiaoyao Pill? Old Xiong also had senior and junior fellow apprentices, and a sect, didn't he?

This would also help relieve some of Old Xiong's pressure. Recently, the pressure coming from the Hokage's advisor—that old dog named Danzo—was getting a bit heavy. That old dog didn't look like a good person at all, actually setting his sights on Naruto's business. Just wait.

And Lao Gandie Fast Food: forget about the Land of Waves; this enterprise would only be opened in wealthy small countries to ensure a sufficient customer base.

"The business is getting bigger and bigger. What name should I give it?"

"How about... Umbrella Corporation!"