Smoke curled through the charred remains of the casino district, carrying the sharp scent of burnt metal and ash. Gato stood amid the wreckage, his once-white silk suit blackened with soot, his jeweled rings glinting as his trembling hands clenched and unclenched. The fire's glow reflected in his wide, furious eyes. "How—how can two jōnin be wiped out so easily?!" he screamed, pacing in short, frantic steps.
The last surviving jōnin stood near him, shoulders tight, fear trembling beneath his composure. His eyes darted between the corpses of his comrades and his employer. Gato's voice broke into a growl. "Don't just stand there! Kill her!"
The jōnin swallowed hard, desperation twisting his face. He drew a kunai and roared, rushing forward through the haze.
Raven stood calmly at the far edge of the rubble, her white hair shifting in the breeze, her cloak dark with smoke. Her voice carried over the destruction, steady and cold. "Persistent to the end. Admirable. But Pointless."
Raven stepped forward and using the strength of one hundred technique, eyes bright with resolve, and hurled her short sword with one precise motion. The blade tore through the air faster than the human eye could follow, its trail glowing faintly against the smoke-filled sky.
It struck the jōnin dead center in the chest. His eyes widened as blood welled up around the wound. The force carried him backward, his feet dragging across the ground. The blade didn't stop—it flew on towards Gato.
Gato screamed, stumbling back and flailing his arms as the weapon shot toward his face. Just before the blade could split his throat open, it halted midair and snapped backward, a flicker of silver chakra wire connecting it to Raven's wrist. The sword reversed its path in a blur, slicing cleanly through the jōnin's neck before returning neatly to Raven's waiting hand. She caught it without looking and sheathed it beneath her cloak.
Yumi, perched on a toppled stone pillar, gave a slow blink. "That was sloppy. Amateurish, even."
Raven turned her head slightly. "They weren't much of a threat, Yumi. You're being dramatic."
The fox's nine tails swayed lazily. "If that had been Madara Uchiha, you'd be nothing but a blood smear. You still rely too much on brute force."
Raven exhaled through her nose. "You're right. I'm still getting used to my chakra flow in this body. I didn't even bother using the Yin Seal."
Yumi tilted her head. "You can't use it with a shadow clone, genius."
Raven blinked once. "Right. Forgot."
The fox groaned. "You are exhausting."
Raven ignored the comment and began walking toward the quivering figure on the ground. Gato sat sprawled in the dirt, his face slick with sweat, his voice reduced to stammering breaths. "Wh-what are you?!"
Raven stopped beside him, her shadow falling across his chest. "You already know who I am, Gato," she said evenly. "You're the richest man in the Elemental Nations. A black-market broker. A thief. A murderer. And now, you're mine."
His eyes went wide. "Yours?"
"Yes," she said simply. "You're going to fund my work. My empire."
Gato blinked, confusion cutting through the terror. "Your—what?"
"The restoration of the Land of Whirlpools," Raven said, her tone quiet but absolute. "The ancestral home of the Uzumaki clan. You're going to finance it, manage it, and make sure every coin moves where I want it."
He froze. "You're… you're an Uzumaki? That's impossible. The clan's destruction wasn't random—it was orchestrated. You'll draw every nation's wrath—"
Raven crouched, her glowing Rinnegan eyes meeting his. "You're right. The world will remember the name Uzumaki again. And they'll learn what happens when they try to erase us."
Gato tried to back away, his palms scraping through the ash. "You—you can't—"
Raven lifted her hand. Crimson chakra bloomed across her palm, spiraling outward into an intricate seal. "You, Gato, will serve me completely."
Before he could react, she pressed her hand against his chest. The sealing formula flared to life, spreading across his body in a red spiral before fading into his skin. The air shimmered for a moment and then went still.
Gato gasped, clutching at his heart. "What did you—what did you do to me?!"
Raven rose to her feet, brushing ash from her cloak. "A Seal of Absolute Obedience. It won't control your thoughts. It won't erase your will. It will simply make betrayal impossible. Now tell me what you know about Orochimaru and Danzo"
His breathing quickened. "That—Orochimaru used that kind of seal once! I did business with him and with Danzo. Those two devils paid me to smuggle their research—human experiments using the First Hokage's cells! They had scientists from the Land of Rain running tests on orphans!"
Raven's expression didn't change. "Good," she said softly. "Then you'll tell me everything you know about their operation."
The seal pulsed once, sending a shock of chakra through his chest. Gato gasped, the pain twisting him forward. "Fine! Fine! I'll tell you everything! The experiments, the shipments, the traders—they were trying to make soldiers with Wood-style powers! They used my ships to move bodies, their failures—they called them prototypes!"
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