Chapter 159

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In the Land of Waves, at the Great Naruto Bridge.

Just as dawn broke, the recently constructed bridge bustled with activity. Merchants from the mainland transported goods to the Land of Waves and returned with local products, creating a cycle of trade that brought rare prosperity to the small island nation.

At one end of the bridge stood Tazuna, the man credited as the bridge's chief architect and a symbol of hope for the Land of Waves. Smoking his pipe, he watched over the "child" he had nurtured—the bridge itself—lost in thought.

Little did he know, a massive structure was floating above the skies of the Land of Waves, and its master was descending leisurely to stand beside him, as if taking a casual stroll.

Ding!

Main Mission: The Land of Waves Operation

Mission Description: After repeatedly handling D-rank missions, Team Seven, thanks to Naruto's relentless pestering, finally received a C-rank mission—to escort Tazuna to the Land of Waves. Please protect the mission target, Tazuna, and ensure the successful completion of the Great Naruto Bridge. The mission reward will be based on your performance throughout the mission.

Warning! Member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, Zabuza, is about to appear!

Hint! Ice Release Kekkei Genkai wielder, Haku, is about to appear!

After completing the bell test mission at Mount Katsuragi, the system quickly refreshed the next main mission for Gensou. However, he was too engrossed in his training and research to pay much attention until recently, when he finally found some time.

With the relocation of the village imminent, Gensou remembered the main mission and decided to move the floating fortress, also known as the new village, to the Land of Waves. This would not only facilitate the completion of the system's mission but also serve as an excellent cover for the fortress.

The Land of Waves lacked a hidden village and, as a small, isolated island nation, had little presence in the shinobi world. For the village, it was an ideal place to hide.

No one in Konoha would expect that the village, originally located on the western side of the Land of Fire, would suddenly relocate thousands of kilometers away to the eastern side, far across the sea, within the Land of Waves—a territory long regarded as under the Land of Fire's influence and therefore deemed unthreatening.

Given its proximity to the mainland, with its expansive and unguarded coastline, relocating the village to the Land of Waves was safer and more suitable for covert intelligence operations.

Thus, the plan unfolded.

With the village now established, and having left the village leaders to handle post-relocation matters, Gensou, ever the hands-off leader, descended to the surface.

The first sight to greet him was the awe-inspiring Great Naruto Bridge.

Such an enormous steel structure, spanning across the sea, would have been beyond the capabilities of many nations in his past life, yet it was completed by the Land of Waves in the shinobi world. One had to admit that the technological tree of this world was uniquely "misaligned."

Gensou glanced at Tazuna, the man who was the key figure of his "main mission." By now, the Great Naruto Bridge had been completed, and Tazuna had achieved great renown.

As for Zabuza and Haku, well, their graves had long been covered in weeds by now.

Turning his attention to the "gender mystery side mission", Gensou couldn't help but chuckle.

Sure, he had once been curious about Haku's true gender. But digging up Haku's grave just to examine their body? That was too much.

Gensou shook his head.

I have to stay true to my character.

Haku had already died, and their gender no longer mattered. Besides, Gensou already possessed the Ice Release ability, so the side mission reward was of no use to him.

Back to the main mission, then.

The events of the Land of Waves mission had already occurred two years ago, completed by Team Seven without "his" involvement.

Still, since Gensou had shown up by Tazuna's side, it seemed likely that the system would consider him "participating" in the mission, even if he did nothing.

With nothing better to do, Gensou noticed Tazuna staring intently at a group of people at the bridge's entrance, seemingly charging toll fees.

"Who are those people?" Gensou asked casually.

Hearing a stranger suddenly speak beside him, Tazuna should have been cautious, but for some reason, he felt the need to vent. With a sigh, he explained,

"Those are tax collectors working for the Daimyo."

"The Daimyo of the Land of Waves?"

"Yes." Tazuna's expression darkened as he continued, "Ever since the true ruler of the Land of Waves, Gato, was killed, the Daimyo regained control. At first, things were fine, but as soon as the Great Naruto Bridge opened and the country began to prosper, the Daimyo started raising taxes. The tolls for crossing the bridge have multiplied several times. Both the people of the Land of Waves and visiting merchants are suffering under this."

"If the Daimyo keeps squeezing us like this, the prosperity we've worked so hard for will vanish!"

Tazuna clenched his fists in frustration.

First a tyrant, and now a predator.

That sentiment perfectly summed up the current state of the Land of Waves.

The people had thought that with Gato gone, their future would be brighter. But as soon as the Daimyo was back in control, he began walking the same dark path.

It was a scenario Gensou had seen many times before.

People believed that getting rid of one corrupt ruler would bring a brighter future, only to realize that nothing had changed.

As a certain individual once put it, "Where do all these corrupt officials come from? It's just your internal power struggles."

Every world was the same.

However, with the village now established here, there would be a new "protector." The people of the Land of Waves had nothing to fear anymore.

"So, have you ever thought about getting rid of the Daimyo?" Gensou asked nonchalantly.

"Get rid of the Daimyo?? N-no, of course not... how could we..." Tazuna stammered, hastily denying it, but then added in a whisper, "The Daimyo has hired shinobi to protect him."

Interesting.

Who would have thought this upstanding man had entertained such rebellious thoughts?

Gensou patted Tazuna on the shoulder, then vanished in a flash.

It's been a while since I've taken out a Daimyo.

Time to see if I'm still good at it.

(End of Chapter)