"Huh? You're asking about the Kado Company?" A drunken man with bleary eyes stared at Kenichi, his breath reeking of alcohol. Kenichi instinctively leaned back.
"Yes, where is the Kado Company?" Kenichi asked again, though he found the man's response irritating.
He had already arrived in the Land of Waves, but to his surprise, he couldn't find any trace of the Kado Company here. This left Kenichi feeling somewhat bewildered.
Could it be that at this time, the Kado Company hasn't yet extended its influence to the Land of Waves?
"Never... heard of it," the man slurred, letting out a burp before collapsing onto the table and snoring loudly.
Kenichi scratched his head. It seemed things had taken an unexpected turn, but upon careful consideration, it didn't seem so strange.
Naruto had just been born, and by the time he would take on the mission to the Land of Waves, he would already be twelve years old. This meant there were still over ten years before Naruto's debut.
Ten years was enough time for everything to change - for the world to transform beyond recognition.
"Missed it," Kenichi shook his head. At this time, the Kado Company might not have reached the Land of Waves yet. It was even questionable whether Gato would become the great wealthy man of the ninja world in the future.
This was the trouble of not having the internet. If there were the internet, it wouldn't be so troublesome to look up this information.
But without the internet, it was very difficult to know who the wealthiest person in a region was.
"Whatever, I'll collect some information while I search." Kenichi shook his head again and casually pricked the man's hand with a needle, collecting some blood.
Kenichi planned to collect as much genetic information as possible while he was out, keeping it for future use.
The ninja world used to have no chakra. Chakra was only created after the Ōtsutsuki Kaguya planted the Divine Tree. But before the Ōtsutsuki, the ninja world seemed to have some native gods and strange things.
For example, the evil god Hidan worshipped, and then there was the Shinigami of the Whirlpool Country.
So it was possible that people's genes from before might contain some hidden information.
"These plants can be collected too." Kenichi casually plucked a fruit from a nearby tree, only to have an angry man charge toward him.
However, the money Kenichi casually tossed over transformed the man's fury into a fawning smile.
Kenichi had considered using his Sharingan to hypnotize the man directly, but decided it would be overkill. Instead, he chose to resolve the matter with small change.
Walking through the streets of the Land of Waves, Kenichi observed the common people living their peaceful lives. He scratched his head, thinking that with Gato not around yet, these people's lives were much simpler.
Under the dense blanket of dark clouds, people moved about in the streets. Most wore shabby clothes, giving the whole place the feel of a small fishing village steeped in deep poverty.
This was a country that relied entirely on fishing for survival, with no signs of ninja presence. Kenichi could have established his own ninja village here if he wanted, but he saw no point in it.
What was the point of building a ninja village here? To make these ordinary people fish for him? Then what would he call himself? The Fish Shadow?
The very idea would make anyone laugh themselves to death.
This unfortunate place didn't even have a Daimyo, which disappointed Kenichi. Having a Daimyo would have made his search for people much faster.
"Well, never mind. Let's check the harbor. If we still can't find anyone there..." Kenichi stroked his chin. If he couldn't find anyone here, he'd have to go to the Land of Fire and mooch off the rich. At least there were plenty of wealthy people there.
But luck was on his side. As soon as Kenichi arrived at the harbor, he saw a ship marked with the Kado Company logo. People were still busy working on it.
Boom! A loud thunderclap flashed across the sky. The storm was coming. The sudden noise made one of the workers handling cargo flinch, drawing angry curses from the crew.
"You peasants! Be careful! That's for the bigwigs in the Land of Water!" Seeing the arrogant man on the ship, Kenichi smiled. His luck was holding up.
"Kado?" Kenichi called out to a slightly younger-looking man. The man instinctively turned his head, revealing red eyes with three swirling tomoe inside.
Controlling an ordinary person with the Sharingan wasn't particularly complex. Almost the moment Kenichi saw Gato, the man fell under the Sharingan's Genjutsu illusion and was completely controlled by Kenichi.
However, Gato clearly wasn't completely unprepared. Four ninja suddenly appeared beside him.
"Water Release! Great Waterfall Technique!" A torrent of water surged toward Kenichi.
"Seriously, why do they have to shout the name of every ninjutsu they use? Is it some kind of obsessive-compulsive thing?" Kenichi couldn't understand it. They could just use the technique directly instead of announcing it first.
He wondered if shouting the name actually made the technique more powerful.
"Kenichi, ninjas who shout their techniques are usually third-rate. True ninjas release their techniques without speaking," his teacher had explained when Kenichi asked about this before.
Then Kenichi remembered that in the anime, his teacher seemed to shout technique names too.
Ah, so he's a third-rate ninja too!
Of course, Kenichi knew this was just to let viewers know what technique was being used.
Kenichi had anticipated Gato's ninja guards. He formed hand seals and slammed his palms to the ground, summoning an earthen wall that blocked the surging floodwaters.
"Murder!" The dock workers scattered in all directions. Their flight eased Kenichi's situation considerably.
Had they stayed to watch the spectacle, the laboratory would have gained a few more human test subjects.
Seizing the momentary respite, Kenichi released his physical senses. In the next instant, lightning-like patterns materialized around his eyes.
"Thunderstorm day, huh?" Kenichi gazed at the dark clouds overhead. He'd witnessed the earlier lightning strike, and now, through his Three-Tomoe Sharingan, he examined the phenomenon with greater clarity.
The air around him began to mist over. The fog thickened rapidly, soon obscuring everything from view.
"Hidden Mist Technique?" Kenichi nearly chuckled aloud.
A little-known fact: fog is conductive. While pure water vapor doesn't carry electricity, the impurities in this mist made it an excellent conductor.
"Descend, Thunder Dragon!"