Chapter 25: The Cole Gang New 28 June

"And Scorpion, long time no see. It's only been two years, and you've already grown this much—and even joined the Puppet Corps."

The Third Kazekage gently patted Sasori on the head, a sign of sincere concern.

Finally, his gaze shifted toward the only young man present whom he didn't recognize.

"Lord Kazekage, this is Shimizu. He joined the Puppet Corps this year with the top ranking in the entrance selection!"

Miba nudged Shimizu's leg and introduced him to the Kazekage.

Shimizu had no choice but to pretend to be excited, stammering:

"L-Lord Kazekage, my name is Shimizu. I'm eleven years old this year!"

"Ah, I'll remember you."

The Third Kazekage reached out with his other hand and gave Shimizu a pat on the head, putting on the air of a kind, approachable leader.

Anyone who made it into the Puppet Corps was already considered a naturally gifted puppeteer—and if they ranked first, especially at such a young age, they were unquestionably elite jōnin material. As the leader of Sunagakure, the Third Kazekage naturally made an effort to pay attention to, support, and nurture these rising talents.

At least in this respect, he was an exemplary Kage.

According to the original series, Sunagakure was at its peak during his reign—not only was his personal strength near the top of the Kage level, but the village had the most elite ninjas during his era.

The older generation had Chiyo and her brother, the middle generation included Sasori's parents, and the younger generation produced Rasa, Karura, and Pakura.

Later, Sunagakure's decline to the bottom of the Five Great Shinobi Villages was largely due to bad luck.

Sasori's parents were killed by the White Fang, a natural counter to puppeteers, cutting off a generation of legacy. This left Sasori emotionally scarred, lacking love and sanity—eventually leading him to assassinate the Third Kazekage.

Afterward, Rasa took over and used political trickery to eliminate Pakura, who posed a threat to his position. Karura died giving birth to Gaara, and not long after, she too passed away.

Eventually, Rasa himself was assassinated by Orochimaru.

If we compare this to Konoha's decline during Naruto's generation—caused by the deaths of the Fourth Hokage and Kushina and the passivity of the aging Third Hokage—Sunagakure's downfall was sheer misfortune. In just over a decade, only Chiyo and Ebizō were left to hold the fort, and with no qualified candidates to be Kage, they were forced to make Gaara the Kazekage.

If not for what happened with the White Fang, by the time Sasori's generation had matured, Sunagakure might have become the strongest of the Five Great Shinobi Nations.

It's fair to say that the foundation laid by the Third Kazekage was solid, but fate led him to clash with Hatake Sakumo—and that one battle shattered Sunagakure's succession.

"Lord Kazekage."

Sasori suddenly spoke up.

"What is it, Sasori?"

The Third Kazekage knelt and gently patted his head again.

"Did White Fang die?"

The Kazekage's hand froze, and a dark shadow flickered across his eyes. But he quickly forced a smile.

"I'm sorry, Sasori. White Fang is very strong. I didn't manage to kill him.

But with Captain Ishito's help, I did seriously injure him.

If there's a next time, I will kill him!"

As if he didn't want Sasori to be disappointed, the Third Kazekage turned around and smiled at everyone else.

"As the Third Kazekage, I hereby declare:

The originally designated A-rank mission—capturing the Uchiha—has failed.

However, this mission has been reclassified as part of a higher-level operation—the ambush of Hatake Sakumo.

Now that Hatake Sakumo has been seriously injured—even Tsunade won't be able to get him back on the battlefield any time soon—therefore, the mission is a success."

An A-rank failure, but an S-rank success.

You could say that Shimizu and Sasori had just become the first genin in Sunagakure's history to participate in and complete an S-rank mission.

Their mission rewards afterward would be at least double.

DC Universe

Gotham, slums, an old industrial district, in an abandoned factory.

"Starting today, the Cole Gang belongs to me, Flash Walter.

Anyone got a problem with that?"

Shimizu sat calmly in a chair, left elbow resting on the armrest and propping up his chin, as he looked at the 30 or so street punks in front of him.

Standing silently behind him was the towering Black Gold, over two meters tall.

At Shimizu's feet lay a pile of indistinguishable flesh and blood.

That pile of meat was all that remained of the former leader of the Cole Gang, Cheedy Cole.

The gang members exchanged nervous glances and began whispering among themselves.

Suddenly, one bald thug wearing a gold chain raised his pistol and aimed at Shimizu.

"You're not wearing that metal suit right now, Mr. Walter.

One pull of the trigger, and you're dead.

Sounds like I should be the new boss of the Cole Gang."

Shimizu chuckled.

"I like your courage. Your name is... eh, forget it."

With a flick of his wrist, a slender steel spike shot from under his armrest and pierced the bald thug square between the eyes.

If his opponent had been Deathstroke or Ra's al Ghul, they might've reacted in time.

But this guy was just a slightly buff street thug.

"I'm not interested in remembering the names of the dead."

The remaining gang members began trembling in fear, all quickly changing their tune:

"Boss Walter!"

"Long live Boss Walter!"

"Boss Walter is mighty!"

They shouted all kinds of things, chaotic and noisy—a true rabble of scattered rogues.

Shimizu smiled in satisfaction as he noticed his luck points slowly increasing on the system panel.

Not much—but they were rising.

As expected, becoming a gang leader really could improve his fortune.

Now, the next step would be expanding his influence.

"Um… Boss Walter, there's something I'd like to report…"

A punk with green-dyed, bird's-nest hair raised his hand nervously.

"Speak."

Shimizu crossed one leg over the other.

"Cheedy Cole had an older brother named Carman Cole.

He's the head of the Two-Face Gang.

Every month, our Cole Gang had to chip in and pay them protection money.

That's the only reason other gangs and the cops leave us alone."

"I get why other gangs stay away, but what do the police have to do with it?"

Shimizu raised an eyebrow.

"Heh, boss—you must be new to this game.

But in Gotham, those cops? They're all making side money.

Big gangs have connections with high-ranking officers.

They pay bribes and cooperate, and the cops look the other way—or even leak information to them."

"When the cops need to improve their public image, the big gangs sacrifice a few scapegoats, and in return, they help keep the smaller gangs in line so things don't get out of control and embarrass the bigwigs."

Shimizu nodded in realization.

Makes sense. For just a few bucks a month, why would the police risk their lives battling gangs?

(End of Chapter)