Disclaimer: All HP characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies and all Naruto characters are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. This is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites.

Warnings: AU for parts of both worlds (i.e. kiss canon goodbye), mild character bashing, mild to moderate violence (there are shinobi involved after all), and a few others that will be announced as they crop up.

AN: This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance.


Chapter 29: Confessions and Legends

Thursday, August 07, 2003, Afternoon
Tazuna's Home, Nami no Kuni

The rest of the journey to the bridge builder's house passed by unimpeded with the decoy arriving safe and sound at the clearing where Tazuna's house had been built before one of the four dispersed itself to let Harry know they had arrived. The remaining three clones stuck around to inform the occupants of the house (a young woman and her son) that they would be arriving soon and to make certain the house wasn't attacked before the group arrived.

By the time the group reached the house, Harry was in a fine temper; his thoughts dark as it occurred to him that if he hadn't arrived first the afternoon he picked up the mission for his team, then it could have been Naruto's team that had been caught up in the client's lie; Kakashi had warned him the morning prior to grabbing the mission that he'd be taking the three kids on another C Rank mission after their morning training session the next day.

"Kotetsu; will you take Izumo and one of my clones with you to interrogate our client while I ward the clearing against hostiles and set up accommodations for our prisoners?"

"Now see here… you can't go ordering me about in my own home," Tazuna protested weakly.

"Urusai, Tazuna-san; you've caused us enough problems by lying about the original mission," Harry snapped angrily as he glared at the man. "The thing that pisses me off the most though is how close my itoko's team came to being assigned this mission in our stead. And nothing infuriates me more than having my family placed in harms way."

"The best thing you can do at this point, Tazuna-san, is come clean with the complete truth," Izumo pointed out as he gently grabbed hold of Tazuna's elbow and began steering the man towards the front door of his house. "Lying again at this point or withholding even the smallest scrap of information will only make matters worse in the long run."

Harry watched as the man deflated and allowed Izumo to shuffle him off into the house. Kotetsu waited until they were out of sight before he asked, "Are you certain you don't want help securing the area and the prisoners? For that matter, don't you personally want to question the client?"

"I can make as many clones as I need to help me deal with setting up the wards to protect the house and clearing as well as help me deal the unconscious prisoners," Harry pointed out as he began unloading the pack Felix was carrying. "And as much as I'd love to question Tazuna, it is far better that I am not involved least I skin the man alive; I'm far too pissed with him to think rationally around the man right now. Besides, having one of my clones listening in will let me hear the entire thing anyway."

"Alright, I'll dispel your clone the moment we're done," Kotetsu replied before he left Harry to his work and randomly snagged one of Harry's clones to drag along to deal with the client.

Harry sighed and shook his head before he created another thirty clones; twenty of which he set to drawing and hanging the temporary tags he'd need to ward the entire clearing. He selected another four clones to set up the temporary ward stones around the house to add a second layer of protection. The rest of the clones were then left to stand guard over the two prisoners while he used the Elder Wand to build a small prison to house them in out of transfigured pebbles; all the while wishing that Yamato had been with them on this mission.

And it wasn't just Yamato's Mokuton abilities that Harry was missing; the man was a damned good shinobi and a great captain (when he wasn't being driven up a wall by pranks).

Once he finished with the prison, Harry checked on the progress of the clones warding the clearing before he sent the clones that had set up the ward stones into the prison to draw chakra suppression seals in each of the eight holding cells he'd created inside of the small prison (the extra cells intended for any additional prisoners they picked up). They would also line the walls and the corridor in the center of the horseshoe of cells with silencing wards to prevent the prisoners from talking with one another or hearing anything that was said outside of their cells.

While they were doing that, Harry created portable suppression seals that would be placed directly on each prisoner along with a hybrid rune and seal tag that would paralyze the prisoners from the neck down without affecting their internal organs. Another hybrid tag would vanish their body waste so that the prisoners would not have to sit in their own filth as well as save the three Chuunin from the need to clean up after their captives; something that would also decrease any chances of the prisoners escaping during such a clean up.

The sun had nearly finished setting by the time both prisoners were securely ensconced in their private cells. Both man and teen were secured to an inclined metal bed that was attached to the back wall of their cell with the tags sealing their movements and chakra safely attached to the middle of their backs beneath their clothes where they wouldn't be easily noticed or removed. The positioning of their beds was such that both prisoners could be fed without needing to release them. It would also allow Harry to use magic to interrogate the pair; by using Legilimency, drawing their memories directly from their minds, or dosing them with Veritaserum.

That was also about the same time that Kotetsu and Izumo finished questioning Tazuna in regards to the information that the client had withheld about the mission. The moment the memories of that discussion hit Harry, he began cussing up a storm as he immediately understood the exact nature of the situation they'd stumbled upon in Nami no Kuni. It took him a few minutes to calm down enough to figure out just what information he would need to pull from their two prisoners and decide which would be the quickest and easiest way to get that information.

Twenty minutes later, Harry was manipulating the unconscious Zabuza's subconscious mind with key words and the help of a few potions (a Calming Draught, a Memory Enhancer, and Veritaserum to name a few) while he used his wand to siphon off copies of all the memories associated with each key word. Each collection of silvery memories was then temporarily stored in hurriedly labeled vials until he could set aside enough time for him to separate them into individual vials for permanent storage. Once he finished gathering Zabuza's memories (a process that took close to two hours), Harry repeated the process with the unnamed teen.

By the time he finished gathering the teen's memories, Harry was feeling rather exhausted (he'd expended a considerable amount of magic over the course of the day between the earlier fights, setting up the prison and the wards, and drawing out the memories of two unconscious people). An Invigoration Draught washed away his exhaustion and would allow him to stay awake long enough to meet with his teammates to discuss their mission and write a letter to the Hokage.

Harry had barely stepped outside of the makeshift prison when he found himself face to face with his teammates; the two older men had brought him supper when he didn't show up at the meal earlier. Harry accepted the plate of food as he led the pair further away from the house towards a fallen tree where they could hold their discussion in privacy. As he ate, Harry listened to his teammates dissect everything they'd learned from Tazuna. After he finished his food and once the pair were finished talking, Harry in turn informed the pair that he intended to interrogate the two prisoners once they woke up in order to gather what information he could; the wizard not yet willing to let the shinobi know about his ability to draw out memories.

"Are you thinking about dropping the mission and returning to Konoha?" Kotetsu inquired the moment the wizard fell silent.

"According to the rule book, we're supposed to but you and I both know that if we do, then it will reflect badly on both our team and on Konoha; especially if the client gets killed the moment we leave," Harry replied wearily as he dug out a blank scroll to start writing the letter to the Hokage. "If we had been ambushed closer to Konoha, we could have taken the matter back to the Hokage but it's a little too late now. However, because we know exactly what is happening now, we can send a message back to the Hokage outlining the situation and see how he wants to handle the matter from his end while we do what we were hired to do."

"True; we just wanted to make certain that you knew that since you are technically the team captain for the duration of the mission," Izumo stated as he eyed Harry a moment. "Chances are the Hokage suspected something was off about the mission in the first place but it's hard to say just how much he might have known about the situation through Konoha's spy network."

"What plans have you come up with for protecting Tazuna, Tazuna's family, Tazuna's workers, and the bridge?" Kotetsu asked after giving Harry a few minutes to digest the information that the Hokage might already be aware of the situation.

"Tazuna and his family will be secure within their home now that I've set up a perimeter barrier and two of us can escort Tazuna to and from the bridge each morning while one of us remains to provide an escort for the man's daughter and grandson if they need to run any errands. The bridge can be warded the same as Tazuna's house; which would make protecting the workers relatively easy while they are working on the bridge. Protecting them while they are traveling or when they are at home is going to be a bit more difficult though and warding all of their homes isn't practical."

"I could create enough clones to provide each of the workers with an escort to and from the bridge but that won't save them from another shinobi." Harry paused for a moment at that point before he continued, "The best way to protect everyone though, would be to hunt down and capture Gato before dealing with his hired thugs and any other missing nin he has on hand. I just don't know how big of a problem taking control of Gato Corporation would cause for Konoha."

"If you take him down quietly, then you could potentially make it look like Gato willingly retired and handed the reins of the company over to your client; who in turn could turn the company over to Konoha in repayment for lying about the mission details," Minato's spirit suggested as he made his presence visible for the first time since they left Konoha.

"That would depend on whether or not Gato Corporation is a legitimate business or if the business is just a front for illegal activities."

"The Hokage should have information on Gato Corporation and Gato Senshu; if he doesn't, then Jiraiya undoubtedly will have dirt on both the man and his company due to how much time the Sennin spends outside of the village," Izumo interjected as he took the ghost's sudden appearance in stride (both older Chuunin long used to the spirit popping up unexpectedly whenever they were around Harry).

"We could easily kidnap the man now, replace him with a clone, have the clone order his men to let Tazuna finish his bridge, and interrogate the man while we wait for the Hokage's reply and information about Gato from Jiraiya," Harry suggested as he considered the problem while he finished up the letter he'd written and locked the scroll with a privacy seal. "That would reduce the chances of an all out attack while the bridge is still under construction."

"Gato's abrupt change of heart would be questioned by a number of people though," Kotetsu stated with a slight frown.

"Not if we have the clone imply that he wishes to take over the bridge in order to charge those who use it an outrageous toll fee. Actually, why wasn't Gato planning to do that all along? Why destroy the bridge completely when he could make far more money by allowing Tazuna to build the damn thing before he took control of it? Unless there is something else the man is afraid will happen if the bridge is built?"

"Nami no Kuni is an archipelago of islands that formed over top of an extinct volcano roughly two hundred years ago. The island was originally used as a base of operations for a notorious band of pirates and smugglers led by a rogue shinobi from Kirigakure no Sato until Uzushiogakure no Sato raided the base and killed their leader eighty-five years ago," Minato explained as he shifted slightly closer to Harry.

"There have long been rumors that the plunder the shinobi turned pirate hoarded prior to his death remains hidden below the islands in the network of volcanic tunnels that riddle the island. Whether or not there is any truth to the rumors is debatable but that hasn't stopped would be adventurers and thieves from searching for the tunnel entrances in hopes of claiming the 'treasure'."

"What happened to the rest of the pirates?" Harry inquired curiously over the small anecdote. "Were all of them killed in the raid or did some of them escape?"

"According to the story that Kushina told me, very few of the pirates were actually killed during the raid aside from the leader and his closest associates. The survivors of the raid then swore to give up their thieving ways in exchange for clemency from Uzushio and were therefore allowed to remain on the island. The small island was considered part of Uzu no Kuni from that point forward until Uzu was razed to the ground towards the end of the Second Great Shinobi War."

"The former pirate stronghold escaped mostly unscathed and accepted a small number of refugees from the former island nation of Uzu no Kuni. Nami no Kuni was established as an independent nation a year after the end of the war under the rule of a Daimyou whose origins were unknown. The two most prominent rumors at the time were that the first Daimyou was the son of the pirate leader or that he was the only surviving grandson of Uzu no Kuni's Daimyou."

"The country had remained fairly isolated for the duration of the Third Great Shinobi War but began building a shipping empire to support itself right around the same time as the war ended. Konoha cultivated close ties with the island nation almost from the moment it was birthed in order to prevent Kiri from getting a foothold so close to the main continent."

"Fascinating," Harry murmured as he allowed his imagination to run wild with the tale for a moment before he snapped his attention back to the matter at hand. "I wonder… what are the chances that Gato is seeking the fabled treasure of the long dead pirate king? It would certainly explain why he wouldn't want a bridge to connect the island to the mainland – since a bridge would allow for far more glory hounds and treasure hunters to reach the island whereas right now he controls the waters surrounding the island and therefore controls just who sets foot on the island."

"Or, he's using the old tunnels to hold any illegal goods he's been smuggling or selling and is worried about treasure hunters stumbling upon his ill-gotten gains and thinking they found the treasure," Izumo countered logically.

"And a far more likely scenario," Kotetsu agreed as he nodded his head. "Not to mention the fact that the bridge would allow those people discontent with his rule to flee the island in droves."

"Maybe… but it's definitely far more boring then imagining that Gato is some mentally brain dead idiot bound and determined to dig up an entire island just to find a bunch of rotting silks and tarnished copper coins," Harry snorted as he climbed to his feet and stretched until his back popped several times.

"Chikushou, why didn't I think of that?" Kotetsu complained theatrically as he palmed his face in mock despair.

"Anyway, I'm going to spam the area with clones before I camp out on the roof of the makeshift prison for the night. I'll leave the two of you to spend the night in the house to watch over the family and make certain they don't go sneaking off in the dead of night."

"We'll see you in the morning, Takeshi," Izumo called after him as the wizard walked away.

Harry absently waved at the pair in response without looking back before he formed another hundred clones that were ordered to stand watch and Shunshined directly to the roof of the prison. He then summoned his pack from where it was sitting beside the pack saddle and other items Felix had been carrying and laid out his sleeping bag. After that, he sent a clone to check on Felix and summoned one of his elves to deliver the message he'd written to the Hokage.

The last thing he did before he crawled inside of his sleeping bag was to put away the glass disks he'd been using to work on his chakra control (a training exercise he'd never stopped despite how far along his control had come). Once he was lying down, Harry fell asleep almost before his head could touch his pillow.

He was woken by one of his many clones shortly after dawn; the prisoners were both awake. Harry took the time to change into a clean set of clothes and grab a couple bottles of water and some fruit from his pack before he dropped down to the ground to visit Zabuza and the as yet unnamed teen. He made his way to the teen's cell first and slipped inside after making certain the four clones he'd left inside to watch over the prisoners were all present and accounted for (they were). Harry then made his way to the side of the bed and sat in the chair provided so that the paralyzed teen could see him.

"What have you done to me? Where is Zabuza-sama?" the rather effeminate teen demanded in a raspy voice the moment his brown eyes landed on Harry.

"Would you like a drink?" Harry asked instead of acknowledging the boy's questions.

"Where have you taken me? What do you want with me? Where is Zabuza-sama?"

"I'll assume that you aren't thirsty then, shall I? Are you hungry?"

"What have you done to Zabuza-sama?"

Harry sighed and set the bottle of water on the table beside the chair along with a couple pieces of fruit before he climbed back to his feet and stated, "The guards will check on you again in a few hours. If you grow thirsty, you've only to let the guards know when they open the door and they will give you a drink. They will also feed you if you grow hungry."

"Chikushou; why won't you answer my questions!?"

The wizard ignored the question and exited the cell. As much as it pained him to ignore the kid, he knew he couldn't treat him like a harmless civilian; the teen had tried his best to kill him and his teammates. He wouldn't mistreat the teen (he still had some morals after all) but he also wasn't going to play nice and try to make friends with the boy. Once the kid stopped making demands and once he'd had a chance to view the memories he'd pulled from the teen, he would ask the kid a few questions to see if he'd cooperate. The rest of the time, all he intended to do was insure that the kid didn't escape and that he was fed and watered regularly for the duration of the mission.

Harry checked on his clones briefly as he moved further into the prison to where Zabuza's cell sat at the very back of the small building. He then slipped inside of the cell to find Zabuza ranting and raving under his breath; the man was apparently far less composed than his accomplice and more than a little pissed about waking up in a prison cell in his current condition.

"… and when I get my hands on that green-eyed bastard, I'm going to rip his intestines out through his nose and shove them down his throat until he chokes on his own guts."

"Interesting threat," Harry drawled around a dark chuckle as he walked up to sit in the chair beside Zabuza.

"I'm going to enjoy hearing your screams as I kill you as slowly and as painfully as possible," Zabuza snarled as he rolled his eyes in Harry's direction. "I don't know who the hell you think you are but you won't keep me here for long and once I am free, you are a dead man!"

"Help… someone save me… my life has been threatened… I'm so terrified now," Harry deadpanned in a flat voice as he crossed his legs and slouched back in the chair; the wizard the perfect picture of boredom.

"Why you little runt… I'm going to gut you like a fish…"

Harry sighed and withdrew his wand in order to pour several gallons of near freezing water over the man in order to get him to shut up. Once the man was silent, Harry stopped the waterworks as he asked, "Did you get enough water or are you still thirsty, Momochi-san?"

"Fuck you."

"Sorry, I'm not interested in ugly and stupid."

"When I get my hands on you…"

Another deluge of icy water hit Zabuza in the face until he shut his mouth before he stated, "If all you intend to do is threaten and insult me, then I will leave you to your confinement."

"If you think that playing mind games with me is going to get me to spill my guts…"

"I don't need to make you spill your guts, Momochi-san; I've already pulled everything I need to know directly from your mind while you were unconscious. I simply came to visit you to make certain that you were fed and watered since you missed both lunch and supper yesterday. You're little accomplice provided quite a bit of information for me as well."

"You lie! Haku would never betray me!" Zabuza spat as he attempted to kill Harry with his eyes.

"Do I?" Harry inquired as he casually dried Zabuza and the floor of the excess water before he set the remaining water bottle and the rest of the fruit on the table beside the chair. "Personally, I think you should have requested twice the amount of money from Gato and demanded half of it up front before you agreed to work for him; we both know the man was going to try and screw you over once the job was finished anyway. Well, I don't suppose that it really matters now anyway since you're my prisoner and there is no chance of you finishing the job."

Zabuza's curses and threats followed Harry from the cell until the moment he stepped through the door. He sighed softly as he glared back at the closed cell door before he turned to address the clones standing guard in English, "Keep an eye on both prisoners and see if you can get them to eat. If they haven't eaten anything by supper time, let me know and I will give them a nutritional potion to encourage them to eat the food they are offered. Don't answer their questions, don't ask them any questions besides whether or not they are hungry or thirsty, and don't give them any information or assurances no matter what."

The clones all saluted Harry in unison as he turned and left the building. Once back outside, he took a few minutes to stretch and run through his usual morning calisthenics. After that, he headed back up to the roof to collect his things and pull out a set of glass disks to slip into place for his chakra control exercise before he went to check on Felix to make certain that the horse had been properly cared for during the night. He then spent another half an hour sorting through the handful of clone memories he'd received during the night; most of them regarding the layout of the island, the deplorable state of the few villages that were on the island, and potential leads on locations for the bandit hideouts.

Kotetsu exited the house about that time to see if he was up and to let him know that Tsunami (Tazuna's daughter) had made breakfast. Harry thanked him and headed inside to officially meet the last two members of Tazuna's family since he'd not had the chance the day before (aside from when his clone was introduced). Tsunami was only about five or six years older than Harry and she was a pretty woman despite the dark smudges beneath her eyes, the worry lines that had formed on her brow, and the load of long held fears that weighed down her shoulders.

She was also a decent cook when one considers the limited supplies she had on hand. Well, her supplies had been limited until Harry and his team arrived as they'd brought extra supplies with them that they had willingly shared with the family. Harry had suspected that things would be bad based upon what Tazuna had said about the bandits the first time he'd spoken to the man but he hadn't really been prepared for the full out poverty that the entire island was experiencing if what he'd seen so far was any indication.

As he ate breakfast, Harry drew the young woman into a conversation regarding the state of the island; drawing more information about the inhabitants that lived on the island (not counting Gato's hired thugs), the types of jobs the people performed to support themselves (when they were not being repressed), and what resources were still available for the people (barely any because of the bandits). Once he'd finished eating, Harry thanked Tsunami for the food before he sought out his teammates so they could plan out their day while they waited for Tazuna to get up and get moving.

After a short debate, Izumo was selected to stay at the house and watch over Tazuna's family and their prisoners with the help of Harry's clones for the morning while Kotetsu and Harry went with Tazuna to the bridge. The reason Harry was one of those going to the bridge was so that the wizard could set up the protective wards that would prevent anyone from attacking the bridge directly.

His clones were exceedingly useful in getting the wards set up along the finished portion of the bridge quickly. A few well placed rocks that had been carved with runes and seals saw the empty stretch of water between the current end of the bridge and the projected end of the bridge where it would connect to Hi no Kuni being protected as well. While the clones worked, Harry observed the workers that showed up but left Kotetsu to chat up a few of them to get a feel for what they were thinking as a group; the older Chuunin was far more personable than Harry.

Both shinobi made it a point to never leave Tazuna alone completely with any of the workers (in case one was a shinobi or thug in disguise or a civilian that had been paid off by Gato to kill the bridge builder and who had slipped onto the bridge before the wards had gone up).

By the time they returned to the house for lunch, three workers had quit (the men breaking under the stress) and two thugs had attempted to sneak onto the bridge. Watching the two thugs bounce off of the wards two or three times before they realized something was keeping them off the bridge had been highly amusing for those that had witnessed the spectacle. Harry and Kotetsu had quickly apprehended the thugs after they stopped entertaining the duo (and more than a few of the workers). After they had been incapacitated, Harry created a dozen clones to haul the new prisoners back to their temporary prison.

Once lunch was over, Izumo left with Kotetsu to escort Tazuna back to the bridge accompanied by two dozen Kage Bunshin disguised as pebbles for back up (in case they were visited by more thugs or needed to get a hold of Harry quickly). Harry then spent an hour searching the new prisoner's minds before he created a pair of clones to take their place; both to prevent word of their capture from spreading and to gather more information. The rest of his afternoon was then spent viewing and sorting Zabuza's memories while his clones kept watch over the house and helped Tsunami with a few chores (such as replacing the missing or broken tiles from the roof and catching fish for supper).

Tazuna's angst filled grandson made a few appearances, though the kid never once spoke to him; the boy obviously uncomfortable around the three shinobi but Harry most especially for some reason.

Supper brought with it a response from the Hokage regarding the mission.

Takeshi,

The situation in Nami no Kuni is far graver than rumors led me to believe and I appreciate
the prerogative you have shown in getting what information you have discovered to date to
my attention as quickly as you did.

After careful review of the facts you provided, the parameters of your original mission have
been altered to reflect the current situation.

1) Investigate the local branch of Gato Corporation and determine the end goal that Gato
Senshu hopes to achieve in regards to Nami no Kuni. This includes confirming that Gato
was in any way responsible for the deaths of the Daimyou and the Daimyou's family.

2) Once you've finished investigating Gato Corporation, you are to take Gato Senshu into
custody and confiscate any assets or merchandise that the company is holding in Nami no
Kuni. Please be certain to collect any and all documents during the confiscation process;
especially those that implicate Gato and Gato Corporation participating in any illegal
activities.

3) A detailed status report on the current living conditions of the citizens of Nami no Kuni
is imperative so that Konoha can send the necessary supplies and staff to relieve their
suffering once the situation with Gato's hired mercenaries has been resolved.

4) Finally, you are to follow through with your original mission objective.

As for the information that you requested on the history of Gato Corporation and any rumors
about Gato Senshu's life and habits, I have sent an urgent message to Jiraiya requesting that
he send you that information through the same method that allowed me to send this reply to
you.

Please keep me informed of any new information that comes to light during the course of your
mission.

Sarutobi Hiruzen
Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure

Harry stared at the letter for a full minute before he wordlessly passed it to Izumo who would in turn pass it to Kotetsu once he was finished reading it. When Kotetsu placed the scroll back in his hand, it quickly disappeared into one of the many hidden (and magically protected) pockets of his cloak where it would not get lost or stolen. The meal was tense as the three civilians nervously watched the three shinobi once it became apparent that they weren't going to share any of the information that had been in the scroll that had appeared out of nowhere just as the meal was being served.

House elf service was both efficient and convenient and those crafty little buggers sure knew how to hide themselves in plain sight.

Once the meal was over and Inari (Tazuna's grandson) had disappeared to escape the tense atmosphere (with an unseen clone in tow to watch over him), Harry placed his elbows on the table, threaded his fingers together, and propped his chin on his thumbs as he addressed the father and daughter duo, "As you might have surmised, the scroll that I received earlier was a letter from the Hokage in response to the report that I sent to the Sandaime last night."

"Will… will the three of you be leaving now then?" Tazuna asked in a voice that only wavered once.

"No; but as you can imagine there have been changes made to our original mission and your cooperation will be paramount in our efforts to fulfill the original mission request that you filed on top of our new tasks that the Hokage has assigned to our team."

"We will help you in any way that we can," Tazuna hurriedly stated in sheer relief as he flicked his gaze between the three shinobi while his daughter seemed to wilt in on herself now that she was no longer so tense with fear.

"I'm glad to hear that, Tazuna-san," Harry replied with an almost smile that was far friendlier than the blank stares he usually gave the man. "I would appreciate it if you would start by telling us the names of any witnesses that were present when the Daimyou's family was murdered, a list of names of those people that were executed by Gato or his thugs and those people who have disappeared since Gato arrived, and a rough census of the citizens that are still in Nami no Kuni – we'll need a total number of people not involved with Gato broken down into age groups and a list of illnesses and injuries that any of your fellow citizens are suffering from, if known."

Izumo and Kotetsu were soon writing down the information that Tsunami and Tazuna were providing including the names of those individuals that would have more information so they could to gather as much information as they could about Gato, Gato Corporation, Gato's hired thugs, and the current state of each village on the island.


Translations: Japanese to English

Chikushou – damn
Urusai – be quiet/shut up (rude)

Notes:

Senshu – usurper or tyrant (I thought it an appropriate first name for Gato though I also considered boukun which also means tyrant as well as despot)


AN: The chapter's still a little choppy in places but overall I was happy with the way it came out. I had quite a bit of fun writing the scene w/ Zabuza and I tried to make Nami's history a bit more colorful than what little we know of it from canon. Oh, and in case it wasn't clear in the story, the first time Harry got information regarding the inhabitants wasn't as detailed information wise as the information he was asking for at the end of the chapter - so, no, he wasn't just gathering the same info twice.

Anyway, the next chapter should be up tomorrow and will have a very small time skip in it but otherwise pick up from where this one left off. ~ Jenn