Zoro returns to Hiyori's village, riding on Torao's back while dragging the tied Gato on the ground. Gato screams in pain and it's really annoying, so Zoro shoves some leaves into his mouth and wraps a cloth around his mouth before dragging him again.
"It hurts, right? Well that's what those people you hurt felt. What you feel now is nothing compared to what Hiyori felt for a few days. You'll never know how hurt starving is and how scary it is to face death because of your unbearable hunger."
Zoro stops to give Gato a Military Ration Pill and some medicine pills after they move quite far. These pills will make sure Gato won't die before they reach Hiyori's village.
He doesn't want Gato to die too quickly and wants to make sure the scumbag suffers a lot before dying even though it will be nothing compared to Hiyori's suffering.
"You are an adult, so even with this much pain, it is still pale in comparison to what that child has gone through. So I'll just give you as much suffering as I can before you die. If you think it's cruel, then it is cruel. But that's what you do to the people of this country, it's what you do to that innocent little girl."
Soon, they arrive in Hiyori's village. It's still night and everyone is still asleep. Zoro doesn't want to disturb them, so he moves carefully towards Hiyori's broken house to do something.
The next morning, the quiet village suddenly becomes very noisy. People are gathering around Hiyori's family house that has been destroyed by Gato's men. Everyone is looking at the only standing pillar that should have been knocked over before.
A man with tattered clothes is tied on top of the tall pillar. He has many injuries and blood is covering most of his face, but everyone knows who he is, which is none other than Gato.
The villagers quickly move to inform other villages too because this is such big news. After all, this man is the enemy of the whole country and now he suddenly gets defeated, so obviously people want to spread this news.
"U-uncle." Hiyori also comes to see what happens with Zoro and Granny Suzu.
She looks at Zoro who holds her hand when they come here.
"I told you I would get him for you, so you don't need to dirty your hands. He isn't worth that much." Zoro smiles while looking at Hiyori who tears up silently.
"Y-you really did it, and in a very short time at that. Just who are you, boy?" Granny Suzu is very surprised that Zoro really succeeded.
"Just someone who hates scumbags like him."
Zoro looks at Gato who is being thrown rocks by the people after they know that he is still alive. They throw rocks while cursing him. It actually makes Zoro worried if the pillar he erected hastily will hold against these thrown rocks.
Soon, people from other villages also came to see the dying Gato. News spreads really fast here because it's a very small country. This country is just as big as a big town and they only have a big island surrounded by some small islands, so almost everyone here knows each other.
Sometime later, some people that Zoro has anticipated also come. They are none other than Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura, Konoha's new Team 7 that comes with their current employers from another village.
"No wonder I sensed a familiar presence. It turns out to be Konoha's genius white hair, Kakashi Hatake." Zoro approaches Kakashi while carrying the sleeping Hiyori in his arms.
She is tired after shouting angrily at Gato like everyone else. But she doesn't throw anything at him because Zoro forbids it. As he said, he doesn't want to taint her hands, so he doesn't allow her to participate in the public execution.
Kakashi is surprised to see Zoro there and he even reflexively jumps back while taking out his kunai. The 3 genins in his team are surely surprised by their Captain's reaction when he sees Zoro.
"Oi, oi, oi. Even I would get hurt if you reacted like that when you see my face, you know. It's not like I will attack you when we just meet."
"..... Sorry, it's just that you always pick a fight with me and my friends every time we meet. So I can't help but be wary of you."
"I see. So that's why I never saw you or your friends whenever I visited Konoha. You guys were running away from me. Now that really hurts my heart." Zoro smirks while saying that. He doesn't feel hurt at all.
Kakashi sighs and puts his kunai back into his bag. Then he looks at Zoro and Hiyori back and forth before his eyes widen.
"Hey, Zoro. I never knew you already had a daughter." Kakashi is genuinely surprised.
"She's not my kid."
"But she also has green hair."
"That doesn't mean she is my kid. It's not like I'm the only person with green hair. It's like saying all white haired kids out there are your kids." Zoro is getting ticked by Kakashi's logic.
".... Makes sense. Anyway, can I assume that this is your doing?"
"Yeah, someone hired me." Zoro smiles while looking at Hiyori.
Kakashi doesn't understand what Zoro means, but he knows it's better to not ask, so he just stays silent.
"Kakashi-sensei, who is he?" Naruto finally asks, representing his teammates who are curious too.
"Ah, right, um, have you ever heard of Ninja Hunter Zoro?"
"Do you mean the man who has hunted a lot of high-rank missing nins from almost all hidden villages? The one who is also known as the Demon Sword after killing the previous 7 Swordsmen of Mist?" As usual, Sakura is quite knowledgeable about things. She isn't as useless as people say.
"That's right. He is that Ninja Hunter."
"WHAT?!" The 3 genins are surprised.
"Who?" Naruto still doesn't know even though he also acts surprised like the others, making Sakura hit his head in annoyance.
"Well, you can say that he is someone who is very famous among the hidden villages even though he isn't affiliated with any country. Also, he is known as someone whose power can rival a village." Kakashi explains about Zoro.
"What?! Are you serious?" Now Naruto is genuinely surprised.
"You must be kidding. There's no way a single person can have the strength equal to a village." Sasuke doesn't believe what Kakashi says, which is normal.
"Unfortunately, it might be true. 2 years ago, he fought against Sunagakure alone and defeated most of their shinobi. It's said that he was dominating the war until it was forced to stop because of a 3rd party's appearance. Sunagakure suffered quite a lot of damage because of that short war against a single person while he just continued his days as usual."
"Oi, I didn't kill anyone in that war because I only targeted their Kazekage and elders." Zoro frowns because Kakashi says it like he killed a lot of Suna shinobi.
"But it's true that you defeated most of them, right? Defeating thousands of shinobi without killing even a single one of them is actually more impressive than killing all of them because you need to have a lot of control over your power."
"Well, you are not wrong. But the stories that people spread are often too exaggerated."
The 3 genins are truly amazed by Zoro. Now they understand why their Captain acts like a scared cat when he sees Zoro. Though it's mostly because Zoro has beaten him and his friends quite a lot in the past rather than because of Zoro's reputation.
"I heard you were fighting with Zabuza Momochi, Kakashi."
"How do you know?"
"Duh, I beat up his boss, so obviously, I would know about it. Anyway, you don't need to think about him anymore, I'll take care of it."
"He is a rebel, you know." Kakashi tries to warn Zoro because he can guess that Zoro won't kill Zabuza.
Zoro's feud with Kirigakure is well known in the shinobi world. So Kakashi thinks that Zoro might want to work with Zabuza who is known as a rebel in Kirigakure because they have the same enemy.
"I know. But so what? I'm not afraid of Kirigakure. If it's not because I don't want to start another world war, I would have attacked them like I attacked Suna and I would finish the job even if other people disturbed the fight."
Kakashi can tell that Zoro is serious and it really scares him. He knows a lot of crazy people, but Zoro is the craziest of all.
"By the way, do you want to spar after a long time?"
Kakashi's face darkens when he hears that. It's finally here, Zoro's template question that he always asks whenever they meet. The question that always makes him and his friends shit their pants.
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Chapter 130. Defeating Orochimaru
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