Gatō

was a shipping magnate who took control of the Land of Waves.

Background
Gatō was a powerful shipping magnate whose shipping company was actually a front for much shadier activities, such as smuggling illegal goods and dealing drugs. He took control of the Land of Waves' shipping routes and created a monopoly by isolating the country from the outside world, preventing free import and export and turning it into an impoverished, hunger-stricken country in the process. He was a cruel man, responsible for humiliating and killing Kaiza in public for standing up to him. Kaiza's death immensely demoralized the people of Wave, to the point that they no longer had the courage to stand up to Gatō. Gatō was protected by two bodyguards, Zōri and Waraji.

Personality
Gatō was extremely cruel and greedy. If he had even the slightest chance of getting profit, nothing would stop him. He constantly prioritized financial success over any other motives and emotions. He was willing to break prior contracts and agreements in order to save money. Gatō was also very ruthless, and dealt harshly with his enemies, brutally executing anyone who crossed his path. In addition, he had no qualms over killing innocent people.

Land of Waves arc
Gatō hired Zabuza Momochi and his men to assassinate Tazuna, because the bridge he was building posed a threat to Gatō's control of Wave's economy. After Zabuza's arms were broken in battle by Kakashi Hatake (who was hired to defend Tazuna), Gatō arrived with a group of thugs, intent on killing Zabuza so that he would not have to pay him for his services. Since Zabuza was still able to wield a kunai in his mouth, this mistake cost Gatō his life. (In the manga, Zabuza chopped off Gatō's head with the knife after being struck by several of his cronies, while in the anime, Gatō was stabbed and slashed several times, then knocked off the bridge.) Zabuza died, and the renegades were scared away by Kakashi, Naruto, and the combined force of the villagers.

Trivia

 * His name is spelled with and without a circumflex in the English manga. The revised Hepburn romanization is Gatō. The first official data book spells his name as "Gatōh".
 * is the Japanese way of writing the French word gâteau, which means cake.