So that was it.
Case closed.
The book had originated in Kirigakure.
No wonder it was so serious and completely devoid of anything suspicious.
Kakashi finally understood.
Technically, what little Kakashi knew about Sukuna had come from Makoto.
That was also why he had abruptly changed direction earlier.
But if Kakashi could hear about Sukuna from Makoto, why couldn't Terumī Mei?
Why couldn't Zabuza?
Why couldn't anyone else in Kirigakure?
So there was nothing unreasonable about concluding that this perfectly normal novel had originated here.
With that explanation, everything else fell neatly into place.
Kirigakure did not want to damage its current alliances, so while quietly circulating the novel, it was also using the story to rehabilitate the Fourth Mizukage Yagura's reputation and make it clear that he had been under someone else's control.
And the book was not really aimed at the people still living inside Kirigakure.
It was meant for those who had fled the village because of the Bloody Mist.
That also explained why the novel had never spread widely throughout the shinobi world.
There was no need.
Most of those who fled Kirigakure during the Bloody Mist era had simply settled throughout the islands of the Land of Water.
Very few had gone all the way to the mainland.
It was largely a matter of lifestyle.
And Ryomen Sukuna did not merely correspond to Madara being the first Uchiha to take in his younger brother's power, nor did it only match the appearance of Madara's Susanoo.
It also hinted at another fact.
There had actually been two "Madara" figures who controlled Yagura.
First, the real Uchiha Madara.
Then later, Obito, who took his name.
Huh?
Obito.
The name surfaced in Kakashi's mind again, bringing another wave of melancholy with it.
On the way here, Kakashi had checked on what Obito was currently doing inside the Engraved Tsukuyomi world.
He still had not completed the final beginner quest.
But his mental state was already starting to look questionable.
At this point, Kakashi could only hope Obito would somehow break down completely and rebuild himself into something better.
For now, though, there was actual work to do.
"Granny Chiyo is right. This is clearly—"
"Alright, if that's the case, then this has nothing to do with you anymore. Kakashi, get the hell out of my sight…"
Zabuza stopped.
Then he glanced around.
"Actually, no. This is your place. I'm leaving."
He turned around and walked off without another word.
Everyone was stunned by how quickly he folded.
Hadn't Zabuza stormed over here looking ready to start a fight?
Why had he suddenly backed down at light speed?
"So that's it."
After blinking in surprise for a moment, Kakashi smiled as he understood.
"Zabuza isn't just some brainless brute after all. No wonder Makoto trusted him to hold down the Land of Waves."
Pakura reached the same conclusion.
If this novel was part of a political operation by Kirigakure, then Zabuza, as a missing-nin whom Kirigakure had chosen not to pursue, really had no business getting involved any further.
Zabuza himself had no intention of returning to Kirigakure, nor did he want to owe the village anything.
Most importantly, clearing Yagura's name was something Zabuza would probably approve of anyway.
"Zabuza must have…"
Pakura was just about to explain her reasoning to the three girls when they suddenly looked as though divine enlightenment had struck them first.
"I get it! Zabuza is actually a tsundere! He came over on purpose just to get Kakashi's attention because he secretly has a crush on him!"
"Exactly! I was wondering why Zabuza showed up so suddenly. That explains everything."
"And once Granny Chiyo appeared, Zabuza finally realized that Kakashi and Granny Chiyo still had unresolved feelings for each other. Nothing hurts more than a dead heart. It was supposed to be a movie for three people, yet he couldn't even get his name in the credits. He should've been under the car, not sitting inside it…
Completely heartbroken, Zabuza chose to leave in silence."
"…"
Pakura quietly threw her original theory away and accepted the girls' new conclusion.
She was beginning to realize something.
As long as you started from the assumption that Kakashi was a suspicious man, every one of the trio's theories somehow became perfectly logical.
And "Kakashi is a suspicious man" was apparently an established fact.
So there was no problem.
"What the hell are you doing?!"
A furious shout suddenly came from the distance.
There was anger in it.
Fear.
Embarrassment.
And somehow even terror layered underneath all of that.
Everyone's heads snapped around at once.
Holy shit!
One piece of gossip had barely ended and another one was already arriving?
The three gossipmongers immediately came alive.
They exchanged glances and nodded in perfect understanding.
Coming to Kirigakure had absolutely been the right decision!
The shout had come from one of the three Kirigakure shinobi selected to learn Sage Mode.
"What happened?"
As the Sage Mode instructor—and the oldest of the three main instructors—Kakashi naturally walked over to see whether some conflict needed to be resolved.
"…"
Ao stood there wearing his mask, his face underneath it undoubtedly dark with humiliation.
He opened his mouth several times, clearly wanting to explain, but could not bring himself to say it publicly.
Kakashi eventually noticed his discomfort and pulled him aside.
Under the increasingly disappointed gazes of the crowd, the two began speaking quietly.
"What could possibly be so embarrassing that he can't say it in public?"
Pakura muttered.
At this point, the influence of the three gossipmongers had clearly started rubbing off on her.
She really wanted to know what had just happened too.
Why had that masked Kirigakure shinobi screamed with such an absurd mixture of emotions?
He sounded like someone had just hit him with One Thousand Years of Death.
"Sensei, don't worry. Matsuri learned a trick from Temari!"
Maki urgently looked toward Matsuri, Gaara's nominal disciple.
"What are you waiting for? This is exactly when you're supposed to use it!"
"Leave it to me."
Matsuri formed several hand seals.
"Makoto Style, Temari-Type Wind Release Secret Art: Song of the Listening Wind!"
Do not ask why the technique's name was so ridiculously long.
At its core, this was simply a technique Makoto had once casually suggested to Temari, which Temari then developed herself before forcibly attaching Makoto's name to it.
As for what it actually did…
"Nothing happened."
Pakura looked around in confusion.
The name said Wind Release.
They were shinobi from the Land of Wind, so using Wind Release was perfectly reasonable.
But where was the wind?
Wasn't Wind Release supposed to create blades of compressed air?
Wait.
Pakura suddenly heard something.
Could it be…?
Song of the Listening Wind.
The name was literal.
It was a Wind Release technique designed specifically for eavesdropping!
Pakura did not waste time investigating the mechanics.
Right now, the important thing was gathering intelligence—
No.
Listening to gossip.
The technique did not have a replay function.
If they missed this, it was gone forever.
…
Outside the main group, Ao was pouring out his grievances to Kakashi.
He had just been preparing to practice Sage Mode and was entering what everyone had started calling "flight mode."
As a sensory ninja with battlefield experience, Ao suddenly noticed something unusual.
When he looked more carefully, he discovered that the Hyūga clan member in the distance had activated his Byakugan—
And was secretly watching Ao go through the Sage Mode training process!
Ao instantly broke out in goosebumps.
He had been so startled that he outright crashed, ruining the attempt at Sage Mode entirely.
"I'd already heard Lord Mizukage say Konoha produces gay-type ninja."
Ao sighed miserably.
"But I never imagined I'd become one of their targets…"
Halfway through complaining, however, Ao suddenly realized something was wrong.
Kakashi was also a Konoha shinobi.
Worse, he was already confirmed to be one of those all-purpose suspicious types with bond-type tendencies included in the package.
And Ao had voluntarily pulled Kakashi aside for a private conversation.
Wasn't this basically walking straight into the tiger's den?