____________
[—
"Hunters-nins know the body's structure thoroughly. Putting a person into a momentary death state is probably easy for them."
During Kakashi's explanation, a scene appeared in the background of a masked Kirigakure shinobi planting needles into a visualized corpse's mind.
"First, he carried away the much heavier body of Zabuza."
"Second, he used a weapon with a low probability of killing. These two points indicate that his motive was…"
"Not to kill Zabuza, but to save him."
"We can't ignore that possibility."
Kakashi said quietly after realizing they had been deceived.
"Aren't you overthinking this? Hunter-nins are supposed to kill Missing-nins," said Tazuna, unwilling to believe it.
"No… With all the suspicion, we will prepare before it's too late. That's a shinobi rule," said Kakashi.
"Plus, whether Zabuza is dead or alive…"
"There's no assurance that Gato hasn't hired an even stronger shinobi."
Hearing this, Naruto trembled with excitement.
'Heh, he's actually happy that Zabuza might be alive…' thought Kakashi, observing Naruto's expression.
"Sensei, what do you mean by preparing before it's too late? You can barely move," said Sakura.
"Hehe… You guys will receive training," Kakashi said, chuckling lightly.
—]
In Konoha, readers stared at this page of the manga in astonishment.
After discovering that Zabuza was still alive and seeing Kakashi analyze it clearly—reminding himself of his fatal oversight—the readers were pulled into a strange whirlwind of awareness and unawareness.
The idea that a smart but weak shinobi is better than a foolish but strong one was firmly established in the minds of readers, whether they were shinobi or ordinary civilians, who now understood the shinobi world in this volume more than they had ever before.
Indeed, ordinary civilians, who spent a trivial 30 ryo to buy a manga volume rich in visually and intellectually stunning events, felt they could pay four times that amount for the next volume!
This was for civilians.
But for shinobi, it was entirely different.
For the experienced shinobi, they sensed a faint threat from the manga.
For shinobi who had not yet experienced real-life dangerous missions—mostly genin still accepting D- and C-rank missions—this manga was an invaluable treasure.
The lessons they had received from Kakashi throughout these chapters were truly priceless.
"And it seems there are still more lessons! Aaah, I love you, Kakashi-sensei!"
"Kakashi-sensei is the best! Oh my God, why aren't all our teachers like Kakashi-sensei?"
"He's strong, amazing, handsome, and even better—funny, caring for his students' safety, and even calls them comrades!"
"I would sacrifice my life for Kakashi-sensei!"
"Go, Kakashi-sensei! Defeat that villain Zabuza, and that guy with a girl's face!"
In the Art Store—Konohagakure—the cheers of excited readers echoed at that moment, so much so that those focusing on the previous chapter couldn't read it with the same concentration.
"Hmph… what a nuisance," Danzo felt the urge to slap many of them, though he seemed unable to do so.
"Hehe~ Kakashi is just a manga character, but it seems he's already won the hearts of the village residents…"
Mito laughed lightly. She, too, loved Kakashi's flawless character so far.
'His only flaw seems to be his perversion while reading that book…' Mito thought of Icha Icha Paradise.
"Naruto seems very excited. I love how his character has developed; he's no longer afraid of even a terrifying shinobi like Zabuza…"
Minato smiled as he observed Naruto's enthusiasm in the chapter.
"Finally, we'll see real training from Kakashi…"
Kushina was also excited; she wanted to see true growth in the strength of the three members of Team Seven.
The smiles of both Kushina and Minato widened as they watched Kakashi praise Naruto and observed Naruto's reactions.
...
"Heh… who's this kid? Old Tazuna's grandson? So he's Tsunami-chan's son? Is she married?"
Jiraiya's heart broke when he saw the boy named Inari in the manga.
The thought that Tazuna's daughter was actually married and had a child shattered Jiraiya's fantasies harshly.
"Hmm, strange, he seems so cold… is something wrong?"
Jiraiya was surprised by the child Inari's stance toward Naruto and the others, asking them to turn back if they didn't want to die.
…
"What's wrong with him?"
Young Kakashi sensed something unusual while looking at little Inari, who was currently his age.
"I think he lost someone dear because of Gato…"
Before Sakumo could continue reading the chapter, he had already deduced what had happened to the child.
"I see… that explains it," Young Kakashi nodded before continuing the manga.
In the next scene, Naruto followed Inari to his room to hear the boy's sobs behind the door, crying over a picture of his father.
Naruto stood frozen behind the door, unable to speak, finally sighing sadly before leaving.
Young Kakashi's heart ached when he understood the direct reason behind this.
"So the person he lost is his father…"
Young Kakashi felt sorrow and empathy for little Inari, just as Naruto did in the manga.
"It seems this person named Gato is much more despicable than what appeared so far."
Sakumo also nearly grasped the story behind everything shown so far.
…
"Go, Naruto! Avenge the boy against those who killed his father!"
Maito Dai felt his blood boil with anger, reacting to the manga events as if they were happening in the real world.
He also felt sorrow for Inari, Tsunami, and old Tazuna, who represented powerless people in this world.
"I think Naruto will do it…" said young Gai, tears forming in his eyes.
…
Through Hiruzen's eyes, Naruto appeared again as the hero who would one day become an incredible ninja called the Hokage.
"What's so amazing about being Hokage? You'll be glued to your office chair from paperwork piling up… sigh~."
Hiruzen sighed lightly after saying that… only the Hokage himself knows what it truly means to hold that position.
He, too, dreamed of becoming Hokage when he was Naruto's age… after achieving that dream, he realized that dreams have a price that must constantly be paid.
"Let's see if you can achieve that dream and keep paying the price…"
Hiruzen smiled as he continued reading the chapter, loving Naruto's character and his dream, which showed that the Will of Fire in Naruto's heart burned brighter than anyone else in his generation.
'Even with all the hardships he faced… I can't be sure, is Naruto even a real person?'
Hiruzen looked again at Minato and Kushina—if Naruto appeared in this world, those two must be his parents.
This was what Hiruzen thought at that moment.
…
"Come on, Sasuke, don't lose to Naruto…"
At that moment, the Uchiha leader, Hugaku, was annoyed because Naruto had begun stealing the spotlight from Sasuke.
"I think Sasuke will fight that masked boy," His son, Fugaku, guessed, watching the chapter's events.
"That boy affiliated with Zabuza is not ordinary at all; his needle-throwing skill is amazing, and he's hiding something. I wonder which clan in Kiri he belongs to."
The same for Hugaku—he also assumed Sasuke would fight the masked boy, but he was more interested in the boy's background.
"Sasuke will win… he won't lose to a shinobi of his generation for sure," Mikoto cheered confidently.
"I'm counting on you, Kakashi. Teach them something good."
Hugaku also liked Kakashi's character, as he was strict in choosing his students, and no genin had ever passed his evaluation before. This meant training under him would be extraordinary.
This was the shinobi world rule: the harder something is to achieve, the more incredible its rewards.
And so far, from what has appeared, Kakashi already seems to be an amazing character with incredible influence in 'the future Konoha'.
The direct reason why the Uchiha clan members were paying attention to this name is the Sharingan.
What's the story behind it, they wonder?
____________
Upcoming chapter titles (spoilers):
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Chapter 74: Defining Chakra?
Chapter 75: The Five Types of Chakra – End of Volume Two!
Chapter 76: Momochi Zabuza Is My Son.
Chapter 77: Questions About the Future.
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BlackStar_BH:
The chapters currently available on Patreon are up to Chapter 99.
There are 25 advanced chapters available now:
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In the coming days, chapters will be made available for all tiers, reaching up to 50 advanced chapters… Enjoy!