Chapter 377: The Spread of the "Filial Piety" Story
The three from the Sunagakure Village sat down with Kushina and Rin at a roadside stall and began to chat.
First, their identities.
Maki, who specialized in using cloth for sealing techniques. Her abilities were likely inspired by the desert mummification techniques of the Sunagakure Village. She was also a disciple of the Scorch Release ninja Pakura.
And who was Pakura?
She wore a backless outfit similar to Konan's, except without the Akatsuki cloak covering it.
Compared to her master, Maki, as a disciple, seemed rather ordinary.
That is… unless she had styled herself to resemble Nohara Rin.
Though, to be precise, it wasn't really a Rin imitation. Facial markings like the two stripes on the cheeks were extremely common in the ninja world, especially in the Sunagakure Village.
There were plenty in Konoha as well. The Inuzuka clan had two red cheek markings, Jiraiya had them too, and even the Second Hokage had similar markings.
It was just a coincidence that Maki's face shape and features resembled Rin's quite a bit.
So after the five of them sat down, Kushina immediately noticed this and kept glancing back and forth between Maki and Rin.
As for Maki's two teammates, Matsuri and Yukata were the Sunagakure Village's resident gossip duo, especially sensitive to topics like romance, scandals, and stories about powerful figures.
Matsuri was the one with short brown hair. She appeared during the Fourth Great Ninja War in the original story and was Gaara's direct disciple. By now, she had already become his student.
The other, Yukata, with her long straight black hair, was more of a background character with no notable abilities or background.
The gossip duo, upon noticing someone who looked so similar to their teammate Maki, instantly became curious.
Without even waiting for Kushina to say anything, the two of them started talking over each other as they pulled off the cloth hood wrapped around Maki's head.
Good grief, even her hairstyle was the same short cut, and even the hair color matched.
"Maki, could this be your long-lost sister?"
The gossip duo stared at their teammate with excited anticipation.
"I… don't think so?"
Maki herself looked uncertain.
The main issue was that, in the ninja world, not having parents was the norm.
Someone like Sasuke, whose entire clan had been wiped out, was actually considered fortunate, at least he knew who his family was.
Because of that, since Maki didn't even know who her parents were, she couldn't confirm whether the girl in front of her, who looked so similar, was related to her or not.
However, Rin and Kushina were certain.
The reason was simple.
The generations didn't match.
"You've misunderstood. Actually…"
Rin was about to explain the truth, but her thoughts twisted through several turns in an instant.
She paused.
That was because she suddenly realized that something as defying as resurrection, if widely known, would surely attract unwanted attention and bring trouble to everyone.
But then she thought of Orochimaru, Yakushi Nono, and the counseling she had received from them and from Shiromo after her revival.
They had all clearly told her that this wasn't anything extraordinary.
And since she was freely allowed to go out shopping without restriction, it was clear there was no intention to keep it a secret.
So Rin continued: "Actually, I was born in Konoha Year 49 and died in Year 63. Later, I was brought back through Impure World Reincarnation, and then fully revived by Orochimaru-sama and Shiromo-senpai."
"Ah?"
"Impure World Reincarnation? Revival?"
They were shocked for a moment, but quickly regained their composure.
After all, the reason the three of them had come here was precisely to witness things like this.
Resurrection might defy the heavens, but in their Sunagakure Village, Chiyo-sama was also said to have developed a technique capable of reviving the dead.
"So… that means this big sister is actually almost thirty? A whole generation older than us?"
"Not quite a full generation, more like half a generation. Unless everyone got married and had children at thirteen or fourteen."
"…"
The gossip duo went back and forth again.
But this time, after finishing, they suddenly realized something was off.
In times of peace, the age at which ninja married would indeed be pushed back.
But during times of war, that age would rapidly move forward.
In the Warring States period, when conflict never ceased, even the sons of major clan leaders might not live past fifteen or sixteen. To ensure the continuation of the clan, reproduction naturally happened much earlier.
If it was possible, then it had to happen.
And based on the years Rin mentioned, her birth and her death, it coincided exactly with a time of great war in the ninja world.
So…
"Could it be… you're Maki's mother?"
Matsuri and Yukata stared at Rin with wide, shocked eyes.
"Ah?"
Rin was stunned.
Both her physical and mental age were still that of a teenage girl.
Now someone her own age was suddenly calling her "mother." That was way too strange.
What kind of logic was that?
"R-Really? I've never had parents since I was little. My only family was my sensei. I, I…"
Maki looked both emotional and overwhelmed.
"Uh…"
Rin hesitated.
"Rin, you can't just go along with something like this out of kindness~"
Seeing Rin's expression, Kushina quickly spoke up.
There was no doubt that Rin was still pure.
Kushina hadn't personally verified it, but Shiromo had.
So how could Rin possibly have a daughter?
"For example, Might Guy and his student Rock Lee look very similar, but they're not father and son. And Uchiha Izuna and Sasuke are said to look alike too, but they're not related either."
To make her argument more convincing, Kushina quickly gave two examples.
"Alright~"
With the gossip gone, the duo looked a bit dejected.
But they quickly perked up again.
Even if they couldn't receive gossip, they could still spread it.
With the topic of Rin and Maki's resemblance wrapped up, they moved on to why the three of them had stopped Kushina from chasing after Naruto.
"This is a story that started circulating at some point. It's about Kazekage Gaara-sama."
Yukata glanced around nervously, looking like a thief, lowering her voice as she spoke.
"Gaara? What does that have to do with Naruto?"
Kushina was confused.
"Huh? You don't know?"
Yukata immediately gave her a "you're so out of touch" look.
"Uzumaki Naruto is Kazekage Gaara-sama's [CP], you know."
CP.
It looked like English, but it had actually spread from Japanese fandom culture.
"Um, could you get to the point first?"
Seeing that Yukata was about to drift into gossip again, Rin quickly interrupted her.
While they were willing to spend some time understanding the situation, that didn't mean they could waste it.
Every moment wasted meant Naruto might do something even more outrageous.
"Yukata, Matsuri, just get to it. We still have a mission."
Maki added.
"Fine… basically, it goes like this…"
Yukata pouted, then began recounting that "filial piety" story from back then.
For reasons unknown, this story had spread all the way to the Sunagakure Village.
And as it spread, the content had changed somewhat.
For example, the "great" Kankurō, as an older brother, in order to protect his younger brother Gaara from harm, was forced to create a life-sized puppet of Gaara for their father Rasa to vent his desires.
And to make sure their father was satisfied, the "great" Kankurō even had to stand by and use puppet control techniques to manipulate the life-sized Gaara puppet, making it react accordingly.
(End of this chapter)