Chapter 543: The Gossip Backfires
Was the Underground Black Market making up these gossip articles?
Well, they had their own defense.
The ninja world was now largely at peace. On top of that, with the Five Great Ninja Villages leading the reforms, villages and nations had become more closely tied together, and the mission system had become much more organized.
The black market was running out of room to survive.
After accumulating credibility for so many years, now was the time to cash it in.
Besides, they had made it perfectly clear that these were gossip articles. If anyone took them seriously, wasn't that their own problem?
And in any case, they weren't worried about people coming after them.
The Underground Black Market used to do far worse than publishing ninja gossip.
They had openly posted bounties on key figures from every major ninja village, yet they had never suffered a retaliatory strike powerful enough to wipe them out.
Compared to that, hiding from a few people upset over gossip was child's play.
Besides, they were only trying to earn enough money to transition into a new business before going bankrupt.
If anyone really wanted to talk about influence, shouldn't they assassinate Kakashi first, the man who had written that world-shaking masterpiece?
—
An hour later, at Sunagakure's Flying Thunder Formation teleportation point, there were quite a few more people than usual.
At the enthusiastic insistence of the Three Gossip Girls, Pakura also decided to accompany them to Kirigakure.
Back then, Rasa had sold her out to Kirigakure, resulting in the great war hero being ambushed and riddled with kunai like a pincushion.
Because she had never imagined she would be betrayed, she hadn't been on guard at all.
She hadn't even had time to use a single jutsu.
Ironically, Rasa himself had also died after being betrayed from behind.
Rasa had cooperated with Orochimaru, only to be assassinated by Orochimaru and his men. That much was beyond dispute, even Orochimaru himself had admitted it.
The important part was how Rasa had died.
According to Sunagakure's autopsy report, Rasa had suffered only one fatal penetrating wound through the heart.
There were almost no other injuries on his body.
Even his clothes remained largely intact.
The same was true for the two ANBU bodyguards from Sunagakure who died alongside him.
The scene showed almost no signs of a fierce battle.
The implication was obvious.
Rasa fought using Gold Dust. Once combat began, it should have shaken the battlefield like a tidal wave.
Yet the crime scene showed none of that.
All signs pointed to one conclusion.
Rasa had been peacefully eating hot pot and singing songs with Orochimaru before suddenly being stabbed to death.
Otherwise what?
Was Rasa really so weak that he had been killed instantly?
In any case, that was the conclusion Sunagakure had reached.
After observing everything for so many days, Pakura had already let go of her hatred toward Sunagakure.
The only thing left...was Kirigakure.
Those were the people who had truly killed her.
At the time, Sunagakure had been fighting on two fronts against both Kirigakure and Iwagakure.
Pakura had been one of the main forces on the Kirigakure front.
Her Scorch Release wasn't like Fire Release, which Water Release could counter.
Instead, it evaporated Water Release itself—including Kirigakure's signature Hidden Mist Technique.
Whenever she killed Kirigakure shinobi, she felt absolutely no psychological burden.
If anything, she felt she was eliminating a menace from the ninja world.
The moment Pakura proposed going to Kirigakure, Naruto, who knew nothing about the history, immediately agreed.
"Sure! Sounds great!"
As far as he was concerned, the more people there were, the livelier things would be.
But Kakashi and Gaara, who both knew the situation, immediately sensed that something wasn't right.
Kakashi remained silent and simply turned his gaze toward Gaara.
With the Kazekage present, there was no need for him to ask.
"Pakura-senpai, why do you want to go to Kirigakure?"
Gaara asked bluntly.
Seeing Gaara get straight to the point, the Three Gossip Girls immediately began whispering among themselves.
Then they shared the conclusion of their discussion with the nearby spectators.
The listeners instantly looked heartbroken.
Sure enough...Everything Maki and the others had said was true.
Kazekage-sama really didn't like girls.
The one he liked was Uzumaki Naruto.
Just look.
When dealing with male ninjas, even ones with opposing political views, Gaara-sama was endlessly patient.
But toward female ninjas, he skipped all the pleasantries and went straight to the point.
"You guessed correctly. I'm going to Kirigakure for revenge or more accurately, to find out whether I still need revenge."
Pakura actually appreciated Gaara's straightforwardness and answered directly.
Well…
Not entirely directly.
Because the first half of her sentence instantly made the surrounding air seem a few degrees colder.
Only after she finished the second half did everyone breathe a sigh of relief.
After all… "Uchiha Madara" was still around.
The last person who had tried to disrupt the peace, Hōichi, had already been elbowed into kneeling on the ground, begging for mercy before turning over a new leaf.
If Pakura had paused any longer before saying the second half of her sentence, "Uchiha Madara" might have come charging over with his speaker again.
"The Kirigakure shinobi under the Bloody Mist policy were all insane. They wouldn't hesitate to cut down even their own comrades just to prevent any possible information leaks."
"I want to see what Kirigakure is like now that the Bloody Mist era has ended. And I want to see what kind of woman the new Mizukage is—the one who put an end to that policy."
Completely unaware that she had just narrowly escaped an elbow-induced crisis, Pakura continued explaining her thoughts earnestly.
"So that's it. That's good then. Pakura-senpai, please give my regards to the Mizukage."
Gaara visibly relaxed.
As expected...Even carrying such deep hatred, a former war hero was still kind at heart.
However...
"Huh? What did Pakura-sama mean by that?"
"I know! I know! Let me explain!"
"Pakura-sama actually likes girls, so she stayed single her whole life. This time she heard how beautiful the Fifth Mizukage is, so she wants to..."
"It's true! Look! Pakura-sama even trimmed her fingernails~"
"?"
The ones gossiping about Pakura weren't the Three Gossip Girls.
It was the crowd of onlookers who had just been chatting with them.
No matter how bold Maki's group was, they would never tease Pakura like that right in front of her.
Especially when Maki herself was Pakura's disciple.
The Three Gossip Girls had never imagined that the people of Sunagakure would be so talented.
Not only had they learned from them…They had even started applying it creatively.
Now the gossip had completely backfired onto them.
Pakura had been seriously explaining why she wanted to visit Kirigakure.
Then she suddenly heard that enormous pile of fabricated nonsense behind her.
Her mind went completely blank.
She had no idea what she was supposed to say next.
And another thing…
What did trimming her fingernails have to do with anything?
Why couldn't she understand it?
Her body was an Impure World Reincarnation body.
Her fingernails didn't grow.
The nails she had now were exactly the same length they had been when she died.
Why were they saying she had trimmed them?
What on earth did that even mean?
"Sensei, they said that, not us! It has nothing to do with us! Besides, this just proves that thing all over again."
Maki hurried over to Pakura and frantically explained.
"Proves what?"
Pakura looked completely lost.
"That the appearance of bond-type ninjas has nothing to do with Shiromo. Earlier we said that if male bond-type ninjas exist, then they'll see Shiromo as the most irresistible delicacy in the world, putting him in danger."
"Now here's another piece of evidence. Sensei, if female ninjas like you became bond-type ninjas, then wouldn't Shiromo suddenly end up with a whole bunch of extra romantic rivals? Some of them might even steal him away from whoever he's with."
Maki spoke with an utterly serious expression.
(End of this chapter)