Chapter 550: It Turns Out Madara Was Sukuna
"Don't worry about those details. Zabuza, listen to me. I think I know who the author of this novel is. It's…"
"Uchiha Madara."
Halfway through speaking, Kakashi suddenly realized something and immediately changed his answer.
"Uchiha Madara? Kakashi, if you're going to make something up, at least make it believable!"
Zabuza's tone turned hostile.
"I'm serious, Zabuza. Do you know about Susanoo?"
"I didn't before. These days, almost everyone does."
What Zabuza meant was the impact that the Land of Snow's film industry, working together with Amegakure, had had across the ninja world.
"Good. That makes this easier to explain. Actually…"
"Actually, Uchiha Madara's Susanoo isn't called Susanoo."
"?"
"Only Uchiha Itachi's Susanoo is called Susanoo-no-Otoko. Sasuke's Susanoo is called Takemikazuchi. Uchiha Madara's Susanoo is called Ryōmen Sukuna."
"You can tell from both their appearances and their abilities."
Kakashi confidently explained.
"…What do you mean? Are you saying you've seen all three of their Susanoo? Or did Uchiha Madara personally tell you all this?"
"Fine then, answer me this. Since you have a Mangekyō Sharingan too, what's your Susanoo called?"
Zabuza looked at him suspiciously.
"I don't have a Susanoo. The prerequisite for awakening Susanoo is having both eyes. As for how I know all this…"
Kakashi hesitated.
He wondered whether he should make up a story.
Once you tell one lie, you often have to invent ten more to keep it from falling apart.
"Kakashi is telling the truth."
Another voice suddenly came from the distance.
Huh? Why "another" again?
Everyone turned to look.
It was none other than the legendary ninja—Chiyo...in a swimsuit!
Granny Chiyo wore a swimsuit, sunglasses, and had a blanket draped over her shoulders. At a glance, it was obvious she'd been relaxing in the resort next door.
Only then did everyone remember.
It wasn't strange for Granny Chiyo to be here. She'd come to the resort long ago with Hōzuki Gengetsu.
Still, the place was starting to feel like some kind of respawn point. Every few minutes, another familiar face would appear.
"You old hag, why are you defending Kakashi so much? Is he your damn father or something?"
Zabuza shot back without the slightest bit of respect.
Granny Chiyo was an elder of Sunagakure, not Kirigakure. Besides, Zabuza himself wasn't even a Kirigakure ninja anymore.
As for personal preference?
Kirigakure liked pretty boys. Old ladies were the exact opposite of that.
"This novel seems to have spread from Kirigakure. I was bored while on vacation, so I read a little of it."
"At the beginning, Sukuna devours his own brother and gains a cursed power."
"Doesn't that sound familiar?"
Granny Chiyo removed her sunglasses and looked at everyone.
"Exactly. I've heard it from Uchiha Itachi, Shiromo, the First Hokage, and the Second Hokage."
"Uchiha Madara gained the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan by devouring the power of his younger brother, Uchiha Izuna."
"According to the Uchiha clan's records, Madara was the first."
"And because of that record, when Itachi defected, he could leave Sasuke alive while claiming he intended to obtain the Eternal Mangekyō. People who didn't know the truth believed him."
Kakashi hurriedly continued where Chiyo had left off.
With all of those pieces put together, it sounded much more convincing.
"So Sukuna is actually based on Uchiha Madara?"
"Then what about Uraume? Don't tell me Madara also had a pretty boy following him around like Haku."
Zabuza was now half convinced, but there was still one important question left unanswered.
"The answer is actually hidden in everything I just mentioned."
Granny Chiyo raised a hand, stopping Kakashi before he could answer, signaling that she would explain.
The Gossip Trio immediately leaned together and began whispering.
"Something's fishy. Something is definitely fishy. Why is Granny Chiyo looking out for Kakashi so much?"
"Yeah. Didn't Kakashi already agree to give up on Granny Chiyo and pursue Uchiha Obito's grandmother instead?"
"This is called lingering affection. Granny Chiyo's true love really is Kakashi."
"It makes sense she'd like Kakashi. Out of all the people chasing after her, he's the only handsome one."
"Sure, he's a bit supposed-to-be."
"But for someone as fierce as Granny Chiyo, that might not be a flaw—it might actually be an advantage."
"Following that logic, she definitely wouldn't choose any of the Impure World Reincarnation guys. Even Uchiha Madara would have to stand aside."
"After all, none of them can even use the Sage Mode shortcut."
"Makes sense! Totally makes sense!"
Hearing the three girls chatting away, the old Pakura would definitely have scolded them for making things up.
But now…
Pakura could only say one thing.
"They have a point."
The cruel reality had completely shattered her former image of the ninja world.
Especially after Temari and Tokiwa had told her what had happened between Uzumaki Naruto and Kazekage Gaara.
Pakura felt that forgiving Sunagakure without actually returning to it had been the right decision.
The most outrageous part was what happened just before they left through the Flying Thunder Formation.
Gaara had come to say goodbye to Naruto.
He wanted to shake Naruto's hand.
Yes.
It was just like the original scene at the end of the Kazekage Rescue Arc, when Naruto's group returned to Konoha.
If it had only been a handshake, even if it had been just as 'that way' as in the original, where Gaara used his sand to force Naruto's hand into the handshake, Pakura honestly wouldn't have thought much of it.
After all, she'd already witnessed things far worse.
Gaara had already used his sand to control Naruto's hand for 'that'.
Compared to that, what was one handshake?
But this time…Gaara hadn't simply used sand to guide Naruto's hand into the handshake.
At the instant the Flying Thunder Formation activated and everyone was teleported away, Pakura noticed it.
Gaara had actually used his sand to create a mold of Naruto's hand.
That had been the real reason he wrapped Naruto's hand in sand.
As for what he planned to do with it…Pakura didn't even dare to imagine it.
Was he planning to make a Gaara-exclusive Sage Mode shortcut accelerator?
If even the Kazekage and the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki had become this 'supposed-to-be'...
Then it was easy to imagine what the entire village's atmosphere had become.
Besides, Kakashi was a famous author of dirty novels.
No matter how bizarre or perverted his behavior became, it wouldn't surprise anyone anymore.
"Zabuza, haven't you realized it yet?"
"Just as you said, Kirigakure's specialty is pretty boys."
"So this Uraume represents Kirigakure itself!"
"Don't forget, Uchiha Madara once controlled the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura. That left Kirigakure with tremendous scars."
"Why do you think this novel originated in Kirigakure?"
"It was written by some of the people there to preserve and spread the truth about what happened back then."
"And if I remember correctly…"
"The Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, was also a pretty boy."
"…"
(End of this chapter)