But in the end, the viewers returned to bullying Teacher Kakashi.
At this point, Kakashi also explained things to Sasuke and Naruto, whom he had pulled over. "The power of a Ninja Village can be considered a country's military strength, and it is also one of the foundations of diplomacy."
"Even so, Ninja Villages are not actually controlled by their countries. They have an equal relationship. There are also island nations like the Land of Waves, which are not easily interfered with by other countries and therefore have no need for a Ninja Village."
"Among all Ninja Villages, only the leaders of the villages of Konoha in the Land of Fire, Kirigakure in the Land of Water, Kumogakure in the Land of Lightning, Sunagakure in the Land of Wind, and Iwagakure in the Land of Earth can be called 'Kage.'"
"The Hokage, Mizukage, Raikage, Kazekage, and Tsuchikage can be said to be the most powerful beings standing above all ninja."
Kakashi explained the setting.
Sparkle continued, "Although the relationship is equal, it is not completely equal. A Kage's appointment requires the Daimyo's approval, because it is difficult for Ninja Villages to be financially self-sufficient. Just like this time, when Madam Shijimi's pet went missing, she generously gave a great deal of compensation, right? It could be considered the highest possible reward for a B-rank mission. You could say that this is support for us Genin."
.
[Holy shit, so the beginning wasn't a joke—it was foreshadowing.]
[Even this can turn into a boomerang?]
[Don't call it Ninja Path anymore. Change it to Boomerang Path.]
This really might have been foreshadowing in the original work, because Team 7 was not the only team that had caught Little Tiger. Later on, poor Little Tiger would get lost again and be caught again.
Madam Shijimi's commission to Konoha had been 200,000 ryo, the maximum reward for a B-rank mission.
Coincidentally, Team 7's next mission was nominally C-rank, but in reality an extremely high-level mission that was B-rank or even A-rank. If it was viewed as foreshadowing, then it could be seen as Team 7 receiving full compensation in advance, which was why they suffered later.
"Without missions issued by the Land of Fire, without the support of the country's overall tax revenue and financial resources, Ninja Villages would have a hard time too," Sparkle concluded.
"Ah, so that's what that lady meant?!" Naruto was dumbfounded. He thought about it carefully. It seemed that he had not done anything rude to her, and she appeared rather satisfied, so Naruto breathed a sigh of relief.
"Of course. The names of the Five Kage come from their respective countries. For example, the 'Fire' in Hokage comes from the Land of Fire. Ninja Villages are secluded villages far from cities, which is why it is Konoha Hidden Village. So-called ninja can represent the dark side of a country, while 'Kage' refers to the leaders of the Ninja Villages of the Five Great Countries. The meaning of 'Kage' also carries the implication of being that country's shadow, its dark side. A shadow and its body are separate entities, yet they complement one another. That's how it is."
Sparkle continued her explanation.
She discovered that as she explained these things, her Popularity Points were also rising. It seemed the effect was quite good.
[My wife is so knowledgeable.]
[They're pretty different from ninja in the real world.]
[What real-world ninja? But yeah, they are different from the ones in other anime.]
[Suddenly, ninja feel pretty fashionable.]
However, there were also things Sparkle had not introduced, such as the so-called Anbu. The Anbu were the darkness within the dark side.
Because of that, Konoha's Root seemed rather hilarious. It represented the darkness within the darkness within the dark side. What was with this nesting doll routine?
The ninja world was still fairly peaceful at this point, and the apparent number of ninja was only in the tens of thousands. As for the later series of absurd events... all that could be said was that settings... were just settings.
While Sparkle was explaining, Team 7 had already passed a puddle. Kakashi looked toward it, and Sparkle turned her head toward Kakashi.
Kakashi scratched his head.
[That was way too deliberate.]
[Kakashi looked at the water, Sparkle looked at Kakashi.]
[There's obviously something wrong. That puddle is way too conspicuous, and it even got a close-up.]
[Clearly, Kakashi noticed the problem, and Sparkle noticed it too. Then Sparkle asked Kakashi what to do. Kakashi scratched his head, obviously telling Sparkle not to interfere.]
[Holy shit, how did you type so much?]
[Make good use of pause, bro.]
[Although Ninja Path is a Live Broadcast, it actually has some flexibility, maybe five to ten minutes. So people watching later can see the earlier pauses too.]
[What a loss. My premium membership expired and I didn't renew it, so I can't pause.]
The old trick was immediately seen through by new viewers.
Then, two ninja leaped out from the puddle on the ground and instantly killed Kakashi with a strike of their chains.
"First one!"
Kakashi was directly shredded into chunks of flesh by the chains.
"Teacher Kakashi!" Naruto's eyes widened.
Overcome by fear, he froze in place, unable to move.
"Second one!"
The two attacking ninja had already reached Naruto and prepared to strike.
Sparkle tilted her head.
This performance was actually almost identical to the original.
Clearly, a stronger body had not greatly changed Naruto's mentality. The fear of seeing Kakashi "die" for the first time had crushed him.
—Unqualified!
He needed even more training!
Unlike the frozen Naruto, Sasuke's performance was clearly more brilliant than in the original. He kicked one of the attacking ninja away, then used a shuriken to pin the other's chain to a tree. After that, he sent the second one flying with a spinning kick, getting Naruto out of danger.
When Sasuke kicked the second ninja away, he also grabbed the other's chain, using the bandages from his Weighted Training Gear to cushion the blades on it. He then forcibly yanked him back and kicked him in the stomach again.
But at that moment, Sasuke felt his arm stiffen. Disbelief appeared on his face, but then he suddenly understood.
Sasuke did not pursue them, while the two ninja wearing Kirigakure forehead protectors immediately steadied themselves. They circled around Sasuke from the left and right, heading toward Tazuna behind him instead.
The viewers' camera gave a close-up—what had stopped Sasuke from pursuing them was actually Sparkle's steel wire.
"So that's how it is."
Sparkle raised her head.
"And chains... aren't used like that."
"Nani?!"
The Mist Ninja who had been moving at high speed came to an abrupt halt.
Countless red cords trapped them from every direction, leaving them unable to move.
[Holy shit, Chains of Heaven.]
[Are these ropes from Sparkle's body? Does that mean they have her scent on them?]
[I'm officially jealous of those two ninja.]
[I often feel out of place with you people because I'm not perverted enough.]
"Well, looks like I don't need to make an appearance after all." Kakashi also walked out from the side.
What the Ghostly Brothers had shredded was merely a log created by the Substitution Technique.
"These two were targeting Mr. Tazuna... Teacher Kakashi, confirming that is enough, right?" Sparkle looked at Kakashi.
"Yeah." Kakashi muttered inwardly, Talking to Sparkle is more stressful than facing the Hokage.
Kakashi did not say the latter half aloud, but it had already appeared in the video.
[Kakashi: Every time I talk to Sparkle, my PTSD acts up.]
[Kakashi: I'm not afraid of encountering enemies on missions. I'm only afraid of teammates.]
[They're all fucking Actors.]
[Wait, aren't C-rank missions not supposed to involve ninja?]
The netizens were as ridiculous as ever, but at least some people still remembered the earlier setting.
"Why were you able to see through our disguise?" The Ghostly Brothers could not move and could only maintain their current poses.
"It hasn't rained at all these past few days, yet there's standing water on the ground. That's far too conspicuous. Not every place is like the Land of Water, you know. You made a basic mistake, gentlemen of the Mist Ninja~"
Sparkle smiled.
In a place like the Land of Water, standing water on the ground after several days without rain would be normal. But elsewhere, it was obviously not.
Kakashi also looked at Tazuna. "So, Mr. Tazuna, do you have anything to explain about these ninja who came after you?"
"So, there really aren't any ninja in the Land of Waves?" Sparkle spoke as well.
[Holy shit, the boomerang is still chasing me.]
[Enemy ninja are still ninja. Nothing wrong with that.]
[No wonder Tazuna was sweating so hard earlier.]
[Foreshadowing from Part A got paid off in Part B.]
[Sparkle: Pay up! This mission needs more money!]
Author's Note:
That's why Danzo's very existence is hilarious...
Little Tiger's part in the original was probably a small design by Kishimoto, but unfortunately it was not shown in the anime. Team 7 received the maximum B-rank reward from Madam Shijimi, then later encountered Zabuza's attack, which was comparable to a B-rank or even A-rank mission, yet it was only counted as a C-rank mission. In a sense, the Land of Waves was Team 7's fate after receiving excessive compensation.
A huge 3K chapter~
After staying on the rankings for one day, including five bonus chapters, they'll all be released together on Friday.
Nani? All of This Was Actually Within Gato's Expectations?!
Naruto's face was blank as he clutched his aching hand.
"Hey, you're not hurt, are you, Mr. Scaredy-Cat?" Sasuke looked at Naruto with a somewhat mocking gaze.
There was still a smile at the corner of his mouth.
During their previous training, Naruto had always been slightly ahead of him. Although the two of them almost always reached their training goals at the same time, Naruto's training speed had actually been a little faster than Sasuke's.
Sasuke had always cared about that.
But just now, the helpless Naruto had completely forgotten his training results. He had fallen into panic because of "Kakashi's death."
"I—"
He had clearly made up his mind.
Yet he had accomplished nothing.
Sparkle had effortlessly subdued those two Mist Ninja. Sasuke could even do it too, but only he...
I can't do anything.
Even though I had made up my mind to become Hokage.
"Naruto, their ninja tools are poisoned. You'd better not move around right now. We need to open the wound and drain the poisoned blood."
Kakashi told Naruto not to move for now, then dealt with the two Mist Ninja before looking at Tazuna.
Ultimately, all of this had happened because Tazuna concealed the truth.
"..." Tazuna fell silent, not knowing what to say.
"That guy Naruto was poisoned. What should we do?" Sasuke asked Kakashi, then looked toward Sparkle.
Although Sparkle had not indicated anything, based on the tacit understanding between companions, Sasuke always felt that she seemed to know something.
"If the mission's difficulty exceeds what was stated in the request, then we can only return to the village first," Kakashi continued pressing him.
Regret and humiliation.
That desperate feeling of being unable to do anything.
It was his fault.
Naruto clenched his teeth hard, suddenly drew a kunai, and stabbed it into his left hand. Blood spurted out.
"I'll use this kunai to protect the old man! The mission will continue!" He strengthened his resolve.
"—Oh my." Sparkle lightly covered her mouth. "Your determination is admirable, Naruto. But while that might drain the poisoned blood, you'll die from blood loss instead~"
"Urgh!" Naruto's face turned the color of pig liver.
Kakashi shook his head, gave Sparkle a look, then walked over to Naruto and began bandaging his wound.
Before you continue