"Before we arrived, Gato's fleet had actually been attacked several times. The attackers' origins and motives were unknown. However, based on other information, it seemed that before each of those attacks, there had been rumors of Gato appearing in that area."
At this point, Sparkle paused.
"Also, none of those attacks caused any deaths, so Gato himself did not seem particularly concerned. Whenever the attacker discovered that Gato was not there, she would always choose to retreat."
Sparkle said.
"Someone with a grudge against Gato?"
Kakashi stroked his chin.
"If we do not limit it to the Land of Waves, I also learned some information. Similar methods involving 'ice' attacks seem to have occurred in the Land of Water as well. Although there have been no rumors of deaths for now, some people said Mist Ninja were frozen inside ice crystals."
This was a lie.
But it could not exactly be called a lie.
Because Sparkle had indeed found some spare time to conceal her identity, head to the Land of Water, and create several large ice sculptures, stirring up quite a bit of discussion.
—Sparkle's disguise skills were not something ordinary people could see through.
As for any Mist Ninja dying, of course that had not happened.
Sparkle, who could not even bear to harm flowers and grass, had merely fabricated some meaningless bloodstains and ninja forehead protectors.
Sparkle was kind-hearted and could not stand seeing people suffer.
As for danger, there was none.
While resonating with Jingliu, Sparkle could borrow Jingliu's power to fight. Even the Nine-Tails could be handled. If it were Jingliu at full strength, forget the Nine-Tails—even if the entire Otsutsuki clan came together, she could take them all out with Normal Attacks.
After Kirigakure investigated, they still found no clues, but some believed that the disappearance of certain Mist Ninja was related to this "attacker."
When Sparkle had created those ice flowers, some people had also made her into an Account Settling Immortal.
Sparkle did not mind, because Kirigakure's actions had instead helped her achieve her goal.
"...Revenge against Kirigakure?"
Kakashi understood now.
"That's right."
Sparkle said, "If my guess is correct, the other party probably noticed the Nine-Tails Demon Fox earlier and may also be seeking revenge. Perhaps she wants to throw the Nine-Tails into Kirigakure—after all, it would not be the first time they had done something like that."
(What the hell!)
Kakashi felt his post-traumatic stress acting up again.
Kirigakure had indeed done something like that.
And it was during that incident that he had done something irreversible...
Kakashi was completely numb.
He had seen Rin while testing Team 7, and now that they were discussing Kirigakure, it was still Rin.
Rin was still haunting him!
"But this is not necessarily bad news."
Sparkle said, "This avenger is alone and lacks the means to gather information. She cannot even pinpoint Gato's exact location. So I believe that as long as Zabuza does not show himself, she will most likely not reveal her true identity either. And her actual strength is still open to question."
"That ominous Chakra..."
This was what Kakashi feared most.
There was a very bad feeling coming from her.
"I did find out a little about that."
Sparkle tossed Kakashi a scroll.
"This is...?"
"Information about something in the Land of Hot Water. Something related to an evil god."
Sparkle said, "I heard that worshipping this evil god can grant immortality. Who knows whether it is true or not."
"...Why do you even have something like this?"
"When Brother Neji went to the Land of Hot Water on a mission before, he told me about some related matters."
Sparkle said, "So I reconstructed the story I heard."
This was a lie.
Because Sparkle had taken the initiative to say that she was interested in the evil god there and asked Neji to investigate it while carrying out his mission.
Sparkle was indeed somewhat interested in Hidan's Immortal God.
And this "folklore" was also one of the references for Sparkle's current "scriptwriting."
"That mysterious woman's power may be connected to this. Speaking of which, several months ago, someone discovered ruins on an island near the Land of Waves. Later, those ruins mysteriously vanished. It was said that they collapsed in an earthquake, but some traces there were somewhat similar to this Land of Hot Water matter."
"The power of an evil god? Does something like that really exist?"
"Of course. Immortality really does exist."
Forget evil gods—in the absurd world of Naruto, even gods of death existed. Underworld dwellers, aliens, none of them were lacking. There were even people from "parallel universes."
Just hearing those elements, anyone unfamiliar with it might think they were filming Dragon Ball.
And the news about the ruins was real too.
To fabricate the ruins, Sparkle had even moonlighted as a construction worker.
After fabricating the ruins, she resonated with Jingliu's power on the spot, allowing the hostility of Demonic Possession to corrode the surrounding space.
Afterward, Sparkle experimented with Mutual Destruction Paper Bombs, Riddle Dolls, and the like inside the ruins. Finally, she took turns ravaging the place with Fire Release and Ice Release, collapsing the ruins and completing the "background setup."
"Does that evil god have a name or any information?"
Kakashi asked again.
"No. There are only a few scattered fragments. All I know is that it is connected to some Plague Ancestor and some Apothecary."
Demonic Possession was power originating from the Plague Ancestor... no problem there.
Sparkle had not lied.
Soul Mentor Sparkle
"Yoshi."
Early the next morning, Naruto woke up feeling full of energy.
"Good morning!"
When he arrived at the dining room, Tazuna's daughter Tsunami had already prepared breakfast for everyone.
Naruto was the last to arrive. Kakashi, Sparkle, and Sasuke were already there.
"Perfect, Naruto. Let me assign the upcoming tasks."
Kakashi called Naruto over and said, "For the next stage of the mission, I will accompany Mr. Tazuna to the bridge construction site. Sparkle will be responsible for gathering information in the Land of Waves."
"What about me? What about me?!"
Naruto excitedly pointed at himself.
"You and Sasuke will stay here and protect Ms. Tsunami and Inari."
Kakashi said.
At first, Kakashi had not noticed this point.
Fortunately, while assigning tasks, Sparkle reminded him. Only then did Kakashi realize that Tazuna's family was not safe either.
Although Sparkle said Gato and Zabuza had most likely fallen out, Kakashi still did not intend to take risks before obtaining definite information.
"Huh? That little brat?!"
The moment Naruto heard that he was supposed to protect that little brat, his hackles rose.
"Naruto."
Sparkle spoke. "Didn't you want to become a hero? A true hero naturally has the power to become a role model."
"There are no heroes at all!"
Inari suddenly exploded. "Gato will kill every one of us!"
"Inari!"
Tsunami rebuked her child.
But Sparkle merely smiled and crouched before him. "A hero is someone who sees through the cruelty of this world, yet still watches it and chooses to love her. Do not hate this world. Try loving her. That person—at the very end, was smiling at you, wasn't he?"
Inari froze. "You—how did you know—"
Obviously, I've read the script.
Sparkle smiled. "I do not know what happened, but I know that if he truly was a hero, then he must have fought until the very last moment without ever yielding."
Inari's stepfather Kaiza had been a young man who came from elsewhere to pursue his dreams in the Land of Waves, a hero who had once saved the town. But in the end, he was captured and executed by Gato for resisting him.
After Kaiza died, the Land of Waves lost its hero.
For some reason, Sparkle's words seemed to move not only Inari, but Naruto as well.
Because at that moment, the Live Broadcast screen unexpectedly switched to sentimental background music, and the contents of the screen showed Naruto reminiscing.
"Hero... When I came to the Land of Waves, I had already made up my mind to become a true ninja, a true hero."
After a flashback, Naruto suddenly began his talk-no-jutsu.
"No matter how great the difficulty, I will not be afraid. No matter what others say, I will make him acknowledge me!"
"Stop talking big!"
Inari shouted. "Say that after Gato kills your family!"
"Inari!"
Ms. Tsunami hurriedly stood up.
After saying that, Inari ran away.
Tsunami bowed, then chased after him.
Sparkle looked at Naruto.
Naruto, who had just been so high-spirited, now seemed as if he had short-circuited.
That was brutal...
Brat, just die already.
Did none of you notice the photo on the wall?
The emotional scene just started, and I thought it would be ordinary trash talk. Turns out it was a dud.
That's it? That's it? That's it?
Naruto's first talk-no-jutsu had actually ended in failure. Instead, Inari counter-killed him and left him stunned into silence.
Sparkle turned to Tazuna. "Mr. Tazuna, someone in the photo has had one corner torn away. The reason Inari is like this is because of that person, right? Would you mind telling us his story?"
Tazuna sighed before slowly recounting how Kaiza came to the Land of Waves, met Inari, became part of their family, became a hero in the Land of Waves, and finally died heroically for resisting Gato.
The Danmaku did not react much to the overall story. After the anime industry had gained twenty more years of "experience" than in the original world, this kind of trope had become fairly common.
However, when Inari was drowning and several bratty children ignored him to chase after a puppy, only for the passing Kaiza to save Inari, the Danmaku flooded the screen.
Fuck, what awful brats.
All I can say is that this country deserves its suffering.
Why didn't Gato get rid of those brats too?
The internet is not beyond the law. Please speak civilly.
Much quieter now.
Just watch the anime. Don't connect everything to reality.
Before you continue