Several days later...
A small town in the Land of Waves.
Dozens of people had gathered in an izakaya.
This was because they had finally found Mie Tianhai's base.
"Have you heard? Shinra Kokotsu: Mōtenkai, Danyuan Chuanyang: Shou Yunxiao, Phoenix Cry Deadly Kill - Life Extinguisher, and Stealing Dust with the Wind: Rin Setsu'a all came from the same eastern land. That place... is called 'Dongli'!"
"They don't have the Shinobi World there. Instead, they have a social structure called 'Wulin.'"
Listening to the crowd's heated discussion...
A handsome white-haired man holding a tobacco pipe smiled. "Everyone, your intelligence is already outdated. According to the latest information, important possessions belonging to the nations of the Shinobi World and its heroes have been stolen by a mysterious person..."
He paused, then continued:
"For example... the favorite books carried by Konoha's Number One Technician, Hatake Kakashi, were stolen."
The white-haired man shifted his gaze to Kakashi.
Kakashi immediately felt embarrassed.
The books were indeed important.
But more important than that was...
The content of Icha Icha Paradise.
If it were exposed... he might die of embarrassment on the spot.
"Another example... the Kubikiribōchō carried by the Kirigakure rogue ninja and one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, Momochi Zabuza, the blade he wielded as naturally as his own arm, was stolen..."
The white-haired man turned his gaze toward the bandage-masked Zabuza.
Upon hearing this news...
The surrounding crowd immediately erupted in startled cries.
Looking toward Zabuza...
As a rogue ninja of Kirigakure, he was being watched closely by the official Kirigakure Hunter-nin... the members of ANBU.
Hearing the white-haired man's account...
The expressions beneath their masks changed at once.
Because...
The Kirigakure ANBU's target this time was not merely Zabuza...
It was...
"I hear Kirigakure also lost some important treasures... the Exploding Blade