There's a Girl Here!

"No, Lord Third, you have to believe me! That's really what he said!"

Kakashi grew flustered.

What did this have to do with the Make-Out Series?

Besides, there wasn't anything like that in the Make-Out Series!

"True. Jiraiya's novels are all about men and women. So you really weren't making it up, Kakashi?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi stroked his beard and thought it over, then nodded.

"Uh, so you've read them too, Lord Third?"

The corner of Kakashi's mouth twitched beneath his mask.

How else could he say so confidently that "they're all about men and women"?

"Don't focus on these meaningless details, Kakashi."

Hiruzen waved a hand. "If that's the case, perhaps that rogue Orochimaru has made some kind of breakthrough in his research. Either way, this method won't hurt Naruto, and it won't cost us anything to try...

"Kakashi, I'm leaving this matter to you.

"But keep a close eye on things. If anything unusual happens, stop immediately."

"Huh? Me? All right."

Kakashi reluctantly agreed.

He'd thought that telling the Third Hokage about this would let him pass the problem along, but in the end, he was still the one who had to handle it.

That evening, at a barbecue restaurant.

After the four of them had eaten their fill, Kakashi handed Sasuke a thermos and a piece of paper covered in writing before they went their separate ways.

"I had someone track down a recipe for Photinia Lotus Root Starch. What's in the thermos is a batch I tried making.

"Sasuke, if you really want to use that method, you could have a cup of this every day. Once you get used to it, it might help you feel a lot better about it."

Kakashi looked distinctly uncomfortable.

He really wanted to say, Maybe we should just hurt Naruto after all.

Sasuke, however, had no such reservations. He simply said, "Thanks, Kakashi," then took the things home with him.

Kakashi also went home to rest, ready to start training the next day.

He wasn't sure whether to believe what Shirozumi had said or the Third Hokage's analysis.

But getting stronger could never hurt.

He'd start by trying to develop the Mangekyō Sharingan's abilities.

The Land of Water, Kirigakure.

After Yagura regained consciousness, he resigned as Mizukage, taking responsibility for what had happened. He was assigned to recover in a quiet, secluded place.

Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't have long to live.

He'd been controlled by Genjutsu for years, then had it forcibly undone. When he woke and discovered what he'd done to the village he loved, his body, mind, and spirit were already at their limit.

As for Mei Terumi, influenced by Shirozumi, she went straight to Genji and declared that she wanted to become the Fifth Mizukage and reform Kirigakure.

Genji was surprised.

He knew Mei Terumi well.

She seemed outgoing, but was actually introverted. Whenever something mattered deeply to her, she tended to become passive.

Given Mei Terumi's usual personality, she shouldn't have been this proactive.

Of course, Genji didn't refuse.

On the contrary, he was delighted and agreed at once, saying he would send someone to inform the Daimyo the next day.

It wasn't really surprising.

Mei Terumi would have become Mizukage only a few years later anyway.

At the time, Genji's excuse had been that he was "getting old and couldn't get around easily," so he'd made Mei Terumi Mizukage.

It was a smooth, natural transition.

Clearly, he'd already been grooming Mei Terumi to become Mizukage over the past few years.

Now that Mei Terumi had brought it up herself, it wasn't like Naruto Uzumaki shouting that he wanted to become Hokage.

It showed that Mei Terumi believed she could shoulder the responsibility of being Mizukage. It was a sign of maturity and confidence.

Back at home.

Mei Terumi took out the recording tape and pressed play.

She wanted to listen again to the descriptions of the future and try to glean some information from them.

Hearing herself call herself an "old maid" again still made Mei Terumi feel awkward.

"Hmm?"

Mei Terumi listened while writing down what was said.

Putting it into text made it clearer.

When the recording ended, she was about to switch it off and take out the tape, but then she realized it wasn't over. There was more.

Had Shirozumi not played the whole thing for her earlier?

Curious, Mei Terumi kept listening.

"Didn't I just tell you?

"Madara cast Infinite Tsukuyomi back then, and everyone in the Shinobi World fell into a beautiful Genjutsu dream, dreaming of what they wanted most.

"I dreamed I got married...

"The person I married looked exactly like you..."

Click.

Mei Terumi abruptly paused the recording.

What?

Mei Terumi felt goosebumps rising.

She didn't know whether her future self had really dreamed of someone who looked exactly like him, or whether she'd simply been trying to flirt with Shirozumi.

Or maybe she'd just been talking nonsense while drunk.

The words "Didn't I just tell you?" meant she'd said this to Shirozumi before the recording had started.

Now Mei Terumi understood why Shirozumi had started recording as evidence. He'd been afraid that if anything happened later, he wouldn't be able to explain himself.

Was she really that desperate?

She scratched her head.

After calming herself down, Mei Terumi pressed play again.

The rest was even harder to endure.

Shirozumi asked her future self, "Did you have a baby shower in the dream?"

Her future self answered frankly that people couldn't imagine things they'd never seen.

The main part of the Infinite Tsukuyomi dream was that she discovered all the other kunoichi in the Shinobi World were single.

She, Mei Terumi, mocked Tsunade for being an old maid, making kunoichi like Kurotsuchi, Samui, and Temari envy her.

She'd thought it was going to be a romance story, but it turned into a tale of showing off and humiliating everyone else.

"This Infinite Tsukuyomi actually sounds pretty nice."

Mei Terumi was gradually getting used to it. She chuckled softly.

Of course, she was only saying that.

A beautiful dream was nice once in a while.

But what was the point of being trapped forever in a false dream?

After listening to the rest, Mei Terumi took out the tape, placed it neatly on her cabinet, and turned off the lights.

Starting tomorrow, she'd forget all of this and devote herself completely to reforming Kirigakure!

Amegakure.

Shirozumi had returned.

Konan, Sasori, Black White Zetsu, and Shirozumi were discussing the matter.

Deidara had quietly returned to Iwagakure alone without telling anyone. Sasori hadn't known at first.

Still, Deidara was his teammate, so he'd come to see what was going on and find out whether he could help.

It wasn't true that Sasori had lost all feeling after turning himself into a Human Puppet. After all, he still had his "heart."

Black White Zetsu had come to tell Shirozumi that it had gathered quite a few "items" from the major shinobi villages.

It had also managed to get one from Ōnoki.

If they wanted to rescue Deidara, they could try using the "items" they'd brought back to let Hidan make a name for himself.

"To establish Hidan as a deterrent, there's one prerequisite: people have to learn about his abilities first. This is a perfect opportunity."

Black Zetsu spoke in a hoarse voice.

"Isn't it a bad idea to reveal them so openly?"

White Zetsu voiced its doubts.

"Black Zetsu's right. Do you know why people's feet are whiter than their faces and hands? Because they're always hidden away."

Shirozumi agreed with Black Zetsu, then tossed in a cryptic metaphor.

"Then why is Dragon in the Pocket so black?"

White Zetsu shot back.

Hidan had just arrived after receiving the message. He heard White Zetsu say that and was stunned.

"What are you talking about?! There's a girl here!"

Hidan shrieked.

You'd think Hidan himself was the "girl" he was talking about.

"Pfft. A girl."

"Strategist, what do you think about the words 'a girl'?"

Konan glared at Shirozumi, who hadn't managed to hold back his laughter.

"No, I was thinking that I prefer older women to girls."

Shirozumi regained his composure.

Meanwhile, the others were still arguing.

White Zetsu filled Hidan in on what Shirozumi had said about feet being whiter than hands and asked him to judge for himself.

The statement was obviously wrong.

How could hiding something make it white?

After hearing the explanation, Hidan stroked his chin and nodded. "That's true."

"Right? And if hiding something could make it white like me, why is Black Zetsu so dark?"

White Zetsu looked smug.

"Because he's a deadbeat dad."

Hidan answered without thinking.

Standing nearby, Black Zetsu's already-black face darkened even further.

Hidan was an idiot, sure, but how had White Zetsu gotten so insolent that it dared mock him too?

And hadn't they agreed to watch their language because there was a girl present?