As he stared at the steaming, fragrant curry rice, now topped with a lump of shit, the Masked Man was utterly devastated and furious.
After his anger subsided, he realized what this meant: Kakashi could now use the power of the Mangekyō Sharingan.
The Masked Man had also noticed some of the Akatsuki Organization's recent moves, but after asking Black Zetsu about them, he hadn't given them another thought.
Black Zetsu was his source of intelligence, and he trusted him absolutely for now.
After all, as the will of Madara Uchiha, Black Zetsu's goal had to be gathering the Tailed Beasts and resurrecting Madara.
So even when he'd discovered a while ago that the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki was actually in Amegakure, he hadn't thought it strange.
He had to remember that T W K A N dot C O M was the domain of Taiwan Novel Network.
The Tailed Beasts had to be collected in order, starting with the One-Tail.
So luring the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki here early and keeping him in the village made perfect sense.
"Kakashi, I'll make sure you and everyone else reunite in the other world."
After murmuring darkly, the Masked Man activated his ability, preparing to leave Kamui Space.
—His lunch was gone. He'd have to buy another one.
But just as space began to warp, the lump of shit lying quietly on the curry rice suddenly moved.
At incredible speed, it flew toward the Masked Man's right eye.
"Ah—!"
In a forest, the Masked Man appeared with a scream, clutching his eye as he dropped to one knee.
He wasn't actually hurt. What had just happened was far more horrifying than an injury.
When Kamui Space was sealed off from the outside world, the shit had no way to reach Shirozumi's Crazy Diamond and be "repaired," so it had stayed completely still.
But as the Masked Man prepared to leave, the passage to the outside world opened. The shit immediately shot toward the only exit—his eye.
The Masked Man watched helplessly as the lump of shit drew closer and closer to his eye, then burrowed inside.
Even though he wasn't hurt, the experience left him with a psychological scar that would never fade.
At that moment, the Masked Man hated the Sharingan's superhuman perception more than anything.
As the shit flew toward him, he saw every detail, every wisp of heat, with perfect clarity.
"Damn you, Kakashi."
The Masked Man grew furious all over again. Seeing the shit speeding away in the distance, he immediately scrambled to his feet and gave chase.
He'd see just what kind of tracking jutsu that idiot Kakashi had developed—and why he'd used something so filthy.
The Masked Man sprinted at full speed, his Sharingan's powerful perception locking onto the shit as it raced ahead.
However...
Remember, Shirozumi's Crazy Diamond could only repair things when they were directly touched. With this "scent contamination method," the repair would stop once the scent faded.
As the Masked Man chased after it, the shit flying through the air suddenly stopped moving. Only its momentum carried it onward, and the Masked Man caught up in an instant.
He was still leaning forward as he chased it and nearly crashed headfirst into it, but he managed to Hollowfy in time.
The shit passed through his head and landed on the ground.
The Masked Man stopped where he was and stared blankly at the shit on the ground, breathing a sigh of relief.
It was just a lump of shit, yet it had made him feel as pressured as if he were facing a Flying Thunder God Kunai.
The Masked Man touched his slightly damp pants.
Was it sweat?
It couldn't have been piss, could it?
Konoha.
Kakashi, looking exhausted, reported what had happened with Kazahana Koyuki to the Third Hokage.
He also remembered that when he'd been in Anbu, he'd carried out a mission to escort the princess of the Land of Snow as she fled.
"Kakashi, you can decide what to do with this mission. Continue or abandon it.
"If you choose to continue, I can upgrade it to an S-rank mission. You can call in up to two squads for backup at any time."
There was no scheme behind it. Hiruzen Sarutobi simply left the decision to Kakashi.
The Land of Snow lay to the northwest. Even if it did become powerful, it would have to deal with the Land of Earth first.
Besides, Konoha had intelligence on the Land of Snow.
With its meager strength, the country was hardly a threat. And its so-called "Ice Release" could only be used in the Land of Snow's freezing, snowy conditions.
Kakashi naturally chose to continue the mission.
He didn't refuse the offer of backup, either.
He just chose one squad.
The team led by his old friend, Might Guy.
According to the latest intelligence on the Land of Snow that the Third Hokage had provided, the Chakra Armor that the country had poured all its resources into creating had many capabilities.
It could enhance the user's Chakra, increase the power of ninjutsu, and defend against ninjutsu and Genjutsu...
In short, it couldn't defend against Taijutsu.
Kakashi had Team Guy follow them discreetly. If things got beyond their ability to handle, Guy's team could step in.
Back at the film crew's lodgings, Sandayu had already convinced the director and the rest of the crew to continue on to the Land of Snow.
The director was quite the character. He figured that if audiences discovered that the star of "Princess Gale" really was a princess, the publicity would be tremendous.
Besides, the story of an exiled princess reclaiming her throne fit perfectly with the plot of Princess Gale.
As for whether an ordinary man like him might die in the fighting, that thought had long since been pushed aside.
This director truly loved movies.
The only problem was that Kazahana Koyuki refused to return.
When Kakashi got back, the first thing he did wasn't try to persuade Kazahana Koyuki. Instead, he went straight to Shirozumi, looking sad and helpless. "That was enough trouble from Naruto. Don't use that jutsu again. It was terrifying."
On his way there, Kakashi had seen countless Konoha villagers clutching their backsides.
The villagers didn't have Sharingan, so they had no idea what had happened. They thought someone had hit them with Thousand Years of Death at lightning speed.
The only people who knew Thousand Years of Death were the deceased Konoha White Fang and Kakashi, so anyone who knew about the technique immediately suspected Kakashi.
Luckily, a witness had cleared him. Kakashi hadn't been the one attacking everyone.
That was how Kakashi had gotten out of trouble.
"It had nothing to do with me. Gaara from Sunagakure did it."
"Huh?"
Kakashi tilted his head, confused.
"You'll understand when Gaara shows up at the Chunin Ninja Exams. It had nothing to do with me. He's the one who can control cat litter."
"..."
Kakashi was speechless.
He stopped bantering with Shirozumi and walked over to Kazahana Koyuki to try persuading her.
He failed.
Kakashi had originally planned to use Sharingan Genjutsu to knock Kazahana Koyuki out, then get her onto the boat and worry about the rest later.
But Kakashi had used Kamui for the first time just moments ago, and it had taken too much out of him. He was so exhausted that he couldn't use his Sharingan for the time being.
Kakashi turned to Shirozumi and walked over. "She seemed to agree with what you said earlier. Want to give it a try?"
"Teacher Kakashi is so lame," Naruto muttered from nearby.
"...Teacher just hadn't used my ultimate secret weapon yet."
Kakashi pulled a copy of Icha Icha Paradise from his pocket and insisted.
"A novel written by one single man for another single man—is that supposed to be a guide?"
"..."
Shirozumi left Kakashi speechless again.
"Why won't you go back?"
Shirozumi sat down beside Kazahana Koyuki and asked her directly.
No grand speeches or encouragement like Kakashi had just given her.
He simply put the question back to her.
Before you continue