Masashi Kishimoto, That Crappy Manga Artist—What the Hell Does He Know About Naruto?

The Fourth Shinobi World War?

Hatake Kakashi was the first to spot those words, and the hairs on his body instantly stood on end.

The one-country, one-village system had only existed for a few decades, yet it had already seen three Shinobi World Wars. Each had been earth-shattering, with catastrophic casualties.

He himself had even been one of the participants in the previous Shinobi World War. It was during that conflict that he earned the title of Kakashi of the Sharingan.

His teacher, Minato Namikaze, had also gained sufficient prestige in that war to later become Konoha's Fourth Hokage.

Yet at the same time, aside from the small handful who rose to prominence and basked in glory, most people suffered miserably in such wars.

Even he had lost his two most important comrades one after another. One had died right before his eyes, while the other had been killed by his own hand.

His memories of the Shinobi World Wars were anything but pleasant.

But he also understood one thing: if it was merely a clash between two countries or two ninja villages, it could not be called a Shinobi World War.

For example, although the conflict between Konoha and Kumogakure a few years ago had been fairly large in scale, the other major ninja villages had not joined in, so it could not be considered a Shinobi World War.

From that, it could be inferred that the future Fourth Shinobi World War would at the very least be a chaotic free-for-all involving several major ninja villages.

Its scale would be enormous. Kitahara Kaede had even described it as godlike beings brawling and Gundams running wild.

Although Hatake Kakashi did not know what a Gundam was, he could roughly understand what Kitahara Kaede meant from the context.

Still, Kakashi had no idea how Kitahara Kaede had learned this information.

Could he possess some kind of ability to foresee the future?

If that were true, then Kitahara Kaede's current wariness would have a reasonable explanation.

After all, if the Konoha Higher-ups learned that someone possessed the ability to foresee the future, the Third Hokage might not necessarily do anything, but Shimura Danzō would definitely seize him. It would not be impossible for him to be dissected for research.

Who would not want such an ability to predict the future?

Once it was confirmed that there would be a Fourth Shinobi World War, Konoha, situated at the very center of the ninja world, would definitely be unable to avoid it. After all, the Land of Fire occupied the most fertile land and could be said to be a thorn in nearly every other country's side.

If Konoha had not been powerful enough, the Land of Fire would have been carved up long ago.

How many countries might participate in the future?

Based on what was currently known, Kirigakure was unlikely to participate. That country had maintained its self-imposed isolation for quite some years, and there was no sign that it intended to end it.

As Konoha's ally, perhaps Sunagakure would help Konoha in the future war?

Though he had his doubts, it was still possible based on the current situation.

Then the opponents might be Kumogakure of the Land of Lightning, the second-strongest, and Iwagakure of the Land of Earth, one of the three great powers.

Two against two?

If that was the case, then although the situation would be extremely dangerous, it would not be especially fatal. Konoha had indeed weakened greatly compared to before, but not to that extent. The only truly troublesome opponent would be Kumogakure of the Land of Lightning.

Judging from their last clash with Kumogakure, it had developed far better than Konoha over the years. If they truly fought, its combat strength was likely no weaker than Konoha's.

"Is war coming again?" Hatake Kakashi sighed, but he did not dwell on it.

Compared with Obito Uchiha, Uchiha Itachi, or any of the other famous figures, Hatake Kakashi was a relatively straightforward ninja.

In other words, he had no grand ambition of bringing peace to the ninja world. If those above told him to fight, then he fought. If they told him not to, then he did not.

Although he was Konoha's Number One Technician, during the Third Shinobi World War he had merely entered the battlefield as an ordinary Jonin. He had never held a position such as supreme commander of an army group, so his perspective was still that of an ordinary ninja.

He had yet to develop the perspective of the higher-ups, nor did he have any political ambitions.

But what did "the legendary Konoha 12" mean?

Was there something special about this year's Ninja Academy graduates?

If one assumed that Kitahara Kaede possessed the ability to foresee the future—and not the kind that only occasionally dreamed of a fragment, working one moment and failing the next, but one that allowed him to fully know many things about the future—

Then it was highly likely that the so-called Konoha 12 he had singled out were ninjas who would shine brilliantly in the future Fourth Shinobi World War.

That was good news. It seemed the chances of talented individuals emerging from this year's Ninja Academy students were quite high.

Generally speaking, it was already very good if three to five people from a single class became experts capable of standing on their own. Sometimes, there would not even be one. Yet this class could actually produce twelve.

Not bad, not bad.

But what did godlike beings brawling and Gundams running wild mean?

Hatake Kakashi remained very curious. The previous Shinobi World Wars had already been earth-shattering—could they still not qualify for such a description?

In contrast, Uchiha Sasuke also sank into thought. He did not care about the Fourth Shinobi World War; it was still too far away for him. What he cared about more was Kitahara Kaede's mention of the Konoha 12.

He was definitely one of them. After all, he was first in his grade.

But could the remaining students really produce another eleven powerful ninjas of the future?

A different thought emerged in his mind. Perhaps he could also accomplish his revenge by relying on the strength of his companions.

His previous obsession had been to rely on himself to avenge Uchiha Itachi and reclaim the glory of the Uchiha Clan.

But the overwhelming strength Uchiha Itachi had displayed had undoubtedly dealt him a vicious slap in the face. Uchiha Itachi was already so powerful that even if Sasuke were willing to sell his body to a demon, he still might not be able to defeat him.

At that point, he had no choice but to consider a more practical method of revenge.

One person couldn't beat Uchiha Itachi, but what if there were twelve powerful Jonin?

Perhaps that was a viable plan as well.

[Come to think of it, the story of the Hokage was about to begin, and Uzumaki Naruto would soon step onto the stage of history. It was hard to imagine that such a Dead Last would grow to that extent in the future, but this damned world was truly cruel.

The Hokage's child was still the Hokage, and Scapegoat's son was still Scapegoat. What a joke!

If only Masashi Kishimoto, that bastard, hadn't gone around expanding the worldbuilding. It would've been best if everything had ended with Shippuden. Then I wouldn't have to live in constant fear every day. There were too many old schemers in the Shinobi World now—any random one of them could destroy heaven and earth!

What the hell did Masashi Kishimoto, that lousy manga artist, know about the Hokage?]