Chapter 107: Hot Weather Makes Things Smell
"Hey, isn't it a bit too much to address a young girl like that? Where's your emotional intelligence?"
Even Temari couldn't stand it anymore.
Calling a girl about her age "Great-Grandma", was that really something a human being could say?
"Isn't it to stop her from acting on her own? The Uchihas are best at 'my body just moved on its own.'"
What Shiromo was referring to was something that hadn't happened yet, the line where Sasuke blocks Haku's senbon for Naruto.
And the two extremes that stemmed from it, unique to the Uchiha clan.
When they don't care about you, no matter who you are, your life means nothing to them.
When they do care about you, no matter what happens, even their own life doesn't matter.
"You say that you know the Uchiha really well…"
Hikari, who was still sulking, muttered under her breath when she heard Shiromo say that.
But thinking about it again, he really did seem to understand them quite well.
At the very least, better than she did.
Realizing this, Uchiha Hikari's resentment toward Shiromo instantly shifted onto herself.
She clearly hated the kind of Uchiha who treated themselves as weapons the most, so how could she be developing the same personality as those clansmen?!
"You're right! Then go on, tell us what you plan to do. I'll listen to you first!"
Having made up her mind to change, Uchiha Hikari abruptly changed her tone.
"Before we came, I more or less guessed what the situation at the Dragon Vein would be, so I made a bit of preparation in advance. Just wait a moment, the wind earlier was a bit strong, and the distance is a little far."
After Shiromo finished speaking, a full half-minute passed before a White Zetsu's head finally popped out of the ground.
"Ow, that nearly squeezed me to death. This place is awful."
White Zetsu complained, covered in dust.
In an era without mobile phones, White Zetsu, who could communicate with each other, were basically human-shaped cell phones.
When Shiromo went out, one White Zetsu would always follow at a fairly distant range.
Once Shiromo needed it, he would inject natural energy into the ground. When White Zetsu sensed it, it would rush over.
"Go notify Nagato and have him come here. If Orochimaru is interested, he can come too, but tell him to bring a couple more White Zetsu with him."
Shiromo instructed White Zetsu.
"Got it. Is that all? I'm starting the transmission now."
After confirming, White Zetsu began passing the message to the White Zetsu network in the Amegakure Village.
"Who is Nagato?"
Temari asked curiously.
"Our organization's leader."
"Leader? You talk to your organization's leader like that?"
Temari was surprised.
"Otherwise what? Is he going to say something like, 'In the Akatsuki, are you the boss or am I the boss?'"
"..."
Yeah. Otherwise what?
Temari felt like everything she wanted to say had been completely blocked.
But thinking about it this way, the atmosphere on Shiromo's side actually seemed pretty good.
"The message has been sent. Nagato-sama and Orochimaru-sama are already on their way."
"Oh, right, Shiromo-sama, there's another piece of news here, from Konoha."
White Zetsu paused mid-sentence and glanced toward the others nearby.
"Go ahead. I've already told them Nagato's real name, are you still worried about this?"
Shiromo waved his hand dismissively.
"The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, is dead."
After hearing Shiromo's words, White Zetsu continued.
Previously, Shiromo had told Orochimaru not to withdraw the spies he'd left in Konoha. In essence, this wasn't to have those spies gather intelligence.
The best infiltration and intelligence-gathering role was still White Zetsu.
Orochimaru's spies were merely an excuse to have afterward, to justify going to Konoha after the incident.
"What?!"
Temari and Gaara both looked at Shiromo in shock upon hearing the news.
"Don't get any wrong ideas, it wasn't us. The Third Hokage's reputation within our organization is actually very high."
"One of our more important objectives in participating in the Chūnin Exams was to make sure Orochimaru didn't kill the Third Hokage."
"If we really wanted him dead, wouldn't everything we did before have been pointless?"
Shiromo immediately guessed what the siblings were thinking and explained directly.
"Then wasn't all that still pointless in the end? He's dead anyway. And, wasn't the Third Hokage pretty strong? Who killed him?"
Temari asked, a little curious.
"Before, his death would've been completely meaningless. Now, it has some use."
"Besides, our organization isn't some kind of babysitting security agency. We can't exactly keep watch over him 24/7 just to stop him from committing suicide, can we?"
"What if Sarutobi Hiruzen found out about this and decided to make a scene, saying he wanted to pursue a late-life romance or else he'd kill himself? Would we then have to go to your village and kidnap Granny Chiyo for him?"
Shiromo spread his hands.
Gaara: "..."
"I feel like you have some kind of inexplicable obsession with Granny Chiyo."
Temari complained.
"That's your imagination."
Shiromo denied it calmly. "If anything, let's talk about you. One of your fishnet stockings is high and the other is low, one only covers your thigh, the other only your calf. Is this some kind of asymmetry compulsion?"
"You, this… doesn't it look bad?"
The moment Shiromo commented on her outfit, Temari, who had never really paid attention to this kind of thing, panicked a little and looked down to examine herself.
"I think black pantyhose would look pretty good. They'd suit you."
What Shiromo was referring to, of course, was her Boruto-era outfit.
"Really?"
Temari froze for a moment. She had seen that look before, but since it didn't seem very girly, she'd never tried it.
"I think it's better not to. Uncle once told me that the Land of Wind is too hot, wearing socks that cover your feet easily makes you sweat and smell."
Gaara offered his advice very seriously.
"Shut up."
Temari shot Gaara a merciless look.
"?"
Gaara looked utterly innocent, a question mark practically appearing over his head.
Had he said something wrong?
"Also, pantyhose can protect your legs from wind and sand, and keep your skin smooth."
"…Alright. I'll try it after I get back."
That really did tempt Temari.
"…You two, shouldn't we be discussing the Third Hokage's situation?"
Gaara weakly interjected.
"It's fine. Sarutobi Hiruzen's spirit in heaven would definitely want us to talk more about stockings."
"..."
"Alright, then. I'll explain how Sarutobi Hiruzen died, and also tell you about the Ōtsutsuki clan."
Shiromo sat down on the ground, preparing to explain the Ōtsutsuki clan, and the fact that he had returned to this era from the future, to the group.
—
The Land of Fire, Konohagakure Village.
The White Zetsu lurking in Konoha was constantly monitoring the key target: Uzumaki Boruto.
So on the very day Sarutobi Hiruzen was killed, White Zetsu immediately obtained the information and transmitted it through the White Zetsu network.
And yet, no one noticed anything that same day.
Sarutobi Hiruzen's situation, in a way, was rather tragic.
His wife had died on the night of the Nine-Tails incident.
His son, Asuma, had gone through a rebellious phase and left. Now he had returned a bit more mature, but still had no intention of moving back home.
As for his grandson, Konohamaru, there was no need to even mention him. Much the same.
An entire day passed, and no one even noticed that Sarutobi Hiruzen was missing.
Perhaps it was also because everyone had too much confidence in his strength, believing that no one could possibly kill him without making a sound.
It wasn't until the third day, after Tsunade had just finished listening to Jiraiya's report on his surveillance of adult Sasuke over the past two days, and Jiraiya had left, that she realized she couldn't get in touch with Sarutobi Hiruzen.
After an investigation, it was discovered that two days earlier, Sarutobi Hiruzen had taken Konohamaru, Naruto, and Boruto to train in the forest outside the village, and it seemed they never came back.
Although going there now would be like carving a mark on a boat to look for a lost sword, Tsunade still decided to make the trip, to see if there were any clues to be found.
(End of this chapter)