It was about the reason for insisting on continuing the mission.
Menma still didn't believe Kakashi was one of those "hot-blooded" and "righteous" types. One could even say those words were inherently alien to ninja—a profession that existed for killing. Wasn't talking about hot-bloodedness and justice a bit laughable?
In the original story, when Nagato invaded the Leaf and subdued Naruto, the dialogue between them thoroughly revealed the nature of ninja villages and ninja in this world.
The three Great Ninja Wars were real.
The suffering endured by numerous small countries was not fake.
Kakashi, a ninja whose hands were undoubtedly stained with blood, was absolutely not a philanthropist. There had to be a profound reason for continuing the mission in the Land of Waves.
Although this didn't seem like a critical issue, if possible, Menma wanted to figure it out. Otherwise, keeping it bottled up would be somewhat irritating.
But since Sasuke had stolen the opportunity, he would just have to wait a while.
After all, the night was long; there was plenty of time.
Kakashi and Sasuke returned quickly. On the surface, Sasuke still maintained his calm expression.
Kakashi had most likely told Sasuke the truth about his past, as it wasn't something that needed to be specifically hidden.
"Hey, Menma. Do you also have a question for me?"
Just as Menma was about to speak...
Kakashi, with his hands in his pockets, looked at Menma with a smile and spoke first.
"Uh? Yes, Kakashi-sensei. If you don't mind enlightening me."
Menma paused for a moment, then responded immediately.
"Alright, come on then."
Kakashi nodded and led the way outside again. Menma stood up and followed closely.
Naruto and Sakura, who remained behind, looked at their retreating figures with surprise.
"Eh? Menma has a question for Big Brother Kakashi too? Hey, Sasuke, what did you ask Big Brother Kakashi?"
Naruto looked at Sasuke with curiosity.
"Nothing."
Sasuke glanced at Naruto indifferently. After spitting out that single word, he walked to the window seat and sat down, clearly unwilling to say more.
Naruto seemed to realize this might involve personal matters, so he didn't press further, only muttering to himself, "What a cold guy."
Leaving the three in the living room...
Kakashi and Menma walked out of the house and arrived at the edge of the coast to the left of the building.
"If I'm not mistaken, you want to ask me why I continued with this mission, right? Menma."
Kakashi stopped and turned to face Menma. It sounded like a question, but his tone was certain.
"Yes, Kakashi-sensei. I won't repeat the reasons against it. The attack by that hostile Elite Jōnin from the Mist proved the point even further. Naruto being hot-blooded is understandable, but Kakashi-sensei, you have no reason to do this, right?"
Menma looked directly at Kakashi, making no attempt to hide his skepticism.
"Seeing your attitude earlier, I understood that you'd ask. Actually, the reason is simple, Menma. The Land of Waves is too close to our Leaf Village. And the first attackers were Mist ninja. If I put it that way, given your intelligence, you should understand what I mean, right?"
"Strategic location, is it?"
Menma was stunned for a moment, then seemingly realizing something, he replied thoughtfully.
Although it was called a country, the Land of Waves was extremely small. The entire population might not even reach tens of thousands. However, its geographical location was too critical. For both the Hidden Leaf and the Hidden Mist, it was an extremely important strategic point.
Especially after the destruction of the Land of Whirlpools and the Uzumaki Clan, the Land of Waves became the most important bridgehead for the Mist to contest if they wanted to invade the Land of Fire. If the Mist's influence could penetrate fully or even control the Land of Waves...
They could use it as a springboard, making an invasion of the Land of Fire much easier.
This was inevitably something the Hidden Leaf did not want to see.
As the ninja village located in the center of the ninja world, the defensive pressure the Leaf bore was already immense. They didn't want to add more pressure to their territorial defense.
Previously, his thinking had been restricted, so Menma hadn't considered this angle. Now that Kakashi pointed it out, Menma understood immediately.
"Yes, that's exactly it. That's why it was necessary to come and verify the situation. I just didn't expect it to be a missing-nin like Zabuza. That was indeed a bit unexpected, and it was my miscalculation."
Kakashi shook his head gently.
That was indeed the reason, but Kakashi's confidence in himself also played a part. He truly felt that with him present, everything was controllable, and giving Menma, Naruto, and Sasuke some tempering was good. It was just that the subsequent developments exceeded Kakashi's expectations.
Although the battle outcome was good, if he had known from the start that the enemy would be someone on Zabuza's level, Kakashi really would have thought twice.
After all, having the ability to act as a safety net while the team trained was one thing; falling into uncontrollable danger was another.
"Missing-nin? That means it has nothing to do with the Hidden Mist Village?"
Menma continued to ask.
"Yes, for now, we can say that. But we can't be completely sure. So it's best if we stay here a while longer. It also happens to coincide with escorting Tazuna-san to finish building that bridge."
"Then why don't we go directly to the source, Kakashi-sensei?"
Menma looked at Kakashi with burning eyes.
"Hmm? The source?"
Kakashi was slightly stunned and asked instinctively.
"Yes, the source. That wealthy merchant attempting to control the Land of Waves—Gatō. From him, we can surely obtain the most comprehensive and detailed intelligence, can't we?"
Menma smiled faintly.
"Hmm, that is indeed a good option."
Since Gatō was just a merchant...
Kakashi naturally hadn't thought of him first. But with Menma's gentle nudge, Kakashi easily connected the dots regarding Gatō's role in this incident. It was possible he really held high-value intelligence!
Merchants like Gatō couldn't survive and thrive without some official backing.
In the world Menma came from, the combination of capital and power was a common operation.
In this world...
Menma didn't think there would be an exception.
"Then how do you think we should find this Gatō?"
Kakashi looked at Menma with interest.
Clearly, he had a plan in mind but wanted to test Menma.
"As long as Mr. Gatō's goal hasn't changed, finding him will be very simple. And I believe that in this town, there must be 'associates' of Mr. Gatō."
Menma spoke with absolute certainty.
"Heh. Then I'll leave the investigation to you, Menma. No problem, right?"
Kakashi chuckled.
"Nope, no problem at all, Kakashi-sensei. He's just an ordinary person. Just wait for my good news!"
Menma tilted his head back and replied confidently.