"There is no 'however'!"
Hōichi cut Kakashi off before he could finish.
"Shira, you heard him! Even Hatake Kakashi admitted it! Gaara has already given up on you. He looks down on you because you're nothing but a taijutsu specialist!"
"Have you forgotten? When you were young, everyone rejected you because you couldn't use ninjutsu or genjutsu."
"Just like me! I was ostracized because I was the disciple of a jinchūriki…"
"We're the same!
"Come with us! It's time to overthrow Gaara! He only recently passed the Chūnin Exams himself! What qualifications does he have to become Kazekage?!"
Hōichi continued trying to stir Shira against Gaara.
Unfortunately…
Shira truly lived up to his identity as a taijutsu specialist.
Faced with such passionate provocation, he simply shook his head.
"Let Kakashi finish talking first."
Kakashi had been expecting to stand there like a scarecrow while Hōichi controlled the entire conversation.
Instead, Shira's response gave him the distinct feeling that he was dealing with Guy or Lee.
Hōichi, meanwhile, looked like Kisame encountering Guy.
For a moment, he had absolutely nothing to say.
Kakashi immediately seized the opportunity.
Fortunately, explaining things was easy.
If Shira was similar to Guy, then Kakashi could simply give him the same explanation he would give Guy.
"Konoha is spreading Sage Mode because we need methods capable of fighting the Ōtsutsuki, who possess abilities that can neutralize ordinary ninjutsu.
Against them, senjutsu and taijutsu remain effective.
If you specialize in taijutsu like Konoha's Might Guy, then strictly speaking, you don't necessarily need Sage Mode at all.
From what I understand, pure taijutsu training depends heavily on momentum and absolute focus—pouring everything into one path until you reach its pinnacle.
Dividing your attention to learn senjutsu might actually weaken that drive rather than help someone who specializes entirely in taijutsu."
"And…"
Kakashi's expression became slightly awkward.
"To be perfectly truthful, the shortcut we're currently using to enter Sage Mode is somewhat hard on the body.
"If it's overused, it could negatively affect a taijutsu specialist."
"So that's what happened."
Shira nodded once Kakashi finished.
"I knew it. I've personally watched Gaara change. There's no way he would suddenly treat me like that."
Then he turned toward Hōichi.
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
Hōichi immediately protested.
"My master told me the legends surrounding Sage Mode! I've never heard anything about it damaging the body!
"Hatake Kakashi, I misjudged you! I thought that as an outsider from Konoha, you would remain neutral!
"But you've already become Gaara's lackey!
"You're even willing to distort the facts just to defend him!"
Hōichi angrily pointed at Kakashi.
"Shut up, Hōichi!"
Shira suddenly disappeared with a burst of pure taijutsu speed and reappeared behind him.
Thwack!
A single knife-hand strike to the neck knocked Hōichi unconscious.
He had no ability to resist whatsoever.
There was nothing strange about that.
Just as Gaara's intelligence had stated, Hōichi could put up a fight if he faced a jinchūriki head-on—or if he managed to land a surprise attack.
Against practically any other kind of shinobi?
He was complete fodder.
Shira hoisted the unconscious Hōichi over his shoulder and approached Kakashi.
"Kakashi of Konoha, why would Gaara choose someone like him to learn Sage Mode?
"Gaara already knows Hōichi has been planning something against him. I was the one who personally warned him."
"I wondered about that on my way here too."
Kakashi looked at Hōichi.
"My guess is that Gaara values his unusual ability to counter jinchūriki and Tailed Beasts.
"If that ability develops further through Sage Mode, perhaps it might become useful against the Ōtsutsuki as well."
"Is that so?"
Shira frowned.
"But isn't that dangerous?
"Hōichi is constantly thinking about overthrowing Gaara. If he becomes stronger, won't that create an even greater threat?
"All Hōichi needs is to successfully defeat one jinchūriki.
"After that, he won't remain the helpless anti-jinchūriki specialist he is now.
"He might even plunge the entire shinobi world into war again."
Shira clenched his fist, his face full of concern.
His reasoning was not entirely wrong.
Hōichi was weak right now because although he possessed those strange chains, he had never successfully extracted a Tailed Beast.
It was like possessing the Flame Mantra without having absorbed a single Heavenly Flame.
Once Hōichi absorbed even one Tailed Beast, however, he could use its power himself.
Tailed Beasts could crush ordinary shinobi.
Hōichi, in turn, possessed techniques specifically designed to counter Tailed Beasts.
That combination sounded nearly invincible.
Of course…
That would have been true in an older version of the shinobi world.
In the current power scale?
It was nowhere near enough.
So after hearing Shira's concern, Kakashi merely waved a hand dismissively.
"You're right that letting him grow stronger could become troublesome.
"But plunging the entire shinobi world into war is probably going a little far…"
"Why?"
Shira looked confused.
As for why it was going too far…
Kakashi suddenly found the explanation somewhat awkward.
"Because there are simply too many people capable of defeating the hypothetical [T0 Ninja: Tailed-Beast-Absorbing Hōichi] you're imagining."
"Too many?"
Shira blinked.
"Are there really that many people stronger than Tailed Beasts in the shinobi world now?"
"Maybe not if you only count people currently alive."
Kakashi paused.
"But if you include everyone from the present and the past, then yes. Definitely."
"…"
Shira seemed to understand.
Although he spent much of his time training alone in this isolated place, he was not completely ignorant of outside events.
Otherwise, he would never have known how much Gaara had changed.
"Edo Tensei?"
"Exactly."
"I understand."
Shira adjusted the unconscious Hōichi on his shoulder.
"Let's take him back. I want to speak with Gaara personally."
Shira had already made his decision.
He intended to persuade Gaara not to let Hōichi practice Sage Mode.
Even if that risked intensifying Hōichi's resentment, there was nothing else they could do.
Afterward, Shira carried the unconscious Hōichi back toward Sunagakure with Kakashi following beside him.
…
By this point, Gaara and the others were no longer inside the village.
They had gathered at the familiar training ground outside Sunagakure.
There was only one reason everyone had assembled there.
Sunagakure's Sage Mode instructor had already been decided.
In fact—
They had gotten two at once.
Both Gaara and Kankurō had successfully learned it.
That meant there was no longer any need to rush the remaining candidates.
Temari stood nearby with Saya, Yome, and Ameno, propping her chin on one hand as she stared speechlessly at Gaara and Kankurō.
She already knew how Gaara had learned so quickly.
Tokiwa had described the entire process.
Gaara had relied on intense emotional and psychological stimulation to dramatically improve his efficiency.
But what about Kankurō?
What the hell had Kankurō done to produce an effect comparable to whatever had happened between Gaara and Naruto?
Could Kankurō possibly have done something to Konohamaru—
Temari's pupils instantly contracted.
She quickly looked toward the boy.
A moment later, both her suspicion and horror disappeared.
Konohamaru was walking perfectly normally.
His mouth was not swollen either.
Then what had happened?
Temari did not dare ask.
And Kankurō certainly had no intention of explaining.
"Gaara… Lord Kazekage? Why are you here?"
Shira came running from the distance, with Kakashi following close behind.
"Kakashi, why did you bring Shira-sensei back with you?"
Gaara looked at him in confusion.
"Ah, I found the two of them together. There was a bit of a conflict."
Kakashi casually scratched his head.
Then he blew his nose into a piece of paper, crumpled it up, and tossed it aside.
At the exact moment the paper ball left his hand, Kakashi's eyes subtly shifted.
Gaara noticed.
Without making a sound, he manipulated a strand of sand, caught the discarded paper in midair, and quietly brought it toward himself.
He unfolded it.
There was writing inside.
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