Konan sighed faintly.
"Kakashi, this is intelligence about you. Take a look, but don't get too emotional. In your current condition, you need quiet recovery for your body to heal faster. And you should already be mentally prepared."
Kakashi froze slightly, then accepted the letter and opened it.
The next instant—
When he saw the contents of the intelligence, his pupils suddenly shrank.
"I'm in Konoha?"
"The one in Konoha is Kakashi? Then who am I?"
Kakashi's face darkened.
Before, one could say Kakashi had been disappointed in Konoha and hated Danzo.
But now, Kakashi was completely disappointed in Konoha as a whole.
"Because the news of my disappearance brought negative effects to Konoha, they directly ordered someone to use the Transformation Technique and appear on Konoha's streets in my form."
"Hokage-sama, it seems you are certain I'm already dead."
"The order you gave Danzo… was to kill me, wasn't it?"
"Unfortunately, Danzo failed. I was saved. I survived. I'm alive and well."
In an instant, Kakashi had already made his deduction.
If Danzo had acted on his own, then in Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes, Kakashi should still be missing.
And if Hiruzen Sarutobi believed he was missing, then he would not have adopted the method of fabricating a fake Kakashi.
Because the missing Kakashi might have been in Sunagakure's hands. Once Sunagakure brought the real Kakashi out, it would inevitably deal a blow to Konoha for fabricating a fake Kakashi.
Therefore, if Konoha fabricated a fake Kakashi, that meant they had to be certain that the real Kakashi was dead.
How could Hiruzen Sarutobi be certain of that?
Even Danzo himself could not be certain.
The only explanation was that Danzo had failed his mission, but feared punishment, so he falsely claimed that he had killed Kakashi.
And Hiruzen Sarutobi believed him.
Thus came the conclusion—
The one who gave the order to kill him was Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Danzo was merely the executor.
If Danzo could hear Kakashi's reasoning, he would certainly be pleased.
After all, in Danzo's eyes, he had carried so many pots for Hiruzen Sarutobi over the years. Now at last, there was finally one pot that Hiruzen Sarutobi had taken from him.
A pot Rasa had placed on Danzo's head.
A trace of hatred appeared in Kakashi's eyes.
"So, Hokage-sama… no, Hiruzen Sarutobi. Back then, was my father truly killed by your design?"
"Because my father's achievements were too great?"
"Because you feared my father would threaten your position?"
"But my father never once thought about becoming Hokage."
"Wasn't that position always something belonging to the great ninja clans?"
"The Hatake clan was only a small ninja family—so small it could hardly be smaller."
A pained expression appeared on Kakashi's face.
"My father clearly did nothing wrong, yet he ended up with such a fate?"
"That isn't fair!"
"To use such a sinister scheme to murder him…"
"Too cruel."
"If he had been in another ninja village, he would never have been treated this way. Perhaps he would still be alive and well right now."
Konan hesitated for a moment, then comforted him.
"Kakashi, this is what the great shinobi villages are like. They are full of darkness, malice, greed… They are the source of all suffering in this world. The true culprits."
"We are all victims."
"And there are countless other victims."
"That is why we founded Akatsuki."
"To bring an end to all of this."
Kakashi nodded.
"I'm fine. I just feel as if the people I used to know have become strangers. This shinobi world feels strange too, like I have to understand it all over again."
"If those filthy things could truly be ended, that would be best."
"I'm willing to lend my strength."
"It's just…"
Kakashi gave a bitter laugh.
"With my current strength, it will be difficult for me to be of much help, won't it?"
This was also something Uchiha Obito was considering.
The burden of the Mangekyo Sharingan was already extremely great.
Even Uchiha Obito, a person with Uchiha blood flowing through his body, found it difficult to use. The reason he could now use it so easily and without obstruction was because he had transplanted Hashirama cells.
As for Kakashi, a non-Uchiha, even bearing an ordinary Sharingan was already extremely difficult.
For Kakashi, the Sharingan was both a help and a burden.
Before Uchiha Obito were two choices.
The first was to transplant Hashirama cells into Kakashi as well.
But Obito had concerns about that.
First, transplanting Hashirama cells carried a certain degree of risk. If it failed, the consequences would be severe.
Second, if it succeeded, then Kakashi would be able to support the use of the Mangekyo Sharingan. He would be able to open Obito's Kamui dimension, and from there, learn Obito's identity.
"That is not a good choice."
Uchiha Obito did not want Kakashi to know his identity—at least not for now.
"The second choice is to remove the Sharingan Kakashi transplanted."
That would bring two benefits.
First, Obito could take back the Sharingan that originally belonged to him. With two Mangekyo Sharingan, he would inevitably become stronger.
Second, Kakashi could unload the burden of the Sharingan.
The problem lay in whether Kakashi, relying purely on his own ability, could reach a level where he could contribute to Akatsuki.
"Kakashi is a genius."
"But that was in the past."
"In the past, I was the dead last, the one who had to look up to Kakashi."
"And now, Kakashi is the one who needs to look up to me."
Uchiha Obito frowned and sank into thought.
At that moment, Kakashi made a new request to Konan.
"I want to meet with the people of Sunagakure."
"Sunagakure?"
"Yes. I want to do an interview in Ninja World Weekly. After the way Konoha treated me and my father, I don't want them to simply cover the whole matter up."
Anger surfaced in Kakashi's eyes.
"I want to expose them!"
Konan reported Kakashi's request to Nagato.
Nagato pondered for a moment, then agreed.
"If Kakashi accepts Sunagakure's interview, it will inevitably deal a certain blow to Konoha. At the same time, it can also intensify the conflict between Sunagakure and Konoha."
"For us, that is beneficial."
"In a shinobi world fallen into war and chaos, we will be able to obtain intelligence more easily."
"At the same time, there will be more opportunities to capture tailed beasts or jinchuriki."
"But…"
Nagato frowned.
"Konan, why do you think Sunagakure would take the initiative to provoke Konoha when they finally obtained peace and need to develop? What is their goal?"
That was the point Nagato was worried about.
At first, Nagato had not cared about Sunagakure.
But gradually, Nagato discovered that he could no longer quite see through Sunagakure.
And the tailed beasts and jinchuriki were closely tied to Sunagakure. They were a point he had to deal with.
Konan thought for a moment.
"Perhaps we can ask Sasori of the Red Sand?"