Kishimoto Masashi, that hack drawing comics—what the hell does he know about Hokage anyway?
Kishimoto Masashi? A manga artist?
Kakashi replayed the name in his mind, digging through every memory he had. Nothing. He couldn't think of any manga artist named Kishimoto Masashi.
Much less understand why Kaede Kitahara would claim some manga scribbler knew nothing about Hokage.
None of it connected. It sounded completely nonsensical.
But then Kakashi noticed the mention of Naruto Uzumaki. Could the kid really grow into something that impressive in the future?
A Hokage's child is still a Hokage. A scapegoat's child stays a scapegoat.
Naruto was undeniably the Hokage's child. That implied he might become the next Hokage someday.
Kakashi's thoughts spun rapidly.
And what was with that "old scheming monsters of the ninja world" line?
Anyone who showed up could level the entire map?
Really?
Was it that exaggerated?
The only explanation he could come up with was that Kaede Kitahara tended to exaggerate.
Because taken literally, even a kage-level shinobi couldn't achieve the kind of world-ending destruction Kaede Kitahara described. Only the tailed beasts even came close.
"Naruto Uzumaki? How far could he possibly grow? That dead last?" Sasuke stared at the diary, stunned.
After weeks of processing everything he'd read, he was now certain: Kaede Kitahara definitely had access to future information.
Which meant that dead last, Naruto Uzumaki… would one day become a powerful shinobi?
Strong enough for even Kaede Kitahara to praise him?
And who the hell was Kishimoto Masashi?
Why had he never heard of him?
As for that comment about a Hokage's child staying a Hokage and a scapegoat's child staying a scapegoat, Sasuke didn't feel anything at all. He practically supported that worldview. He'd benefited from it his whole life.
He was the younger son of the Uchiha clan head—born at a height ordinary shinobi could never hope to reach.
So what was wrong with a Hokage's child becoming Hokage? Or a scapegoat's child remaining a scapegoat?
He was born the clan head's son, and reviving the glory of the Uchiha was already carved into his bones.
It was clear: both Kakashi and Sasuke accepted the idea of bloodline superiority far more easily than Kaede Kitahara did. They were both beneficiaries of it.
Would Kakashi have become Konoha's Number One Technician if he weren't the son of the White Fang of Konoha, Hatake Sakumo?
He doubted it.
But even if they didn't know who Kishimoto Masashi was, the name had now entered both their mental lists of mysteries.
[Graduation should be coming up next. Naruto's the protagonist after all—he can't even graduate without causing chaos. He even ends up stealing the Scroll of Seals. Too bad I can't go watch. It'd probably be a blast.
Naruto can pull that off only because he's Naruto Uzumaki. He's backed by connections that reach all the way through Konoha's upper ranks. Aside from Pot Shadow Shimura Danzo, everyone's his own ally.
Now that's what a crown prince gets treated like!]
The Scroll of Seals was stolen?
Kakashi froze. The Scroll of Seals was one of the most important artifacts in Konoha. Many of the jutsu inside were so forbidden that ordinary shinobi couldn't even look at them.
Even as an elite jonin—Konoha's Number One Technician at that—getting permission to study anything in that scroll wasn't simple.
And now it was stolen because of Naruto's graduation?
Impossible.
Naruto shouldn't even know the Scroll of Seals existed. That meant someone must have manipulated him.
Who could influence him like that?
Who would dare?
And for what purpose?
What bothered Kakashi even more was the scroll's security. Other than the Third Hokage, no one had permission to access it freely. And the room it was stored in always had at least one Anbu squad guarding it.
How in the world did Naruto slip past an Anbu team to get the Scroll of Seals? How was that even remotely possible?
Kakashi's mind spun with theories.
But one thing Kaede Kitahara mentioned didn't surprise him: Naruto's connections running deep through Konoha's upper ranks.
That much was true.
His father was the Fourth Hokage, Minato. His future jonin instructor would be Kakashi, Konoha's Number One Technician.
One of the Legendary Sannin—Jiraiya—was his grandmaster. The Third Hokage was essentially his great-grandmaster. His Uzumaki heritage connected him to the Senju clan as well.
The reason Naruto could run around causing trouble, painting graffiti on the Hokage Rock, and still get away with his life was because all these people shielded him.
Anyone else would've been dead ten times over.
Calling him Konoha's invisible crown prince wasn't an exaggeration.
And he wasn't the only one. Sarutobi Konohamaru was also a Hokage's descendant.
Only Sasuke felt completely lost. What "connections"? What "upper-rank backing"? He's an orphan nobody even looks after. What did people mean by saying Naruto was surrounded by influence?
Even in that video from earlier, Itachi had said he returned to the village not for Sasuke, but for Naruto—the so-called legacy of the Fourth Hokage.
Naruto, Naruto, and more Naruto.
Who exactly was he?
[After the graduation spectacle, we should fast-forward to the Land of Waves. It's the main cast's first real brush with death. Zabuza versus Kakashi was top-tier early on. Shame about what happened after the revival arc—pure nonsense.
Naruto and Sasuke worked surprisingly well together. Main characters, after all. Their first real mission wasn't bad at all.
But Haku… what a waste. And there's still one great unsolved mystery: is Haku a boy or a girl?]
"Land of Waves?" Kakashi mulled over the words. Could that mean a future mission would take them there?
Their first true life-or-death trial?
Under normal circumstances, with his strength, a beginner team would never face anything truly deadly. That would be an insult to Hatake Kakashi.
But then he saw the mention of Zabuza.
In an instant, everything clicked.
Ordinary missions weren't life-threatening. But anything involving Zabuza Momochi… that was a different story.
And considering Hoshigaki Kisame mentioned in the earlier video that he'd fought Zabuza in the past, this must be the Land of Waves battle Kaede Kitahara was referring to.