"So by spreading these stories, we're not only trying to bait out the Ōtsutsuki, but we're also trying to lure out this former teammate of Kakashi's?"
Shikamaru seemed to have finally pieced the puzzle together.
"Exactly. Once that masked bastard realizes his original plan went off the rails and he has to snatch the Rinnegan himself, who do you think he's gonna target? The leader of Akatsuki, or Sasuke?"
Senju Tobirama rubbed his chin, smirking faintly.
Maybe a tiny handful of people in this shinobi world still had conviction and actual bottom lines, but that absolutely did not include the masked man.
According to the original ending of the Fourth Shinobi World War that Makoto had once spelled out for him, the masked man had been totally willing to bail on winning a direct fight and instead just used the Eight-Tails' severed tentacle, plus Kinkaku and Ginkaku, as cheap substitutes for the real Eight-Tails and Nine-Tails.
That alone proved the masked man was a scumbag who would cross any line to get what he wanted.
He didn't give a damn about weird concepts like the "pride of the Uchiha clan."
He had exactly one goal: the Infinite Tsukuyomi.
If that was the case, then between Nagato—a hardened, powerhouse veteran—and Sasuke, who was a genin not too long ago and once got so scared of Orochimaru his legs went jelly, did anyone really need to ask who the masked man would pick?
Would the masked man spare Sasuke just because they were from the same clan?
Would he spare Sasuke because he was still technically a minor?
Don't joke.
The Uchiha clan massacre wasn't a solo job pulled by Uchiha Itachi alone.
When Itachi killed his parents, he bawled like his heart was being ripped out.
When he slaughtered his own clan, his heart was heavy with guilt.
But the masked man?
As he was butchering people, he probably got into a nice, steady rhythm.
If his own grandmother had still been breathing, he probably would've casually sent her to the afterlife too without blinking.
So there was absolutely no need to worry about whether or not the masked man would take the bait.
He didn't have a choice.
The real issue now was that the masked man taking the bait could actually be used as secondary bait to drag Ōtsutsuki Isshiki out of hiding.
"Then won't Sasuke be in danger?" Shikamaru frowned.
"Danger?" Tobirama actually laughed.
"You're worried that Uchiha Sasuke—a reincarnation of Indra's chakra who's currently packing the Rinnegan—will be in danger?
"Why don't you worry about yourselves first? Worry about your own families and friends. With their current strength, if they run into the Ten-Tails or an Ōtsutsuki, do you think they'll even be able to protect themselves?"
"…"
Tobirama's words were direct.
Brutally so.
The storytelling session that had actually been getting a little cheerful instantly turned heavy.
His words felt like that classic, mocking line—And now you pity your pampered master?
It slapped everyone right back into reality.
Even up against the power of a single Tailed Beast, they could barely scrape by and protect themselves.
And Sasuke? He had space-time ninjutsu. The kid could literally warp away whenever he wanted.
"This is exactly what they mean when they say… 'when the sky falls, the tall guys hold it up,' right?" Kiba muttered.
"No. This is what you call everyone doing their own job," Shino corrected, shaking his head. "With greater power comes greater responsibility. Sasuke scored all that ridiculous power, so he gets to be the bait. But it's not like we're just sitting on our hands. We need to spread these stories. That's a crucial part of the plan too."
"Yeah," Ino agreed. "Sakura and I sweated blood learning medical ninjutsu from Master Tsunade because we wanted to stop being useless cannon fodder. We wanted to get strong enough to protect our comrades and our families.
"It's just…"
Halfway through, Ino shifted her gaze over to Sakura.
"It's time we woke up. Sweating and working hard doesn't guarantee success."
"Rock Lee and Neji already proved that point."
"If the dead-last works hard, but the genius works hard too, the dead-last still won't ever catch up unless he works ten times harder."
"But what if the genius also works ten times, or even a hundred times harder?"
"Besides, humans have their limits."
"Ino, what exactly are you trying to say?" Sakura stared, totally baffled by her best friend's sudden intense speech.
This didn't sound like something Ino would ever normally say.
"I've realized that the 'shortcuts' and 'crooked paths' our parents used to preach against are actually the right way to go. What do you think, Sakura?"
Ino looked at Sakura with a faint, distant stare.
Sakura followed Ino's gaze downward and instantly understood what she meant.
Technology changed destiny.
"The fact that you can think this way makes me very pleased. It proves Tsunade didn't pick the wrong disciples."
Senju Tobirama looked thoroughly satisfied with Ino's words.
"Take chopping down a tree. One idiot picks up a rock off the ground and starts bashing the trunk. Another guy takes the time to craft an axe.
"While the second guy is building his axe, the ignorant fools who don't understand will accuse him of being lazy. Even if he tries to explain it, they'll just bitch that he's taking shortcuts.
"But the second he finishes that axe, his efficiency in chopping trees skyrockets. And not only can he use it himself, but others will benefit from it too."
"Ino, you…"
"Sakura, just to fix your flat chest, you were willing to take a massive risk and hunt down Orochimaru's medicine…"
"…"
Sakura's look of concern instantly froze on her face.
Was it really okay to just announce that in front of everyone?!
And what the hell did she mean by "just to fix"?
A person with a full stomach really didn't understand the pain of a starving one, did they?
"If you could make a crazy decision like that, then what's wrong with us actively pursuing power to protect our families—or even just to keep ourselves alive?"
Ino pressed on with her speech.
Back in the day, Konoha's education system demanded you get stronger to protect the village, but absolutely refused to let you pursue strength just for the sake of getting strong.
If you did, you'd get scolded.
"Well said. So what exactly do you want to do?" Tobirama asked, his face totally deadpan.
He had already figured it out.
This little Yamanaka girl probably didn't want to run around town gossiping the stories they had just heard, so she was trying to dodge the chore.
Of course, dodging chores wasn't her only goal.
She really did want to get stronger.
"I want to train in senjutsu too." Ino's expression was dead serious.
Everyone stared at her, stunned.
Then they all sucked in a sharp breath.
Senju Tobirama froze for a second when he heard that, then rubbed his chin, actually considering if it was doable.
First of all, if she meant the curse-mark-style senjutsu Orochimaru cooked up, then there was nothing left to say.
As long as they wanted it, after one or two more rounds of bug fixes, mastering it would basically be effortless.
But that kind of senjutsu wasn't power you truly mastered yourself. It was still fundamentally different from real senjutsu.
But if they were talking about genuine, authentic senjutsu—like the kind from Mount Myōboku or Ryūchi Cave—then they had something to talk about.
Ino was perfectly suited for Tsunade's medical ninjutsu exactly because the Yamanaka clan's secret techniques synced up beautifully with it.
Both demanded insanely precise chakra control.
As for senjutsu, it demanded massive chakra volume and powerful mental energy.
The Yamanaka clan's techniques trained the latter, while the Yin Seal Tsunade slapped on her forehead handled the former.
Once again, it was a totally perfect match.
"Not bad…"
"Ino, are you gonna masturbate too?!"
Just as Senju Tobirama was about to respond, Kiba suddenly scrambled back several steps in sheer horror.
Because not too long ago, they had just watched the heavily censored surveillance footage of Naruto entering Sage Mode!
Kiba couldn't even fathom how the hell Ino was supposed to enter Sage Mode.
Was she going to track Orochimaru down and have dick transplanted?!
Absolutely terrifying!
----
does a woman also experience a postnut clarity?