But what surprised Kakashi Hatake was that the questions Rei Kaguya asked were much easier to answer than he had expected.
Aside from confirming that the mysterious Uchiha who controlled the Third Mizukage was Madara Uchiha himself, and asking how Madara Uchiha and his代理 had accumulated the power to oppose the entire world in Kakashi's timeline, most of what Rei Kaguya asked about was still the series of reforms Kirigakure underwent during Kakashi's tenure as the Sixth Hokage.
Watching Rei Kaguya frown as he recorded all the policies and details Kakashi mentioned onto a scroll, then made notes and marks on them, Kakashi Hatake could not help feeling even more wary of Rei Kaguya.
A powerful shinobi was certainly terrifying.
But if he only focused on improving his own strength, he would ultimately become a lonely man with no bonds and no supporters.
And the end result of a lonely man who had abandoned everything forcibly trying to challenge the entire world had already been well demonstrated by the failures of Obito Uchiha, Madara Uchiha, and Kaguya Otsutsuki.
But Rei Kaguya was different.
He truly seemed to want to manage and develop Kirigakure, turning it into an important force that could support him in realizing his ambitions in the future.
In Kakashi's view, compared to Madara Uchiha, who wanted to drag the entire world into an eternal dream and achieve peace through a shortcut, Rei Kaguya's method of openly developing his own forces and advancing step by step toward the goal of conquering the world was actually more dangerous.
At the very least, this plan truly had the possibility of making the entire world submit to his ambition.
"Just judging from the aura you displayed when we fought, I thought you would be someone more arrogant, more prideful, more obsessed with improving your own power, and more self-centered."
Seeing Rei Kaguya put away the densely filled scroll and end his intelligence questioning, Kakashi Hatake fell silent for a moment before taking the initiative to speak.
"If the first ninjutsu I developed had been Lightning Release: Magnetic Field Rotation, I might have become that kind of person."
Rei Kaguya shrugged and answered calmly.
"But the first ninjutsu I developed was Water Release: Extracting Current, a D-rank ninjutsu that improves the power of later Water Release techniques by extracting water from the surrounding environment. So I have no way to become a shinobi who can continue advancing on the road I chose without needing anyone's support."
Kakashi did not quite understand why a ninjutsu he had never heard of, Lightning Release: Magnetic Field Rotation, would turn Rei Kaguya into an absolutely self-centered dictator.
But in the words that followed, he could not hear the slightest trace of hypocrisy.
"For Kirigakure, you will be a Kage worth remembering," Kakashi Hatake said sincerely.
"If the scope and target are not the entire shinobi world, then I do not particularly agree with your statement."
Saying this, the two of them ended their conversation and left the small town ruins that Rei Kaguya had completely buried underground, returning to their respective companions.
"You seem to be in a good mood, Rei Kaguya."
Looking at Rei Kaguya, who still had the leisure to wave at Hanabi Hyuga after frightening her earlier, Nagato shook his head and casually asked,
"Did you ask about some very valuable intelligence?"
"According to Kakashi Hatake, everyone in the Akatsuki now owes me one life."
Rei Kaguya patted Nagato on the shoulder and asked with some satisfaction,
"Do you not plan to express your gratitude and help me carry out a few missions for free, Nagato?"
"Why do all of us in Akatsuki suddenly owe you one life for no reason?"
Nagato slapped Rei Kaguya's hand away with a confused face.
"Did that guy put you under a genjutsu?"
"You will know in the future."
Rei Kaguya shrugged, then turned his gaze toward Hanabi Hyuga and asked Nagato with interest,
"By the way, did you ask her what is going on with the eyes of that Hyuga clan young lady?"
"No."
Nagato shook his head.
"That is an important secret related to how the Byakugan can evolve like the Sharingan. I do not have the confidence to ask the answer out of her mouth."
"Come on. The Rinnegan is the eye of the Sage of Six Paths. It should not lack methods to extract intelligence like that, right?"
"If I use that kind of method, then I will become an S-rank target wanted by Konoha. And even if I obtained the corresponding method, I do not have any companions on hand capable of making use of it…"
Nagato glanced at Rei Kaguya and sneered.
"So if you want to ask, ask her yourself. I only need to listen from the side."
"Tch. Boring."
He bit his finger and used the Summoning Technique to summon back the giant snake that had swallowed the turtle-shaped treasure earlier.
While touching the snake's head, Rei Kaguya spoke to Hanabi Hyuga.
"Judging from how nervous you looked before, the turtle I took from you should be the key that allows you to travel between two eras, right, young lady of the Hyuga family?"
"What are you trying to do?"
Hanabi Hyuga showed a vigilant expression.
"I'll say this first. The intelligence I know is no more than Lord Sixth, and I will absolutely not use the secrets of the Hyuga clan to make a deal with you…"
"Does the secret of your eyes count as a Hyuga clan secret?"
Rei Kaguya looked into Hanabi Hyuga's seemingly normal Byakugan with his snake-like vertical pupils and asked faintly.
"My… eyes?"
Hanabi Hyuga froze.
She could not help remembering the terror she had felt more than ten years ago when someone had taken her eyes, and shuddered.
At the same time, she asked in great surprise,
"Why would you know…"
"Because in my perception, your eyes are fundamentally different from the Byakugan of other members of the Hyuga clan."
Nagato stepped forward, nodded to Jiraiya, and spoke unhurriedly.
"When I stopped the Land of Earth and the Land of Fire from restarting their war earlier, I saw Hyuga clan shinobi in Jiraiya-sensei's camp. Excluding the branch family members branded with the Caged Bird cursed seal, whose ocular power and lives are restrained by others, even the strongest Hyuga jonin did not possess Byakugan that contained such vast and wondrous power like your eyes."
At this point, Nagato nodded toward Rei Kaguya, indicating that he should take out Karasuki, the treasure he had stolen from Hanabi.
Then he placed his hand on Karasuki's shell and tried to activate it with his own chakra while continuing,
"In addition, I also noticed that there is a special connection between your eyes and this thing. That unique connection should be the key that allows you to travel between two eras… Hm. I cannot do it either?"
Looking at Karasuki, which remained completely unresponsive under Nagato's chakra input, Rei Kaguya narrowed his eyes thoughtfully.
The Uzumaki clan and the Senju clan were distant relatives. Fundamentally, both could be regarded as inheritors of the bloodline of Asura, son of the Sage of Six Paths.
Nagato, who had Uzumaki blood, combined with the pair of Rinnegan from Madara Uchiha, could in a certain sense already be considered a low-end, youthful, mini, budget version of the Sage of Six Paths.
But even with this configuration, which had already placed half a foot into the Six Paths level, he still could not make the turtle-like treasure before him react.
In other words, this thing required true Six Paths power, or rather, the power of the Otsutsuki clan, to use.
And hidden inside Hanabi Hyuga's eyes was power of that level.
Then the question was this.
With the Hyuga clan's awkward level of strength, better than those below but inferior to those above, where did they get such powerful Six Paths power for Hanabi Hyuga?
As Rei Kaguya's gaze toward Hanabi Hyuga gradually sharpened, Hanabi Hyuga moved closer to Kakashi Hatake and asked somewhat helplessly,
"Lord Sixth… Can I talk about what happened on the moon?"
"Talk."
Kakashi Hatake gave his answer with almost no hesitation.
"Eh? But…"
"Toneri Otsutsuki's plan to drop the moon was a crisis that endangered the entire shinobi world. It is not as if the moon would only smash into the Land of Water's territory and avoid affecting Konoha and the Land of Fire just because we do not reveal the intelligence to Rei Kaguya…"
Kakashi Hatake shook his head and said somewhat helplessly,
"Since it is a crisis everyone must face together, it is better to let them participate in the response as well… Besides, if we continue staying silent, I think Rei Kaguya probably would not mind directly taking your eyes and transplanting them into himself, Hanabi."
Hanabi Hyuga's vision went black.
Are my eyes some kind of universal plug-and-play component!?
Why is it that whether it is Toneri Otsutsuki or Rei Kaguya, all of them plan to directly take my eyes and use them themselves!?
Also, why can you so skillfully say something that cruel, Lord Sixth?
You also…
Oh.
Lord Sixth was the one who borrowed someone else's eye.
Then it was fine.
With such complicated emotions surging inside her heart, Hanabi Hyuga took a deep breath.
Facing Rei Kaguya's terrifying gaze, which looked as if he were thinking about which angle to attack from in order to cause the least damage, she spoke fearfully.
"Regarding the secret of my eyes… It probably starts with Otsutsuki Hamura, the other brother who sealed the Ten-Tails together with the Sage of Six Paths, and also the ancestor of our Hyuga clan…"