SWNOVELXO Chapter 98: Chapter 108
[Tobirama - Senju]: This is Kakashi Hatake. The person you're talking about, Sakumo Hatake, is his father. And he's already dead.
[Chiyo]: ...
[Chiyo]: ...
[Chiyo]: So what's going on now?
[Tobirama - Senju]: Why are you asking me? Look for yourself.
[Granny Chiyo]: ...
Granny Chiyo had no choice but to start checking the system content herself.
[Big Dumb - Hashirama]: ...
[Big Dumb - Hashirama]: Hmm... Tobirama, didn't you and Chiyo get along decently?
[Tobirama - Senju]: Get along? I absolutely despise that woman.
[Chiyo]: Oh, same here. You're the lowlife trickster Senju Tobirama.
[Tobirama - Senju]: ...
[Tobirama - Senju]: You see that, Big Brother? There's no way I have any sort of connection with her. And just look at this soul form—she's that old already.
[Big Dumb - Hashirama]: Well, old people all end up looking the same anyway.
[Tobirama - Senju]: ...
Tobirama was speechless.
He had devoted all his time and energy to the role of Hokage—back then and even now.
But—
[Tobirama - Senju]: Chiyo, what did your Sand Village manage to pass down?
[Granny Chiyo]: So that's what this is about...
[Granny Chiyo]: ...Senju Tobirama, wait a bit. I'm old, I need time to finish reading all this.
[Tobirama - Senju]: Just say it—what did your Sand Village pass down? You understand, right? You're dead now, and the Sand Village is no longer yours to rule. The one in charge now—is Konoha.
[Granny Chiyo]: ...I knew it. I knew something was off when Konoha suddenly became this aggressive.
[Granny Chiyo]: Yes, Sand Village has something we've inherited. And unlike your so-called Will of Fire, ours isn't a deception.
[Big Dumb - Hashirama]: Hey, now that's not something I like hearing.
As the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju spoke up.
[Granny Chiyo]: Lord Hashirama, I wasn't referring to you—I meant Senju Tobirama.
[Granny Chiyo]: The Will of Fire got twisted the moment it reached him.
[Granny Chiyo]: If you really take a good look at the current Konoha, it's obvious. I regret it deeply now... I should've stopped the Kazekage from attacking Konoha.
[Granny Chiyo]: Then Sand Village wouldn't have ended up like this.
[Granny Chiyo]: And…
[Granny Chiyo]: Even at this age, I learned the truth of the Third Great Ninja War from Temari.
[Granny Chiyo]: I never imagined... that my own grandson, Sasori, would become Sand Village's disgrace.
Her voice carried sorrow—or perhaps grief.
Looking at Konoha as an outsider, she could say Tobirama's students were a failure.
But as for her...
She wasn't much better.
Her grandson Sasori defied orders, became a rogue ninja, and even murdered the Third Kazekage. As Sand's elder advisor, she had no excuses.
And now, Chiyo finally understood the current situation.
She had died, sacrificing herself for Sand Village to save the young Gaara.
But that was nothing more than escapism.
It was a last-ditch attempt to make up for her failures—and even if Sand Village was at the point of submitting to Konoha, a Sand Village without her was probably more fit to be annexed.
Because of her presence, some people in Sand might still cling to false hope. But if she were gone, they would see reality more clearly, and it would reduce needless losses.
Sand Village was past saving, so the only thing she could do now... was minimize the number of people who would die.
That was the wisdom earned from decades of living—and the duty of a true elder who sacrificed herself for her village.
[Granny Chiyo]: Anyway, I've finished reading the system's content.
[Granny Chiyo]: Sand Village passed down one thing—spirit and pride. So even if we now have no choice but to rely on Konoha, I—
Before she could finish, Kitahara Kaede—outside the chat—spoke up.
"Sand Village passed down emotional excess," Kitahara Kaede said. "And mental illness."
"The stronger the ninja in Sand gets, the worse their brain becomes."
"..." —Sasuke.
"..." —Naruto.
[Granny Chiyo]: ...
[Tobirama - Senju]: Hahaha, I'm dying—that's hilarious.
[Granny Chiyo]: So this is the one who changed Konoha?
[Granny Chiyo]: I'll remember his name.
[Granny Chiyo]: He's also the one who wrote the letter Temari passed on to me, isn't he?
[Granny Chiyo]: If I ever get the chance, I'll definitely stop Temari from ever talking to him again.
Even as an old woman, Chiyo started to bear a grudge.
And Kitahara Kaede continued his explanation.
"The Uchiha clan has always relied too heavily on their eyes," he said.
"But they also charge headfirst toward their chosen goals—no matter how clearly wrong or thorny that path is, they just keep pushing forward."
"It's honestly... pretty tragic," he added.
"..." —Sasuke.
"So you're telling me... not to go down a path of obsession in the future?"
Sasuke finally got the message.
If Kakashi Hatake had told him this, he would've brushed it off—"You don't understand me, Kakashi."
But this was Kitahara Kaede—the man who led him to new heights. The strength he now had would've taken him years of hard training to achieve on his own.
Kitahara Kaede had made him stronger.
So he kept listening.
"That's the Uchiha clan. But at least they have conviction."
"Sand Village, on the other hand, is just straight-up insane."
"The Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, lacked the power—so he made his own son into a Jinchūriki. And the method he used? Pure madness. He kept sending assassins to kill Gaara, to see whether Gaara could control Shukaku."
"And Gaara, raised in that hell, ended up mentally unstable."
"He clings to memories of Yashamaru, the uncle who raised him, and Karura, the mother he never even met."
"So just mentioning Yashamaru or Karura could emotionally destabilize Gaara instantly," Kitahara Kaede explained.
"Then what about Sasori?" Naruto seemed to understand now.
"Sasori's from Sand too—so he's just as messed up,"
Sasuke replied. "You're saying he also has a trigger, something that could immediately shut him down?"
"There is," said Kitahara Kaede.
"Sasori's dark past is that he assassinated the Third Kazekage and turned him into a puppet."
"And that was the moment he became a top-tier puppet master."
"But do you know why he killed the Third Kazekage?"
[Granny Chiyo]: Why?
She wanted to know that answer.
"Because during the Second Great Ninja War, Sasori lost his parents. And the one who deployed them... was the Third Kazekage."
"So he took revenge."
[Granny Chiyo]: ...
[Tobirama - Senju]: So that's how it was. But that act directly led to the Third Great Ninja War.
[Tobirama - Senju]: @Chiyo. Your Sand Village people really are out of their minds.
[Granny Chiyo]: ...
She couldn't refute it.
No—wait.
[Granny Chiyo]: It was Sakumo Hatake who killed my son!
[Big Dumb - Hashirama]: If all the ninja villages had chosen not to go to war in the first place, wouldn't none of this have happened?
[Big Dumb - Hashirama]: What I dreamed of was all the villages helping each other, standing in unity—so the children could grow up without being thrown onto the battlefield.
[Big Dumb - Hashirama]: To become ninjas, accept missions of varying difficulty, and live peacefully.
[Big Dumb - Hashirama]: It was such a beautiful dream, and all of you betrayed it.
[Granny Chiyo]: Uh...
Chiyo originally wanted to snap back at Tobirama—but after hearing Hashirama's heartfelt words, she shut her dried-up old mouth.
Because, if the Great Ninja Wars had never happened, maybe his dream really could have come true.
As someone who had participated in those wars—she had no right to speak.
If you pick up a weapon, then you must be ready to be stabbed.
Outside the group chat—
"Well then…"
"Sasori's current weakness is rooted in... his parents. His revenge on the Third Kazekage was for their sake."
"So the key... is his parents?"
"Yeah." Kitahara Kaede nodded. "Chiyo may be dead, but she had puppets she made of Sasori's parents in her collection."
"I see." Sasuke and Naruto understood. "So if we retrieve those puppets of his parents, Sasori won't be able to attack."
Because the people of Sand Village were all fixated.
Sasori had even killed his village's Kazekage for his parents—he was a complete obsessive.
That was his greatest weakness.
"But still," Kitahara Kaede added, "I hope you two become stronger."
Because—
If it takes this many tricks just to defeat Sasori of the Red Sand... that's still too weak.
"Yeah..."
Sasuke and Naruto nodded.
In other words, they were still far from strong enough.
At first, when they heard Sasori's weakness, they had felt relieved—but now—
"Mmgh..."
---
Chapter 260+ on my patreon.com/dzeref887
Update Schedule:
WebNovel = 3 chapters/day
Patreon = 10 chapters/day