Chapter 494: Turning Into Doubao (Bean Bun)
"Uh? Uncle Bee, you didn't leave?"
Naruto saw Killer Bee suddenly jump out and scratched his head, feeling a bit confused.
"Ah, haha, yeah."
Killer Bee also scratched his head like Naruto and started acting dumb.
"Um, uncle Raikage, about the Tailed Beasts—it can't be done. I already asked the Nine-Tails, and it told me personally."
Naruto answered the question the Raikage had just asked.
"…Alright then. Let's leave it at that for now. We'll select a suitable candidate. You guys should rest in Kumogakure for the next few days."
After hearing Naruto's answer and looking at his younger brother's behavior, the Fourth Raikage Ai had already formed a conclusion in his mind.
His brother was clearly acting guilty.
But this time, it wasn't guilt toward him—otherwise he wouldn't have suddenly jumped out like this.
If the target wasn't him, then it must be the people from Konoha.
So the Raikage decided to send the group away first, then ask Killer Bee what was really going on.
Thus, under the Raikage's "see-you-out" order, Naruto's group of three left the Raikage's private training ground.
"Wow, what's that? Kumogakure specialty ramen? I'm going to try it. Kakashi-sensei, Konohamaru, want to come?"
As soon as Naruto walked out, he spotted a building in the distance with a huge ramen sign hanging outside. He was instantly attracted.
"Naruto, you go ahead. Remember to pack a portion for me. I still need to deal with our accommodation for tonight."
Hatake Kakashi waved the slip of paper the Raikage had just given him.
It was a free hotel accommodation voucher issued by the Raikage.
"Naruto-niisan, I'll go with you!"
Konohamaru ran over excitedly to Naruto's side.
So the two went off to eat ramen, while Kakashi went to the inn to get a room.
—
Training Ground.
After the others left, the Raikage questioned Killer Bee about the situation.
Killer Bee told his older brother everything he had learned from the Eight-Tails.
Kumogakure's two Tailed Beasts had a very good relationship with their jinchūriki. The Two-Tails had told Yugito, and naturally the Eight-Tails had also told Killer Bee.
After hearing the full story, the Raikage was once again shaken.
When Killer Bee first started speaking, the Raikage had suspected whether Konoha was coveting Kumogakure's Tailed Beasts and plotting something malicious.
Especially with Naruto's current situation—he already had the power of all Tailed Beasts except the Four-Tails and Five-Tails.
And those two would probably be obtained sooner or later.
Kumogakure judged others by its own standards; in the past, they often did things like this themselves. So it wasn't strange to think Konoha might be after Tailed Beast power.
But after Killer Bee finished speaking…
The Raikage finally understood. Naruto wasn't after the power of the Tailed Beasts—he was after the bodies of the Tailed Beasts.
This shock to him was no less than the shortcut to Sage Mode Konoha had just taught him earlier.
"What exactly is that Tsunade from Konoha…? Ever since she took office, Konoha has become so… perverted?"
The Raikage felt a strange sense of fear.
If he hadn't heard it with his own ears and experienced it himself, even if he buried his head in a toilet, he never would have imagined Konoha becoming like this.
You have to know—the Raikage of the ninja world, while not exactly righteous, was at least a completely straight-laced man.
Completely the opposite of the "adult-comic Raikage" version.
As a serious man, facing these repeated worldview-shattering events, the Raikage felt mentally and physically exhausted.
After a long pause, the Raikage finally looked up at Killer Bee.
"Since you guys are keeping Naruto from knowing that Tailed Beasts can also help with Sage Mode to drain his stamina, then just make sure he doesn't find out."
"Bee, go back to Valley of Clouds and Lightning (Unraikyō) and train. Or go to Turtle Island (Genbu)."
"Big Bro, that's fine, but don't forget—Naruto and the others said they won't leave until at least one of us masters Sage Arts."
Killer Bee's eyes lit up when he heard his brother granting him freedom, but he quickly forced himself to act serious and analyzed the situation.
"Do you have any ideas?"
The Raikage rubbed his temples with his fingers. He was having a terrible headache.
His brain felt like it had just been violently assaulted. He couldn't think at all anymore, so he could only ask Killer Bee for advice.
"Big bro, let Motoi do it. He has an owl summoning beast, so he can use a simpler shortcut branch of the method."
Killer Bee recommended his childhood friend without hesitation.
"Motoi is on Turtle Island doing routine missions, right? Then it's settled—you go notify him. You two can train together as well."
The Raikage threw the scroll Kakashi had previously given him to Killer Bee.
"OK!"
Killer Bee caught the scroll, raised his hand high, and flashed a peace sign.
——
After Hatake Kakashi checked into the inn, he didn't go out. Instead, he sat at the desk, took out his small notebook, and prepared to continue writing.
Ever since he had been "awakened", he had entered the right state and now knew how to properly write a novel.
At the same time, Kakashi hadn't forgotten that his writing must have a purpose.
Just like the earlier novels published under his name, and the films shot in the Land of Snow—their goal was to make the ninja world aware of the threat of the Ōtsutsuki clan.
So Kakashi picked up his pen again.
He felt that the horror of Infinite Tsukuyomi still wasn't enough.
So he expanded the concept.
Originally, Infinite Tsukuyomi was a technique used by the Ōtsutsuki clan to extract chakra from the ninja world.
After draining people's chakra, they would turn into White Zetsu and be thrown into factories, working day and night without rest.
(Kakashi drew inspiration from the real situation in Amegakure Village factories.)
But that alone wasn't enough.
What about the soul after death, when the body is used as a tool and continues working?
Is it just returning peacefully to the Pure Land?
That would be far too comfortable.
So Kakashi wrote further.
Not only that—the soul would also be turned by the Ōtsutsuki clan into knowledge storage tools, extraction tools, and search tools…
After finishing this, Kakashi felt a bit hungry.
He looked up at the sky outside and muttered, "Why hasn't Naruto come back yet…"
In the end, he had no choice but to pick up a sweet bean bun left by the inn owner and take a bite.
"This is too complicated… let's just call this tool Doubao (Bean Bun)."
"Infinite Tsukuyomi will turn people's bodies into White Zetsu for endless labor, and their souls into dough bags for the Ōtsutsuki clan to use."
"Perfect."
Kakashi finished structuring this part.
Just then, Naruto finally returned after happily eating ramen, carrying a packed bowl.
"Kakashi-sensei, I'm back."
Naruto placed the ramen in front of Kakashi.
"Hm? What's this?"
Naruto curiously looked at the manuscript in front of Kakashi and picked it up to read.
Kakashi didn't stop him. He was starving anyway and immediately started eating the ramen.
"Naruto, slurp… why are you back so late? Did you and Konohamaru go shopping somewhere else?" Hatake Kakashi asked while eating, confused.
(End of this chapter)