I founded the "Bragging Cult" in Naruto.

Chapter 464 When you encounter a woman older than yourself but unsure of her generation, just call her "sister."

"What exactly happened in Sunagakure? Jiraiya-sensei, you'll get a sore butt if you only tell half the story."

Seeing that Jiraiya suddenly seemed melancholic, Tatsuma quickly changed the subject. Jiraiya shook his head and said, "Actually, you've guessed pretty much everything. Does the detail even matter anymore?"

The most shocking part of the news he brought all the way from Sunagakure was that Tatsuma had guessed it all along, leaving Jiraiya feeling powerless. He said:

"Specifically, Konoha should receive the news in the next day or two. It's probably that the Third Kazekage will take Chiyo's grandson, that kid named Sasori, as his student."

However, according to my investigation, it seems that Scorpion deliberately exposed the opportunity for contact to the Kazekage faction. It appears that after weighing the options, he chose the current Kazekage faction, ignoring the rising power of those younger figures.

Upon hearing this, Tatsuma frowned. This seemed to be different from what he knew and guessed. Sasori should hate the Third Kazekage. At his age, the person he hated the most should be Sakumo Hatake, and the Third Kazekage should be the next most hated.

It's illogical that Sasori would choose to get close to the Third Kazekage and even be willing to become his student.

Putting aside personal feelings, even from the perspective of interests, Sasori made a wrong choice. The Third Kazekage's rule was already shaky, and he could not protect Sasori. In fact, he had to use the interest groups associated with Sasori to support him.

In other words, Sasori handed over all of Chiyo's accumulated connections and relationships to the Third Kazekage for nothing, and all he got in return was the Third Kazekage's temporary restoration of a stable ruling position.

Furthermore, from a personal development perspective, the Third Kazekage was not suitable to be Sasori's teacher. The Third Kazekage was a Magnet Release ninja, while Sasori was a puppeteer. Sasori had no reason to seek out the Third Kazekage to learn from him.

Something unusual must be going on. Although many people in the ninja world are a little abnormal, they are not so bad that they can't understand such a simple question. Even if Sasori doesn't understand, do you think Chiyo doesn't understand?

This might be Sasori's stubbornness, which suggests that Sasori must have his own plans, or rather, a conspiracy.

Tatsuma unconsciously frowned and pursed his lips, beginning to think. Seeing Tatsuma's serious expression, Jiraiya asked with some curiosity, "Is this matter very significant? Is it only within the factions within Sunagakure?"

At most, it might affect the diplomatic attitudes of the two countries, but given the current economic development of Sunagakure, there's nothing to worry about, right? After all, your second flood brought Sunagakure's development to a standstill for almost a year.

Tatsuma shook his head and said, "The interests that Sasori could leverage were enough to push the Kazekage candidate to the position, but he chose to support the current Kazekage, which is very abnormal."

"Perhaps they're just children who don't understand the situation? Or maybe... all the young people in the village idolize the shadows."

"Scorpion is different. Even if Scorpion admires me, he would never admire the Third Kazekage."

Tatsuma shook his head and said, "All I can say is that Sasori intends to endure humiliation and hardship, and then obtain far more benefits from the Third Kazekage than the future Fourth Kazekage can offer."

"But the Third Kazekage is already struggling to protect himself, so what benefits could he possibly offer Sasori?"

"Yes, that is a person who still holds the authority of the Wind Shadow."

Tatsuma's brows relaxed, and he said confidently, "If he invests in the candidates for the Fourth Kazekage, then the return period will be at least three years. It would be remarkable if the Fourth Kazekage could hold onto power after three years."

However, the Third Kazekage was different. He had already taken control of the Sunagakure's external discourse, and until the moment of his true downfall arrived, he still had the power to make external decisions on behalf of the entire Sunagakure.

Clearly, Scorpion wasn't going to wait for the future; he wanted to do something now.

The change of leaders and the transfer of power take time. The Kage of a village may seem to manage only one village, but in reality, the Kage of the five great nations are ninjas who manage the entire country.

In addition, they also need to liaise with the daimyo prefecture, foreign dignitaries, and ninja tycoons. They are practically the second-in-command of a major power, or even the top military leader. Therefore, the transfer of power takes years.

Just like Tatsuma, the internal consensus has already been established that he is the Fourth Hokage, so his handover work started early. However, nearly a year has passed, and he has only finished handing over the affairs within the Hokage Building.

Tatsuma's handover will take even longer. If the ninja world maintains its current status, Tatsuma's handover will definitely take more than three years. Three years is enough time for him to influence the entire village and surrounding towns.

However, the handover to the outside world will only begin after he has officially succeeded to the position, because that is something that only those who have become "Shadows" are qualified to access.

Of course, this is because the transition from Hiruzen Sarutobi to Tatsuma was an extremely peaceful one, and everything could be done slowly, so the process would take longer.

In a village like Sunagakure, which is currently in turmoil, this timeframe will inevitably be compressed. However, no matter how compressed it is, it will still require an extremely long period, since the candidates for the Fourth Kazekage are currently in competition.

Different candidates have different supporters, and even if Katsuie succeeds as Kazekage, it will be extremely difficult for him to regain control of the narrative from the supporters of these other factions.

Therefore, even if the Fourth Kazekage takes office today, he will have to wait about three years to have complete control over external affairs, and Sasori is most likely unwilling to wait that long.

He wanted to immediately gain a voice in the outside world, so investing directly in Fengying, a company that already had a voice in the outside world, was the simplest way.

However, this approach also has its drawbacks. The Third Kazekage has his own political ideals and would not make a decision that goes against his principles for Sasori's sake, unless...

Sasori was able to control the Third Kazekage.

Tatsuma suddenly thought of a technique that Sasori possessed, a technique that could target the brain. If Sasori had already developed this technique, or already had a concept for it.

So, based on this idea, with some optimizations and improvements, it might really become a technique that can truly control living people.

"Jiraiya-sensei, I need to go to the Hokage Building. Could you take Shisui with you and bring him home later, either to his house or my teacher's house?"

Tatsuma stood up, a solemn expression on his face. Jiraiya was puzzled and about to ask a question when Tatsuma vanished without a trace using a Flying Thunder God technique.

Jiraiya scratched his head awkwardly. Meanwhile, Shisui, who was training in the distance, was also somewhat bewildered and at a loss.

With a helpless sigh, Jiraiya beckoned to Shisui. Seeing that it was his two uncles' teacher calling him, Shisui did not hesitate or be wary, and walked directly towards Jiraiya.

Jiraiya sized up Shisui and asked, "Are you practicing ninja tool throwing?"

Shisui nodded and said respectfully, "Yes, Grandpa Jiraiya, Uncle Tatsuma said I shouldn't refine chakra too early, so he arranged ninja courses for me that don't require chakra."

"?! Grandpa?!"

Jiraiya stared at Shisui in disbelief. Shisui looked puzzled. Shouldn't he be called Grandpa? This grandpa's hair is all white, why is he still so unwilling to admit he's old?

Jiraiya touched his face with trembling hands. He had only been traveling in the Land of Wind for a little over ten days, and the sandstorm had turned him into a "grandfather"? He was only in his thirties!

"You can't call me grandpa. I'm just a young man who hasn't started a family yet. Treat me like Uncle Chenma."

Although Jiraiya lacked class, he wasn't so petty as to argue with a three-year-old. He simply corrected Shisui, who became even more confused and said, "But you are Uncle Tatsuma and Uncle Minato's teacher, and you are much older than them."

"Wrong, I call this maturity, not old! You can't just call a man old anytime. At most, you can say he's weathered, mature, or has experienced the passage of time, understand?"

"I see. I understand now, Uncle Jiraiya who has lived through so many years."

Although it still felt a bit strange, it was much better than "Grandpa." Jiraiya's complexion finally improved somewhat, and he said, "I see you're practicing very basic throwing techniques. Would you like me to teach you a more powerful one?"

Normally, children would happily agree, perhaps restraining their desires due to upbringing, but Zhishui shook his head and said seriously:

"No need. Uncle Jiraiya, who has seen many years, and Uncle Tatsuma said that what I should be learning most right now is the basics. As for the rest, we can talk about them after I have completely mastered the basic throwing techniques."

Jiraiya did hear Tatsuma's instruction to Shisui, but he didn't catch the whole thing. Besides, what child is this obedient?!

He pulled out a large handful of shuriken and kunai, tempting them, "Really not going to learn? This is a more powerful ninja tool throwing technique than the Uchiha style; I call it the Shuriken Technique! The Technique of Throwing Them All Out!"

Shisui's expression remained calm, even subtly revealing a hint of disdain. He shook his head and said, "No need. If there's nothing else, may I continue training?"

"Hmph~ What an ignorant little fellow."

Jiraiya, annoyed, ruffled Shisui's curly hair, shaping it into Tatsuma's bird's nest before letting go. He said, "Go practice by yourself. I'm going to buy something to eat; I'm a little hungry. Do you want anything?"

Upon hearing this, Shisui patted his pocket, took out a few coins, counted their value, and said, "Could you please get me a strawberry ice cream? Thank you."

Seeing that Shisui had taken out money for him without any suspicion, Jiraiya touched his face again. Could it be that he had also acquired the old man's affability and kindness?

He took Zhishui's small hand in his and said, "No need, it's on you! Also, you can't let others know you have money so easily in the future, especially... you can't let the aunt next door to your Uncle Chenma's house know, understand?"

Shisui nodded, then asked in confusion, "Where is the aunt at Uncle Tatsuma's house? There's only Uncle Nawaki, Sister Shizune, Sister Nonou, and Sister Tsunade."

"Tch! I didn't expect Tsunade to be so shameless! Remember this: it's fine for anyone else to call you 'older sister,' but Tsunade is 'auntie,' understand?"

"But Uncle Tatsuma said I can't call her that. When I meet a girl who is older than me, no matter how old she is, I can only call her 'older sister,' or I'll get beaten up. But I still don't understand."

"That makes sense. Don't worry about it so much. You'll understand when you grow up. Go train. I'll go buy you strawberry ice cream. Ha! Same flavor as that brat."

(End of this chapter)