In the past, the ultimate picture would have been a group photo of Team 7.
When the photo was taken, Naruto and Sasuke had gotten into a bit of a verbal spat. Although their tacit understanding during that day's test had truly shocked Kakashi, after spending some time with them, he realized...
The two of them could often argue over the smallest things, always trying to one-up each other.
Whenever this happened, Kakashi, while used to it, couldn't help but feel a bit exasperated.
The Team 7 he led... was so similar to Team Minato.
At the moment the camera shutter clicked…
Kakashi helplessly held both their heads to prevent Naruto and Sasuke from starting another argument.
Luckily, Sakura, being a girl, though she had her own share of quirks, was relatively obedient and cooperative in front of the camera.
[As a Ninja, I also have many things I must protect]
Whenever an enemy was at low health, Kakashi would save his ultimate to finish them off.
How could he not be familiar with this ultimate picture?
However, when he finished off Zabuza earlier, it didn't seem like the usual ultimate picture.
After pondering what exactly was different... Kakashi decided to see it again!
So, he clicked on the fourth level and played it again.
…
After breezing through to Zabuza again, he deliberately saved his ultimate for the finishing blow.
This time, the Sharingan in his eye slowly rotated.
[Your ambition has caused too much sacrifice. This is not the behavior a Ninja should have.]
This time, he saw it clearly.
Half of the image was Kakashi's face, and the other half was Zabuza's.
Kakashi was stunned for a moment, then chuckled. "So that's how it is…"
"What's wrong, Kakashi? Do you have any questions?"
Yuto walked over to check on his progress.
Kakashi shook his head, but then asked, "Manager, is it certain that I will have a decisive battle with the Demon Zabuza in the future?"
Noticing the hesitation in Kakashi's tone, Yuto didn't answer directly.
"Who knows? Coincidences happen. Perhaps you were destined to meet Zabuza, but due to some twist of fate, you might miss each other."
"I see…"
Kakashi didn't press further. He understood the importance of knowing when to stop and continued to progress through the levels, hoping to find more clues in the game.
…
Next, the fifth and sixth levels didn't provide much useful information.
But when he reached the seventh level, there was a cutscene dialogue.
[???: Excuse me, what are you doing here?]
[Naruto Uzumaki: Are you talking to me, big sis? I'm training here to become stronger!]
[???: Hehe... You're quite impressive... Well then, goodbye~ I'm sure you'll become very strong...]
[???: Oh, by the way, I'm not the big sister you think I am...]
---
The character in the dialogue picture looked like a very cute girl...
'Not a big sister? Could she be younger than Naruto? But she looked like she was around fifteen years old.'
Kakashi was puzzled but made a mental note of this detail, thinking it might come in handy later.
Since Zabuza was likely to be an enemy Team 7 would face in the future, Kakashi knew he had to take this seriously.
---
By the time he reached the eighth level, another plot unfolded.
[After arriving in the Land of Waves, the bridge construction proceeded smoothly under the protection of Kakashi and the others]
[One day, in order to protect Tazuna, everyone headed to the bridge early, leaving Naruto behind to sleep in.]
[Not long after, Naruto woke up and, while on his way to the bridge, sensed something unusual]
The plot ended there, and Kakashi still didn't gain any particularly useful information.
'The bridge construction, and also… that Gato guy earlier.'
Although the information was scattered, Kakashi had already pieced together the general outline of what this storyline was about.
'So... it seemed that the wealthy businessman Gato had monopolized the livelihood of the Land of Waves' residents, likely by cutting off their sea routes, forcing them to build a bridge.'
'But why would he do that?'
But Kakashi didn't dwell too deeply on this question.
'Those who seek fame act for fame, and merchants act for profit.'
'Gato's motive wasn't hard to understand, he's probably doing this was money...'
Though Kakashi wasn't entirely sure how this would generate money... after all, he was a Ninja, not a businessman.
'However, Gato's tyranny was met with unanimous opposition from the residents of the Land of Waves.'
'Therefore, he had no choice but to hire Ninjas to carry out his plans.'
'But a regular Ninja Village would naturally not accept such a mission that would damage their reputation, even sending the Anbu would be a loss...'
'So Gato had to resort to hiring Rogue Ninjas and Missing-nin.'
'And by chance, he found the defected Zabuza?'
Thinking this through, Kakashi suddenly understood.
'Who would have thought... the infamous Demon Zabuza would work for a despicable businessman for money.'
A hint of disdain flashed through Kakashi's mind.
'But logically speaking, Zabuza shouldn't need that much money.'
After all, for a Ninja at their level, there were very few things that could enhance his strength, and even fewer that could be bought with money.
Moreover, Zabuza certainly didn't lack weapons. Just from the earlier plot, Kakashi had immediately recognized the Kubikiribocho.
It was one of the most renowned weapons in the entire Ninja World.
And before Kirigakure closed itself off, it had made a considerable profit from foreign trade, mostly through favorable trade balances with Konoha...
Therefore, the money Zabuza earned from missions should have been enough to support his subordinates.
'If Zabuza wasn't particularly obsessed with money, then there must have been one or more reasons requiring a massive amount of funds!'
The first thing Kakashi thought of was construction. Building large-scale structures indeed required a lot of money, but this connection to Zabuza felt a bit forced.
Then, Kakashi recalled intelligence he had gathered during an Anbu mission when he infiltrated the black market...
Assassination!
What left the deepest impression on Kakashi was Asuma's bounty of 30 million ryo.
While this reason could be loosely connected to Zabuza, it was even less likely.
After all, with Zabuza's strength, why would he need to hire others for assassinations?
Suddenly, Kakashi's pupil contracted, 'According to intelligence provided by spies in Kirigakure...'
'Zabuza had defected after failing to assassinate the Yondaime Mizukage!'
'If that was true, then the answer was now clear.'
'Zabuza is recruiting Ninjas… powerful allies and weaker subordinates who could serve as cannon fodder...'
'That's why he needed a massive amount of funds... So that's how it was. Now everything made sense...'
Kakashi stared blankly at the screen, not proceeding to the next step for a long time.