The note Kakashi passed to Gaara contained a plan he had come up with.
It was simple, crude, and practical.
More importantly, it was an idea born from the influence Amegakure and the Akatsuki had gradually had on Kakashi after he came into contact with Makoto.
To a strict believer in Konoha's original Will of Fire, Kakashi's thinking would probably count as corruption.
The Will of Fire did not originally refer to that whole idea of Konoha burning itself away to become nourishment for the next generation.
That was merely something derived from the original philosophy.
At its root, the Will of Fire came from the Sage of Six Paths' belief that love was greater than power.
Kakashi's current plan went directly against that principle.
When Gaara discovered that Hōichi might rebel against him, he had neither arrested the man nor removed him.
Instead, Gaara deliberately offered Hōichi a place among the first group learning Sage Mode.
He wanted to reform him through kindness.
When Kakashi realized that was the hidden objective behind his assignment, he immediately developed a headache.
After actually meeting Hōichi, the headache only got worse!
He simply could not think of any way to win the man over.
But once Kakashi changed his perspective and stopped trying to solve the problem through emotion, everything suddenly became much clearer.
Most so-called "villains" in the shinobi world were relatively rational.
If someone truly seemed beyond saving, it was often because they had already walked so far down one path that they could no longer see any way back.
Orochimaru was the perfect example from the future Makoto had described.
Kabuto had achieved what Orochimaru would have considered the best possible outcome using everything available to him at the time—and still lost.
Only after seeing that did Orochimaru finally understand reality and change his perspective.
Had love redeemed Orochimaru?
No.
Power had forced him to accept the truth.
Once Kakashi thought about it that way, he immediately knew how to handle Hōichi.
Gaara only needed to cooperate and show him the overwhelming difference in strength between them.
First, Hōichi had to abandon his ambitions because resistance was hopeless.
Only then would he be calm enough to properly recognize all the changes Gaara had brought to Sunagakure.
Otherwise, someone looking at the world through prejudice would only ever see darkness.
Just like Obito.
And although this method could not guarantee that Hōichi would rediscover his conscience and become a good person, objectively speaking, it still produced the best possible outcome.
Because if Hōichi clearly understood the difference in strength and still insisted on pursuing his goal like a lunatic…
Then he was genuinely beyond saving.
What came after that was obvious.
Gaara might have grown from a murderous lunatic into a decent Kazekage, but he had not transformed into some completely merciful saint.
He still knew how to deal with enemies when necessary.
Shira practiced the Seven Heavens Breathing Method, making him extremely sensitive to breathing patterns.
While carrying Hōichi back, he had already noticed that the man had regained consciousness and was merely keeping his eyes closed while pretending to remain unconscious.
Kakashi signaled Shira not to react and simply keep going.
Like Guy, Shira might have been a straightforward taijutsu fanatic, but when it mattered, he was perfectly reliable and did not suddenly start shouting.
When they returned to Sunagakure, Kakashi created a shadow clone and sent it to request reinforcements.
If Gaara accepted his plan, then what they were about to face was power on the level of a Tailed Beast.
Admittedly, it would only be a portion of Shukaku's strength.
But a Tailed Beast was still a Tailed Beast.
With Kamui, Purple Electricity, and Sage Mode, Kakashi believed he could fight one now.
However, being capable of fighting something and being capable of utterly crushing it were two entirely different concepts.
Hōichi was not Kabuto after completing every possible preparation.
Simply defeating him would not be enough to make him understand.
They needed to crush him so thoroughly that he felt absolute despair.
Among their current group, only Naruto in Nine-Tails Chakra Mode should have been capable of doing that.
There was only one problem.
This plan required improvisation.
Could Naruto's brain actually keep up with an act like that? Obviously not.
So Kakashi sent his shadow clone toward the Flying Raijin Formation and requested support from Amegakure, while also passing along a concise explanation of the situation.
Kakashi glanced toward a distant corner.
At some point, a mysterious figure in a black cloak had appeared there.
That was presumably the support Amegakure had sent.
Gaara followed Kakashi's gaze and noticed the newcomer as well.
So he immediately began putting the plan into action.
Giving Hōichi an opportunity was simple.
Gaara merely needed to approach him and deliberately expose an opening.
"How is Hōichi? Shira, did you really hit him that hard?"
Gaara walked forward and crouched beside Hōichi after Shira dropped him onto the ground.
He reached out and placed two fingers against Hōichi's wrist to check his pulse.
The instant Gaara touched him, Hōichi's eyes snapped open.
The hand he had secretly been using to form seals suddenly grabbed Gaara's arm.
Several chains shot from his body.
One could only say that although Hōichi had been Bunpuku's disciple, his awareness was painfully lacking.
If his intelligence had been even slightly more normal—or if he had paid even the slightest attention to his fellow villagers—he would have noticed something was wrong.
Ameno, an actual medical ninja, was standing right there.
Why would the Kazekage personally check Hōichi's condition?
And Gaara's sand manipulation was so precise that he could have simply placed a layer of sand against Hōichi's body and sensed his condition that way.
Why did he need to touch him with his bare hand?
Hōichi considered none of that.
He had already been blinded by what looked like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
At such close range, and with a surprise attack, he immediately dragged more than half of Shukaku out.
Of course, the "surprise attack" only existed from Hōichi's perspective.
Before Gaara made his move, he had already discussed everything with Shukaku internally.
Shukaku would do exactly what he had done when giving Naruto a portion of his chakra:
Directly cut away part of his own power.
It was essentially the same principle as Gyūki severing one of his tentacles to escape.
At the same time, they could test how much Tailed Beast power another jinchūriki could borrow when Naruto served as the relay point.
Unless Kurama deliberately informed Naruto, Naruto himself could not sense power being transferred between the Tailed Beasts.
It was no different from how an ordinary person did not consciously feel the blood flowing through their body.
So when Naruto saw Gaara suddenly restrained, he immediately panicked.
He was just about to charge forward—
When Temari, who had been waiting ages for exactly this opportunity, pulled out her Giant Folding Fan.
WHAM!
She swung it into Naruto's face like the world's largest slap and sent him flying.
"Ow! What the hell was that for?!"
Naruto was completely stunned.
He climbed back to his feet, clutching his bright-red cheek as he stared at Temari with an aggrieved expression.
That fan was made of metal!
If Naruto had not known Temari was Gaara's sister, he would have started wondering whether she had joined the rebellion too.
Why was he getting beaten up for trying to save Gaara?
Was there no justice left in this world?!
"Hōichi's technique specifically counters Tailed Beasts. If you rush straight at him, are you trying to let him drag the Nine-Tails out of you too?"
Temari explained verbally.
Her hands, however, did not stop moving.
She charged forward again and swung the fan with another enormous slap-like strike.
Naruto went flying a second time.
"Stay farther away!"
Temari planted the fan into the ground and dusted off her hands.
"That's safer."