Someone once said: first kill your own feelings, then you can cold-bloodedly savor the deliciousness of others' pain.
To this, Hii Kōri said that's far too narrow. Jujutsu sorcerers' moral bottom lines were never that high—they didn't need to abandon emotions to derive pleasure from such things.
But conversely, being the one whose sore spots were poked—that was another matter.
Thanks to that quite enjoyable exchange with Orochimaru, Hii Kōri increasingly found the idle life in Amegakure unbearable. But Tsunade hadn't been formally handed over yet; as her living 'prison,' he couldn't just leave.
So these days, he stayed in the guest quarters, sketching puppet blueprints, adjusting technique circuits, attempting to 'redevelop' past jutsus to provide puppet materials, practicing Lightning Release (still not quite skilled)—all, of course, done simultaneously.
Occasionally emptying his mind in the Zen-like, rainy pond contemplation—another pastime.
Then, this fulfilling life—enough to make onlookers feel a physical stomachache—was shattered by a map.
He'd found it in the guest house library: an ancient map roughly marking the outlines of various countries, of no strategic value.
Hii Kōri brought it back, intending to organize the original manga's plot in his mind, see what interested him, and plan future development and routes in advance using the map, while arranging training for his three disciples and nephew.
Then, sitting at his desk, Hii Kōri nearly forgot the autonomous circulation of chakra and cursed energy within him.
Staring at the map, almost unrecognizable with colored circles, arrows, and question marks, he scanned it silently, unable to utter a word.
The room's air seemed frozen by his gloomy aura, shrouded in a nearly tangible, intensely low pressure.
The Naruto world's map basically depicted a Pangea-like... Continental strategic maps resemble this old outline map.
Besides the isolated Land of Water and other scattered island nations, most countries are located on a single continent—more precisely, sporadically filling the space between the four major powers, serving as strategic buffers.
Among these smaller countries, many were practically single cities—third-rate nations puffing themselves up for their own benefit. Others, like the Land of Hot Water, had weak native villages but avoided conflict, developing other industries based on geography or local specialties.
And of course, there were small countries like the Land of Rain, with unique skills that caught the attention of the major powers.
For instance, Takigakure—the only village outside the five major powers—possesses a tailed beast (Chōmei, the Seven-Tails); Amegakure, supported by the Demi-God Hanzō alone; the Land of Demons' shrine maiden lineage, generationally sealing the demon Mōryō; the Land of Bears' Star Village, gathering practitioners developing Chakra Wings; the Land of Artisans, recording the development of powerful tools, but... Vanished for years...
Such 'minor experts' were countless in the ninja world.
The only problem: all those latter entries? Nowhere to be found in his memories of the manga's plot.
Nowhere! To! Be! Found!
What?! Did I miss something? Or is it like 'not written on the card, but this card can be a special summon'—not mentioned in the plot, yet they actually exist?!
Fooling me, kora?!
At this rate, Hii Kōri might start doubting whether the memories and techniques reclaimed through Black Flash were accurate... No, not that far.
Think about it: due to reading speed considerations, his exposure was mostly manga and original anime. Naturally, he'd read the NARUTO manga, not the anime adaptation.
And long-running manga are still ongoing when animated have a trait: the anime often surpasses the original's pace, requiring original plot to drag things out.
Then there's the Souvenirs from the beloved movie version.
Intending to cross-reference, but the more he cross-referenced, the less they matched—too absurd.
"Tch, backstabbed where I least expected."
Tapping the desk with his nails, Hii Kōri's mood, though not irritable, is clearly not pleasant either.
Choosing one-sided information acquisition in his past life was, from that perspective, pursuing efficiency—after all, animation was almost synonymous with 'degradation' in information transmission.
Skipping original content for pacing, or directors/writers incompetently rewriting—making one exclaim 'industry might as well alkyl eight nitrogen'—was common.
Moreover, within the same time, text and images convey more total information than animation.
But who'd expect actual time travel to happen?
Hit by this boomerang, Hii Kōri didn't blame himself at all—just the world's fault.
"Whatever..."
Taking a deep breath, his eyes flashed with unique gleam, clearly about to scheme against someone.
With incomplete references, possibly differing from 'reality,' the necessity of fieldwork and personal exploration greatly increased.
Though he didn't intend to rely entirely on the 'original plot'—his current era barely mentioned in the original, and the post-WWII situation is bound to be turned upside down after his interference—but doesn't one live for ease?
"Unfortunately, I'm destined to toilet..."
His gaze returned to the garishly marked map. Spirit Thread Nerves in his hair reached out, peeling a thin 'mask' from the map, then layering on a fresh one.
He picked up a pen, heavily circling several originally blank areas now marked with question marks.
After all, it was a minor antique—he wouldn't directly write on it.
"Anyway, first find an excuse to visit Rōran..."
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