At this time, it was still early. After finishing the dungeon storyline, Kakashi played a few rounds of matchmaking.
Yuto stood by and observed for a while, noticing that Kakashi seemed somewhat distracted.
Compared to the level of play Yuto had observed before, Kakashi's performance had noticeably declined.
Over the past few days, Kakashi had become quite skilled with his combos and strategies, and at the very least, he no longer made low-level mistakes.
"Do you have something on your mind?"
Yuto couldn't stand watching Kakashi's sloppy play any longer and finally spoke up.
Kakashi pondered for a moment before asking, "Manager, can I report these matters to Hokage-sama?"
When Yuto heard the word 'Hokage,' his heart was shocked, but he still had a smile on his face.
'Oh great... old man Sandaime, huh?'
Yuto had long anticipated that his activities might be reported to the Hokage, but he hadn't expected Kakashi to discuss it with him first.
"As a Ninja trusted by the Hokage, I naturally will not make things difficult for you."
"Besides, if you can help me promote it to the Hokage, I think it will attract more customers..."
Seeing how readily Yuto agreed, Kakashi wasn't too surprised. In his estimation, Yuto must have already anticipated being discovered.
And with Yuto's level of power... who could possibly do anything to him?
Kakashi nodded and said, "Okay, Manager, I'll definitely promote your business when the time comes!"
"Oh... by the way, Manager, can I buy another one of these scientific ninja tools called 'phone'?"
Seeing Kakashi's goodwill, Yuto naturally didn't refuse and immediately agreed.
'Another 100,000 ryo and 1,000 resource points added to the account! Time for another ten-pull...'
'Ptui! That cursed gacha system is a trap! Never again!'
---
At noon.
Hokage's Office.
After greeting the guard Ninja, Kakashi was led to the office door.
Hearing the knock, Hiruzen, who was busy with paperwork, called out in a low voice, "Enter."
Kakashi pushed the door open, and Hiruzen, seeing it was Kakashi, was slightly surprised.
"Kakashi? I thought you and your Team 7 were on vacation. What brings you here?"
Hiruzen's kind and gentle demeanor made him seem like a wise old grandfather, with no trace of the battle-hardened Professor who had fought his way through countless wars.
"Ah... Sandaime-sama, do you have any impression of Momochi Zabuza from Kirigakure?"
Hiruzen was taken aback by Kakashi's direct question, though he felt it was in line with Kakashi's no-nonsense style.
When there wasn't anything urgent, Kakashi rarely visited the Hokage's Office.
"Zabuza, huh... he's quite the formidable figure, though he defected from Kirigakure long ago. Why do you suddenly ask about this?"
Since it concerned Kirigakure and Zabuza, Hiruzen's expression turn serious.
Kakashi presented a brand-new phone.
"Sandaime-sama, this might take some of your time, but please take a look at this!"
Hiruzen examined the oddly shaped little device, 'Judging from its thickness, it didn't look like a box. What could be inside that Kakashi found so important?'
Hiruzen took the phone with a puzzled expression, "What is this thing? What does it do?"
After days of tinkering, Kakashi had become quite familiar with the phone.
Yuto had modified the phone to include only basic functions and apps like a calendar and clock. The rest of the space was occupied by a single game...
It's placed in the most prominent position, so it was impossible to miss.
When the game started, Hiruzen was genuinely surprised.
'This thing looked like a series of photographs strung together, like in a camera.'
'It's indeed a fascinating little gadget.'
"This is a scientific ninja tool called a 'phone'. Please follow the instructions on the screen to register your fingerprint, Sandaime-sama."
Though Hiruzen found the request strange, he trusted Kakashi and complied. Moreover, his appetite was whetted and he became even more curious.
---
[Fingerprint successfully registered. Please enter your nickname]
Kakashi explained, "It's like a codename. Everyone's nickname is different."
'A nickname? A codename?' Hiruzen couldn't help but feel amused. At my age, he was actually being asked to come up with a codename like the Anbu.
So he asked back, "Kakashi, what's your nickname then?"
Kakashi hesitated for a moment before replying succinctly, "White Fang."
Hearing this, Hiruzen didn't press further and casually entered two characters.
[Enma]
'Enma? Sandaime-sama's summon...'
Kakashi accompanied Hiruzen as they revisited the Nine-Tails Attack storyline. With Kakashi's guidance, Hiruzen, despite his age, still had the comprehension skills of a seasoned Ninja.
Just like Kakashi had been initially, Hiruzen was amazed by the 'phone.'
However, more than that, he was curious about how this device managed to record events that had already happened.
'It was probably similar to the ability of a 'camera'...'
Hiruzen continued watching the storyline. Although reliving the Nine-Tails Attack brought back many emotions, he didn't show much surprise.
Over the decades, he had seen too much. These interesting little gadgets, while intriguing, wouldn't have a significant impact on the village's development.
No matter how the times changed, ninjas would always remain irreplaceable. The emergence of these new inventions could, at most, serve as auxiliary tools.
This was Hiruzen's understanding after so many years.
Moreover, scientific research often involved inhumane and dark experiments, which he wanted to avoid. This was one of the reasons he had stopped Orochimaru.
So, while Hiruzen didn't exactly dislike new inventions, he didn't have much fondness for them either.
But this 'phone' tool Kakashi had brought was somewhat interesting.
After experiencing the Nine-Tails Attack storyline, Hiruzen was left with doubts.
He had been there that night and knew that Minato had indeed died sealing the Nine-Tails, but he had never seen the mysterious masked man.
'Could it be... made up?'
Hiruzen looked at Kakashi with a questioning gaze, but Kakashi shook his head, indicating he wasn't sure if it was true either.
Then, under Kakashi's guidance, Hiruzen began tackling the levels from Volume One.
Although he didn't see the connection to Kirigakure's Missing-nin, Zabuza, he swept through the levels one after another.
Hiruzen actually enjoyed the process, patiently watching all the storylines with a smile.
What surprised him was... the timeliness of the content.
Naruto stealing the Scroll of Seals had only happened a few days ago.
And Kakashi's bell test… Hiruzen was naturally very familiar with it, as it laid a solid foundation for future team-building.
Soon, he had finished experiencing Volume One.