Nagato and Konan fell silent, sitting quietly nearby without a word, while Yahiko scratched his head, looking a little embarrassed.
Charlie's interest was immediately piqued. "What's going on? Got a crush or something?"
"No!" Yahiko snapped, darkening his expression. After a moment's hesitation, he leaned in with a sly grin. "Charlie Sensei, you've probably heard about it already!"
"Huh?" Charlie asked, confused.
"That mysterious ghost student who's obsessed with poop!" Yahiko declared.
Charlie's mouth twitched. He'd almost forgotten about that rumor amid all the chaos since their return. But to his surprise, these kids still remembered it after all this time.
He quickly put on a stern face. "Don't believe or spread rumors! The shinobi world is about shinobi science and discipline..."
"Stop, stop! Charlie Sensei, just hear me out!" Yahiko interrupted, clearly annoyed at the impending lecture.
Then, with a mischievous grin, he added, "You might be wrong this time. At first, I thought it was fake too, like the story about the academy being built on a graveyard."
Charlie remained quiet. It might not be entirely true, but it wasn't completely false either. After all, there really was a group living beneath the academy.
He kept a neutral expression and slowly took another sip of his tea.
"And then?" Charlie asked, leaning forward with interest.
"Well, since so many classmates claimed they saw it, I decided to start the Akatsuki group myself to investigate," Yahiko explained, his voice full of excitement. "I gathered students who said they'd seen it…"
Before he could finish, Charlie suddenly burst out laughing, and then sprayed his tea everywhere.
What had he just heard? He blinked in disbelief, staring at Yahiko's guilty expression as he wiped his mouth. "Wait, what? You started a group? What kind of group?"
"The Akatsuki!" Yahiko said proudly, grinning as he wiped his face.
"Sounds cool, right? Revealing the truth! Exploring mysteries! That's why I named it Akatsuki. I came up with it myself!"
Charlie couldn't help but smirk. "Hey, that's actually not bad. Pretty good, even."
He shook his head in amusement. "Here we are in the Land of Grass, and now there's an Akatsuki too?"
Then he turned to Nagato, who was quietly sipping his tea nearby, and asked seriously, "You… joined?"
"No," Nagato replied flatly, clearly puzzled by Charlie's sudden curiosity. "I thought it was boring. So, no."
Konan nodded in agreement. "I didn't join either."
"What? The second generation Akatsuki and the little rich lady didn't join? That doesn't bode well for the future of the group!" Charlie exclaimed, mockingly.
Yahiko sighed, clearly disappointed that his friends were so dismissive. "Hey, I'm right here, you know!"
He scratched the back of his head, then suddenly brightened up as if remembering something important. "Forget it. That's not the point right now. Nagato and Konan will definitely join later!"
With a mysterious flourish, he pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and showed it to the three of them. "According to our Akatsuki investigation, that mysterious ghost poop student definitely exists this time! And here's the proof."
He slapped the paper down on the table with a loud smack. The three of them leaned in to look, only to find… a detailed drawing of a poop emoji.
All three sat there speechless, staring at the paper.
Yahiko beamed with pride. "This is a drawing left behind by the ghost! Even the teachers and a bunch of students said they saw it, so it has to be real this time!"
Charlie just twitched his mouth, about to dismiss it, when Nagato rubbed the paper and, with an expressionless face, raised a finger. "Obviously fake."
"Ghosts wouldn't be using normal paint and brushes to draw, would they?" Yahiko hesitated, rubbing the drawing in his hands as he studied the colors. "Maybe… ghosts like these paints and brushes too?"
Nagato and Konan exchanged knowing smiles. 'Yeah, right.'
Sensing the mood getting tense, Charlie quickly cleared his throat. "Don't believe rumors, and don't spread them! You should believe in… "
But before he could finish, Yahiko interrupted firmly, "No! The ghost student definitely exists! So many people have seen it! Even if this drawing is fake, the ghost student has to be real!"
Grabbing the paper, he turned away. "I'm going to find it and prove I'm right!"
Just as he started to leave, Charlie called out sternly, "Stop! Don't look for it!"
Madara is already old. If he's found, for the sake of the Land of Grass's stability, Charlie'd have to take him down.
Then who would keep Konoha in check? Even though Konoha and the Land of Grass are allies...
He smirked slightly and added, 'A weakened Konoha is the best Konoha!'
"Since you're here, why not take two quizzes before you go? I specially got the 'Kusa shinobi Secret Scrolls', they're fun and educational, perfect for both entertainment and training your brain!
Most students don't even have these! Two quizzes before you leave?"
Clearly, there were never enough assignments around here. Otherwise, who'd waste time worrying about some ghost student?
***
With the academy on break, Madara finally found himself in an unusual calm. Yet, even in this quiet, the clear, crisp sound of reading echoed in his mind, the rhythmic, strange lines of poetry and lyrics kept looping over and over.
When he closed his eyes, they still surfaced, and now, without hearing them, it felt oddly unsettling. He couldn't even fall asleep. "Human nature at birth is fundamentally good…" the phrase echoed in his thoughts.
Annoyed, Madara shook off the chaotic thoughts. He was a Shura of the shinobi world, what nonsense was this talk about being "fundamentally good"?
Turning toward the nearby Uzumaki White Zetsu, he asked flatly, "What have those Kusa shinobis been up to lately?"
Since the other White Zetsu was away, this simple-minded one was his only source of information.
The Zetsu scratched his head, hesitated, then replied, "Because of the heavy snow, the Land of Grass has shut down all work and Academy. But a few days ago…"
He paused, "the Kusa shinobi Lord brought in a bunch of wandering Uzumaki clan members from across the shinobi world, and even brought back the exiled Chinoike clan from the Land of Lightning."
Madara was momentarily stunned, then frowned. "Kusagakure is recruiting wandering shinobi again?"
Wandering shinobi were outcasts for a reason, no major village accepted them without hesitation.
'That Kusa shinobi…' Madara was beginning to realize he underestimate their ambition. He said coolly, "I'm starting to misjudge him," before turning away. After all, these were trivial matters.
Even though the Uzumaki clan was once a great shinobi family, and the Chinoike clan had a blood feud with the Uchiha, none of it concerned him now.
The Land of Grass was just a small country, a speck compared to the peace of the shinobi world. If it weren't for the fact that this was good spot for hide, Madara wouldn't care at all.
With a face marked by wrinkles and gray-white hair, Madara closed his eyes and said expressionlessly, "Anything else?"
To be honest, without those noisy, boring sounds in his head, things felt a little off.
"If it's nothing important, don't bother me, I'm about to go to sleep," Madara said firmly.
Just then, White Zetsu scratched his head nervously and hesitated. "Well, there is one thing I'm not sure if I should mention…"
"Go ahead, say it," Madara urged.
"Well… it looks like we've been discovered!"