Namikaze Minato never expected that just because he fought once, he'd end up being labeled a scumbag.
"Then at least tell me—what exactly is Akashō's situation?"
Seeing that he couldn't get any information about the forces behind Kokushibo and the others, Namikaze Minato could only settle for the next best thing and try to resolve this lingering worry of Kushina's first.
"What Akashō? I don't know them."
Namikaze Minato said expressionlessly, "Before we started fighting, you even asked me if I went there because of Akashō."
Akashō: "..."
Forgot about that.
"No idea. Got hit dumb. Can't remember."
Akashō replied impatiently, brushing him off.
Minato sighed. "There are guards outside the tent. If you're hungry or thirsty, have them come in and feed you."
After speaking, he stood up and walked out of the tent.
About ten minutes after Minato left, Akashō quickly used En, extending it beyond the tent to probe the surroundings.
Nighttime. Hidden Leaf Village camp. Is this the Lightning-Fire battlefield? Two ninja are guarding outside the tent.
Akashō thought for a while, then exited Neferpitou's template state. His body instantly shrank back to its original form, and the tightly wrapped bandages loosened.
"Heh, trying to trap me? You're ten thousand years too early."
Grinning, Akashō slipped out of the bundle of bandages. But before he could continue, he noticed a string of black curse markings had appeared on his arm.
"What the hell is this?"
He rubbed at it, but it wouldn't come off. "Why does this look kinda familiar…"
Suddenly, he recalled the markings on Minato's Flying Thunder God kunai during their fight.
"Damn, this thing can stay on a person too?!"
In an instant, it all clicked. Right—how did he get hit by that Rasengan that day? Because Minato suddenly teleported right in front of him.
So this Flying Thunder God mark can be left anywhere at will? Then what's even the point of fighting—once you get close and he leaves a mark, you're basically dead.
Monster. Absolute monster. Namikaze Minato really is a monster.
Nope, can't fight him. This guy is definitely stronger than the Third Raikage—he's probably already reached that legendary level Jiraiya talked about, beyond Kage.
In that moment, Minato's danger level in Akashō's mind shot to the very top, surpassing the Five Great Nations' Kage. He made a firm decision: until he unlocked the next level of the Villain Template, he would never fight Namikaze Minato again.
After all, even the strongest Neferpitou template couldn't beat Minato. As for the Kokushibo template and Bertholdt Hoover template—honestly, they'd only last a bit longer, nothing more. Minato wasn't just terrifying in ninjutsu and combat sense—his speed was absurd too. Especially that final state with the yellow eye shadow and horizontal pupils—without using Terpsichora, even Neferpitou couldn't match him.
Kokushibo's immortality could indeed make it impossible for Minato to kill him in a single night—but then what? Being chased all night—could he escape?
Obviously not.
As for Bertholdt Hoover, there was no need to even consider it in a one-on-one fight. Though, since he was currently inside the Hidden Leaf Village camp, he could try attacking other ninja to lure Minato out.
But what if Minato wasn't the type to risk himself for others? Then he'd be done for. Too risky—definitely not worth trying.
Sigh, why even bother overthinking this.
Akashō shook his head. The most important thing right now was figuring out how to slip out of this Lightning-Fire battlefield camp.
His previous plan was definitely no longer viable. He absolutely couldn't get involved in the Lightning-Fire battlefield anymore—better to go to the Wind-Water battlefield and farm reputation instead.
"But I still need to get rid of this thing."
Sitting cross-legged, Akashō stared at the Flying Thunder God mark on his arm, troubled.
After a while, inspiration struck. He transformed into Kokushibo, used his Blood Demon Art to create a longsword, and directly cut off the chunk of flesh bearing the mark.
With the regenerative power of the Demon Body, the flesh quickly grew back. Then he carefully checked his entire body and found two more marks—one on his calf and one on his back.
Especially the one on his back—he had to struggle awkwardly for quite a while before finally cutting it off.
Thanks to the Demon Body's effects, not only did the removed flesh regenerate, but the buzzing in his head also subsided, including his face that had been disfigured by the Rasengan.
"Nice."
Looking at the three chunks of flesh on the ground, each bearing a Flying Thunder God mark, Akashō nodded in satisfaction. The hidden danger was completely eliminated.
Then he quietly moved to the tent entrance. Through the Transparent World, he could clearly see the positions of the two ninja outside.
With a swift slash of his longsword, Akashō efficiently caught the two ninja as they fell with pierced chests, dragging them into the tent.
After hesitating for a moment, he reverted to his original form, then cautiously poked his head out and slipped out of the tent.
The reason he switched back was to avoid being detected by Minato. After all, none of his three templates could beat that guy. If he got unlucky and was discovered, Minato probably wouldn't attack him in his original form.
Wait… was he being overly cautious?
Since he already knew Minato probably wouldn't harm his original body, wouldn't it be better to just walk out openly? At worst, he'd just end up back in the Hidden Leaf Village and could find another chance to escape later.
As he thought, Akashō removed the clothes he had worn in the Neferpitou template and casually grabbed a piece of black cloth to wrap around himself.
No, no—that won't do. Minato had mentioned earlier that there were genjutsu capable of probing memories. Right now, they all believed his original body had some special connection to Kokushibo and the others. If someone developed ill intent and used genjutsu to examine his memories, he'd just be asking for trouble.