"Who's there!?"
Before Akashō could figure out the direction out of the Hidden Leaf Village camp, a cold shout rang out behind him.
His neck stiff, he slowly turned around—and standing right in front of him was the one person he least wanted to meet: Minato Namikaze.
Just my luck… the one thing I didn't want happens anyway.
"Akashō?"
Seeing the boy wrapped in a black robe, Minato froze for a moment.
"What are you doing here?"
He quickly stepped forward, crouched down, grabbed Akashō by the shoulders, and turned him around twice to check him over.
"You're not hurt, are you?"
"N-no."
Akashō hurriedly stopped him, forcing a smile.
"Kokushibo… sent me back."
Good thing I saw this coming and switched back to my original body ahead of time. Otherwise, I'd definitely be getting beaten again—especially my face. Even though it had already healed, it still throbbed faintly.
"Kokushibo?"
Minato paused, his expression tightening as he thought it over. They had just captured Neferpitou, and now Kokushibo sent Akashō back… was this meant to be an exchange?
No… they're not idiots. They'd know I wouldn't hand someone over so easily.
Minato's expression suddenly changed. He grabbed Akashō and dashed toward the tent where he had been held earlier.
Seeing the two trails of blood stretching into the tent, Minato's face turned grim.
He covered Akashō's eyes before lifting the curtain. Inside were two corpses—and a bundle of bandages.
"When did this happen…"
With his eyes covered, Akashō felt the warmth of Minato's body so close to him. Fear and killing intent mixed together in his chest.
At this distance… if I attacked, could he react in time?
But what if I failed?
And… what if he suddenly attacked me first?
Akashō's thoughts spiraled into chaos. Countless possibilities tangled together. The only reason he could even think this much was because he was still relatively calm. If he were in the middle of a fight with Minato, he wouldn't bother thinking at all—he'd just go straight for his kidney without hesitation.
After a long moment, Minato came back to his senses. He led Akashō away from the tent before finally letting go.
"What's wrong?"
Even though he already knew what Minato had seen, Akashō still asked, staying in character.
"Nothing."
Minato shook his head, then called over a patrol squad and told them to deal with it.
After that, he brought Akashō to the main tent and found him a set of clothes.
"Tell me—what have you been through during this time?"
Akashō took the tea Minato handed him. "Do I… have to say?"
Minato opened his mouth as if to press further, but in the end, he just sighed and let it go.
"From now on, stay by my side. That way Kokushibo won't come and take you again."
"Ah…"
Akashō froze, confused. Stay by his side all the time? How the hell am I supposed to escape then?
"What's wrong? Is there a problem?"
Tilting his head, Akashō hesitated, then tested the waters.
"But… I kind of like staying with Kokushibo and the others."
Minato frowned deeply at that. After a moment, he sighed and looked at him seriously.
"Listen, Akashō. I don't know what kind of bond you have with Kokushibo and the others, what you've been through together, or how they've treated you. But let's look at the facts."
"You were seriously injured back in the Hidden Leaf Village. Normally, you should've been bedridden for months recovering. But Kokushibo barged in, took you away, and even killed several innocent Konoha ninja in the process."
"You might not know this, but they've caused massive trouble recently. Out of the Five Great Ninja Villages, they've already provoked four. Staying with them is extremely dangerous for you."
Minato spoke patiently, clearly believing his reasoning made sense.
"No matter how strong they are, that strength belongs to them—not you. And they're not invincible either. Didn't I just capture that newly appeared Neferpitou alive?"
"And look at you—how long have you even been with them? You don't even have proper clothes, just wrapped in a piece of black cloth. I bet you've been living rough out there too, right?"
"If you stay here with me, I can at least guarantee you'll have food, water, and a proper bed. You won't go hungry, you won't freeze, and if there's danger, I can protect you. Why give up a comfortable life just to go suffer out there?"
Akashō looked at Minato pitifully. He sounded just like those nagging relatives from his past life, lecturing nonstop. Meanwhile, Akashō was desperately trying to figure out how to argue back.
"But—"
"No 'but.'"
Minato cut him off. "You're staying with me until this war ends. Once the world is peaceful again, you can go wherever you want with Kokushibo and the others. I won't stop you. Deal?"
As for whether Kushina would stop you then… that's not my problem.
Akashō's mouth twitched.
By the time the war ends, all those 'leeks' will be harvested clean. What the hell would be left to play with then?
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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