But…
Akashō glanced at Kakashi beside him. With this guy around, it wasn't easy to ask anything.
Blame that trash system too—having to speak out loud just to ask a question. What a ridiculous setting.
Still, if that thing could actually read his thoughts, Akashō felt an inexplicable lack of security.
"Kakashi."
Just as Akashō stood there in a daze alongside Kakashi, his mind wandering, a Hidden Leaf Village ninja lifted the tent flap and walked in.
"What is it?"
Kakashi snapped back to his senses and looked at the man.
The ninja glanced at Akashō, then beckoned Kakashi over. "Minato-sama has an order."
Kakashi frowned and stepped closer. The man leaned in and whispered a string of words into Kakashi's ear before leaving straight away.
Under Akashō's curious gaze, Kakashi turned to him with a grave expression.
"We're heading back to the Hidden Leaf Village, Akashō."
"Huh?"
Akashō froze for a moment, then widened his eyes in disbelief.
"I'm going back to the Hidden Leaf Village?"
That damn pervert Minato Namikaze… he's finally letting go?
"Yeah. I'll explain the details on the way. Don't bring anything—we leave immediately!"
"Th-that urgent?"
Before Akashō could react, Kakashi grabbed him and pulled him up. Feeling puzzled by Kakashi's haste, Akashō protested,
"At least let me take a leak first!"
Not long after, Kakashi led Akashō out of the Hidden Leaf Village camp, heading straight toward the Hidden Leaf Village.
As they left, Akashō noticed that all the Hidden Leaf Village ninjas looked grim and highly alert, as if some danger was about to arrive.
"Hey, Kakashi, what's going on? Don't tell me the Hidden Cloud Village ninjas are attacking?"
Akashō probed. If that were the case… wouldn't that be a whole field of fresh "crops"?
No, wait. With Minato Namikaze around, better not risk it—don't lose the big picture chasing small gains.
Now that he had already left the camp, it seemed like he could kill Kakashi at any moment and escape… or rather, make a tactical retreat.
Following behind Kakashi at a quick pace, a faint killing intent gradually appeared in Akashō's gaze as he stared at Kakashi's back.
"Yeah, that's right. The Hidden Cloud Village has made a move."
Kakashi remained vigilant of the surroundings as he explained,
"Your connection with Kokushibo has been exposed. The Hidden Cloud Village found out and wants to capture you to use you as leverage against him."
Hearing this, Akashō frowned immediately.
Something's wrong with that.
As far as he knew, only three people were aware of his connection with Kokushibo—Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Minato Namikaze.
Jiraiya and Minato both understood the stakes. They wouldn't spread that information carelessly. Even if they told someone else, it would only be someone they deeply trusted, like Kakashi. It shouldn't have leaked.
As for Orochimaru, although he didn't have much of a relationship with Akashō, his interest in Kokushibo's body meant he wouldn't easily oppose him.
More importantly, during his battle with A, although A had indeed tried to recruit him, he hadn't pressed the issue after being refused. He didn't seem like someone who would resort to underhanded schemes.
Unless something unusual had happened over the past few months—but that seemed unlikely.
Akashō shifted his gaze toward the forest beside them, narrowing his eyes.
Come to think of it… the ninjas Minato arranged to secretly monitor him—were they still following?
In his normal state, Akashō's perception was weak, so he couldn't be sure whether anyone was trailing him.
If they were just ordinary ninjas, that would be fine. After switching to the Neferpitou template, he could instantly kill Kakashi and then eliminate the others to prevent his cheat ability from being exposed.
But the real concern was if those people also carried Flying Thunder God kunai. If they saw him transform into Neferpitou and immediately destroyed the teleportation marks, that would be troublesome.
Better to stay cautious. He'd escape after returning to the Hidden Leaf Village. He didn't know the range of Minato's Flying Thunder God sensing, but the village would definitely be outside it.
Just as Akashō settled on escaping later and relaxed slightly, Kakashi suddenly stopped.
Before Akashō could ask what was wrong, Kakashi had already drawn the short blade from his back.
Looking ahead, three tall men wearing Hidden Cloud Village headbands stepped out of the shadows and into view.
Hidden Cloud Village ninjas… they caught up?
Akashō frowned slightly. Kakashi was a jōnin—he should be able to handle them, right?
But the moment that thought crossed his mind, Kakashi—who had rushed forward—was kicked by the man in the middle and sent flying over a dozen meters, crashing to the ground.
"What the hell??"
Seeing Kakashi get taken out in a single kick, Akashō was dumbfounded. Are you kidding me?
Could Kakashi have gotten his rank through connections? How is he this weak?
After sending Kakashi flying, the three Hidden Cloud Village ninjas turned toward Akashō with sinister grins and began walking toward him.
Akashō instinctively assumed a defensive stance, while glancing again at the surrounding forest.
Why hasn't anyone else shown up yet? Did Minato really withdraw everyone, leaving only Kakashi to escort him back?
Or were those people only assigned to monitor him, not protect him?
That shouldn't be the case…
Akashō grew restless. In this situation… should he transform or not?
Wait.
Akashō's pupils suddenly contracted. Everything that had happened within this short hour flashed rapidly through his mind.
This… is a fishing enforcement setup!?