That's it.
Why would a war that mobilized almost all the shinobi be fought directly inside the Hidden Leaf Village camp instead of moving out to a battlefield?
Why would my fake relationship with Kokushibo be exposed, and why did the Hidden Cloud Village ninja discover Kakashi and me not long after we left?
Why could Kakashi, a jonin, instantly take someone down with a single kick without even activating Lightning Release Chakra Mode? And why weren't the other shinobi, who were most likely still watching nearby, making a move?
There's only one possibility: those three Hidden Cloud Village ninja are actually Hidden Leaf Village ninja in disguise.
This is a fishing operation set up by Minato Namikaze, meant to lure out Kokushibo.
The reason he insisted so forcefully on keeping me by his side might partly be because he was worried I'd disappear again, but more likely, he saw me as bait.
In his mind, Kokushibo would probably try to infiltrate the Hidden Leaf Village camp and take me away, so he secretly stationed shinobi to watch, hoping to seize the opportunity to capture him.
But months passed, and Kokushibo still didn't show up. So he got anxious. He probably thought Kokushibo had learned about his strength from Neferpitou and became wary, not daring to come. That's why he made an excuse for Kakashi to take me out of the camp, hoping Kokushibo would seize the chance to attack along the way.
Unfortunately, because the Hidden Cloud Village hadn't made any moves, Minato had to remain at headquarters for safety reasons and couldn't leave easily. As a result, Kakashi couldn't take Akashō too far from the Hidden Leaf Village camp.
So now, they've sent Hidden Leaf shinobi disguised as Hidden Cloud ninja to pretend to threaten Akashō. If Kokushibo is nearby, there's no way he'd just stand by.
But looking at it this way, even though Minato's combat instincts are terrifyingly sharp, he's really not suited for this kind of conspiracy. There are way too many holes.
Of course, all of this is just Akashō's speculation. While he's confident his guess is mostly correct, there's still a slight chance he's wrong.
But even if he is, so what? Even if Kakashi is telling the truth, they're clearly trying to use him to force Kokushibo out. It's not like they'd actually kill him.
As his brief thoughts ended, the three Hidden Cloud ninja had already approached him.
The one who had kicked Kakashi away drew a kunai gleaming with cold light.
"Kid, you're Uzumaki Akashō, right? Tell me where Kokushibo is, or you'll die a miserable death."
Akashō pretended to steady himself, forcing calm into his voice. "I… I don't know…"
"You don't know? Then die."
The man thrust his kunai forward without hesitation, his expression icy. For a moment, Akashō even wondered if he'd misjudged everything.
But just as the blade was a finger's width from his throat, and he was about to transform—
A dark figure suddenly rushed in.
"Not a chance!"
The Hidden Cloud ninja knocked away the kunai Kakashi had thrown, then blocked Kakashi's follow-up vertical slash.
"You took my kick and can still move? Not bad!"
They clashed for a few seconds before separating. Breathing heavily, Kakashi stood in front of Akashō.
"Stay alert, Akashō. This guy's at quasi-Kage level—I can't hold him off for long."
Then why don't you just destroy the mark on that Flying Thunder God kunai in your hand and call Minato over?
Akashō kept a mix of fear and relief on his face, but inwardly he sneered.
Sure enough, just when he was about to "die," Kakashi jumped back into action. Even at such a critical moment, he still wasn't using a big summoning move to bring Minato over. If this wasn't an act, then what was?
Their acting wasn't bad, though.
Too bad it was another flaw. The scroll Orochimaru gave him clearly listed all the strong shinobi of the Hidden Cloud Village—basically just the Third Raikage and the A and B duo. The so-called quasi-Kage-level Hidden Cloud ninja Kakashi mentioned clearly didn't match the appearance described in that intel.
Having completely seen through the setup, Akashō suddenly felt bored.
Not just because Minato's scheme was so clumsy, but also because it meant his earlier plan to escape using this opportunity had turned into nothing.
He could already guess how things would play out next. All he had to do was act like a normal six-year-old in this situation and fool them, and everything would be fine.
Meanwhile, Kakashi charged at the Hidden Cloud ninja again and again, only to be knocked down each time. In less than half a minute, Akashō saw him fall at least five times, yet each time he got back up like a cockroach and rushed in again.
Passionate? Not really. Maybe it would've felt that way if he hadn't seen through it, but now Akashō almost felt like grabbing a bucket of popcorn and sitting down to watch.
Though the fight choreography was a bit fake. At least throw in some blood—if nothing else, use ketchup.
At that moment, the other two Hidden Cloud ninja, who had been standing still, finally moved. They bypassed Kakashi and the first ninja, heading straight toward Akashō.
"Akashō!"
Kakashi got distracted for a moment and was kicked to the ground again. The short sword in his hand flew out and landed right at Akashō's feet.
Akashō glanced at the blade, then at the two approaching ninja. A sudden idea struck him.
Even though he could safely get through this whole setup without doing anything, wouldn't that be too boring?
Why not make things more interesting—secretly stab Minato in the back and let him suffer a bit?
In that instant, Akashō felt as if a gaping mouth opened inside him, revealing sharp teeth dripping with blood and bits of flesh.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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