Akashō bent down, picked up the short blade, and then looked expressionlessly at the two Hidden Cloud Village ninja.
"Heh, you're just a kid who isn't even a ninja. Who are you trying to scare with that knife?"
Akashō turned his eyes toward the speaker, his voice chillingly cold.
"Kokushibo isn't a ninja either."
"So what? Kokushibo is strong because of his freakish regeneration. You really think his lousy swordsmanship is anything special?"
"If he didn't have that weird body, just relying on his sword skills, forget Kage level—he might not even reach pseudo-Kage!"
The man sneered openly, mocking him without restraint.
"Is that so."
Akashō nodded. "You're right."
In an instant, the short blade slashed forward. His breathing suddenly became long yet rapid. He could clearly feel oxygen rushing wildly into his lungs, as if it would burst his chest open. Every cell in his body surged to life at that moment.
At the same time, he channeled chakra into his arm, boosting the already amplified strength from his breathing technique even further.
"Moon Breathing, Second Form: Pearl Flower Moongazing."
Two pink-white blade winds, mixed with crescent moon slashes, instantly severed and shredded the heads of the two "Hidden Cloud Village ninja" into pieces.
Not far away, Kakashi and the other Hidden Cloud Village ninja tensed up the moment they saw the blade winds.
Due to their angle, neither of them saw that it was Akashō who unleashed the attack. They assumed Kokushibo had acted. Kakashi quickly pulled out a Flying Thunder God kunai, about to destroy the Flying Thunder God mark on it, when the two corpses fell—revealing Akashō behind them.
Akashō's body was slightly lowered, his short blade raised high, drenched in spurting blood. The tips of his bangs still dripped with it.
His lifeless, icy eyes lifted, staring at the Hidden Cloud Village ninja frozen in the distance.
Akashō's trembling left hand covered half of his numb face.
"This isn't my fault. You were the ones trying to kill me. You were the ones trying to kill me…"
"It's not my fault… it's not my fault…"
"Aka…shō?"
Kakashi's visible eye slowly widened. Anyone could tell that something was wrong with Akashō's mental state.
"Hey, what do we do, Kakashi? No one told me this kid could use Kokushibo's swordsmanship!"
The Hidden Cloud—no, the Hidden Leaf Village ninja disguised as one—revealed a look of shock. He was just an ordinary chunin, not much stronger than the two who had just been instantly killed by Akashō. Forget pseudo-Kage—he couldn't even beat Kakashi.
Cold sweat covered Kakashi's forehead. How was he supposed to know Akashō could use Kokushibo's swordsmanship?!
This was completely outside the plan.
No, this wasn't something he could handle alone anymore. To be safe, he needed to call Minato-sensei immediately.
Kakashi hurriedly reached for the Flying Thunder God mark on the kunai in his hand. At the same time, Akashō suddenly kicked off the ground, turning into an afterimage as he rushed toward the Hidden Leaf chunin just a few meters away from Kakashi. Crescent blade arcs were already spreading along his short blade.
"This is all your fault!!!"
"Moon Breathing—!"
But just as Akashō was about to strike, a figure appeared out of nowhere beside Kakashi.
It was Minato Namikaze, who had sensed the destruction of the Flying Thunder God mark and teleported over.
The moment he arrived, Minato noticed Akashō charging with the White Fang short blade toward the Hidden Leaf ninja he himself had arranged to act in the setup.
Before Kakashi could even warn him, Minato instantly used Body Flicker, stepped forward, grabbed Akashō's arm, and hurled him away.
Akashō was thrown several meters, flipping twice in the air before barely landing on his feet.
"Akashō, what are you doing?!"
Akashō stood up, his emotionless eyes fixed on Minato.
"Minato, what are you doing? Why are you protecting the enemy?"
Minato glanced around and immediately noticed the two corpses in the distance.
Damn it, was I too late?
What happened? Did Akashō do this?
How did he manage it?
Countless questions ran through Minato's mind, but now wasn't the time to dwell on them. He looked at Akashō.
"Akashō, calm down. He's not an enemy."
"You're lying."
Akashō tilted his head, like a broken puppet.
"They clearly attacked Kakashi. They wanted to kill me. Why aren't they enemies?"
Before Minato could respond, Akashō continued as if talking to himself:
"Why does everyone want to hurt me? Why… why did Jiraiya say family, only for them to attack me again and again? Why is Minato protecting the ones who hurt me? I don't understand… I don't understand!!!"
By the end, his face had twisted into a grotesque expression, his hands clutching his head.
But suddenly, his voice calmed.
His fingers parted slightly, revealing dull, lightless eyes through the gaps. Two lines of tears slid down from the corners.
"I get it now. Minato… is also an enemy, right?"
"Enemies… should be killed…"
"I'm not your damn enemy…"
Across from him, Minato and Kakashi stood completely stunned.
Minato stiffly turned his neck toward Kakashi.
"What exactly did you do to him?"
"Me?!"
Kakashi looked utterly dumbfounded.
"I didn't do anything at all!"
"Then why is he acting like he's gone insane?!"
Minato pressed a hand to his head, a headache forming. He had seen similar situations before—but those were usually in certain organizations that subjected their members to brainwashing and brutal training.
And that was exactly why he couldn't understand how Akashō ended up like this.
"…Forget it. Let's knock him out and take him back first."
But just as Minato was about to make a move, Akashō suddenly raised the short blade to his own neck.
"Didn't you say you're not an enemy, Minato? Then kill that enemy. Otherwise… I'll die right in front of you."