Kabuto shook his head.
"Danzō used the Yamanaka clan's genjutsu to forcibly probe fragments of those three kids' memories. What you and I did has already been exposed. No matter how much I try to argue, Danzō won't believe me."
"So?"
"So hurry up and run. Based on Danzō's style, if you refuse to join Root, he'll definitely kill you."
"Even Minato Namikaze can't suppress him?"
Akashō found this a bit strange. Kabuto should know his identity, yet he still said this. Could it be that, in his eyes, Danzō's authority was greater than that of the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze?
"That's not a matter of whether he can suppress him or not."
Kabuto adjusted his glasses.
"You're not Minato Namikaze's family, nor are you Minato Namikaze himself. Maybe Danzō wouldn't dare act directly against him, but as long as he doesn't target Minato Namikaze or his family, Minato Namikaze can't act against him either."
A political standoff.
Akashō narrowed his eyes, falling into thought.
"Then how does Danzō's strength compare to Minato Namikaze's?"
Kabuto shook his head.
"I don't know. No one's ever seen Danzō fight. All we know is that he's from the same generation as the Third Hokage, both disciples of the Second Hokage, and he almost became the Third Hokage himself."
"And now he controls Root, an organization comparable in size to the ANBU. If he wants to kill you, unless you stay by Minato Namikaze's side at all times, no one can protect you."
"So you're in Root now?"
Akashō didn't seem concerned by Kabuto's warning and instead asked casually about his situation.
Kabuto hesitated, then nodded.
"I see. Then why betray your own organization and tip me off instead?"
Seeing the curiosity on Akashō's face, Kabuto felt confused. He was talking about a life-or-death situation, yet this guy didn't seem tense at all.
"I have my reasons."
"Oh."
Since Kabuto didn't want to elaborate, Akashō didn't press further and simply asked another question.
"Then what about your mission after letting me go?"
Kabuto fell silent for a moment, then expressionlessly placed his right hand on his left arm. With a sharp crack, his left arm went limp.
"The target was stronger than I expected. He escaped."
"Heh."
Seeing the familiar scene, Akashō smiled faintly.
"Then go back and tell Danzō the target not only refused his invitation but was far stronger than you imagined—he just spared your life out of past ties."
With that, Akashō ignored Kabuto's reaction and walked inside.
"Hey!"
Kabuto reached out as if to stop him, but in the end, he lowered his hand.
Though he couldn't quite understand Akashō's actions, someone like him must have his own plans. All he could do was choose to trust him.
With that thought, Kabuto stopped hesitating, turned around, and headed back to Root to report to Danzō.
...
On the other side, Akashō entered the cramped room, sat on the sofa, and gently stroked his oil-paper umbrella.
"Looks like my time in the Hidden Leaf Village won't just be about keeping an eye on Minato Namikaze."
The reason Akashō was so unconcerned about Danzō was simple.
First of all, in terms of strength—someone who didn't even become Hokage and had no notable reputation couldn't possibly be that strong.
If the other party were the type who pursued strength without caring about status, then why bother being the leader of Root?
From another angle, if he really intended to clash with Minato Namikaze over a mere kid, then it basically meant his brain hadn't fully developed.
Given Akashō's current persona, he was just an ordinary kid with weak strength. The reason Danzō was looking for him now was to recruit him into Root, just like Kabuto.
But if that were the case, then either Root wasn't that impressive—or Danzō already knew about his connection to Kokushibo and wanted to use him to probe information about the Dark Council.
Either way, it didn't matter. Akashō was certain Danzō wouldn't act against him. Of course, if it really came to a fight, he wouldn't mind revealing some of his abilities ahead of time.
As for whether Danzō would tell Minato Namikaze about how Akashō had framed those three kids earlier…
So what if he did?
From Akashō's perspective, anyone who used methods like directly probing the memories of living people was fundamentally different from Minato Namikaze and the others. Even if Danzō told them, compared to him, they would be more inclined to trust Akashō.
Danzō… heh. Judging by his current behavior, he was nothing more than a useless fool—no strength, no courage, no brains.
Akashō shook his head, stood up, took off his red robe, and got into bed, ready to sleep.
Come to think of it, he hadn't noticed before—but there seemed to be quite a few ANBU ninja hidden around Kushina.
Was it for protecting the jinchūriki, or for surveillance and restriction?
...
"Akashō-san?"
At the Hokage Building, just after finishing a friendly chat with Minato Namikaze and leaving, Akashō ran into Itachi, who was just entering the building.