Itachi looked at Akashō with a hint of hesitation, uncertainty on his face.
"Mm, we meet again."
Akashō smiled and greeted Itachi.
"So it really is you."
Itachi looked at the much taller Akashō in surprise and sighed in admiration.
"You've grown so tall."
Akashō chuckled. "Fast growth. Can't help it."
"Itachi?"
A boy and a girl about his age looked at him curiously.
"Oh, coming."
Itachi gave Akashō an apologetic smile.
"I still have a mission to do, so I'll head off first. I'll find you later when I have time."
"Alright."
Akashō glanced at the forehead protector on Itachi's head and couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Such a young kid already became a ninja… If he had been born a few years earlier, he'd probably have been sent to the battlefield as cannon fodder.
Shaking his head, Akashō left the Hokage building, walking under an umbrella as he headed straight toward one of the most important objectives of his visit to the Hidden Leaf Village.
The Eight Gates.
Arriving at a relatively secluded area, he saw a green figure jumping swiftly between the trees.
"Guy!"
Might Guy stopped and looked over in confusion at the red-robed figure standing beneath an oil-paper umbrella, smiling.
"You are… who?"
"Akashō."
"Akashō???"
Might Guy leapt forward in a single bound, landing in front of him and giving him a thorough once-over.
"You're really Akashō?!"
"Yep."
"The Akashō who only reached my chest a year ago?!"
"Yep."
"Did you freaking take growth hormones or something?!"
Akashō's mouth twitched, and he kicked Might Guy in the backside.
"Say one more word and I'll spread that acorn story of yours."
(T/N: The "acorn story" refers to a comedic, often debated moment where Kakashi Hatake jokingly (or arguably, technically) remarks that Might Guy's manhood is only the size of an acorn.)
"Hey hey hey, don't!"
Might Guy was sent sprawling face-first, but instead of getting angry, he scrambled up and grabbed Akashō's hand.
"I believe you now, you're definitely Akashō! Just don't tell anyone about that!"
"Then you'll have to pay a price."
"A price?"
Might Guy hesitated and pulled his hand back, looking at him warily.
"Let's be clear first—I don't have any money."
"I don't want your money."
"My body is also off-limits."
"Are you doing this on purpose?!"
Akashō sighed, speechless. He really hadn't expected his refined, gentlemanly image to completely collapse in front of Might Guy.
"I want to learn your Eight Gates."
Akashō stated his purpose directly. Over the next period of time, he would be staying in the Hidden Leaf Village for quite a while. During that time, one of his goals was to strengthen his original body as much as possible—not just improving his basic physical abilities to enhance the endurance of his shadow clones, but more importantly, to obtain several techniques he had long coveted.
For example, the Eight Gates, which at its peak could unleash power surpassing Kage-level… as well as Minato Namikaze's Flying Thunder God Technique and sealing techniques.
However, dealing with Minato Namikaze had been rather troublesome. Akashō had put in quite a bit of effort, even spending time building rapport with him. Only today had he finally managed to grind down his resistance enough to obtain the Flying Thunder God scroll from him.
The problem was that the Flying Thunder God Technique was extremely unique—there were no shortcuts. It relied entirely on one's own comprehension.
As for Minato's warnings about how difficult and dangerous the learning process was, Akashō had simply let them go in one ear and out the other.
On the other hand, based on his past interactions with Might Guy during the Lightning-Fire battlefield, this side might be much easier to crack.
"The Eight Gates, huh…"
Might Guy rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"It's not that I can't teach you, but this technique is extremely dangerous and has a lot of strict requirements. Have you really thought it through?"
"Mm."
Akashō nodded. "I'm serious."
"Then alright!"
Might Guy suddenly pulled out a piece of green fabric from his waist, grinning wide and flashing his gleaming teeth.
"Before that, put on this training suit that burns with the power of youth!"
Looking at the green bodysuit in his hands, the smile on Akashō's face slowly faded.
"Is it still not too late to regret this?"
...
An hour later, Akashō left under his umbrella, while behind him, Might Guy sat slumped on the ground holding a scroll, staring blankly into space as his world seemed to crumble.
"Got both the Flying Thunder God and the Eight Gates. Next is the Uzumaki clan's sealing techniques in Kushina's hands. After that, things should be pretty relaxed. At most, I'll occasionally find chances to mess with Minato Namikaze—best case, stab him in the back and get rid of him entirely."
As Akashō walked back toward his residence, he carefully planned his time in the Hidden Leaf Village.
Strengthening his original body, Minato Namikaze, and intelligence.
These were the three reasons he insisted on coming here. As for the other villages, although the Hidden Cloud Village had once declared themselves absolute supporters of Kokushibo, Akashō simply couldn't understand it. He had clearly told the Third Raikage he would take his head—so why would they still make such a statement?
Too suspicious. Better to keep his distance.
Besides, they were talking about Kokushibo. Going there in his original form would be useless without the kind of connections he had in the Hidden Leaf Village. As for transforming into Kokushibo and going… better not.
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