This time, Jiraiya returned to the Hidden Leaf Village not only to pay respects to Minato and his wife and to visit Akashō, but more importantly because the village had suffered heavy losses in strength, its position was unstable, and it might soon face probing from other ninja villages. He had to come back and take charge.
But if the truth of the matter really was as he had begun to suspect after Akashō's subtle hints earlier, then there would be no point staying in the Hidden Leaf Village at all.
Akashō watched Jiraiya's hurried figure disappear into the distance and curled his lips slightly. Whether that old man Hiruzen Sarutobi cared about others' opinions or not, this would at least cause him a bit of trouble.
Akashō stood up and leisurely walked out of the cemetery.
Suddenly, he noticed several pedestrians approaching from across the road. Instantly, he adjusted his posture—his entire demeanor shifting from relaxed to weary and sorrowful.
"Hey, that person… isn't that Uzumaki Akashō?"
"Yeah, the Fourth Hokage's adopted son. The last survivor of the Uzumaki clan."
"Speaking of the Uzumaki clan… could he have something to do with that Uzumaki Naruto?"
"Who knows."
"But I heard this Uzumaki Akashō isn't even a ninja. Is it because he doesn't have the talent? Compared to his background, doesn't that make him kind of useless?"
"Why even care about that? What you don't know is, what he's really good at… is writing."
"What? He writes books?"
"Yeah—Breaking the Heavens of Shinobi."
"No way… he's the one who wrote Breaking the Heavens of Shinobi?!"
"Damn it, I can't take this. I'm going over there to roast him."
Because of Namikaze Minato's death, Akashō had become unusually eye-catching in the public eye. This, too, was one of the small inconveniences left behind by Minato's death.
Akashō stopped walking and looked at the passerby who had stepped forward, frowning, to block his path.
"What is it?"
"You're the one who wrote Breaking the Heavens of Shinobi, right?"
"Yeah."
"What the hell kind of garbage did you write? It's disgusting. The protagonist's brain doesn't work, and you're forcing readers to lose IQ along with him, you—"
Akashō suddenly slapped him, sending the man flying several meters before crashing to the ground, motionless.
"Damn idiot. Running your mouth over some damn book is one thing, but coming up to my face and yapping? If you're so great, go write one yourself. Screw off."
With a dark expression, Akashō spat on the ground, leaving the unconscious passerby behind as he walked off alone.
...
"Have you heard? The Hidden Cloud Village is sending envoys for negotiations."
"Seriously? Thank goodness—it's finally ending. I thought we'd have to fight them again."
"No way. The Third Raikage already stepped down and went traveling. As for the Fourth Raikage who just took over? He wouldn't dare."
Sitting on a rooftop, Akashō listened to the chatter from the street below, narrowing his eyes.
"Finally about to end… took way too long. The Hidden Cloud Village didn't even make a move, and it still took over a year to settle everything. Honestly, Hiruzen Sarutobi is terrible at leading wars. The earlier victory was basically brute force."
Akashō leapt down from the rooftop, opened the oil-paper umbrella in his hand, and headed toward the cemetery.
Over the past year or so, aside from hanging out with Kakashi and the others and practicing the Flying Thunder God, Akashō mostly came here to put on a show and avoid Hiruzen Sarutobi's surveillance. It had practically become a daily routine.
With practiced ease, he placed flowers before the gravestone, then sat down under his umbrella, putting on a melancholy expression.
"Um…"
"Hm?"
Suddenly, Akashō noticed a small shadow appear on the ground before him. He looked up and saw a tiny girl—round and soft like a rice dumpling.
More importantly, her eyes were pure white, like cataracts.
Byakugan. A member of the Hyūga clan.
"This is for you."
The little girl clenched her chubby hand into a fist and held it out to him. When she opened it, a piece of candy lay in her palm.
Akashō narrowed his eyes slightly and took the candy.
"Why give me this?"
"Because… you look very bitter. Eating candy will make it sweeter."
The girl shrank her neck shyly, speaking in a soft, childish voice.
"Heh."
Akashō chuckled lightly and shook his head, then placed the candy back into her hand.
"How do you know I don't actually like that bitterness?"
"I…"
Suddenly, a man with the same white eyes hurried over, scooped the little girl into his arms, and cast Akashō a cold glance.
"Miss Hinata, don't talk to this kind of person again."
Miss Hinata?
Akashō glanced at the girl in the man's arms. So she was Hyūga Hiashi's daughter—the young lady of the main branch.
"What kind of person am I?"
Akashō stood up and looked directly at the man.
The man snorted coldly. "A despicable, shameless scoundrel who spreads malicious rumors about others!"
Akashō raised an eyebrow. He knew exactly what the man was referring to—his novel Breaking the Heavens of Shinobi, where he had gender-swapped Hyūga Hiashi into a woman and written her as a villain.