Yugito gave him a long look. "I may not understand what you're really after, but I can tell this much. You really don't want the Akatsuki getting their hands on the Tailed Beasts."
Akira was quiet for a moment before answering, "Actually, that's not it. I honestly don't care whether the Akatsuki capture the Tailed Beasts or not. I just think it'd be a waste if someone like you died."
"It's the same as back in the Land of Water. I could've used Flying Raijin and left you there without a second thought. Do you know why I didn't?"
Yugito hadn't expected there to be more to that story. Her curiosity got the better of her. "Why?"
Akira shrugged. "At first, it was just because I didn't want Samui to die. Transporting too many people at once would've taken a huge amount of chakra, and from Konoha's point of view, it actually would've been more beneficial if that Kumo ninja had died there."
"But I changed my mind. She seemed like a decent person, and it would've been a shame."
"I feel the same way about you."
"Perfect jinchuriki are incredibly rare. If you died, the ninja world would lose something worth seeing. And besides, I'm confident that even with you alive, Kumogakure would still never break through the Land of Fire."
Yugito arched a brow. "You really are arrogant. Kumogakure's overall military strength is stronger than Konoha's right now."
Akira smiled. "Overall strength, sure. You've got the edge there. But my strength alone is enough to erase that gap. Do you believe that?"
Then he turned and gave Yugito a slight smile.
It was the kind of smile filled with absolute certainty, as if he were stating nothing more than an objective fact.
Yugito stared at him for a long while before letting out a quiet breath. "Fine. Maybe you really do have that kind of power. I can't beat you, sure, but that doesn't mean Kumogakure has no one who could put you down."
Akira didn't seem bothered. "Kumo really does have no shortage of powerhouses. The Fourth Raikage, Killer B, you, and Darui. In terms of Kage-level fighters, you definitely have more than we do. But the reason I can say that with confidence is because I know Kumogakure can't break Konoha."
"And with the state of things now, you don't exactly have the time or energy to be attacking Konoha anyway."
Yugito nodded. "That much is true. The ninja world is a mess right now, and all five daimyo are leaning toward peace. No money, no supplies, no war."
The relationship between a hidden village and its daimyō had always been a delicate one. The daimyō didn't command troops directly, but they controlled the flow of money.
If the daimyo didn't want war and cut off funding, then no matter how eager a village might be, it would have no choice but to stand down.
At present, aside from Kirigakure, which had already been infiltrated by the Akatsuki, the daimyo of the Five Great Nations mostly wanted to preserve the current balance.
Yugito knew that full well. Not only the daimyo, but most ninja themselves had no desire to experience the cruelty of another war.
Akira looked at her and said with a teasing tone, "You really don't need to overthink this. I just don't want you to die, that's all. Of course, if you did die, I wouldn't exactly cry over it. At most I'd say it was a shame."
"Maybe one day you could even help teach our village's jinchuriki how to control a Tailed Beast."
Yugito finally seemed to understand. "So that's what this is really about. I knew there had to be an angle."
"You should give that up now. I do have experience, sure, but that's one of Kumogakure's highest secrets. There's no way I'd ever teach it to an outsider."
Akira smiled. "If I really wanted to know, do you honestly think you could stop me? I'd just rather make a fair trade."
"Helping a jinchuriki master that power would make dealing with the Akatsuki a lot easier too, wouldn't it?"
The memory of the genjutsu from the previous night flashed through Yugito's mind, and a cold sweat prickled across her back. She knew very well that if Akira truly wanted to force the issue, she had no real way to resist.
"It's a matter of principle. I won't say a word."
Akira gave the proud Yugito a sidelong glance. "What are you thinking? Do you really think I'd use that kind of underhanded trick on an ally? Still, I believe that one day Kumogakure will be the one begging to teach us. Want to bet on it?"
Yugito's face stayed cold. She treated the remark as if she hadn't heard it at all.
That knowledge was one of the foundations of her village. There was no world in which Kumogakure would beg to hand it over.
Seeing that she didn't believe him, Akira didn't bother pressing it. Instead, he changed the subject.
"You'll understand eventually. But that's not really the point. The point is that I honestly don't want to see you die because I admire you. It's the same reason I saved Samui back then."
"I've got to say, Kumogakure may produce more than its share of muscle-headed bruisers, but it also produces some seriously beautiful women."
"I still can't figure out what kind of luck your village has. The men are all rough as hell, but the women somehow turn out like that."
At that point, Karui's fiery temper flashed through Akira's mind.
All right, maybe there were exceptions.
She was probably the sort only Choji could truly appreciate. Most people wouldn't survive trying to handle her.
Listening to Akira talk like that, Yugito felt the boy was far too frivolous.
After all, Akira was only sixteen, while she was already a mature woman of twenty-eight.
That age gap, combined with his teasing tone, stirred a trace of irritation in her.
"You really don't sound like a proper ninja. Haven't you ever heard of the three taboos of a ninja?"
Drink, lust, and greed. The classic vices a ninja was supposed to avoid.
As a disciplined and highly self-controlled ninja, Yugito had no patience for that kind of shameless flirtation.