"After that, I stayed with him for a few days. Then last night, after he came back from going out, he suddenly said he'd be leaving at dawn."
"By noon, three Sand Village ninja barged in, and Kokushibo killed them."
"After that, Kokushibo left. I wanted to follow him, but he wouldn't let me, so I stayed in the cave a bit longer before preparing to leave… and that's when I ran into you."
As he finished speaking, Akashō curled his lips slightly toward Jiraiya.
"I see. So he's already left… Did he tell you why he was leaving, or where he was going?"
After hearing Akashō's explanation, Uchiha Fugaku fell into deep thought.
"No."
Akashō shook his head, his innocent expression making it seem like he truly knew nothing at all—just a passerby caught up in events.
Looking at Uchiha Fugaku's tightly furrowed brows, Akashō knew the man had been completely fooled.
This explanation perfectly filled in every gap, and with his acting, who could possibly guess that Kokushibo was actually him, Akashō?
Just as Akashō was about to turn his head to check Jiraiya's reaction, a large hand suddenly landed on his head.
What the hell? Did they find a flaw in his story!?
Startled by the sudden gesture, Akashō's heart skipped a beat. He immediately thought he'd been exposed, cold sweat forming on his back.
Ever since Uchiha Fugaku addressed Jiraiya with such respect, Akashō had been silently relieved he hadn't made a move back in the cave. Based on what he'd learned so far, the one in charge of the Konoha camp wasn't the Hokage, but rather the Uchiha clan head—Uchiha Fugaku.
And this Uchiha Fugaku had single-handedly held off the Magnet Release duo in last night's battle. His strength was likely not much weaker than Akashō's own. With that in mind, Jiraiya's strength was definitely something Akashō had to be wary of.
Not to mention, he was currently inside the Konoha camp. Besides Jiraiya, there was Uchiha Fugaku and countless Konoha ninja. On top of that, it was broad daylight—if a fight broke out now, it would be certain death.
What should he do? Maybe he could try lowering himself and joining Konoha. With Kokushibo's strength, they'd probably be interested, right?
But he had killed Konoha ninja before… would that even work?
Just as Akashō's brain was about to overheat from trying to come up with a countermeasure, Jiraiya's grinning face suddenly leaned in.
He gently ruffled Akashō's hair, his rough voice unusually softened.
"It's alright. Once we get to Konoha, you'll have a new family. The Konoha ninja will protect you and your new family. No bad people will come and take them away again."
Akashō froze for a moment, then nodded stiffly.
This guy… was comforting him?
Damn it, that scared the hell out of him. He thought the guy was about to attack.
"Hahaha, alright, don't be so nervous. You'll like Konoha, trust me!"
Jiraiya laughed as he patted Akashō's back. "Alright then, let's get moving."
Uchiha Fugaku snapped out of his thoughts and forced a stiff smile onto his serious face.
"Safe travels."
"Mm."
With that, Jiraiya wasted no time and left the Konoha camp with Akashō, heading toward Konoha Village.
Along the way, Akashō had to listen to Jiraiya brag endlessly, to the point it became exhausting.
This guy really didn't have any of the dignity you'd expect from a strong shinobi… though occasionally, there were bits of useful information mixed in that made Akashō's eyes light up.
For example, the ninja rank system he originally thought defined strength was actually more of a job classification. The true evaluation of a ninja's strength was far more complex.
Academy student, Genin, Elite Genin, Chunin, Elite Chunin, Special Jonin, Jonin, Elite Jonin, Quasi-Kage, Kage, and Super Kage.
This was the power classification Jiraiya explained to Akashō. However, one thing had to be said: these levels were merely general evaluations. Unlike the clear-cut tiers in the novels Akashō had read in his previous life, each level didn't have strict thresholds or defining characteristics.
Simply put, the ninja system was one where fighting above one's level was common—and so was sudden defeat.
The outcome of a battle depended on many factors. Unless there was an overwhelming gap in strength, the result was always unpredictable.
According to Jiraiya, Uchiha Fugaku—the leader of the Konoha camp—was roughly at the Quasi-Kage level. Meanwhile, the Sand Village's Magnet Release duo had also originally been at that same level.
But based on recent battlefield intel, Rasa was likely approaching true Kage level.
As for Kokushibo, the one Akashō was impersonating, Jiraiya considered him a newly advanced Kage-level fighter—slightly stronger than Rasa.
However, given Kokushibo's abilities, he could easily fight above his level and was unlikely to be caught off guard.