"You really aren't afraid of dying, huh!?"
The boy who had just sworn that if he didn't beat Akashō to death he'd be his son immediately flew into a rage and tried to turn back to keep hitting him, but the other two quickly held him back.
"What are you rushing for? Wait until lights out tonight, drag him outside, and you can do whatever you want with him. If you break him all at once, it'll cause trouble."
In the end, persuaded by the other two, the angriest boy reluctantly gave up continuing the beating for now.
He pointed coldly at Akashō. "Just wait, kid. I'll beat you until you kneel and call me dad."
"Call you what?"
"Dad!"
"Ah, good boy."
"You—!!!"
Seeing that he was about to explode again, the other two hurriedly dragged him out of the boys' dorm.
Akashō stood up, brushed off his dust-covered clothes, and began checking the injuries on his body.
"Akashō."
At that moment, Kabuto, who had been waiting outside the door, hurried in.
"Are you okay?"
Akashō looked at the faint swelling on his arms and back, his brows tightly furrowed.
"This isn't enough."
"Not enough?"
Kabuto looked at him in confusion. Had he been hit in the head and gone stupid?
Akashō glanced at him. "Grab my hand."
"Huh?"
Still confused, Kabuto grabbed the left arm Akashō extended. Akashō picked up a nearby broom, weighed it in his hand twice, then suddenly smashed it down.
"Crack!!"
The broom snapped clean in the middle—and at the same time, so did Akashō's left arm.
"Ahh!!!"
A scream rang out the next second—but it wasn't Akashō. It was Kabuto.
Staring at Akashō's left arm, now twisted at an unnatural angle, Kabuto's eyes—usually narrowed like Yakushi Nono's—went wide in shock. Terrified, he dropped to the floor.
"Your arm—your arm!!"
"Your head, more like."
Akashō kicked him in annoyance.
"I'm the one getting hurt, not you. What are you screaming for?"
"You…"
Kabuto pointed at him with a trembling hand. He couldn't understand—why would Akashō do something like this? And more importantly, how could he stay so calm afterward?
"What, you don't want to get rid of those three pieces of trash who bully people in the orphanage all day?"
Akashō crouched down and looked him straight in the eyes.
"What you said before wasn't entirely correct. You thought that because the injuries are minor, there won't be serious punishment?"
"The truth is, the director you admire is just the orphanage's manager. She doesn't have the authority to deal with those three however she wants."
"Everyone here is a worthless orphan. Even if someone gets beaten to death by them, no one will come out to seek justice."
"Real justice is something you have to pursue yourself. And right now, that opportunity is right in front of you."
Under Akashō's calm voice, Kabuto finally steadied himself. He pushed up his glasses.
"What do you need me to do?"
"Go to the Hokage building and find Jiraiya. Tell him Akashō's arm was broken."
"Jiraiya? You mean that Jiraiya from the Konoha Sannin? You know him?"
Seeing the shock in Kabuto's eyes, Akashō smiled faintly.
"Just do what I tell you. Don't ask so many questions. Too much curiosity won't do you any good."
Kabuto felt a chill run down his spine. He quickly scrambled to his feet.
"O-Okay, I got it. I'll go right now."
With that, Kabuto hurried out of the boys' dorm. Akashō reached out and touched his bent, reversed left arm.
Damn, that really hurts.
"But it's still not enough…"
Now that Kabuto was gone, Akashō had no more restraints. He directly transformed into Kokushibo, his clothes tearing apart under the change.
He controlled his Demon Body to prevent it from healing his broken arm, clenched his right fist, and slammed it into his right leg, chest, and head before quickly reverting to his original form.
"Pfft—"
The moment he changed back, Akashō couldn't hold it in and spat out a mouthful of blood. Then he lay down on the cold floor, a faint smile at the corner of his lips.
"This level… should be enough."
Not long after, hurried footsteps echoed down the hallway outside the dorm. Akashō immediately understood—Kabuto had most likely brought someone back.
In the next instant, the relaxed expression on his face twisted into pain.
"Akashō!!"
The dorm door was kicked open. Jiraiya rushed in in a panic—and what he saw was blood all over the floor and Akashō curled up on the ground.
Kabuto followed closely behind. The moment he saw the blood everywhere, his brain completely froze.
What the hell happened? It wasn't like this when he left…?
...
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