Before long, a group of medical ninja, led by Jiraiya's shadow clone, arrived at the Konoha Orphanage and carefully lifted the heavily injured and unconscious Akashō onto a stretcher.
Jiraiya dispelled the shadow clone and looked at the six figures standing off to the side, shrinking back in fear. His voice turned cold as he spoke:
"Explain yourselves. Who gave you the nerve to beat your own companion into this state?!"
The three troublemakers trembled and frantically shook their heads, waving their hands.
"It wasn't us, it wasn't us!"
"We just beat him up a bit—he was fine when we left!"
"We really don't know anything, we have no idea what happened!"
Their eyes were already red from fear. A few minutes earlier, Kabuto and a staff member had dragged them to the boys' dormitory, but Jiraiya had ignored them at the time, letting them stand there.
As for that bloody scene with Akashō, they couldn't understand it at all.
"So what you're saying is—you only beat Akashō up, and the injuries he has now have nothing to do with you?"
"Exactly!"
The three nodded frantically like pecking chickens.
Jiraiya said nothing more and turned to Kabuto. "What do you know?"
Kabuto straightened his back nervously. To be honest, he was panicking—he had already more or less figured out what Akashō was trying to do.
Frame others. Kill with a borrowed knife.
But what Kabuto never expected was that the "knife" Akashō chose to borrow would be Jiraiya—a massive forty-meter blade.
This strike could indeed have a huge effect. But if anything went wrong and the plan was exposed, Akashō might be protected because of Jiraiya… but he, just an ordinary orphan, would be in serious trouble.
But now the arrow was already on the string—he had boarded the pirate ship. There was no turning back.
Gritting his teeth, Kabuto spoke loudly under everyone's gaze:
"I brought Akashō to the boys' dormitory to show him around. Then they suddenly showed up and dragged him inside. I didn't dare go in until after they left."
"When I went in, I saw Akashō already badly injured. I panicked and didn't know what to do. He told me to quickly find you, so I went to the Hokage building to get you."
Kabuto's lie was half true and half false, but combined with his apparent fear of retaliation—and a hint of righteous indignation on Akashō's behalf—it immediately earned the trust of the adults present.
Jiraiya shifted his gaze back to the three troublemakers. "Anything else to say?"
They stared at Kabuto in disbelief.
"What are you saying, Kabuto?!"
"He's lying! He's lying because we beat him before!"
"Exactly! This is a setup! He must've attacked that kid after we left, and now he's trying to pin it on us!"
For a moment, the three felt like they had uncovered the truth and began shouting over each other, spitting accusations at Kabuto.
Kabuto merely adjusted his glasses.
"What really happened will be clear once Akashō wakes up. I just hope that when that time comes, you'll still be able to act this shameless."
"Like we're afraid of you! We've done nothing wrong!"
In the end, both sides stuck to their own story and followed behind Jiraiya to Konoha Hospital.
In truth, Jiraiya had already concluded that the three boys were responsible, not Kabuto.
Otherwise, how would Kabuto have known to find him after Akashō was injured? And when Jiraiya arrived at the dormitory, why hadn't Akashō directly accused Kabuto?
But knowing was one thing. Even as one of the Sannin with high status in Konoha, Jiraiya still needed evidence.
There was no physical evidence in this case—but there was a witness. Kabuto had seen everything. Next, as long as Akashō woke up and personally identified the culprits, no one would be able to interfere with the punishment.
As for what that punishment would be—that depended on Akashō himself.
"The patient has a severe fracture in the left arm, a crack in the left shin, two broken ribs, internal organ damage, moderate concussion, and multiple abrasions across the body."
"The injuries aren't life-threatening, so there's no danger to his life. However… even if his left arm recovers, it will likely retain some lasting impairment."
Inside the stark white hospital room, a medical ninja reported Akashō's condition to Jiraiya.
Jiraiya's face darkened as he nodded. The implication was clear—Akashō would likely never become a ninja in the future.
But that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. He didn't have to be a ninja. Living as an ordinary person could be fine too.
Jiraiya comforted himself briefly, then asked the medical ninja:
"When will he wake up?"
...
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