In that brief instant, Kabuto felt his whole body shudder, cold sweat soaking through his back.
Why… could he still smile?
Even though he already knew all of this was just Akashō's scheme, that calm, composed demeanor—as if everything were under control—and that faint, delighted smile still stirred a deep, instinctive fear within him.
The ability to mercilessly beat himself into serious injury without hesitation, then perform with such flawless acting as if every lie had truly happened… the breezy indifference after the scheme succeeded, and that almost childlike joy.
It felt like… he had run into a monster.
"Um, Akashō… I'll be going now."
Kabuto adjusted his glasses. Staying here any longer made him feel uneasy, even a little panicked.
Jiraiya lowered his head, and Akashō's smile quickly faded into a vacant expression.
"Mm. Thanks this time."
Kabuto's lips twitched. He said nothing, simply turning and quietly leaving the hospital room.
After he left, an ANBU ninja entered shortly after.
Through the holes of his mask, he glanced at Akashō, whose body was wrapped in casts and bandages. He opened his mouth, but in the end lowered his head without saying anything.
Looking at the somewhat familiar ANBU ninja, Akashō paused for a moment.
"I heard from him that you told him you were just an orphan I picked up?"
Jiraiya hesitated before asking Akashō.
At that point, Akashō finally understood what was going on. Most likely, this guy had taken him to the Konoha orphanage and ended up being blamed by Jiraiya for it.
Well, not exactly blamed—after all, the whole thing started because of Akashō's own mischievous urge to mess with this ANBU ninja.
But things had already developed this far. If he kept acting recklessly, it wouldn't do him any good.
"I'm sorry…"
Akashō spoke weakly. "You can't blame him. I just wasn't ready to meet my clan yet, so I wanted to wander around somewhere else for a bit…"
Hearing that, the ANBU ninja immediately let out a sigh of relief, while Jiraiya simply nodded without saying much.
After all, this matter didn't really have much to do with the ANBU ninja. At most, he had just been a bit foolish, getting tricked by a child—and an ANBU at that. Still, Jiraiya had to consider Akashō's feelings. If Akashō had insisted on blaming him, Jiraiya would have had to make some sort of gesture.
Of course, at most it would've been a light punishment. But since Akashō was being so reasonable and chose to take the blame onto himself, there was no need for that.
"Are you hungry? I'll go buy you some lunch."
Jiraiya softened his voice as he asked. Akashō nodded.
Jiraiya gently laid him flat on the hospital bed and prepared to leave. "Wait for me."
Before stepping out, he instructed the ANBU ninja, "Please watch over him. Don't let anyone get close."
"Yes."
Once Jiraiya left, the ANBU ninja stepped forward and sat at the foot of the bed.
"Thanks."
Akashō raised an eyebrow in surprise. "For what?"
"For not putting the blame on me. Otherwise, Lord Jiraiya would've definitely held me responsible."
"You're that afraid of Jiraiya?"
"How could I not be?"
Because of what had happened earlier, the ANBU ninja finally opened up a bit.
"That's Jiraiya of the Sannin—a legendary ninja who became famous in the Second Shinobi War. His anger… let alone me, even if my entire clan were dragged in, we might not be able to bear it."
"Clan?"
Akashō showed some interest. "Do you have a kekkei genkai?"
"No."
The ANBU ninja shook his head.
"Then what kind of clan is that?" Akashō curled his lip. "Sounds like you're just bragging. Pretty boring."
"Who says a ninja clan has to have a kekkei genkai?"
The ANBU ninja sounded dissatisfied. "Our Yamanaka clan is a secret technique clan."
"Secret technique?"
"It's… a rather special kind of jutsu. Not one of the five nature transformations, and not a kekkei genkai either."
"I see."
Akashō lost interest in continuing the conversation, tilting his head back to stare blankly at the ceiling.
So boring.
"Oh, right—have you heard of the Uzumaki clan?"
At that moment, Akashō suddenly remembered the real reason he had come to Konoha. Since this black-cloaked man was from a ninja clan, he probably knew about other clans too.
"The Uzumaki clan? The one that was wiped out after the Second Shinobi War."
The ANBU ninja touched his mask, thinking.
"I've heard of them. After all, two of Konoha's Nine-Tails jinchūriki were from the Uzumaki clan."
"I don't know much beyond that. I only know the Uzumaki are skilled in sealing techniques and have special constitutions, with chakra, stamina, and recovery abilities far beyond ordinary people."
"Oh, right—there's also a signature trait of the Uzumaki clan: a head of vivid…"
The ANBU ninja turned his head and froze upon seeing Akashō's bright red hair.
"Red hair…"
"You're from the Uzumaki clan!?"
...
Thanks for all the reviews! This is an extra chapter released as a reward for your reviews.