"Yeah."
Akashō looked at the ANBU ninja in confusion, not understanding why he reacted so strongly.
Come to think of it… had the Uzumaki clan already been wiped out? That makes sense—Jiraiya did say he was bringing him to meet the last survivor.
Sealing techniques, chakra recovery and stamina far beyond normal people… was that the effect of the Uzumaki Constitution?
Akashō had thought it might be some kind of bloodline limit, but then… what exactly was a Nine-Tails Jinchūriki?
Just as Akashō was thinking over what the ANBU ninja had said about the Uzumaki clan, the ninja suddenly removed his mask and frantically wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
"Thank goodness you're still alive… otherwise, this time next year might've been the anniversary of my death…"
Akashō: "???"
Before Akashō could ask further, the door to the hospital room was suddenly flung open, and a red-haired woman rushed inside.
Kushina looked at the red-haired boy on the bed, and Akashō looked back at the red-haired woman who had burst in.
There was no doubt—this must be his clanswoman.
The ANBU ninja quickly stood up. Seeing that neither of them paid him any attention, he silently put his mask back on and left the room.
Kushina walked to the bedside with a complicated expression, sat down, and gently stroked Akashō's head.
"My name is Uzumaki Kushina."
"Akashō."
...
"Akashō, these three are Minato's students—Hatake Kakashi, Uchiha Obito, and Nohara Rin."
Inside Konoha Hospital, Kushina cheerfully introduced the three people beside her one by one.
"Nice to meet you."
Akashō smiled and nodded as he greeted each of them.
"So you're the clan member our sensei's wife found out there? That red hair looks awesome."
Uchiha Obito grinned widely.
"W-what do you mean 'sensei's wife'?!"
Kushina's face flushed slightly as she shot Obito an annoyed look.
"We're not married yet!"
"Well, it's bound to happen sooner or later."
"Speaking of which, what's Minato doing? Didn't he say we'd all come visit Akashō together today? Why's he missing again?"
"Things on the Cloud Village side are starting to escalate, I guess. Minato-sensei is a jonin of the village—if fighting breaks out, he'll probably be in charge over there."
Kakashi, wearing his mask, spoke his guess in a tired tone.
"War…"
At the mention of it, Kushina's expression dimmed slightly.
"The Third Great Ninja War… it's unavoidable now, isn't it?"
Akashō watched them chatting with a faint smile, but his thoughts were on what he had heard the night before.
This was already his third day in Konoha Hospital. Aside from learning some information about the Uzumaki clan from Kushina on the first day, he had also met Kushina's partner on the second day—Namikaze Minato, who was also Jiraiya's student.
And last night, thinking Akashō had already fallen asleep, Jiraiya and Minato had discussed matters related to the war.
From the current situation, Konoha and the Sand Village were already fighting fiercely. Meanwhile, the Hidden Mist Village from the Land of Water had also made a move against the Sand Village, forcing its strongest figure at present, Chiyo, to lead troops to deal with them.
This meant that the reputation points Akashō had gained earlier on the Sand Village battlefield were far from reaching their limit.
And while the Sand Village was currently fighting one against two, Konoha was in the same situation. Aside from the Sand Village, the Hidden Stone Village from the Land of Earth had also launched a full-scale attack on Konoha. The one in charge of that battlefield was none other than Orochimaru, one of the Sannin alongside Jiraiya.
Of the five great ninja villages, four had already joined the conflict. Once the Cloud Village—already growing restless—entered the war, it would officially be named the Third Great Ninja War.
Beyond the overall war situation, there was something else that caught Akashō's attention.
Jiraiya had told Namikaze Minato that when they returned to Konoha on the first day, the Third Hokage had specifically forbidden him from going to support Uchiha Fugaku on the Sand Village battlefield.
The implication behind that… was the rift between the Uchiha clan and the Third Hokage.
They were all from the same village, yet still divided against each other. The Third Hokage almost seemed like he was setting his own village on fire.
But none of that really mattered.
What mattered was where Akashō should go next.
Even if the gains weren't huge, his goal in coming to Konoha had already been achieved. It was time for him to continue on his path of gathering reputation points.
Among the three battlefields, he had already milked some gains from the Wind-Fire front. He could keep going, but the efficiency wouldn't be as good as the other two.
Which meant… he had to choose between the Wind-Water battlefield and the Earth-Fire battlefield.
...
Thanks for all the reviews! This is an extra chapter released as a reward for your reviews.