No, I can't attack them. It would interfere with my next plans.
But under this instinctual urge, Akashō could barely control himself from charging at the two.
In his urgency, his mind spun rapidly, and he immediately came up with a solution.
In the next second, his tall figure suddenly shrank, reverting to his original form.
This way, although the hunger was still unbearably intense, at least he wouldn't lose control and devour them.
But this desperate move would also bring a lot of trouble—it all depended on whether his excuse could pass.
"Akashō!?"
When the imposing Kokushibo suddenly turned into the small boy they were familiar with, Kakashi and Nohara Rin both widened their eyes in disbelief.
"Yeah, it's me! Hurry and give me something to eat—I'm starving to death!"
Seeing the pained look on Akashō's face, the two didn't hesitate. They quickly went over, each taking out water and food, then watched in a daze as he wolfed everything down.
After quite a while, once Akashō had finally filled his stomach, Nohara Rin hesitantly glanced at Kakashi. He understood what she meant and shook his head.
"It should be a Transformation Technique."
"Transformation Technique?"
"Huh?"
Akashō turned to look at them and nodded.
"Makes sense. Using a Transformation Technique to take on Kokushibo's appearance, combined with Moon Breathing—which almost no one knows except Kokushibo himself and Akashō—anyone would think it was the real Kokushibo."
"Good thing Kokushibo's reputation is big enough, and not many people know Akashō can use Moon Breathing. Otherwise, the three of us might have really died today."
Watching Kakashi's bitter yet reflective expression, Akashō silently gave him a thumbs-up. As expected of you—he hadn't even explained anything yet, and Kakashi had already come up with a perfectly believable story.
Well, that worked out nicely. Saved him the trouble.
"By the way, where's that guy Obito?"
At Akashō's question, both of them showed sorrowful expressions.
"Obito… he sacrificed himself to save me…"
Kakashi clenched his fists, tears already welling up in his eyes. Nohara Rin looked much the same.
Are these two really not acting?
Akashō had seen Kakashi's acting skills during that fishing operation before. Sure, there were some logical flaws, but the expressions and movements were convincing enough.
Whatever. Even if they were acting, it had nothing to do with him. It wasn't like he'd stand up for Obito.
"It was already that dangerous just now, and you still didn't call that guy Minato over?"
Akashō tested Kakashi. If he really had the resolve to prioritize the bigger picture even in a life-or-death situation and not summon Namikaze Minato, then he definitely wasn't the kind of villain Akashō suspected—and Obito's death wouldn't be related to him.
But if Kakashi really was a villain, then perhaps he could be used as a pawn in Akashō's future plans.
Kakashi pulled out the Flying Thunder God kunai from his chest pocket, revealing the damaged Flying Thunder God mark, and gave a bitter smile.
"I already called him, but sensei didn't come."
Akashō raised an eyebrow. Having received the memories from his two shadow clones, he calculated the timing. When Kakashi summoned Namikaze Minato, the frontlines were in the middle of intense fighting.
That made Minato's absence worth thinking about. Was it simply that he didn't notice, or did he notice but choose the bigger picture over saving Kakashi and the others?
Heh, how interesting.
"Wait, something's off."
Akashō suddenly noticed something strange.
"Didn't Minato only give you one Flying Thunder God kunai? Even if he can sense the mark being damaged, once it's destroyed, how would he get here?"
Kakashi paused, then flipped the kunai around. "There are two marks on it. Destroying one is enough."
"Oh, I see."
Akashō nodded. So it wasn't a misunderstanding. He wondered what expression that guy would have when he arrived and saw that one of his students had died because he didn't make it in time. Just thinking about it made him look forward to it.
Speak of the devil, and he appears—Namikaze Minato suddenly flashed into existence beside them, looking somewhat fatigued.
"What's wrong, Kakashi? Did something happen?"
Minato swept his gaze over them, then his eyes suddenly sharpened.
"Where's Obito? Was he captured by the enemy?"
Akashō glanced at the two, who had just begun to recover before being dragged back into grief by Minato's words, and answered for them.
"Obito's dead."
"What!?"
Minato's breathing halted. His entire body stiffened in shock.
"Obito… is dead…"
Heh.
Akashō chuckled inwardly. He couldn't help it—seeing Minato upset just made him want to laugh.
"Where's the body?" Minato asked in a low voice.
Kakashi and Nohara Rin looked toward the pile of rocks where Akashō had just emerged.
But Akashō raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"I just came out of there. I didn't see any body."
The four of them stared at each other in silence.
Could it be that Obito was still alive and had escaped through that tunnel?
No, wait—there had been someone in that tunnel earlier. Could they have taken Obito's body?
It made sense. After all, Obito was from the Uchiha clan. Their kekkei genkai, the Sharingan, was well-known in the ninja world—naturally, it would attract covetous eyes.
Wasn't Kakashi already making "use" of it by transplanting one eye? As for the remaining one, it was probably taken along with the body by a Hidden Stone Village ninja through the tunnel.