"Hahaha, why worry about that?"
Akashō laughed as he patted the two on the back.
"The mission succeeded—that's what matters. We should be celebrating!"
"Look at you guys—so young, already shinobi, and even ANBU at that. Bound by rules, no vitality at all. Where's the spirit a young person should have?"
Kakashi glanced at Akashō. "So what should a young person be like?"
"A young person? Of course they should have youth."
"Youth…"
The three of them stopped at the same time, their gazes drifting upward, clearly recalling something.
Seeing their reaction, Akashō's mouth twitched and his face darkened.
"That's not what I meant—not that green-clad guy with the 24k titanium alloy white teeth like some kind of kappa…"
"What I mean by youth is living boldly and passionately, with hot blood surging, daring to challenge what ordinary people wouldn't dare to face. Got it?"
"Uh…"
Itachi frowned slightly, raising an eyebrow.
"Alright, I know you're still young. It's fine if you don't understand."
Akashō patted Itachi's head as if to comfort him.
"If I remember correctly, aren't you about the same age as me…?"
"By the way, why are you so much taller than me if we're the same age? That's just unfair."
"Hahaha, don't worry about the details!"
The four of them continued forward amid laughter and chatter. Along the way, countless civilian shinobi praised Akashō.
Sigh, it had to be said—after playing the evil villain for so long, occasionally acting as a righteous hero didn't feel bad at all. It was a nice bit of seasoning for life.
...
"Akashō."
That night, after finishing up at the dango shop, Akashō parted ways with the others. At his doorstep, he ran into the Hyūga brothers, who seemed to have been waiting for him.
The two figures bowed deeply at the same time.
"Uzumaki Akashō, thank you for saving my brother."
Akashō smiled, raising an eyebrow.
"What's this? The proud Hyūga clan actually knows how to say thank you?"
Hyūga Hizashi straightened up and said calmly,
"Compared to the Uchiha clan, we're hardly arrogant."
"Really?"
Akashō scratched his head.
"In front of me, they all seem pretty obedient."
"Obedient…"
Hizashi's mouth twitched.
At that moment, Hyūga Hiashi also straightened and asked,
"Uzumaki Akashō, to be honest, what you said about being interested in my daughter—that was just an excuse, wasn't it? I don't believe someone like you would fall for a girl you've never even met, let alone one who hasn't grown up yet."
"Oh, you've got that wrong. Hinata and I have met more than once."
Akashō looked at Hiashi with a provocative smile.
"This guy…"
"Alright, brother."
Hizashi patted Hiashi's arm, then looked at Akashō seriously.
"Enough jokes, Akashō. We're serious—why exactly are you helping the Hyūga clan?"
"Hmm…"
Akashō scratched his cheek with a finger. "A political marriage?"
"Then you should be looking for someone older…"
Hiashi sighed. "And if you really wanted a political marriage, wouldn't the Uchiha clan—whom you had contact with earlier—be more suitable?"
Akashō ignored the underlying hint in Hiashi's words trying to dissuade him from targeting Hyūga Hinata and instead followed his logic.
"But Itachi is a guy, and I'm not like you."
"What the hell do you mean 'not like me'!?"
Hiashi's composure instantly wavered. Hizashi quickly interjected,
"Alright, brother, let me handle this."
Then Hizashi turned back to Akashō.
"To be honest after both the Uchiha clan and Root made their moves, we originally thought you wanted to become Hokage. Even if your strength might not yet be sufficient, given the favor you've shown us, we wouldn't have opposed you and would have even offered some assistance. But instead, you gave Sarutobi Hiruzen an out. That's what we don't understand. You don't seem to have any interest in Konoha's politics at all. So why are you helping us? And don't use Lady Hinata as an excuse again."
Looking at the Hyūga brothers staring intently at him, Akashō's gaze shifted slightly toward the shadows. His Observation Haki had already detected three other presences hidden nearby. Besides them, there was another gaze of unknown origin—hm, probably that old pervert Sarutobi Hiruzen.
"There's no particular reason."
Akashō leaned on his umbrella, his expression calm.
"Because some things simply need someone to do them, instead of waiting for a hero or a god to show up."
The Hyūga brothers were both stunned. Then they exchanged a glance and bowed once more.
"We were narrow-minded."
"Hahaha, I already knew that."
"Knew what?"
Hiashi looked at Akashō in confusion.
"That the two of you don't have much vision."
Their faces darkened. "Isn't that because you wrote something so misleading?"
"Especially me—who knows how many civilians are secretly looking at me strangely now, even suspecting there's something wrong with my orientation."
Hiashi muttered under his breath.