However, when he turned his head, Orochimaru was looking at Minato Namikaze with a strange gaze, as if saying,
"So we're the same kind…"
Same kind my ass—what are you even thinking?
Minato Namikaze shook his head, throwing away those bizarre thoughts, then stood up.
"You'd better hurry. There's no telling when the Hidden Stone Village will notice."
Orochimaru spoke coldly, which puzzled Akashō at the side. The relationship between these two didn't seem very good. And why was Orochimaru even at the Lightning–Fire battlefield? How was this connected to the Hidden Stone Village?
Minato nodded and looked toward Kakashi.
"Kakashi, gather the team. We're moving out."
"Yes."
Moving out??
Akashō froze for a moment. Did this mean Minato Namikaze was leaving, and Orochimaru was here to take his place?
Wait… wouldn't that mean he was finally free from Minato's captivity?
At the thought, Akashō became excited. And since Orochimaru had some kind of special connection with him, maybe he could even ask for things he'd been interested in before.
But just as Akashō felt like his life was coming back to him, Minato casually pointed at him.
"You're coming too."
Akashō: "???"
Orochimaru frowned slightly. "You're going to war. Why bring him?"
He had already been displeased about being assigned to replace Minato, but after seeing Akashō, he had thought it might turn into a blessing in disguise—an opportunity to reconnect with Kokushibo. After all, the blood he had obtained before was already nearly used up.
Now Minato wanted to take Akashō away? Of course he wasn't happy.
"Heh, Orochimaru-sama, Akashō isn't as weak as you think."
Orochimaru raised a brow and glanced at Akashō in surprise. Akashō immediately put on a pleading expression—it was obvious he didn't want to stay with Minato.
"In a situation like this, how much use could his power even be?"
"That's my concern."
Minato smiled faintly. "The Earth–Fire battlefield has been suffering repeated defeats. The Hidden Leaf Village forces stationed there are already reduced to less than half. The Third-sama sent me there to clean up your mess. The fact that I'm not taking all the troops here with me is already me giving you respect. I hope you don't make things difficult for me."
Minato's tone suddenly sharpened, leaving Akashō stunned again.
What was going on? Even if they didn't get along, there was no need to make it this obvious.
Wait—wasn't Minato Jiraiya's disciple? And Orochimaru and Jiraiya were both Sannin. Their relationship shouldn't be this bad, right?
"Minato Namikaze."
After hearing those words, Orochimaru's expression darkened.
Those words had struck directly at a deeply hidden sense of pride.
"If Kokushibo hadn't intervened and caused the Third Raikage to survive—and if that hadn't led to the Hidden Cloud Village issuing a warning that they would attack anyone who dared move against Kokushibo—do you think your situation would be any better than mine?!"
What the hell?
The Hidden Cloud Village declared they'd attack anyone who went after Kokushibo?
Hearing this, Akashō was stunned yet again. What kind of situation was this?
So much had happened outside during the months he'd been imprisoned??
"Heh, keep comforting yourself."
"If the Wind–Fire battlefield hadn't won at the Battle of Kikyo Mountain, and if my side hadn't remained stable without incident, why would you have been forcibly removed and sent here to the Lightning–Fire battlefield?"
"In the end, isn't it just that the Third-sama has lost confidence in you and wants me to earn more merit? Are you taking your frustration over losing your chance at becoming the Fourth Hokage out on me?"
Minato shook his head with a smile.
"I don't know how strong Kokushibo or Bertholdt Hoover are, but at least in that battle against Neferpitou, I won. If Orochimaru-sama has any objections, I'm always willing to spar."
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes. From within his black sleeves came the faint sound of a snake's tongue flicking, while from Minato's sleeve, a Flying Thunder God kunai slipped into his palm.
Seeing the tension between them rise to a breaking point, Akashō held his breath and quietly stepped back to avoid getting caught in the crossfire.
Did this idiot Orochimaru not know how strong Minato was, daring to be this stubborn?
And Minato too—Akashō had never seen him this… sharp-edged before, especially toward someone from the same village.
If these two didn't have some kind of history, Akashō wouldn't believe it.
But what exactly was the Battle of Kikyo Mountain that Minato mentioned earlier? The Wind–Fire battlefield had already secured victory—did that mean another battlefield had concluded?
Wait… if that was the case, then the only battlefield left was the Earth–Fire one?
And judging by the current situation, Minato was heading there as well.
Akashō immediately hesitated. The Third Great Ninja War seemed to be nearing its end.
Damn it—so after harvesting three waves and then being locked up by Minato for over half a year, everything was just… over?
That's ridiculous.
Pouting, Akashō looked at the two ahead.
Fight. Come on, fight. That'd be great—best if Orochimaru just bites Minato to death.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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