The Man Who Nearly Kicked His Way to the Final Ending

The mysteries kept piling up, and so did Second Pillar's doubts.

Second Pillar gradually realized that this world seemed completely different from what he had learned at the Ninja Academy.

What he had learned at the Ninja Academy now seemed far too childish.

"You're after the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox inside Naruto, aren't you?"

Hatake Kakashi recalled what Jiraiya, one of the Sannin, had once told him about a terrifying organization called Akatsuki.

Its members included infamous Rogue Ninja like Uchiha Itachi and Kisame Hoshigaki. There was even Orochimaru, one of Konoha's Legendary Sannin—the man Kakashi feared immensely and who had just attacked Konoha.

The organization had a total of nine members. Of the three known so far, Kakashi could not defeat Orochimaru, while Uchiha Itachi could easily suppress him. If they truly fought, Kakashi feared he would have no chance of winning.

Uchiha Itachi was especially skilled in Genjutsu. He could even deal with Kakashi without causing much of a disturbance.

That was the trait of Genjutsu ninja.

And from Kisame Hoshigaki's brief display alone, he was at least an Elite Jonin-level existence.

Kisame Hoshigaki had yet to reveal the terrifying power of his true humanoid Tailed Beast form, so Kakashi had to lower his assessment by one level. Even so, he was still at the Elite Jonin level.

If everyone in that organization was like this, then it was extremely dangerous.

Konoha would have no trouble gathering Elite Jonin, but assembling Kage Level ninja was another matter entirely.

Having even one Kage Level powerhouse in command would already make a place outstanding beyond the Five Great Ninja Villages. Take the Demi-God of the Rain Country, for example. He had once bestowed the Sannin with a title that appeared honorable to outsiders but was undoubtedly a humiliation to the three of them.

Then among the remaining six members who had yet to reveal themselves, how many more were Kage Level?

If there were another two or three, then that organization would be truly terrifying.

At the very least, in terms of its reserve of experts, it was already no weaker than the Five Great Ninja Villages—especially for Konoha, which was currently suffering from a lack of new talent. It would be an enormous problem.

"Naruto? The Nine-Tailed Demon Fox? What is that?"

Outside the screen, Second Pillar had no idea that the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox was inside Naruto.

Or rather, he did not know what the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox was. Due to the Konoha Higher-ups' deliberate concealment, ordinary people did not know much about the Demon Fox.

Even someone like Second Pillar, who no longer had the benefit of his clan's systematic teachings, only knew that over a decade ago, there had been a terrifying Demon Fox that had taken the Fourth Hokage's life.

But he did not know what that had to do with Naruto.

No, Second Pillar immediately recalled that he had heard some people call Naruto the Demon Fox brat.

He had heard that name more than once. Both children and adults had called Naruto that.

He had never taken it seriously before. How could he possibly believe something as absurd as Naruto being transformed from the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox?

But from Hatake Kakashi's words, Naruto had not been transformed from the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. Rather, there was a Nine-Tailed Demon Fox inside him?

"I know. It isn't just you two who are acting. Your organization is called Akatsuki, right?"

Hatake Kakashi pressed his probe further.

At those words, everyone present was shocked.

Uchiha Itachi and Kisame Hoshigaki were shocked that Hatake Kakashi knew of Akatsuki, while Sarutobi Asuma and Yuuhi Kurenai were shocked that neither of them had ever heard the organization's name before.

"Kisame, take Kakashi away. As for the others, they can disappear." Uchiha Itachi gave the order directly.

Just as Kisame Hoshigaki was about to make his move, a figure sent him flying. The newcomer was none other than Konoha's Blue Beast, the taijutsu Jonin, Might Guy.

And when Might Guy appeared, another barrage comment from Kitahara Kaede floated across the screen.

[Woohoo, the man who nearly kicked his way to the final ending has appeared!]

Neither Second Pillar nor Hatake Kakashi knew what "nearly kicked his way to the final ending" meant. They simply took it as another one of Kitahara Kaede's wicked jokes.

"Don't look into his eyes!"

In the scene, Sarutobi Asuma hurriedly warned them.

But Might Guy said directly, "I already knew that. In order to deal with Kakashi, I studied long ago how to counter the Sharingan. You can open your eyes."

"When fighting someone with the Sharingan, you just have to avoid meeting their gaze. You can still observe their feet to discern their intentions, then act accordingly."

Might Guy shared the tactics he had developed over many years of training to counter Hatake Kakashi.

The reason he and Hatake Kakashi could generally tie when neither of them used all their methods was precisely because of this technique designed to counter the Sharingan.

Though Hatake Kakashi's Sharingan was certainly far inferior to Uchiha Itachi's, the general approach was always similar.

Facing the suddenly arrived Konoha's Blue Wolf, Uchiha Itachi had no intention of dragging things out, especially after the other side said that the Anbu had already been notified.

Uchiha Itachi called Kisame Hoshigaki to a halt. This time, he had not returned for the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox inside Naruto. That was merely an excuse for the outside world, and through this action, he was also sending Konoha certain information.

His true objective was to return and see Second Pillar, while also conveying a message to the Konoha Higher-ups: I am still alive. You cannot lay a hand on Second Pillar.

Naturally, Hatake Kakashi and the others did not understand, because they had not reached that level. They were merely ordinary members of the Jonin Council.

Though in theory, the Jonin Council was Konoha's highest authority, and even the Hokage was chosen through a vote of the Jonin Council.

But among the four Hokage, the only one genuinely elected through a Jonin Council vote was the Fourth Hokage.

There was no need to mention the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama. He had been the true founder. Tobirama Senju, the Second, had naturally succeeded to the position of Hokage, so there had been no question of election.

As for the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, he had been appointed by Tobirama Senju, the Second, on the battlefield. The Jonin Council had not had any say in the matter at all.

It was not until Minato Namikaze's time as the Fourth Hokage that the Jonin Council truly played its role for the first time, choosing Minato Namikaze over Orochimaru.

Yet behind that vote was still the will of Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage, rather than the Jonin Council's own will.

So while the Jonin Council was logically Konoha's highest authority, in reality, those with the most power in Konoha were still the Hokage and that small group of Hokage advisors.

Even Nara Shikaku, the head of the Jonin Council, likely did not know that Uchiha Itachi was a spy, much less these few ordinary members.

After watching Uchiha Itachi leave, the group could not help but let out a sigh of relief.

Only then did the video finally end.