Shiba Seika looked at Kakashi, a meaningful smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
"Young man from Konoha, your name is Kakashi, right? I'd like to ask why you're so devoted to ninja missions."
Shiba Seika's polite question immediately interrupted the imminent battle between Obito Uchiha and Kakashi.
They probably understood themselves that brawling in front of an enemy they'd been fighting just moments ago was stupid and embarrassing.
So Kakashi turned away, deliberately avoiding Obito's gritted-teeth expression. Instead, he met Shiba Seika's gaze and answered coldly.
"Completing missions is a ninja's duty. The iron law of the Shinobi World: those who fail to complete their missions are trash!"
Shiba Seika laughed, his delight growing, as though he'd spotted a seed that had been suppressed for ages and could burst into brilliant fireworks at any moment.
All he wanted now was to set that seed off. He didn't care who got caught in the blast, as long as it didn't hit him.
"Do you really believe in that iron law? Do you truly act this way because you agree with it from the bottom of your heart?"
Kakashi's jaw moved beneath his mask. He seemed about to speak, but Shiba Seika pressed on before he could get a word out.
"If you truly believe missions come first, then why did you recklessly rush in to save your teammate before your teacher arrived? What you did back then doesn't match what you're saying now.
"Think carefully and ask yourself, young man. Do you really agree with the words you're always repeating? Or are you just running away?
"Running away from the loss of someone dear to you, from the darkness of this world, from the struggle to clear a name that seems all but impossible to clear, and from... the revenge you ought to carry out as a son?"
Shiba Seika's words struck Kakashi's heart like poison, catching him off guard. His eyes instantly reddened, his breathing turned ragged, and one hand clamped around his sword hilt. His knuckles trembled uncontrollably.
"Y-you... what do you know?!" Kakashi demanded, stepping forward and nearly wrenching free of Minato Namikaze's grip.
Obito Uchiha was startled, too.
He'd never seen Kakashi make such a terrifying expression. He looked like a cornered beast, eyes bloodshot.
Minato Namikaze's expression darkened as well. "Rain ninja, I told you not to say strange things to my student!"
Shiba Seika hurriedly raised his hands in front of him to show he meant no harm.
"Of course, Lord Minato. No problem. I'll stop."
Stirring up Kakashi wasn't his main goal right now. He'd only done it for the fun of it, because he found it amusing.
He simply enjoyed watching blood flow.
When it clashed with his main objective, he'd abandon the provocation without hesitation.
"Please don't take offense, Lord Minato. Let's set out now."
But once a seed had been planted, how could the wind scatter it so easily?
Minato Namikaze glanced at Kakashi. The boy still looked deeply unsettled; it was obvious his thoughts were in turmoil.
He tried to reassure him. "Kakashi, don't dwell on it. I'll explain the mission to the village later."
Then he looked up at Shiba Seika, wariness rising in him once more.
He'd actually thought for a moment that the boy seemed like a decent person.
Why did this boy, despite living in the Land of Rain, know so much about Konoha?
Minato Namikaze couldn't understand it.
But he could no longer regard Shiba Seika as an ordinary teenager.
He had a feeling this boy would one day become a serious headache for Konoha!
But Rin was still in Shiba Seika's hands, so he had no choice but to comply with the boy's terms.
The kindhearted Minato Namikaze couldn't bring himself to abandon his student.
The group then arrived at a forest near the border of the Land of Rain.
Yahiko and Nagato arrived almost right after them, bringing nearly half of the Akatsuki Organization's current combat force.
As soon as he arrived, Yahiko asked urgently, "Konan, what happened?"
Konan rarely used Paper Butterflies to call for help.
Besides, everyone in the Akatsuki Organization knew that Nagato was in poor health, and Konan would never lightly bother him for help.
When they suddenly received a Paper Butterfly from Konan, Yahiko and Nagato, who'd stayed at their base, were both startled. They'd feared Konan had run into terrible danger!
By the time everyone reached the scene, they realized things didn't seem nearly as bad as they'd imagined.
Konan even took the initiative to reassure them.
"I'm fine, Yahiko. Shiba Seika still has the situation under control. Everyone, don't act rashly."
Yahiko first breathed a sigh of relief, then looked at Shiba Seika with some suspicion.
Why was the guy behaving himself this time?
And ever since arriving, Yahiko had felt there was something odd about the trust Konan showed when she mentioned Shiba Seika. Wasn't it a little too natural?
Meanwhile, Minato Namikaze was briefly surprised to see Yahiko and Nagato arrive.
He'd suspected as much when he first saw Konan's blue hair, but only now, seeing Konan, Yahiko, and Nagato together, did he confirm his guess.
"You three are Jiraiya-sensei's students, aren't you?"
Yahiko looked back at Minato Namikaze in surprise. "You know Jiraiya-sensei?"
Minato Namikaze nodded, but ultimately didn't reveal that he was Jiraiya's student, too.
Shiba Seika's "intelligence-gathering abilities" had already unnerved him, and instinctively, he didn't want to reveal anything else about Konoha.
Yahiko thus missed a perfect chance to recognize his senior, though he didn't know it.
"When you return to Konoha, please thank Jiraiya-sensei for us. Tell him his students in the Land of Rain are still working hard to carry out his ideals!"
At this point, Yahiko was still grateful to Jiraiya, nothing like the Pain of the future, controlled by a corrupted Nagato and driven to kill his former teacher.
Minato Namikaze silently nodded, agreeing to pass along the message.
But he made no further promises.
If the dangerous boy Shiba Seika weren't standing between them, he thought he might have been happy to talk more with the young man in front of him.
Unfortunately, there were no ifs.
Because Shiba Seika was there, the two sides exchanged only a few brief words before formally releasing their prisoner.
Only after Minato Namikaze quickly left with the freed Nohara Rin did Yahiko and Nagato find an opportunity to question Konan.
"Who was that person just now? Why were you so desperate to call for help?"
Konan answered simply, "Shiba Seika said he was Konoha's future Fourth Hokage."
The moment she said this, the scene fell utterly silent. Not a sound could be heard.
Several Akatsuki members who'd come along showed belated, frightened relief and wiped away their cold sweat.
"W-we were just facing off against the Hokage?"
"Oh my god, was I speaking too loudly just now?!"
"That was close. I feel like I almost died!"
Then, as one, they looked toward Shiba Seika, the calmest person there, their admiration plain in their eyes.
"Seika, you... you really went that far? You dared kidnap the Hokage's student?"
"You actually got away from the Hokage unharmed?!"
At that moment, Shiba Seika couldn't help thinking of a certain talent from the future Akatsuki.
That man had also fought a Hokage and walked away unharmed, earning himself fame across the Shinobi World.
So did this mean he'd paid tribute to Kakuzu's legend?
Before you continue