Once the mission details were settled, the group headed back to Konoha.
"Oh, Minato, Miss Ranwu, tell them about the missions they've supposedly been doing lately, too," Orochimaru said calmly.
Officially, Akaseki and Yakushi had been carrying out other missions in Konoha as usual, with dedicated Anbu ninja impersonating them whenever they were in the village. Thus, while Akaseki spent two and a half months in Kumogakure, the mission count in his ninja handbook had kept climbing...
"Captain Orochimaru, what happened to those guys in the end?" After learning about the missions he had supposedly completed and making sure his cover would hold, Akaseki asked Orochimaru.
At the time, Akaseki had been too busy running for his life to dare stick around Kumogakure and watch the show. Still...
Akaseki was sure Orochimaru had stayed to watch the "show" before leaving.
"A pity." Orochimaru shook his head.
At that, Akaseki's heart sank. Don't tell me even that barely hurt them?
"The Third Raikage was too strong, and direct confrontation is his specialty. He kept the Eight-Tails occupied, so... although Kumogakure suffered considerable casualties, most were below Jonin rank. Very few Jonin were killed. As for ninja deaths, probably three to five hundred." Orochimaru still sounded disappointed.
Akaseki sucked in a sharp breath, privately marveling at just how dangerous tailed beasts were!
There had only been around two thousand ninja in Kumogakure at the time, so that casualty figure was already staggering. Orochimaru's main regret was that too few Jonin had died. After all, Jonin generally did not die to stray area attacks, and with the Third Raikage facing the Eight-Tails head-on the whole time, their losses were naturally smaller. "Tailed beasts... really are terrifying..." Akaseki said, inwardly reminding himself to stay wary.
Just then, Minato suddenly said solemnly, "Akaseki, it's tailed