Akaseki had no idea why, but it seemed that many people thought he relied on Tanuki Treasure.
That was hardly surprising. Aside from his teammates, most people in the village only heard rumors, and among the rumors about Akaseki, the most eye-catching was undoubtedly, "He formed a contract with a Ninja Beast left behind by the Uzumaki Clan."
Kurama Murakumo did not say it outright, and Akaseki could hardly admit it himself, so he turned to look at Ranwu.
Ranwu understood that Akaseki's look was asking, "Did you tell anyone about me using Fire Style to take down eight people at once?" She responded with an eye roll that said, "Why would I?"
"Hanzō is very strong, but the Land of Rain has a small population and few ninja, yet it happens to lie between the three great nations. If he refuses to be anyone's pawn, then I'm afraid the Land of Rain can only become the chessboard." Minato shook his head, his tone tinged with pity.
At Minato's chessboard analogy, the three members of Team 8 wore strange expressions. They did not argue, but neither did they fully believe him. In their eyes, Amegakure had always been a tier below the Five Great Hidden Villages. With an expert like Hanzō there, surely... it would not come to that, right?
But Akaseki and Ranwu believed him—
They did not know much about Amegakure, but they knew Minato. Not only was he strong and intelligent, he also possessed an excellent grasp of the bigger picture.
"But what's even more unexpected is that Iwagakure actually agreed to send people here. I heard that the Tsuchikage's son will also be coming to Konoha for the Chunin Exams this time. He's about the same age as us." Inuzuka Tsume pulled the conversation back on