On April 10, news of victory at the front reached Konoha.
Hearing that even Sunagakure had been occupied, everyone breathed a sigh of relief...
But the Third repeatedly reminded everyone that the last stretch was the hardest-the closer they came to the finish, the less they could afford to relax!
Over the next few days, the village's ninja grew especially busy...
Akaseki, too, was ready to be assigned a new mission.
Except...
Seven days passed in a flash. Ranwu, Minato, and the others had all left, while Akaseki alone remained in the village, "on standby."
During that time, Akaseki also sent Orochimaru a message through Ryūchi Cave, discreetly asking a few questions about space-time sealing. He had originally planned to wait for Orochimaru to return, but given the situation in Sunagakure, Orochimaru probably wouldn't be stripped of his command again anytime soon!
If the Third dared propose replacing him now, even if Orochimaru agreed, the Uchiha Clan wouldn't...
Yet Akaseki's questions received no response.
Akaseki kept grumbling to himself that Orochimaru really didn't know how to teach!
Was it because he didn't understand the subject either, or because he knew how bad he was at teaching? He had actually decided to play dead!
It wasn't until April 18 that an Anbu ninja finally came to the Uchiha Clan Compound to summon Akaseki...
"Lord Hokage wants to see me? All right, I'll head over now." Akaseki perked up.
The Hokage Office felt considerably cleaner to Akaseki today.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had probably realized that certain "decorative touches" weren't suitable to leave on display when meeting Akaseki or members of the Uchiha Clan...
"Akaseki, getting impatient, were you?" Sarutobi seemed to have noticed the eager look on his face.
"Yes! I knew you'd entrust the most important mission to me, Lord Hokage!"